The end of the world

[WildBeliever]

I was wondering if some one can give me a step by step list of how the world is going to end??I mean from beginning to end and can you also tell me where in the bible I can find where each step is??I ask because I started reading the Left behind series and it got me wondering how much of whats in there is accurate and the order of it all, My husband and his family tell me that the bible says that christians will not actually be taken until after tribulations has begun. And my mom tells me that she was taught that all christians will be taken first along with the bodies of the saved. Im still a pretty new Christian and i find it very hard to figure any of this information out.

 

[turned around]

Hi Newbie,
Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. Great place to start and never forget. Paul the Apostle wrote 13 letters. In them he teaches everything from justification to end times. Just a suggestion read Romans 1-16 with the Holy Spirits guidance. Also enjoy Jesus talk to him as a friend, lover, and brother. He alone will lead you along the way. Avoid religion let Jesus guide you, people will try to conform you to their standards. Through the word the SPIRIT will gently guide you into all truth. My experience as a hungry for information person. Is be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. There's a reason why there's a church on every corner.

May his grace keep you on your faith journey.

 

[Bobinator]

I tried to keep it short, but here goes-


1. God creates a tri-une man- Body-Soul-Spirit for unbridled fellowship .

2. The spirit reigned until man sins and becomes separated from God.

3. God begins laying the foundation to bring man back to the Garden, starting with Abel’s sacrifice. Laying the foundation for any kind of project takes the longest amount of time. In this case, it meant 4,000 years.

4. God establishes a covenant with Abraham, resulting in the 12 tribes of Israel.

5. Man (the flesh) is brutish, so God starts to re-educate starting with the Ten Commandments. Talk about basic.

6. The Law of Moses/Levitical Law symbolizes things of the spirit, followed by 1000's of years of dealing with man and establishing a testimony to be recorded for the ages, so mankind can know who God is and what He’s like.

Animal sacrifices paved the way for Jesus and to be an interim sacrifice for Israel for what Jesus will eventually do. Prophecies reveal God’s plan.

7. Jesus establishes the ultimate path back to the Father and the Garden of Eden. A few men attained God’s full salvation- Enoch, Elijah, possibly the Apostle John, since there’s no record of his death, and to some extent Moses, since Michael the Arch Angel retrieved his body from destruction (Jude 1:9).

(Note- Both Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus on the Mount before his crucifixion. There’s a reason for this. God created us with a physical body and intended for us to keep it).

8. Jesus establishes the New Covenant for us to exercise spiritual gifts, grow the fruits of the Spirit, and be transformed into His image.

9. Only trials and tribulations can accomplish God’s ultimate plan to form perfect sons and daughters unto Him. We will all face the fire and be required to totally depend on God to survive, just like Elijah, starting from 1Kings 17). Elijah hid from Ahab and was protected by God for 3 1/2, years. Thus, the 7 years of Tribulations in the Book of Revelations begin.

10. At the mid-point of tribulations (3 ½ years), it’s going to get really bad. Wars and pestilences, Christians will be persecuted and hunted down. Those who take the Mark would have succumbed to the world. True Christians will refuse and be persecuted. This will separate the sheep from the goats. (Revelations 12).

11. 3 Classes of Christians in Revelations 12- The Woman (the great wonder in Heaven), the man-child that is birthed from the woman, and the remnant of her seed.

The man-child is caught unto the throne of God, which is the 144,000 in Revelations 14 and the Army of God in Joel 2. The woman flees into the wilderness and is protected for the remaining 3 ½ years until Jesus comes back. The remnant of her seed are martyred for their testimony.

12. Jesus describes the end time in Matthew 24, and warns us to flee to the mountains when the Abomination of Desolation occurs and Christians are hunted.

13. The vials of God’s wrath are poured and the 7 trumpets of Judgment are sounded, probably during the last 3 ½ years of tribulation.

14. At the end of tribulation, the sun and the moon shall be darkened for 3 days after which the last trumpet is sounded and the dead in Christ rise, particularly those martyred during tribulations. (Jesus says this in Matthew 24. Sorry, no pre-tribulation rapture, folks!) Those who remain alive on earth will be taken up with a great shout to meet Jesus in the sky. The destruction of all remaining heathen on the earth follows.

