I have followed Hal Lindsey, but you may want to try reading some alternate views of Hank Hannegraaf, who does the "Bible Answerman" on radio and has several good books. Hannegraaf can be considered as a modern partial preterist, and I respect him for that, and I also think that he gives a lot more straightforward answers from the Bible than Hal Lindsey.

I've studied the book of Revelation many times, and no matter what your viewpoint is (futurist, preterist, pre-tribulation rapture, post-tribulation rapture, etc.) there is no study that fits a particular viewpoint. The main question that I feel remains to be answered is, "Where are we in Revelation?" (that is, where are we on the timeline of Revelation--what prophecies have been fulfilled and which are to come).

this is such an eye-opener, I wish more people would take this more seriously...

Mr. Michels thank you for your comments, I think that opposing views are more then welcome. It is my belief that we are the LAST CHURCH mentioned in Revelation 3 verses 14 thru 18 and they say:And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Verse 14 describes the church of today to a 'T'. We are neither hot nor cold. We are rich in monetary value; but poor, blind, and wretched in the eyes of God. We literally make him sick! Chapter 4 of Revelation gives us just a 'glimpse' of the rapture; and what the redeemed will see in heaven once we are there.

Debbie, sorry i didnt see your comments til now; but hopefully this as answered your questions too.

I recently got through reading "The Apocalypse Code" by Hank Hannegraaff. While I don't necessarily agree with all of his conclusions, I think he sets down a very orderly, logical method whereby all believers should examine Biblical truths and prophecies. He coins the term "exegetical eschatology" which basically says we should examine, among other things, when was the prophecy written, to whom it was written, and whether the wording or imagery has any special meanings. He raises some interesting things I never thought about, such as when Jesus mentions coming "in" the clouds vs. coming "with" the clouds vs coming "on" the clouds. These phrases hearken back to OT imagery and they had very specific meaning, especially to those in Jesus' day. I recommend the book to anyone wanting to try this methodology to examine prophecy.

Thank God he warned us all and the Church won't be here for this horrific time. Thank God it's close...

One thing Hank Hannegraaff covers is the ideas of a pre-tribulation rapture vs. maybe post-tribulation (or mid). Consider the popular belief that Jesus will rapture the church before the period of tribulation. I'm not sure why, but this idea starts to fall apart when it is developed by people like Tim LaHaye in his Left Behind series. They argue that in order for evil (the antichrist) to be 'unrestrained' is for the Holy Spirit to be removed (the Holy Spirit restrains evil while here on earth, and dwells in the hearts of true believers). The Holy Spirit is also the reason that unbelievers are convicted and brought to a point of repentance and salvation. If the true believers are raptured before the tribulation, then by the absence of the Holy Spirit, none during the tribulation can be saved, although Tim LaHaye infers that this will happen (makes a good story). In addition, this also means that God is further extending his offer of salvation to people even after the rapture, which doesn't make sense to me. This also creates future situations like the true believers, who were raptured, returning in a glorified body, AND on earth there are believers who have not been given a glorified body because they have been on earth all that time.

What makes sense to me more than a pre-tribulation rapture is a post-tribulation rapture. While that belief says that God would allow his people to endure hardship, I think that a period of tribulation will separate the true believers from the non-believers, plus when we are raptured, we will all be raptured at once. The exact wording in the original text concerning the rapture is indicative of a meeting with Jesus in the air, followed immediately by a return to earth to join in the battle and pave the way for the 1000 yr reign of Christ.

I seriously invite every Christian, every believer to examine what they believe and why they believe it. In the last few years I have started to see a lot of churches (conservative ones too) develop dogmatic assertions that are based on isegetical arm-waving.

There are people who will disagree with my position or your position, but we should remember that prophecy doesn't tell us exactly what will happen. In the OT period you had lots of prophecies where the Jews were told again and again how, when, where the Messiah would arrive. They obviously developed many different philosophies because some believed Jesus when he did arrive, and some didn't. Most of the pharisees of that day were formed their own assumptions based on what they thought would happen. In modern times, and hindsight being 20/20, we all wonder how they could have been so wrong and didn't believe the Messiah when he appeared.

When the rapture comes, and it will, I am confident that the prophecies will all come together. It may a pre-trib rapture or a post-trib, or something in between, but I for one want to base what I know or conclude from careful reading of the Bible, at the same time considering all of the relevant factors of prophecy, such as when it was written, to whom it was addressed, the imagery, the original language used, etc.

I, too, wish the same thing....