The RaptureWhat is it?
The Rapture is the next prophetic event to happen;
this is not the end of the world, but involves the removal of the Church and the Holy
Spirit from the earth. All true Christians both living and dead will be given immortal
bodies and will be snatched up to heaven by Jesus (see I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I
Corinthians 15:51-52). Why didn't he take me?If you’re reading this after the Rapture happens, All those who have put their faith in Christ have been raptured. Those who haven’t will remain behind. God has given everyone the same chance. Those who remain behind are those who did not make that choice – either because they rejected God, or because they put off the decision until later.What Now?Well if you’ve been left behind, the most important thing to do is to repent and turn back to God, it’s late, but it’s not too late; the Bible says that after the rapture there are going to be multitudes of people turning to God (Revelation 7:9). If you still have access to squeakyjesus.org you might like to read Becoming a Christian for more information on this. You need to ask God to forgive your sins and ask him for a new relationship. Life will not be easy for you as a Christian in a post-rapture world, but this is far preferable to an eternity in hell because you opted for the easier life and took the mark of the beast, therefore aligning yourself with the Devil.To become a Christian you first need to repent; you have sinned in your life, and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 3:23 and 6:23) unless you are forgiven by God; forgiveness is free to all those who ask. You need to accept this forgiveness – God gives freely to all who will accept (Romans 10:13). There is no alternative to this (John 14:6) and no time to lose (John 3:18). You can become a Christian now by praying something like this: Jesus, forgive me. I have sinned and I have not believed in you. I’m sorry for all that I have done wrong, and for not trusting you. Please Jesus, accept my prayer. I know that you died for me, to save me from my sins. I accept your sacrifice; help me to turn away from my sins and to follow you. Come into my life and be with me forever. Thankyou for saving me. Amen. Once you are a Christian you will need to be very careful. Just because someone appears to be Christian and trustworthy does not mean they are. The world will be turned upside down after the rapture. Evil will proliferate. Be wary of everyone. Test what people say. This is why it is very important to be familiar with God through reading the Bible. Do not be led astray by false teachers who may even have been respected as Christian leaders before the rapture. Anyone who is left behind was not a Christian at the time of the rapture, otherwise they would have been taken. If you have been left behind times are going to be hard. The world has never experienced such times of violent upheaval and presence of evil before. There is no middle ground. You are either Christian or not, saved or not. In the coming days, weeks and months you will be made to choose between God and the Devil. Not choosing God will mean by default you belong to the Devil. Once you have become a Christian the best thing you can do is get a Bible and read it regularly. Memorise as much as you can. This way you will keep in touch with God’s word, wherever you are. Pray and spend time with God as much as possible. This will give you strength and comfort when things are too much. On a physical level, get as much non-perishable food together as you can, collect blankets and survival gear and go somewhere where you can be alone. There will come a time when it will be difficult to trust people, and the Antichrist’s influence will be global. Don’t think of trying to get help from armed forces or the police, they will eventually all be controlled by the Antichrist. Tribulation ConditionsThe tribulation is so named because during this time there will be an unprecedented number of natural disasters occurring; for example earthquakes, meteor showers, giant hailstorms, vegetation and water supply damage (see Revelation 8-16) as well as war (Revelation 6). There will also be massive spiritual events; a great rejection of God and deception of millions of people, along with a proliferation of sexual immorality, witchcraft, violence and new age practices (Revelation 9). Also, there is to be a plague of locustlike demons who will persecute the unsaved (Revelation 9). On the positive side, God will help those who follow him; two witnesses will appear and preach for 3½ years in Jerusalem until their murder at the hands of the Antichrist (Revelation 11); God will put his seal of protection on 144,000 Jews who will spread the gospel all over the world (Revelation 7); Jews will find a safe place to escape the Antichrist in the desert. Some scholars believe that Petra will be the place Jews flee to for protection. The Antichrist will attempt to destroy them here, but his efforts will be thwarted (Revelation 12, 14-16).As well as serious natural disasters, there will be problems as the Antichrist seeks to take over the world; he will eventually force everyone to take the mark of the beast, perhaps a microchip under the skin or a tattoo; those who take the mark will be forced to worship the Antichrist as he sets himself up as a god to be worshipped (Revelation 13). During the tribulation, money will be cancelled in favour of a cashless payments system. This will mean that those who refuse to take the mark of the beast will therefore be unable to buy and sell, and will then find it hard to subsist. The downside to taking the mark is that by doing so, and aligning oneself with the Antichrist, that person will forfeit salvation and will be destined for hell when the final judgment occurs. The mark of the beast makes it clear who is for God, and who is for the devil. Those in positions of prestige and power after the rapture will be busy inventing