15. We return to Earth and rule and reign with Jesus for 1,000 years while Satan and his minions are bound in the bottomless pit. The Earth is repopulated by those who rule and reign on Earth during this period.

After, Satan is released to make war for the last time and seduces a large segment of the population of descendants, except those who made it through tribulations because they have already been tested and have overcome the world to follow after God. Satan and every unclean spirit is thrown in the Lake of Fire. Yippee!!!

16. God creates New Jerusalem and His final plan for this Novel is complete. He now has a population of men and women he can have complete fellowship. Thus begins a new Chapter man cannot fathom.

{The End}

Again, there is no scriptural evidence of a pre-tribulation rapture.

I know there's a LOT of information here. All of it is supported by scripture, which I can provide upon request. If you have a follow-up question, I'm game.

 

[WildBeliever]

Hi Newbie,
Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. Great place to start and never forget. Paul the Apostle wrote 13 letters. In them he teaches everything from justification to end times. Just a suggestion read Romans 1-16 with the Holy Spirits guidance. Also enjoy Jesus talk to him as a friend, lover, and brother. He alone will lead you along the way. Avoid religion let Jesus guide you, people will try to conform you to their standards. Through the word the SPIRIT will gently guide you into all truth. My experience as a hungry for information person. Is be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. There's a reason why there's a church on every corner.

May his grace keep you on your faith journey.

Thank you so much!

 

[WildBeliever]

I tried to keep it short, but here goes-


1. God creates a tri-une man- Body-Soul-Spirit for unbridled fellowship .

2. The spirit reigned until man sins and becomes separated from God.

3. God begins laying the foundation to bring man back to the Garden, starting with Abel’s sacrifice. Laying the foundation for any kind of project takes the longest amount of time. In this case, it meant 4,000 years.

4. God establishes a covenant with Abraham, resulting in the 12 tribes of Israel.

5. Man (the flesh) is brutish, so God starts to re-educate starting with the Ten Commandments. Talk about basic.

6. The Law of Moses/Levitical Law symbolizes things of the spirit, followed by 1000's of years of dealing with man and establishing a testimony to be recorded for the ages, so mankind can know who God is and what He’s like.

Animal sacrifices paved the way for Jesus and to be an interim sacrifice for Israel for what Jesus will eventually do. Prophecies reveal God’s plan.

7. Jesus establishes the ultimate path back to the Father and the Garden of Eden. A few men attained God’s full salvation- Enoch, Elijah, possibly the Apostle John, since there’s no record of his death, and to some extent Moses, since Michael the Arch Angel retrieved his body from destruction (Jude 1:9).

(Note- Both Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus on the Mount before his crucifixion. There’s a reason for this. God created us with a physical body and intended for us to keep it).

8. Jesus establishes the New Covenant for us to exercise spiritual gifts, grow the fruits of the Spirit, and be transformed into His image.

9. Only trials and tribulations can accomplish God’s ultimate plan to form perfect sons and daughters unto Him. We will all face the fire and be required to totally depend on God to survive, just like Elijah, starting from 1Kings 17). Elijah hid from Ahab and was protected by God for 3 1/2, years. Thus, the 7 years of Tribulations in the Book of Revelations begin.

10. At the mid-point of tribulations (3 ½ years), it’s going to get really bad. Wars and pestilences, Christians will be persecuted and hunted down. Those who take the Mark would have succumbed to the world. True Christians will refuse and be persecuted. This will separate the sheep from the goats. (Revelations 12).

11. 3 Classes of Christians in Revelations 12- The Woman (the great wonder in Heaven), the man-child that is birthed from the woman, and the remnant of her seed.

The man-child is caught unto the throne of God, which is the 144,000 in Revelations 14 and the Army of God in Joel 2. The woman flees into the wilderness and is protected for the remaining 3 ½ years until Jesus comes back. The remnant of her seed are martyred for their testimony.

12. Jesus describes the end time in Matthew 24, and warns us to flee to the mountains when the Abomination of Desolation occurs and Christians are hunted.

13. The vials of God’s wrath are poured and the 7 trumpets of Judgment are sounded, probably during the last 3 ½ years of tribulation.

