How many good works are needed to offset the evil you have committed?
OK, now we are getting into the area that this was never supposed to go. You guys are doing an alternate theory of justification from sins.
We are justified from our sins by Christ. That is the question. How can a sinful person be acceptable to God? through the sacrifice of Christ.
The rapture question was taken up just once by Paul, in whose mind the whole business of the 2nd coming in judgement was coming very quickly. In the case of the Thess, they thought it was to have come so quickly that they are already asking if it was missed.
There is also the question of escaping the awful things being done by the son of perdition, and the escape was not 'dematerialization' after all. He was the leader of a revolt in 1st century Judea who ruined the country. God enabled the believers who were in Jerusalem when this happened to get away, by postponing the Roman siege against the revolt.
The question was not about what justifies a person from their sins, it was about how (mechanically) do people who are dead vs those who are living 'meet' God--as though He'd has some kind of problem working that out. There were two routes. That will be true on the last day of time as well. Let it take care of itself, OK? The question and passion of the Bible is about justification, as you can see in Rom 3-5, Gal 3-4, Phil 3, Heb 8-10, 2 Cor 3-5, Acts 13's sermon, etc.
But make no mistake: there is no other way a person is justified from their sins other than the Gospel works of Christ for us which were accomplished in history for us. There is nothing clear in the NT about who is going to meet Christ apart from death when He returns or how that all works. Nor is there very much material about it by comparison. Just accept the fact that God will take care of those who are justified, even if they suffer horrible things in this life, and they might.