I am VERY concerned about the prevalence of the teaching of this erroneous doctrine. Without intent to insult anyone, I believe this teaching is directly from the enemy as the result of it will keep people unprepared as we enter unbelievably bad times and will be forced to accept the mark of the beast just to survive. I believe this is represented in the parable of the 10 virgins, 5 of which had enough oil and the other 5 didn’t. The 5 without enough oil (provisions) expected Christ to come earlier than He was.
My family just left our church last week after 3 solid years of going twice on every Sunday because our preacher is teaching out of Revelations and believes in the early rapture. He told the congregation that he ‘wouldn’t necessarily call us heretics for not believing that, but that we’re ‘dead wrong”. It is causing us quite a bit of consternation but we don’t believe we should attend a church that believes such WRONG doctrine. It’s frightening.
Here's the main problem with this theory: If sincere believers are NOT raptured they will go along with anything because they figure that they'll be gone before things get too bad. Meanwhile they'll be like frogs in a pot...tolerating and accepting all kinds of things because they figure they would be gone if it really were bad.
When Jesus Christ does return it will be, paraphrasing Him, unmistakable. It will be no secret and nobody will be wondering what happened.
1 Thessalonians 4
13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I Corithians 15:
51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
To those pastors like this who insist on pushing the millennialist’s view of the book of Revelations my question is this, what is more: important spreading your theory on the way things end or spreading the gospel and seeing people saved?
If it is the former you have lost sight of what your Lord told you to do in spreading the Good News and have became entangled in religious dogma much like the pharisees and the law.