Rapture-Ready Remnant

As if to frame the entire set-up for how near we are to the last moment of this Church Age, the exodus of God’s chosen people from around the world back to their God-given land is suddenly in stark view.

The set-up includes all the eschatological stage-setting things—the issues and events we’ve pored over for many months—particularly the prophetic signals that have become manifest over these last few weeks. There can be no missing it for those whose eyes and ears are spiritually attuned to God’s Word regarding how things will be when this age is at an end.

Key among the signals is the world’s treatment of the Jews. Jesus gave the conditions that would eventuate when the time of His return at Armageddon nears:

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9).

Jesus was stating what will take place, full-blown, during the time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). This will come to pass in its most virulent manifestation during the second half of the seven-year Tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week).

However, it becomes more obvious with each passing hour that the nation Israel—and that includes all Jews worldwide—is in the crosshairs of satanic hatred. Anti-Semitism is on the rise, and not just in Europe or Germany as in Hitler’s day.

The effects this madness is having make it clear that one of the most profound reasons for the coming Tribulation era is right before our eyes. The Jewish people are at the beginning of the great drive to return to the Promised Land—whether knowingly or unwittingly.

By this, I mean that some Jewish scholars and others who believe God’s chosen people are prophetically scheduled to come into their God-given land see what is happening as prophetic fulfillment. They are wrong about Jesus Christ’s non-involvement, but they do believe that God gave Israel the Land of Promise and see the forced exodus from the nations of the world to that land as God’s hand in the matters involved.

The following excerpt from an in-depth article on Aliyah (a call upward to a synagogue or to Israel as homeland) frames this observation and shows just how near we must be to the Tribulation, thus to the Rapture:

With antisemitism surging worldwide, Israeli officials believe more Jews will opt to make Aliyah, but the path isn’t as easy as they think.

In December, when two gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more, Israel’s message to the global Jewish community was clear.

“Today, Jews are being hunted across the world,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in the aftermath of the massacre, calling on Jews in Australia, Britain, France, Canada, and Belgium to “come home” to Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the sentiment, urging Western governments to do more to protect Jewish citizens, while framing Israel as the only place where Jews could truly be safe.

Immigration action

Now the government appears to be backing up the words with action.

According to the Hebrew newspaper Makor Rishon, officials have begun advancing an emergency immigration plan called Aliyat HaTekuma, designed to fast-track the immigration process for those coming from countries experiencing a surge in antisemitism. (“Israel urges Diaspora Jews to come home, but will they?” Jerusalem Post, February 16, 2026)

Those who study Bible prophecy as it is meant to be studied–to be taken literally, unless otherwise directed by Scripture—know that most Jewish people alive at the end of the Church Age will return to God’s chosen land for them. Sadly, it won’t be a time of jubilation, but of great trouble, according to the Lord Jesus (Matthew 24:21).

From that regathering, God will bring out a remnant of people who will finally recognize their True Messiah, Jesus Christ. They will be rescued by the Lord Himself as He descends with the armies of Heaven to put an end to enemies at Armageddon (Revelation 19:11).

In the same sense, I’m convinced that God has gathered another remnant on this violent, Genesis 6-like present Earth. This remnant, I believe, consists of those who are saved by the matchless grace of the same Lord who will rescue the Jewish remnant of people who look to Him as He descends and who believe in Him (as given in John 14:6).

A considerably smaller group within the Christian remnant is those looking for Jesus to rescue them before that dark and terrible Day of the Lord begins, when the Tribulation is initiated by the confirming of the covenant of false peace by Antichrist.

(I want to make it clear that ALL who accept Christ for salvation will go to Him in the Rapture, not just those with the pre-Trib Rapture understanding of Bible prophecy.)

The even-smaller remnant–those of the pre-Trib Rapture belief—consists of those who hold to Christ’s promise that we won’t have to endure even one second of the Tribulation.

“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Revelation 3:10).  

You want to be part of this Age-of-Grace remnant—those who know Jesus Christ for salvation. You will thus not have to endure the terrible time of Tribulation that’s about to break upon a violent, unbelieving world that will become subject to Antichrist’s vicious reign. You will not have to suffer God’s Holy wrath that will rain down on sin and rebellion to bring out of that horrendous era that remnant of Jewish believers and all who will accept Christ during that most terrible time in human history.