theories to explain the sudden disappearance of millions of people, not least to explain why they have been left. The theories might be along the lines of UFOs or a New Age cleansing of the earth of troublemakers. The Antichrist will most likely appear immediately after the rapture. After the disappearance of millions, questions will be asked, and it is likely that the down to earth reasoning and explanations that the antichrist will offer will ensure that he becomes trusted by people and begins his bid for world domination from here. Expect him from some aspect of European politics. It is perfectly possible that he is involved in politics now, but the identity of the antichrist will not be made known until after the rapture of the Church. The Antichrist will come proclaiming peace, and the tribulation will be ushered in when he confirms a covenant with many – which most likely will be a covenant of peace. In effect, when the Antichrist takes over, the world will experience the most bloodshed war and violence that has ever occurred. Soon after the rapture, a quarter of the world’s population will be wiped out due to the onslaught of the first judgments detailed in Revelation, the seal judgments (see Revelation from chapter 6). The second half of the tribulation, often referred to as the Great Tribulation, differs from the first half in that for the first 3½ years, God is attempting to get people to repent; the second half is when God has given up on people and they see his wrath. This half is when the mark of the beast comes into being. This is the final chance people have to make a right decision. It is here that people must finally make a definite choice for or against God – rather than ending up doomed because they neglected to make the choice. Who is the AntiChrist?The Antichrist will belong to the people who destroyed the Jewish Temple in 70AD – these people were Romans. Therefore we are looking for the Antichrist to belong to the reformed Roman Empire, the European Union, which covers roughly the same land as the original empire.God will allow people to be deceived. He will only allow to be deceived those who want to be deceived. He will enable the antichrist and his minions to perform miraculous wonders to convince people to believe what they want to believe. A one-world government will be formed (see Psalm 2) and the world will be governed by the Antichrist (see Daniel 9). The tribulation will begin after the Antichrist signs a peace agreement (see Daniel 9:27; Isaiah 28:18; I Thessalonians 5:3); this period will last for 7 years and will culminate with the return of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24). Those living during the tribulation are warned to be alert for people trying to deceive them. Jesus warned that many would come in his name in an attempt to lead people astray (Matthew 24), at this time there will also be a great delusion, as those who have previously rejected God will fall for the wiles of the Antichrist in great numbers (II Thessalonians 2). Therefore, be aware that Jesus will return at the END of the Tribulation, not during it, and that at this time the world will fall under the domination of the Antichrist. During the tribulation, the Antichrist will suffer a fatal head wound – and will survive death. After this he will return, but be possessed by Satan (Revelation 13). The Antichrist’s sidekick, the False Prophet will direct people to worship the Antichrist, and will erect a statue of the Antichrist. The Antichrist will sit in the reconstructed Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and makes claims that he is God and is to be worshipped (see Matthew 24:15 and II Thessalonians 2). The False Prophet will be given power to perform miracles, but the power will be derived from satanic sources. He will be responsible for rounding up those who refuse to worship the Antichrist and murdering them. Believers in Christ will be beheaded. Jews also will be persecuted (Revelation 12, 13, 16.).Therefore it is important to be familiar with the Bible, to ensure that you are able to balance that which is happening around you with that which is prophesied in the Bible. God keeps his word, and can be trusted; be wary of anyone who claims to know the truth or who broadcast theories explaining how millions of people have disappeared from the face of the earth. At the end of seven years, Jesus will return. His second coming will be as conspicuous as his first coming went largely unnoticed. At the second coming, the sign of Jesus Christ will appear in the sky and it will be unavoidable (Matthew 24:30). At the battle of Armageddon, Jesus will return with his saints to fight the Antichrist and his global army (Revelation 19 and Matthew 24:27), but the battle will be won simply by Jesus speaking the truth; people will die as they stand, Jesus’ words will cause their flesh to rot, their eyeballs to rot and their tongues to rot (Revelation 19). What Happens Next?The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire, and the devil will be bound for a thousand years. During this thousand years, the earth will be restored to its Edenic state, and those who remain at the end of the tribulation will populate it.At the end of the Millennium, Jesus will sentence the Devil and he will be cast with his demons into the lake of fire forever. This is also the destination of the unsaved. God gives us the choice; we can turn to him or away from him. He will not force himself on us. We are to choose. Believers will be judged according to how they have conducted their lives; crowns will be awarded for various deeds. These crowns will then be presented to Jesus (Revelation 4:10). The crowns are: After the devil and his demons and followers have been consigned to hell, a new heaven and a new earth will come into being and a new Jerusalem will be populated by Jesus’ followers (Revelation 21). In short, if you're left behind: |
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