It is it is 133 billion. Not 1.33 billion. A point slip.
Thanks for the heads up.
I.F.
A plain reading of the texts indicate the resurrection and gathering of believers happens on the great day of the Lord. Darby popularized this mistaken notion of a "pre-tribulation" rapture in the 1830's, and it did not exist before that. All of the church fathers that commented on it (Irenaeus, Turtullian, Hyppolitus, et al) believed the church would be persecuted by the antichrist, and that there was no "imminence" as is currently taught. A plain reading of the scripture, without charts, extra books, or someones extra-biblical time-line will make this evident to the reader.
As if that were not enough, Revelation only teaches of 2 resurrections of the dead, and speaks nothing of "stages". People will offer the argument that "the church is never mentioned ion Revelation from chapter 4 onward", but they fail to see that the corporate church is not mentioned in the first 3 chapters either, rather, the letter is sent to the "7 churches", 7 literal churches that existed at the time of Johns writing.
And, interestingly enough, a seven year tribulation is never mentioned in Revelation! It's either 3.5 years or 42 months.
In any case, this mini-treatise will never convince the hard-core pre-tribber, but it may challenge some to look at the SCRIPTURE, and see what it says. I will not argue the point further, lest it become divisive. In either case,regardless of your belief on this subject, be prepared for tribulation, for we shall have it! (John 16:33)
And, be a Berean (Acts 17:11), and "Take heed that no man deceive you" (Matt 24:4)
OK. Thank-you for clearing that up.
I live in Maine, the most heavily forested state in America.
We’re up to our keisters in both softwood and hardwood trees here....there must be a couple of billion trees in Maine alone.