When persecution comes, will they say; We could have stopped it.

You see, if our popular pre-tribulation rapture view is wrong, as I'm beginning to suspect, everything changes. Suddenly, we become responsible again. Let me explain.

Jesus warned His disciples -- and I believe us -- to stay alert for His second coming. Jesus said:

Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will (Matthew 24:42-44 New American Standard Bible).

But, this isn't what the popular view suggests to us. You see, when you think about it, according to the popular view we don't have to be alert. Why? Because, if we're saved, we won't be here to see any of the end-times events. We'll be raptured out of here before they occur.

Some may argue that we must be ready for the rapture. But, why? The popular view also teaches eternal security. And when you add the doctrine of eternal security to the pre-tribulation doctrine, there remains no reason for Christians to stay alert for anything. We'll all be taken out of here anyway -- why bother.

Now don't get me wrong. I still lean in the direction of eternal security. I'm only trying to make a point. Logically speaking, the two doctrines -- eternal security and pre-tribulation rapture -- can't both be valid in light of Jesus' many warnings for us to say alert. In my opinion, at least one of these doctrines must be wrong. And, I'm beginning to think it's the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine.

And this brings us to my concern: As you know, FulfilledProphecy.com has been reporting the news our leading evangelical leaders have been mostly ignoring. And some of these evangelical leaders are so popular they visit the White House and discuss the Bible -- and even perhaps prophecy -- with many important world leaders. In other words, today's leading evangelical leaders could actually influence world events if they so desired.

Yet as I write, I'm still one of the few voices I'm aware of who is reporting the recent events in Europe as possible filfillments of prophecy and the beginning of the final end-times events of this age. Why? I believe it's because most of our evangelical leaders don't take Jesus' warnings to stay alert seriously anymore. After all, we all will be raptured -- there's nothing to worry about.

And when the persecution comes, will these leaders say;

We could have stopped it.