When I was a teenager, the whole "Left Behind" series was recent and popular. I was likewise interested in the concept of the Rapture and how it would play out. After listening to people argue about it and disparage each other ad nauseum, though, I finally remembered the most important scripture:
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
That's it. That's the key concept. Everything else is fluff, and not worth getting into a snit about.
How God chooses to implement that is frankly not my concern. I can't plan for it, I can't affect it, and I can't bargain for the method in which He'll carry it out. If there's a rapture, and it takes the believers, I don't expect to be around afterward. If there's a rapture, and it takes the unbelievers, I guess I'll still be here.
If I die before any rapture takes place, which is equally likely, the personal effect to me is still the same.
In the immortal words of Zap Brannigan: "Never have I been so intrigued by something I care so little about!"
If I die before any rapture takes place, which is equally likely, the personal effect to me is still the same.
My position as well. The important thing is to be ready.
I've seen the Scriptures called many things, but this is a first!
FLUFF??? LOL!!!
I beg you to add John 5:24 to your “key concepts”: 24”Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.