Basically if your a christian & you get left behind that means your not going to heaven right?because God gave you a chance to get it right before he came back...?
Hi serenity,
Just my 2¢ worth, but I believe it comes from careful study of the Scriptures...
The 'time of great tribulation' and the 'day of God's wrath' are two separate events. Now, whether or not one wants to refer to the removal of God's children from the face of the earth before the wicked are thrown into the fiery furnace of God's wrath, as the 'rapture' is purely a matter of semantics. Chapter 14 of the Revelation of Jesus does teach that first the children of God are removed to safety and then the wrath of God is released upon those who are 'left behind'.
Personally, I don't think the book series by that name has it all quite right. There will not be any airline piilots or preachers who didn't make the 'first' cut living upon the earth to then put their trust in the Lord, once Jesus returns to collect those who are his. Jesus returns one time to gather the elect and that's it. Those who are not gathered with Jesus upon his return will then endure the 'winepress of God's wrath'. Once the wicked have battled and been destroyed and the earth is once again cleansed of mankind, Jesus will return to the earth with those who he gathered and begin the 1,000 year reign of the Lord upon the earth.
However, the 'time of great tribulation' comes upon the earth before Jesus returns to gather the elect. We will all, those alive at the time, endure the 'time of great tribulation'. Both believers and non-believers will live out those days. The great tribulation comes from the will and wickedness of man. The idea promoted in the book series that Jesus will return and then life will go on somehow with people scurrying to and fro to 'find God's salvation' is not an accurate depiction of the timeline of events that the Scriptures offer.
Trust chapter 14 of John's revelation. Jesus comes. He gathers those whose names are written in his Book of Life. Everyone else goes into the winepress of God's wrath. I believe where a lot of people get confused is in thinking that the event called the 'tribulation' and the event called the 'winepress of God's wrath' are the same thing. They are not!
The tribulation is a man-made event. It will be days in which believers are still alive but are under severe persecution for their faith by those without faith. The winepress of God's wrath follows after the days of 'great tribulation' and the rising up in the air of God's children to meet the Lord. This is what the Scriptures promise that believers will not endure. We will not endure the wrath of God, but we will have to endure the days of great tribulation of man against the saints.
After the 1,000 year reign with Christ upon the earth, all the dead will be raised to life one last time, and along with those who lived the 1,000 year reign of Christ, will be judged. All those whose names are found in the Lamb's Book of Life will receive the promise of God's eternal life with Him. All those whose names are not found in the Lamb's Book of Life will be cast out. Then the eternal existence for all begins.
God bless,
In Christ, ted