14. At the end of tribulation, the sun and the moon shall be darkened for 3 days after which the last trumpet is sounded and the dead in Christ rise, particularly those martyred during tribulations. (Jesus says this in Matthew 24. Sorry, no pre-tribulation rapture, folks!) Those who remain alive on earth will be taken up with a great shout to meet Jesus in the sky. The destruction of all remaining heathen on the earth follows.

15. We return to Earth and rule and reign with Jesus for 1,000 years while Satan and his minions are bound in the bottomless pit. The Earth is repopulated by those who rule and reign on Earth during this period.

After, Satan is released to make war for the last time and seduces a large segment of the population of descendants, except those who made it through tribulations because they have already been tested and have overcome the world to follow after God. Satan and every unclean spirit is thrown in the Lake of Fire. Yippee!!!

16. God creates New Jerusalem and His final plan for this Novel is complete. He now has a population of men and women he can have complete fellowship. Thus begins a new Chapter man cannot fathom.

{The End}

Again, there is no scriptural evidence of a pre-tribulation rapture.

I know there's a LOT of information here. All of it is supported by scripture, which I can provide upon request. If you have a follow-up question, I'm game.

Thanks so much, this was made so much easier to understand!

 

[AWorkInProgress]

I was wondering if some one can give me a step by step list of how the world is going to end??I mean from beginning to end and can you also tell me where in the bible I can find where each step is??I ask because I started reading the Left behind series and it got me wondering how much of whats in there is accurate and the order of it all, My husband and his family tell me that the bible says that christians will not actually be taken until after tribulations has begun. And my mom tells me that she was taught that all christians will be taken first along with the bodies of the saved. Im still a pretty new Christian and i find it very hard to figure any of this information out.

That's a big topic of study. There are different interpretations of what the bible says. I totally recommend you not rush through it. To prayerfully read it for yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into the truth of it.

Revelations is good place to start, as well as Prophet Daniel. The Lord spoke at length about it, Gospel of Matthew especially. Like I said, you are scratching the surface of something big. Take your time and see for yourself.

 

[Bible2]

WildBeliever said in post 1:

I was wondering if some one can give me a step by step list of how the world is going to end??

What will happen next is the tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, which the church will have to go through (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13), and which will be immediately followed by Jesus' 2nd coming and the church's resurrection, rapture (gathering together to Jesus), judgment by Jesus, and marriage to Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 24:29-31, Mark 13:27, Psalms 50:4-5, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6). Jesus and the church will then reign physically on the earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29). After the 1,000 years are over, the Gog/Magog rebellion will occur (Revelation 20:7-10, Ezekiel chapters 38-39). Sometime after that will occur the resurrection and judgment of unsaved people of all times (Revelation 20:11-15). Then will occur the time of New Jerusalem on a new earth (Revelation 21:1 to 22:5).

--

From Revelation chapters 6 to 18, and some other verses elsewhere, we can derive the following summary of the main events of the future
tribulation:

It will begin with a horrible war, which, with its aftermath of famines and epidemics, will end up killing 1/4 of the world (Revelation 6:4-8).

Then a huge volcanic eruption will occur (Revelation 6:12-14).

Then an island volcano will erupt and collapse into the sea (Revelation 8:8-9).

Then a comet will strike the earth, in a region containing 1/3 of the world's fresh water (Revelation 8:10-11).

Then a cavern deep underground will open up, and weird locust-like beings will swarm up from it and torment mankind with horribly painful stings for 5 months (Revelation 9:2-11).

Then 200 million weird horse-like beings will come upon the earth and kill 1/3 of mankind (Revelation 9:16-19).

Sometime before this, a 3rd Jewish temple will have been built in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1).

Then various things will happen during a literal 3.5-year period:

Jerusalem will be occupied by enemy forces (Revelation 11:2b, Luke 21:24), and the abomination of desolation (possibly an android image of the Antichrist) will be placed standing in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of the Jewish temple (Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31).

Two witnesses of God will prophesy in Jerusalem and bring amazing, miraculous plagues on the world (Revelation 11:3-12).

Satan (the dragon) will give power to an individual man (one aspect of Revelation's "beast"), commonly called the Antichrist, to take hegemony over the entire earth, and to be worshipped by it along with Satan, and to kill Biblical Christians in every nation (Revelation 13:4-10). At least one time, the Antichrist will also sit in the Jewish temple and proclaim himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36).

