Wasn't it Paul who taught, behold I shew you a mystery?! Could the advance warning also be a mystery!? In any event the theme of this thread is to point to what the Lord has done in the past, and to reveal His heart to the saints of God! Again, I am not preaching this as gospel, but rather an I wouldn't be surprised moment! TR I can see how Paul was looking for the rapture during his time since the early church was being persecuted. Plus I don’t think the entire Bible was completed ... or was the book of Revelation available to the early church? And if it were ... would the early church even be able to understand it fully like we do today since it requires electronics, nuclear war, etc. all this would have been foreign to them to comprehend. I absolutely hope y'all are right about a warning. Tenderreed, you made a connection that I did not think about. Yes, the world will be utterly shocked and devastated by the rapture, but that doesn't mean that we won't receive a sign. I am not sure why I had it fixed in my head that it was one or the other. True, Sodom & Gomorrah were shocked (though not for long) by God's judgment, but Lot was warned and snatched from danger. The world was shocked by the flood (though they were warned and mocked that warning - sound familiar), no doubt, but Noah and his family were warned over 100 years before it would occur... hmmm... today of all days, I do need that hope that we will somehow know soon that Jesus is about to call us home.
