The rapture does take place in the twinkling of an eyue.
! Cor. 15 shows the speed of the change and Thesselonians speaks of the rapture. The dead are raised immortal and we which are alive are snatched up to meet the dead in the air and be with the Lord. The churches home is heaven as jesus said in John 14.
Yes Daniel saw the vision of the four great gentile kingdoms that reign until Jesus returns. No 1st century Rome is not the hereafter. The fourth great kingdom began with rome, but ends with the Antichrist defeated by the physical return of jesus. It is in the days of the ten kings that ally themselves with the antichrist that Jesus destroys the kingdoms . Verse 40-45 of Dan. 2
I don't see John raptured in the "come up hither" passage. Also in Rev. 4 John sees Jesus in His glory. Period. NOthng about Jesus right after His ascension. JOhn would not need to see a vision of this, He was an eyewitness of His ascension.
Nowhere in Scripture are angels called elders (excluding here which you say it is). Angels do not receive crowns- church folk do. there is debate about who these are. some say they represent the church. Some say 24 special church folk (12 apostles + some 12 others) or the 12 apostles and the 12 sons of Israel. I know the 12 apostles are told they would have thrones, but never angels. Also white raiment is always mentioned of the saints.
Well it is a rider singular. god is not a sloppy grammatician. If it was referring to any who would rule the world, God would have said riders.
Also we know that antichrist goes to war with three fo the ten kings in the end times and conquers them. As this is in the end times book, while it does not specifically say "Antichrist" the evidence is overwhelming for it to be him.
So you would exclude church martyrs from teh 2nd-21st Century? Where is your evidence.
Tribulation saints is a made up term. Just like church saints and OT saints. It simply defines the saints during different periods. OT saints have a different position in the millenial kingdom as do tribulation saints. The church was born at Pentecost when spirit baptism began and ends with the pre-tribulational rapture. So trib saints simply describes saints who get saved after the church is gone. Just like OT saints describes those saved before the church was born.
Even John the Ba[ptist knew He was not of the church (though he did not know what the church at that time) when He said he was just a friend of the bridegroom and not part of the bride.
Actiually the position you call common is very uncommon. I know very few dispensational eschatology believers who think that other than me. Most hod the six seals take place at the beginning of the last 7 years.
And no, the seals and trumpets and bowls are sequential and not concurrent. The 7th trumpet introduces the blowing of the 7 trumpets and the 7th trumpet intros the pouring of the seven vials. Once again God is not a sloppy inspirer to have John write this vision in a way that leads the vast majority of believing readers to see them as sequential. God is not into tricking believers with sly writing.
I had too many characters for one post, so I am answering your last paragraph here.
The gathering of the 6th bowl and the events of the 7th bowl are the most descriptive of the days before the millennial kingdom. These events are found 5 other times. 6 repetitions of concurrent events.
Compare Rev 16:16-21
Rev 16 And he
gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were
voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great
earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the
wine of the fierceness of his
wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great
hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
To Rev 6:14-17
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved (
earthquake) out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, (
gathered) hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne (
Rev 4:5 "out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices) and from the
wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
And to Rev 8:5
"And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were
voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an
earthquake."
And to Rev 11:18-19
18 And the nations were angry, and thy
wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were
lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an
earthquake, and great
hail.
And to Rev 14:19-20
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great
winepress of the
wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
And to Rev 19:15-21
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and
wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies,
gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
