You raise intriguing points. My thing is, what if the rapture was never meant to happen, what if it's not real and we have been deceived by the false churches out there about a pre-tribulation rapture that will whisk God's believers away up into Heaven (even though the Bible explicitly states that no man goes to Heaven, and so many don't even realize the Bible says this though)? People quote where it says that 2 will be in the field, one taken and another left, or in a house and one taken and another left. But this is very simply speaking of how quickly and like a thief in the night their destruction comes upon them, and also how Jesus Christ comes to them. The point at the end of those passages is to be ready and watchfull.

Another place often quoted it in the book of Revelation, in John's letter to the Church in Philadelphia, whereby he says that God will save them from the hour of trial. This doesn't mean a rapturing into Heaven before the tribulation happens. Can't it mean that they are saved from the trial because they have already been sealed and they won't have the same kind of trial that others have to come to repentence of their ways, because those whom God has sealed have already had their walk of salvation, they have reached their part of their spiritual development where God can look upon them and say, "Now I know you." God won't be rapturing them away into Heaven (especially since Jesus Christ himself stated that no man goes to Heaven, and then later on Peter said something very similar also), but rather they are being spared fro mthe trial because they have already had their trial, and even if they should die in the tribulation, they will be resurrected when Jesus Christ returns near the very ending of the tribulation, so they are already saved (those whom have been sealed).

Most Christians believe that God is working to save the World right now, but this is such a falsehood. Don't you think that if God and Jesus Christ were desperately trying to save the World that they are doing such a piss-poor job of this? No, they aren't trying to save the World right now, and they know the World wouldn't listen anyhow, which is WHY such massive death and destruction MUST come upon all of mankind, because mankind will not listen in any other manner. If Jesus Christ were to return right now to this Earth, we wouldn't listen to him like we think that we would. Christians would probably be so psyched and in such a state of euphoria that they will listen for a few years, but after a while they will say that maybe he really truly isn't from God since it conflicts with so many of their stubbornly long-held beliefs, and really they will see Jesus Christ as hindering them, seeing a lack of freedom of doing whatever they want whenever they want as being not from God because they believe that freedom is what God is all about, when it's not. God is not about freedom, God is about love, and God's Law shows us how to love God as well as how to love our fellow human-beings, but yet not even most Christians want to acknowledge this, they just simply say that God's Law was done away with, was nailed to the cross, when it never ever was done away with. This World was shown God's ways for thousands of years and it has always been rejected, and they have reject those whom God sends.

God doesn't view death in the same manner that we do, especially since He knows that all human-beings will be resurrected at a later point in time. Most people can't see the mercy in death, but death can really truly be very mercifull because what if it's better for us that we don't have to live in this wretched body and life and World any longer, only to be resurrected at a later point in time during a time when this World is a much MUCH better World to live in (the Great White Throne period after Jesus Christ has been ruling in God's Kingdoms on this Earth for a thousand years). Most Christians believe that God's Kingdom is in Heaven, or in our hearts, but yet they never want to quote the Bible as saying that Jesus Christ will be ruling the nations with a rod of iron. How can he rule anything from up in Heaven when the Earth and everybody in it is destroyed on down below? Jesus Christ isn't ruling over the few 144,000 chosen over 6,000 years, no, they don't have to be ruled over because they're already living God's ways. It is the rest of mankind whom have to be ruled over with God's Kingdom. It's amazing to me that most Christian churches are not teaching that Jesus Christ was annointed to be a King OVER US, to rule over us, upon this Earth.

But anyhow, all of this massive death and destruction is absolutely necessary because there is no other manner of bringing man to his knees, to become of a meek and teachable spirit, to finally genuinely desire to listen to the truths of God, which wouldn't happen if Jesus Christ just returned to this Earth right now today or tomorrow. We would still desire to hold onto our current ways of living our lives. The awesome thing is that God can give very great favour to those whom begin believing and repenting, and those will be surviving on into a new age of peace and prosperity. The name Jerusalem means the way of peace, and the name Babylon means the way of confusion. Jerusalem and Babylon greatly oppose each other, they are the diametri opposite of each other. In the book of Revelation where it talks about that great city of Babylon having fallen and then merchants of the Earth mourning this loss of Babylon, it's speaking of all of those whom mourn the loss of their old system, their old way of thinking, their old markets of greed and lust and strife. They will be mourning the loss of the old way because they see it dying.

Aaron