Calvinism and the Antichrist

The new Left Behind movie has drawn a few comments from non-pretrib folk. I recall one popular activist some years ago spouting that pastors are negligent if they don't prepare their flock for "Antichrist's Great Tribulation."

More recently a five-point Calvinist borrowed from Pascal's Wager, remarking that if his view was wrong pretribs are OK. But if they do face the Antichrist, many could become susceptible to apostasy and lose everything.

I presume losing everything means becoming unsaved. How does Calvinism (TULIP) operate in concert with that concept?

For a brief rundown on Calvinism's TULIP system, see Got Questions' article: What is a Calvinist? Calvinist R. C. Sproul answers the question: Can a Christian Lose their Salvation? Read the Got Questions Version. See also The Threat of Apostasy and this on Hebrews 6. Note Paul Henebury's comment on the latter, and find his commentary on Hebrews HERE.

So the non-pretrib Calvinist evangelist must say something odd like this: 

"O, and by the way; you're predestined and eternally saved and can't lose your salvation; but you better prepare for the Antichrist or risk losing it (apostasy)."

The OSAS opponent might say: 

"You better prepare for the "Antichrist's Tribulation" or you'll (somehow) get confused after not being raptured and possibly take the Mark of the Beast, and lose your salvation."

I've asked how they prepare. It surely can't be that they merely expect to face the Antichrist. The lengthy equivocations never answer the question directly. They don't target postmils and amils, so one assumes these groups are somehow naturally prepared.

Both examples are self-exulting, divisive postures that seek to justify activist behavior and various non-pretrib ministries.

John Murray wrote,

If we prize our life (that is, our natural life) more than Christ's honor and will compromise his truth and glory rather than part with life, then we are not Christ's. That's the simple issue. We're not his if we will compromise truth and justice and honor in order to preserve our life in expense of God's glory. (The Cost of Discipleship)

The question ought to be: have you truly placed your faith in Christ now? Examine yourself. He is the One who keeps you.

Perseverance: Jesus will not lose any who have been given to him by the Father (John 6:38-39); he gives eternal life to them so they will never perish (John 3:16; 10:27-28), and those who leave the faith were never believers to begin with (1 John 2:19).

Additional thoughts: 

If you're a genuine Calvinist, you understand that God is sovereign in salvation. If that's the case, God is also the one who keeps a believer. For more on this see John MacArthur's "Ashamed of the Gospel," especially the chapter called "The Sovereignty of God in Salvation." See also J. I. Packer's "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God." 

God is sovereign in electing and preserving. No one can stand in their own preparation. The non-pretrib Calvinist's warning is disingenuous.