Replies

In answer, I'd have to say:

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it also shall be in the days of the Son of man. They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and the flood came and destroyed them all. So also as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but the day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from the heaven and destroyed them all. Even so it shall be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
--Luke 17:26-30
For you yourselves know accurately that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety! Then sudden destruction comes on them, as travail upon a woman with child. And they shall not escape.
--1 Thess. 5:2-3

From these and other passages, I have to come to a few conclusions:

1) "Sudden destruction" means "sudden destruction." The idea that we're looking a long wasting period just doesn't fit.

2) Just like the Flood or the nuking of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Day of the Lord judgments will be done in such a way that no one can doubt that they are of Heaven.

3) The Day of the Lord will begin on the very day of the Second Coming/Rapture. There won't be years between as some pretribs have proposed (Chuck Missler among them).

And Jesus answered and said to them, "See R870 to it that no one misleads you. 5 "For many R871 will come in My name, saying, `I am the Christ,' F514 and will mislead many. 6 "You will be hearing of wars R872 and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 "For nation R873 will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines R874 and earthquakes. 8 "But R875 all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs

The Luke 21 Olivet discourse has the most understandable chronology of the 3 synoptics.

Luke makes clear that the 70 AD Destruction of Jerusalem is a starting signal. Then begins the spiralingly worse "birth pangs." These begin with a world in increasingly aggressive turmoil throughout the times of the Gentiles and proceeding to heavenly disturbances and a roaring sea.

It is an ever increasing intensity that is pictured. It is the increasing intensity of shear destructive power that is pictured. We truly have gone from being able to kill one at a time by a sword or arrow to a time when we discuss "weapons of mass destruction."

And the opening of space to be a platform for launching war on the earth is another escalation of the mind-boggling destructiveness that is available.

Men's hearts failing them in fear. And for good reason.

And a recapitulating spiral is a good notion to evaluate and on which to speculate. However, I always reserve the right to speculate, and I request that people indulge me and NOT assume my speculations to be ideas that I have elevated to the level of doctrine/teachings/beliefs.

It is necessary for me to evaluate fair ideas that come along and not simply to dismiss them.