Every day I hear preachers talking about the "second coming" and the "rapture" of the church...telling their congregations there's no need to prepare, God is going to remove them before the really bad stuff happens.  

It's another "feel good" sound bite that fills the pews and collection plates, but is it true?  Not according to Scripture.

The Bible is clear, there will be a thousand years of peace on earth before the "end" (Revelation 20:5 and others).  The end is coming, but it's not the end of the world; just the end of the world as we know it, and the beginning of a new world...where every knee bows and tongue proclaims that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).  

If you recall the story of Noah...God removed the unrighteous from the earth, not the righteous.  Noah remained to begin again.  If Noah hadn't obeyed God and built an Ark, he would have perished with the rest of the world.

Preachers point to "the one taken from the field" (Matthew 24:40) as evidence that God is going to rapture the good people to heaven...but no where does the scripture indicate the one taken is the "good" guy; he could just as easily be the "bad" guy.

Do not be deceived: "The meek shall inherit the earth." The wicked, evil and unrepentant will be removed; "just as it was in the days of Noe." (Matthew 24:37)