There will also be a 2nd man, called the False Prophet, who will perform amazing miracles, by which the people of the world will be deceived into receiving a mark of the Antichrist's name or gematrial name-number (666) on their right hand or forehead, and into worshipping a speaking image of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:11-18, Revelation 19:20).

Right after the literal 3.5-year period:

A horrible sore will spring up on all those who received the Antichrist's mark and worshipped the image (Revelation 16:2).

Then the sea will become like the blood of a dead man, and every living creature in the sea will die (Revelation 16:3).

Then all surface fresh-water sources will be turned into blood (Revelation 16:4-6).

Then a solar flare will strike the earth (Revelation 16:8).

Then, for a time, no light will reach the surface of the earth (Revelation 16:10).

Then the Euphrates will dry up, and the armies of the earth will gather at Armageddon (a place in northern Israel) in an attempt to fight YHWH God (Revelation 16:12-16).

Then all the cities of the earth will be destroyed by fire, and earthquake, and 100-pound hailstones (Revelation 16:18-21, Revelation 17:16).

Then Jesus will return, and he will resurrect the church, rapture (gather together) the church, judge the church, and marry the church (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 24:29-31, Mark 13:27, Psalms 50:4-5, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6), before he defeats the armies of the world gathered (by that time at Jerusalem) against YHWH God (Revelation 19:11-21, Zechariah 14).

WildBeliever said in post 1:

I ask because I started reading the Left behind series and it got me wondering how much of whats in there is accurate and the order of it all, My husband and his family tell me that the bible says that christians will not actually be taken until after tribulations has begun.

Regarding the idea of some people in the church being "left behind", is it usually based on Luke 17:26-37 and Matthew 24:37-41? If so, people should note that those passages refer to what will happen at Jesus' 2nd coming, "when the Son of man is revealed" (Luke 17:30), "the coming of the Son of man" (Matthew 24:37,39), which Jesus had just finished saying won't happen until immediately after the future tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31). Those "taken" at the 2nd coming (Luke 17:34-36, Matthew 24:40-41) will be unsaved people who will be taken to where they will be killed and birds will eat their dead bodies (Luke 17:36-37; Matthew 24:28, cf. Job 39:30b; Revelation 19:21). The Greek word "paralambano" ("taken": Luke 17:34-36, Matthew 24:40-41) can be used to refer to being taken to another place to be killed (John 19:16-18).

Those "left" where they are at the 2nd coming (Luke 17:34-36, Matthew 24:40-41) will include unsaved people who will be forced to come up annually to worship the returned Jesus in Jerusalem during the millennium (Zechariah 14:16-19). These unsaved people will have to be ruled with a rod of iron by Jesus and the bodily resurrected church during the millennium (Revelation 2:26-29, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 20:4-6, Psalms 2, Psalms 66:3, Psalms 72:8-11). And their descendants will be deceived by Satan after the millennium is over into committing the Gog/Magog rebellion (Revelation 20:7-10, Ezekiel chapters 38-39).

Before the millennium, at Jesus' 2nd coming, those in the church will neither be "taken" and killed, nor "left" where they are, but will be "gathered together" (raptured) (Matthew 24:31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1) into the sky to hold a meeting in the air with the returned Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The purpose of this rapture meeting will be so that those in the church can be judged by Jesus (Psalms 50:3-5, cf. Mark 13:27) and married to Jesus (Revelation 19:7) in the sky, before Jesus descends from the sky (the first heaven) with the obedient part of the church to bring the 2nd-coming wrath on the unsaved world (Revelation 19:14 to 20:3).

So the 2nd coming will be like "the days of Noah" (Matthew 24:37) and "the days of Lot" (Luke 17:28,30) in that just as Noah went into the ark before the Flood, and Lot went out from Sodom before it was destroyed, so the church will be raptured into the sky at the 2nd coming (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, Matthew 24:30-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Revelation 19:7) before Jesus begins the 2nd-coming wrath (Revelation 19:15 to 20:3, Luke 17:26-30, Matthew 24:37-39).

WildBeliever said in post 1:

And my mom tells me that she was taught that all christians will be taken first along with the bodies of the saved.

