Hello again, everybody.
I have to disagree about the Rapture. I know many Christians want to believe that we will be lifted out of the world before the Tribulation when all of the chaos and such occurs.
I don't think we will. I think we're gonna be right here in the middle of it all. If you look in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, tribulation is defined as:
"distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution; also: a trying experience"
So if tribulation means "suffering resulting from persecution" or "a trying experience", why on earth are the Christians gonna be excused from this? Who are the ones that are gonna be persecuted during all of this? Who are the ones that are gonna be tried?
The Christians are, of course! The Antichrist is gonna persecute the Christians with an iron fist. And a Christian's faith is truly gonna be tried/tested (without the mark, we won't be able to buy food or water, so a lot of us will starve, and some might be desperate enough to take the mark at that point)
And besides, if the Christians all leave the earth right when the Tribulation starts, who will help the people that are on the fence? (unbelievers that have yet to receive the mark)
A pre-Tribulation rapture doesn't make any sense to me.