The rapture of the church is coming. The Bible is very clear about that and, while it is very true that no one knows the day or the hour, there are sure signs of its approaching. Looking around us at events of the last 75 or so years, such as the rebirth of the nation of Israel, as well as more current events in the last 12 months, and there are indications that the rapture is closer than ever before. I’ve written about this previously, and if you’d like a refresher, please check out the link below:
In The Blink of An Eye
Today I am not focusing on the coming rapture itself but, rather, I want to draw a picture of what the events immediately following the rapture might look like. The Bible speaks of the horribleness of this time: “For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.” (Matthew 24:21-22) That is a grim outlook for sure, but since the Bible doesn’t give explicit details, drawing a picture of this future time requires a bit of the imagination. None-the-less, I think simple logic allows us to formulate a pretty good idea. So let’s dive in.
Zero hour: the rapture has just happened. Somewhere around 1.5 – 2 billion people, who were genuine Christ followers, just disappeared. Along with them, all children under the age of accountability are also missing. Gone in an instant. Among the missing are local and world leaders, doctors, pastors, pilots, taxi cab drivers, truck drivers, ship captains, military personnel, business leaders, police and emergency responders, and more. Since many of the people who just disappeared were actively driving trucks, cars, planes, and ships, we can be sure that in the seconds following the rapture there are massive automobile crashes, plane crashes, train wrecks, ships aimlessly adrift without their captains. Further, planes that haven’t yet crashed may be flying without a pilot in control, destined to crash when the fuel runs out. As you can imagine, these events happen all around the world, in copious numbers, almost simultaneously.
And there aren’t enough emergency responders, hospitals, doctors, nurses, etc. to handle the sudden influx of injured and dying. The chaos at this moment on a worldwide scale will be unimaginable. And not even an hour has passed since the rapture! With so many local and world leaders suddenly missing, confusion and chaos will reign to even the highest ranks of governments around the world. Countries will blame each other, they will not trust each other, and they will almost certainly go into the highest states of war readiness. Within just a few hours, certainly within 24 hours, the world will stand on the brink.
Meanwhile, theories about what really happened will swirl with a voracity never seen before. There will be those with some religious or Biblical knowledge who will possibly recognize the events as the rapture and subsequent beginning of the great tribulation, but many of them will deny it because they can’t imagine they were left behind. Governments will offer explanations in an effort to suppress the looming chaos. And as those explanations start to multiply, the world economy is already coming to a standstill as financial markets the world over crash, manufacturing all but ceases, prices skyrocket, and rationing is implemented. Massive, worldwide unemployment may be just a few days away.
In the coming days and weeks immediately following the rapture, the supply of food dwindles rapidly, and with dwindling resources among those now out of work; large scale, worldwide looting will erupt, overwhelming emergency responders already taxed to their limit. With military personnel throughout the world already on high alert, there will be few resources available to quell local tensions and tumult. Hungry people desperate for crucial supplies will begin to attack each other and many tens of thousands are likely to die in the ensuing civil unrest, that quickly reaches fever pitch, with riots and violence becoming the norm.
As local governments around the world are increasingly unable to handle the burgeoning crisis, mob rule starts to take root in some areas, whereas martial law may be the norm in others. Brutality will be increasingly common as the struggle to assume control facilitates the rise of competing factions. It hasn’t been 3 weeks since the rapture occurred, and already the world is a completely different place. Hostile and unyielding. The weaker begin to die off, either from lack of sustenance, or having been killed trying to fight for what they need. With all Christians gone, the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit is absent, so the lawlessness has reached levels never before seen on earth.
Over the next several months, the world becomes more and more merciless. Wives are raped in front of their husbands, husbands are tortured and killed in front of their wives. Governments impose ever more restrictive levels of control; consequences for disobedience become ever more dire. Corruption takes hold and new allegiances form. War has likely broken out in many parts of the world, with some nuclear weapons possibly already detonated. World power shifts occur rapidly, but with no real leadership, genocide may become commonplace. Chemical & germ warfare may very well be occurring. Suffering among people has reached inconceivable levels never seen or imagined before.
If you have ever watched the movie “Left Behind”, I can tell you that it in no way captured the true horror of this period in time. It will be far more ghastly than anything I can write here or any movie can portray. Mankind simply hasn’t experienced this level of utter upheaval in all of history. It is far, far beyond what we can truly imagine or communicate. This is why, if the Lord does not cut the time short, all mankind will simply die out. And it is in the midst of this anarchy that the antichrist will rise to power. People will be so desperate for a man with a plan that they will eagerly follow this power figure who emerges with such charisma and seeming peaceful intent.
Time and space do not allow me to dig into this much deeper, but hopefully I have fired your imagination to a degree with which you can see the agonizing reality that will be the great tribulation. While God will still be saving people during the tribulation period, I can assure you, this cruel and ghastly period in history is something you do not want to experience. And you are most likely not equipped to survive it, either. And even if you think you are, you may want to consider if your wife, brothers, sisters, friends, coworkers are. Because even if you do survive, you will almost certainly see many of those you know die. Quite possibly in brutal, violent, horrifying ways. As I stated, it will be a time of incomprehensible horror.
But for those who choose Christ now, it will be much different. We will not face God’s wrath. We will be raptured into perfect fellowship with our Savior. We will know peace and joy such as we cannot yet imagine here on Earth. And it is not too late for anyone to choose Christ. No one has sunk too low, or fallen too far, to be beyond the reach of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even in the great tribulation people will still be getting saved, but so much better to make that decision now. Just admit you are a sinner, accept his forgiveness, and follow him. God wants everyone to be saved and to know the truth (see 1 Timothy 2:3-4), his desire is for you!
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
To learn more about becoming a Christian, or if you just have questions, please check out KnowGod.org. Do it today, before it is too late. For the hour is getting late.
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Have you ever wondered to yourself, “Am I really a Christian”? Perhaps you recognize you have fallen for that same old sin once again or you’re just not sure there has been that much change in your life. Or maybe you feel you’ve been a Christian all your life but you are now beginning to question your salvation. Whatever may be the reason you have engaged in such self-reflection, I want to assure you it is a good thing!
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