By "taken first", do you mean before the tribulation? If so, note that nothing in the Bible teaches or requires a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. Instead, the Bible makes clear that Jesus won't come and gather together (rapture) the church until immediately after the future tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24 (Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8). That's why the marriage of the church doesn't happen until Revelation 19:7, in connection with Jesus' 2nd coming and the bodily resurrection of the church at that time (Revelation 19:7 to 20:6; 1 Corinthians 15:21-23,51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16). Matthew 24:30-31 refers to the same 2nd coming of Jesus and gathering together (rapture) of the church as 2 Thessalonians 2:1, which refers to the same 2nd coming of Jesus and catching up together (rapture) of the church as 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.

Jesus won't return and gather together (rapture) the church until sometime after there is a falling away (an apostasy) in the church, and the Antichrist sits in a 3rd Jewish temple in Jerusalem and proclaims himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, Daniel 11:31,36, Revelation 11:1-2, Revelation 13:4-8), and the abomination of desolation (possibly a standing, android image of the Antichrist) is set up in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of the 3rd Jewish temple (Matthew 24:15-31, Daniel 11:31). For when Jesus returns to gather together (and marry) the church he will destroy the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:1,8, Revelation 19:7,20). Before Jesus returns, the church will have to go through the future, literal 3.5 years of the Antichrist's worldwide reign (Revelation 13:5-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-31).

At Jesus' 2nd coming (1 Thessalonians 4:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, Matthew 24:30), the church will be resurrected and caught up together/gathered together (raptured) (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, Matthew 24:31), not to remove the church from the earth (Proverbs 10:30, John 17:15,20), but to take the church only as high as the clouds of the sky to hold a meeting in the air with the returned Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

At that meeting, Jesus will judge everyone in the church (Psalms 50:3-5, cf. Mark 13:27) by their works (2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 2:6-8, Luke 12:45-48, Matthew 25:19-30). And then Jesus will marry in the clouds the obedient part of the church (Revelation 19:7-8, Matthew 25:1-12), those in the church (of all times) who "overcame" to the end (Revelation 3:5, Revelation 2:26). They will then mount white horses and come back down from the sky (the first heaven) with Jesus (Revelation 19:14) as he defeats the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") and all the armies of the world (Revelation 19:15-21). Jesus will then make the marriage supper of Revelation 19:9 for the resurrected and married obedient part of the church in the earthly Jerusalem (Isaiah 25:6-9; 1 Corinthians 15:54). Jesus and the obedient part of the church will then reign on the earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29).

 

[seashale76]

The Left Behind series is rubbish and reflects rubbish theology that has never historically been held by Christians (i.e. premillenial dispensationalism- and it can be traced back to a certain John Nelson Darby from the 19th century).

In Orthodox Christianity, this is generally referred to as 'the last things'.

The "Last Things" in Holy Scripture — Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

The "Last Things" in the Revelation of St. John — Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Glory to God for All Things | Archive | Last Things

ORTHODOXYMORON: ORTHODOX ESCHATOLOGY

The Dogmatic Tradition of the Orthodox Church — Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

 

[~Anastasia~]

Left Behind represents what I was first taught in church. It sounds like that's what your mother believes as well. Honestly, it's a comforting thought, and I WISH it would be that simple.

However, once I finally put away all the notions that had been taught to me, and read through Scripture a number of times trying to figure it out ... I honestly can't support that position.

I do see evidence for a couple of other different beliefs (and there are a number of opinions). I don't want to say that I KNOW it will be this way or that, because as I study and come to understand more, I've changed my mind in the past. How can I know I won't change it again?

But my best guess right now is one of two things.

If there is to be a rapture or a removal of believers of any sort, I would place it after the seal judgments.

Rev. 7
9 After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
13 Then, addressing me, one of the elders said, Who are these [people] clothed in the long white robes? And from where have they come?
14 I replied, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

No matter what else I think, this one seems to show a great crowd appearing suddenly in Heaven who have "come out" of the great tribulation.

But as also explained by other posters here, there are reasons to believe that believers are going to be on the earth during the rest of the great tribulation. Right now, I can't really reconcile that difference to my complete satisfaction.

So ... I would say that certainly Christians should expect to go through at least part of the tribulation, and very likely all of it (or near to the very end).

