I thought I was reading the clear, plain truth of scripture. My point was that your explanation required more twists and turns to provide an answer for your preconcieved notions that it hardly seemed worth the effort. It isn't terribly complicated; Paul says that when Jesus returns, "the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call andd with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; and then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the air...."
A legal scholar would view the coming of the Lord, with the angels and the trumpets, as a condition precendent to the raising of those "asleep in Christ" and those still alive, who are merely those that haven't fallen asleep in Christ. A condition precedent must occur first. He will return, then we will be taken into His kingdom.
The concern that I have is that you and a lot of dear friends of mine are convinced that you are gonna be whisked away by the Lord at the appointed time. Its a nice idea, and you know what? I fully beleive that God will do just that, if thats what He wants to do, just because my faith insists that HE CAN. But, reading the plain language of scripture, I don't see it. So, when your'e expecting your Rapture, I will be girding myself for the tribulaiton. Since you sincerely believe you are out of here, you wont realize that the anti-christ is duping you, possibly not until it is too late, bacause you'll still be waiting....of course if you are right, I'll see you in Heaven! (I intend to go, either way. I'm just clearer headed about it and prepared for all the Enemy will throw at me.)
It is endlessly fascinating to me that such a enormous industry has developed around supporting an idea, which in the old days, would likely have been condemned as heresy, and its adherents hunted down and burned at the stake! Yet in today's world, ideas that diverge from Truth are taken up an run with like a defensive lineman on a fumble - the wrong way for the offense. It is truly remarkable how far some will go to defend their ideas. The more vigorous the defense, the more likely that the idea defended is questionable. The more strident and strong the refusal to see the other side of the issue, the more likely that the ideologue is on shaky ground. That is true for the defenders of the Roe v. Wade SCOTUS ruling: that thing is primed to fall, and soon, for its legal basis is extraordinaly weak. Likewise for the defenders of the "Rapture". The arguments for are weak, and only there with a good old-fashioned scripture-twistin'.
Still, keep up your faith. God will reveal all things to those who need to know.
I think this is an important key in understanding how radically different Scripture as defined by Jesus is than other religions from antiquity. The majority of them have a cyclical nature, borne of a woman. This reflects man's observations of the seasons and natural life. It is not too much of a stretch to see that this view was extrapolated into the cosmos and conferred onto a deity.
However, the Bible is unique in having a linear aspect to it. The world begins not with birth, but with the power of God's Word. It was not until the 20th century when we as man finally understood how something could come into existence from just such a power until Einstein postulated that E=mc2.
Also, the Bible is unique in saying that there is an end to the world. Peter's prophetic announcement that the universe is consumed with fire, goes against the scientific conclusion that if everything continues as it is, that we will die a heat death as entropy winds down and the universe eventually becomes a cold dark world billions of years hence. Instead, God steps in and releases the energy contained in the matter that makes up the universe.
How Moses and Peter came to pronounce complex nuclear physics without any education centuries ahead of their time either is a happy coincidence or is evidence of the revelation of truth by God.
You said:
It isn't terribly complicated; Paul says that when Jesus returns, "the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call andd with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; and then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the air...."To which I say, hear-hear.A legal scholar would view the coming of the Lord, with the angels and the trumpets, as a condition precendent to the raising of those "asleep in Christ" and those still alive, who are merely those that haven't fallen asleep in Christ. A condition precedent must occur first. He will return, then we will be taken into His kingdom.
I don't know your position in regards to the idea of the Rapture, or resurrection of the living, but I applaud your preparation for oppression by the demonic. I also applaud your effort to be watchful, and your anticipation of future reward.
Likewise, no matter how we would view eschatology, and there are many conflicting views, we should not allow those views to divide our focus on Christ Jesus' saving power for each of us personally.