Eschatology?

the thought of eschatology scares me...

eschatology is the study of "end times", particularly christianized versions of the end of the world...there is a series of books - the Left Behind series that discusses the end of the world in a fictionalized, but purportedly biblical manner...
here's the short version:

1 - one day, soon...Jesus will rapture Christians (and children under age 12) - the day and time is unappointed so no one knows when it will occur - but that Christians must be ready
2 - after Christians are gone, the those left will go through a series of tribulation, war, poverty and sickness never seen before to mankind...all while Christians have been saved from this terror...
3 - then there's a big battle where Heaven fights Earth...
4 - the war ends...time ends, eternity begins...Jesus sends everyone that didn't believe in Him to hell...all christians (and children that were raptured up until age 12) live in heaven with Jesus for eternity peaceably...

now...i'm no expert on eschatology...

and i think you can ascertain that by this very horribly abbreviated and misconstrued listing above...but this is the summary of what i was taught as a youngster and what i believed wholeheartedly...this is also what is believed by evangelical christians, by and large...

so would it be wrong to pray against the rapture?

what i mean is this; i don't like the idea of people going through war, poverty, disease and death simply because they didn't follow Jesus...sounds very unChristian? i don't believe so...i just don't like the idea of people having to be punished for having different beliefs...i'm not one that believes in "total depravity" of humankind (that we are, at the core, depraved and incapable of doing good...) rather i believe in the humanity in each of us allows us to love in the face of adversity...(evidenced by how we help others selflessly in times of trouble - think 9/11)...

now...i'm a Christian...and i believe in the sacrifice that Christ made for the WORLD (not just Christians)...so, would i like to be in heaven chillin? certainly...but would i want to be there while the majority of humankind (since relatively few are "christian" the "right way" - cuz catholicism isn't seen as "christian" by some, etc) is on earth going through great heartache? hard as it is for me to even type this - no, i don't think i like the idea of being in heaven while most of our family (because we are ALL connected) is in trouble...just doesn't seem right to me, for some reason...

and...if Jesus is the "lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world" with the sacrifice (the horrible death - not the Passion of the Christ by Mel version either) he endured, why does humanity have to suffer a horrible death in order to know whom Christ is? just doesn't seem right to me...

and even if i were a rapturist (word i just made up) i've often discussed with my brother that i don't think it would happen any time in the near future...there is so much growth that even the Christian church must undergo before they could be ready to meet Jesus in peace...we're still full of strife, sexism, racism, classism and homophobia...we love war...the very thought of war makes us cling to God for dear life...many evangelicals are pushing war agendas with the belief that they are advancing the rapture...and ultimately, the demise of humanity...that just doesn't seem right to me...

i'm sorry for rambling...again...i just don't know what to think...