Like I said, I don't have my ideas nailed down. But the problem I had with the Left Behind series and that theology is that sooooo many folks are going along, really believing that the next thing that's going to happen is they are going to be whisked away to heaven.

If they're right, well and good. (I don't think so, but as I said, I almost wish it were so!)

However, if they are WRONG, where will that leave them? Are they prepared to face what will come? Will the events happening which they never expected to see shake their faith in what they thought they knew?

I just think it's a dangerous way of thinking, for that reason. Of course, maybe I shouldn't worry. If they are God's, they are His to care for, and He knows what they need and how to give it to them.

 

[Bible2]

Kylissa said in post 9:

No matter what else I think, this one seems to show a great crowd appearing suddenly in Heaven who have "come out" of the great tribulation.

Regarding "suddenly", note that nothing requires that the great multitude in Revelation 7 hadn't been entering heaven by dying during Revelation 6. They could have been in a different place in heaven, such as in New Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22-23), in which there is no temple building (Revelation 21:22), before they were brought at the time of Revelation 7:9-15 into the temple building in heaven (Revelation 7:15).

Kylissa said in post 9:

Like I said, I don't have my ideas nailed down. But the problem I had with the Left Behind series and that theology is that sooooo many folks are going along, really believing that the next thing that's going to happen is they are going to be whisked away to heaven.

If they're right, well and good. (I don't think so, but as I said, I almost wish it were so!)

However, if they are WRONG, where will that leave them? Are they prepared to face what will come? Will the events happening which they never expected to see shake their faith in what they thought they knew?

Good point.

The mistaken idea of a pre-tribulation rapture is dangerous because when no pre-tribulation rapture occurs, and pre-trib believers begin to suffer in the tribulation, they could think that God has somehow been defeated by Satan, that Satan by his power has caused a pre-trib rapture not to happen despite God wanting one to. Or they could think that God has cruelly broken his (supposed) promise, that he has pulled the rug out from under them, that he cruelly lied to them and must now be laughing at their surprise and suffering (Proverbs 1:26), so that in their rage they could curse God and commit apostasy during the tribulation (Isaiah 8:21-22, Matthew 24:9-13, Matthew 13:21), to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Hebrews 6:4-8, John 15:6; 2 Timothy 2:12).

And even if they instead rightly think, "Okay, we must have just been mistaken in thinking that the rapture was supposed to be pre-trib. Satan hasn't defeated God, and God didn't lie to us", nonetheless, because they had held so strongly to the pre-trib idea for so long, their minds could be completely unprepared to face the long tribulation that lies ahead of them (just as holding too strongly to the mistaken idea of preterism, or historicism, or symbolicism, or spiritualism, could leave some believers less prepared mentally to endure the future tribulation).

The Bible gives those in the church clear warning ahead of time about everything that they are going to have to face during the future tribulation (Mark 13:23, Revelation chapters 6 to 18, Revelation 1:1, Revelation 22:16), so that they can be better prepared mentally not to be blindsided (1 Peter 4:12-13) or deceived by anything that is coming (Matthew 24:4-5,23-25, Revelation 13:13-18, Revelation 19:20), and so that they can be better prepared mentally to endure the future tribulation with patience and faith to the end (Matthew 24:9-13, Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6), that is, until death or until Jesus returns immediately after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31, Revelation 19:2 to 20:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8).

 

[1watchman]

The "Left Behind" book is actually quite good as an evangelistic truth about the end, though may not be scripturally in full accord with all coming events. It does makes the urgency of the Gospel message important. J. N. Darby did not have anything to do with that book, as one writer here suggested, and as a Bible scholar his ministry is very sound and worthy of study.

 

[parsley]

Tonight, when the earth meets the comet's debris field. (-;

The need to know should spark curious research and rich studies -- it is tempting to want everything correct at once, but God wants us to learn and keep learning... finding fresh insight daily.

He also wants us to depend on Him. When we think we have everything locked in place, then we push Jesus aside and tell Him we don't need Him.

Religion is that continuous buildup, like calcium deposits in the drain. In the beginning it reinforces and makes stronger, but when layers build upon layers, it chokes out the flow and needs to be broken up.

So... what did Jesus say? Be watchful, be ready... but I'm not gonna tell you.