Well, one way or another, followers of The Lord Jesus Christ living at the time will find out first hand.
“Well, one way or another, followers of The Lord Jesus Christ living at the time will find out first hand.”
Yes, but consider the results of the hypothetical situation, depending on who turns out to be right. There are 4 possible outcomes, since it is a 2x2 decision matrix (like Pascal’s wager).
So, if you believe in the Rapture:
Outcome 1) Rapture happens like you are expecting. Tribulation is a non-issue.
Outcome 2) Rapture doesn’t happen. You are not prepared for the tribulation, because you were counting on being raptured.
If you don’t believe in the Rapture:
Outcome 1) Rapture happens. Tribulation is a non-issue.
Outcome 2) Rapture happens. You are (hopefully) prepared for the tribulation, because you weren’t expecting to be raptured.
So, you can see, believing in the rapture leads to a 50/50 situation, with one good and one bad outcome, while not believing in the rapture leads only to good outcomes. At the very least, if you do believe in the Rapture, you should still prepare for the tribulation as if you didn’t believe in the rapture.