All answers and opinions are welcome.

[not your typical...]

Ok, so recently at my church, there's be the discussion of tribulation.  Of course it seen the one thing almost every Christian can agree on is that it's coming soon. But the big discrepancy is whether the Rapture will come before or after it. I guess my real question(s) is/are:
1. How/why do you think the world will end? (If you don't believe in the world ending, I beg of you, please do share.
2. If you believe in Rapture/Tribulation what's you're stand point on it? Which do you think will come first? Why? Where do you feel it states that in Scripture?
3. If you don't believe in R/T, what do you believe? (This can be anything ranging in the sun exploding and the population being wiped out like the dinosaurs, to the zombie apocalypse. Anything goes.) What makes you believe this? Is there any proof?
4. What would be your time gauge of when the world will end? (For Christians, how soon is soon really?)
Thanks in advance for all the interesting answers.

[hismikeness]

1. If by the world you mean when will the physical structure of the Earth no longer exist, then that is when the sun eats it in several million years. Although, as the sun expands, there is theories that the Sun's gravity will be reduced, thereby allowing the orbit of the Earth to slip farther and farther away, perhaps avoiding a fiery death. Life, or more precisely human life, may be gone well before then.

2. Nope. No rapture or tribulation... though I will sell you rapture insurance! Just 50 bucks a month, and you'll be paid comfortably in case you aren't taken immediatley in the event of the rapture. 

3. What do I believe as far as what? When human life will end?... Perhaps we'll nuclear war ourselves, but that seems more and more unlikely. Maybe a super plague wipes everyone out. Maybe a climate catastrophe. Probably an asteroid sometime in the future will sterilize the planet except for the smallest of critters and let everything just start over.

4. How soon is soon? Well, it's been the beginning of the end for about 2000 years now. And that's just the beginning. Who knows how many "stages" of the end there is, or if this beginning stage is even over yet? We probably have a while yet. 

I'd suggest paying it no more mind.

[Davin]

Ok, so recently at my church, there's be the discussion of tribulation.   Of course it seen the one thing almost every Christian can agree on is that it's coming soon. But the big discrepancy is whether the Rapture will come before or after it. I guess my real question(s) is/are:
1. How/why do you think the world will end? (If you don't believe in the world ending, I beg of you, please do share.

From what I've studied, my bet is on the Sol eating the Earth in a few billion.

2. If you believe in Rapture/Tribulation what's you're stand point on it? Which do you think will come first? Why? Where do you feel it states that in Scripture?
3. If you don't believe in R/T, what do you believe? (This can be anything ranging in the sun exploding and the population being wiped out like the dinosaurs, to the zombie apocalypse. Anything goes.) What makes you believe this? Is there any proof?

We know that when suns get old, they get fatter, the Earth is pretty close to our sun, so based on gravity and how we think suns work, the Earth will likely be consumed by sol.

4. What would be your time gauge of when the world will end? (For Christians, how soon is soon really?)
Thanks in advance for all the interesting answers.

I'm pretty sure the sun has at least another billion years in it before we have to trade in for a new model.

[not your typical...]

I'm pretty sure the sun has at least another billion years in it before we have to trade in for a new model.

What about the 2012 theory? I heard that's when the el Sol is supposed to devour our solar system.

[Davin]

I'm pretty sure the sun has at least another billion years in it before we have to trade in for a new model.

What about the 2012 theory? I heard that's when the el Sol is supposed to devour our solar system.

lol, which one? My ex was big on getting scurred by that nonsense, so I'm pretty sure I can disprove every one of them.

[OldGit]

If you watch TV news over here, you get the impression that it's going to end in about 3 days.  But in fact, they're only talking about the EU and the Euro.
In spite of what our liberal élite believe, the planet itself will manage to carry on for a while after the Euro collapses.

[not your typical...]

In spite of what our liberal élite believe, the planet itself will manage to carry on for a while after the Euro collapses.

Well that's a new way to think about it. Can't say I've heard that view point before.

[Recusant]

Ok, so recently at my church, there's be the discussion of tribulation.   Of course it seen the one thing almost every Christian can agree on is that it's coming soon. But the big discrepancy is whether the Rapture will come before or after it.

I question the assertion that "almost every Christian" agrees that the "Tribulation" is "coming soon." I was unaware that the Catholics, for instance, or the Episcopalians, or Lutherans, or Methodists, etc. were of that opinion. Are you saying that none of those denominations are Christian?

1. How/why do you think the world will end? (If you don't believe in the world ending, I beg of you, please do share.

I agree with previous answers which state that the world will most likely end when the sun eventually reaches the red giant stage of development, though there might be some sort of cinder left even then.

2. If you believe in Rapture/Tribulation what's you're stand point on it? Which do you think will come first? Why? Where do you feel it states that in Scripture?

N/A: I don't believe in any Biblical prophecy, let alone "Rapture," which is considered a non-Biblical doctrine by many Christians. The "Tribulation" is part of a prophecy attributed to Jesus in Matthew 24, but Jesus also supposedly said that "this generation shall not pass" before "all these things be fulfilled." So it would seem that the most charitable interpretation would be that he wasn't speaking clearly, but in a metaphorical sense. If that's the case, then the whole "Tribulation" prophecy may be metaphorical as well. I'm not inclined to a charitable interpretation. The generation he supposedly was speaking to is long dead, and anything he said about his return is invalid, including any prophecy of "tribulation."

3. If you don't believe in R/T, what do you believe? (This can be anything ranging in the sun exploding and the population being wiped out like the dinosaurs, to the zombie apocalypse. Anything goes.) What makes you believe this? Is there any proof?

The sequence of stellar development is fairly well understood by astro-physicists. There seems little reason to doubt that they are correct in their predictions of how our sun will develop in the future.

4. What would be your time gauge of when the world will end? (For Christians, how soon is soon really?)
Thanks in advance for all the interesting answers.

Billions of years from now. It's possible that human life on the planet will have ended sooner than that, but I make no predictions for how or when.

[not your typical...]

I question the assertion that "almost every Christian" agrees that the "Tribulation" is "coming soon." I was unaware that the Catholics, for instance, or the Episcopalians, or Lutherans, or Methodists, etc. were of that opinion. Are you saying that none of those denominations are Christian?

Maybe I should have clarified that a bit better. I'm non-denominational Christian, so when I say Christian, I'm really referring to anyone who shares Christian faith and beliefs.

[Recusant]

I question the assertion that "almost every Christian" agrees that the "Tribulation" is "coming soon." I was unaware that the Catholics, for instance, or the Episcopalians, or Lutherans, or Methodists, etc. were of that opinion. Are you saying that none of those denominations are Christian?

Maybe I should have clarified that a bit better. I'm non-denominational Christian, so when I say Christian, I'm really referring to anyone who shares Christian faith and beliefs.

In that case do you have any evidence that "almost every Christian" agrees that the "Tribulation" is "coming soon"? From what I can tell, that is a belief which is associated with Pentecostals and many of the fundamentalist evangelical denominations, and is not something that "almost every Christian" subscribes to.

[not your typical...]

In that case do you have any evidence that "almost every Christian" agrees that the "Tribulation" is "coming soon"? From what I can tell, that is a belief which is associated with Pentecostals and many of the fundamentalist evangelical denominations, and is not something that "almost every Christian" subscribes to.

Over the past 3 years, I've been to Baptist, Methodist, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Catholic, non-denom, Evangelical, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Anglican, Congregational, and Calvinist churches an all of which have claimed the same.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

In that case do you have any evidence that "almost every Christian" agrees that the "Tribulation" is "coming soon"? From what I can tell, that is a belief which is associated with Pentecostals and many of the fundamentalist evangelical denominations, and is not something that "almost every Christian" subscribes to.

Over the past 3 years, I've been to Baptist, Methodist, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Catholic, non-denom, Evangelical, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Anglican, Congregational, and Calvinist churches an all of which have claimed the same.

I used to be into this stuff, but now find it less than interesting. Nobody knows what is going to happen in the future.  Just watch and see.

[not your typical...]

I used to be into this stuff, but now find it less than interesting. Nobody knows what is going to happen in the future.  Just watch and see.

Shhh. Don't say that. I need more responses. I have a question that really bugs me about believers who say that tribulation will come before the Rapture...

[Norfolk And Chance]

Ok, so recently at my church, there's be the discussion of tribulation.  Of course it seen the one thing almost every Christian can agree on is that it's coming soon. But the big discrepancy is whether the Rapture will come before or after it. I guess my real question(s) is/are:
1. How/why do you think the world will end? (If you don't believe in the world ending, I beg of you, please do share.

The world will definitely end when the sun enters the red giant phase. On another note, I can't see how humanity will last another 100 years based on population growth rates. Something will have to give somewhere and soon. Does god need to be involved? No.

2. If you believe in Rapture/Tribulation what's you're stand point on it? Which do you think will come first? Why? Where do you feel it states that in Scripture?

No atheists believe in rapture so surely this is a moot point.

3. If you don't believe in R/T, what do you believe? (This can be anything ranging in the sun exploding and the population being wiped out like the dinosaurs, to the zombie apocalypse. Anything goes.) What makes you believe this? Is there any proof?

I don't believe anything. I know what I know, and disbelieve other stuff. I guess we might implode as a species but that's not a belief because I accept we might not.

4. What would be your time gauge of when the world will end? (For Christians, how soon is soon really?)
Thanks in advance for all the interesting answers.

For sure, in roughly 900 million years Earth will be too hot to live on as the sun increases luminosity. The sun will then expand over the next couple of billion years and possibly engulf Earth. The death of Earth is utterly certain within a maximum range of 5 billion years.

It is possible we will exterminate ourselves long before the certain end date, you can predict how, why, maybe when, but you cannot believe it as true, only as a possibility.

[not your typical...]

I don't believe anything. I know what I know, and disbelieve other stuff.

You are very strong in your, err... anti-faith, I guess. Might I ask what caused this, or we're you just born knowing that there is no God.