The pre-Tribulation Rapture will, in the twinkling of an eye, take (paralambano) all believers in Jesus Christ into His presence in the clouds of Glory.

Here is how to make sure you are part of this present-day Christian remnant before the coming judgment and wrath of God:

“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

—Terry

Can It Get Any Worse?

I recently saw a video on social media that showed President Donald Trump playing in a professional-level hockey game dressed in his typical suit and tie. Everything else looked entirely realistic; he did all the things that a typical hockey player would do at a high level of competition. Of course, this AI-generated video wouldn’t fool many people today, at least I hope not. However, it clearly demonstrates AI’s ability to do just that, which is just another sign that we live in the last days before Jesus appears.

When it comes to the top prophetic indicators of our day, Israel’s existence comes first; it provides the context for all the other signs. Having said that, I would place deception near the top of the list. Twenty-five years ago, it might not have placed in the top ten, but now it’s everywhere we look.

It’s the First Sign Jesus Gave Us

When the disciples asked Jesus for signs pertaining to the “end of the age” and His Second Coming, the first words out of His mouth were these: “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:3-4). His words from long ago serve as a warning for the day in which we now live.

Paul wrote about antichrist’s lawlessness and deceitfulness in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12. Although he has not yet revealed his identity on the world stage, everything we see heralds his soon unveiling. If the apostle could write that “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work” back in his day, how much more so today? (see also John 4:3)

As such, we would expect his primary calling cards, lies and deceptions to increase just prior to the removal of the Restrainer, and that’s exactly what we now see.

The various applications of AI are able to generate any kind of reality one wishes to create. It can imitate voices such that people think they actually hear the voice of a celebrity. AI has the capability to create an identity and put that person so realistically in situations that those viewing the picture or video cannot tell the difference between the AI-generated person and those who belong in the picture.

The deception of our day goes far beyond AI and was around long before technology reached this level. I have no confidence in the mainstream media and never watch it. I trust very few politicians, and even among those I do, I don’t instantly believe everything they say. Years ago, the Psalmist wrote, “I said in my alarm, ‘All mankind are liars’” (Psalm 116:11). Are there not days when we think this way as well?

As a writer, I have several trusted sources for information. And I’m extremely careful to verify what I read and report from other sources, but even so, I have fallen for fake news more than once. As believers, we need discernment more than at any other time in the church age.

How Might Antichrist Add to the Deception We Already See?

With the advent of AI and the overwhelming deception from other sources, I sometimes wonder if it can get any worse. By the time antichrist arrives on the scene, most people will understand the capabilities of technology to create false realities, but many will succumb to his deception for a variety of reasons.

As I was thinking about this, I reread Revelation 13 and, in particular, verse 3, “One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.” For those not fooled by antichrist’s “smoke and mirrors” through technology, a miraculous healing will do the trick. I don’t think a mere recovery of a sword wound (v. 14) will convince the masses unless it’s severe enough to kill him, or at least gives the appearance of a fatal blow.

It’s evident that antichrist’s demonic powers, aided by AI, will deceive a great many people, but could the clincher for the doubters be his seeming resurrection from the dead? Dependent on what powers God allows Satan to have, it’s possible that the counterfeit messiah will die and come back to life, this time empowered all the more by Satan.

I think that answers my question; the deception of today will get worse and reach its zenith around the midpoint of the seven-year Tribulation.

The signs and wonders performed by antichrist, capped by a supernatural healing of a fatal wound, will become the impetus for worldwide worship and the taking of his mark without which people will not be able to buy and sell (Revelation 13:12-18).

For Israel, the moment of truth will come when the man of lawlessness defiles the temple. That’s the time they will recognize antichrist’s deceit and run, just as the Lord told them to do in Matthew 24:15ff. I’m also aware of 2 Thessalonians 2:11, which points to God’s role in causing many to believe and worship the antichrist, “Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false.”

As New Testament saints, we will not witness the beast’s treachery, which he will impose on the world, causing people to take his mark. We will already be safely in Heaven with Jesus.

But as we watch the world rapidly heading for this time, we know we live in the season of Jesus’ soon appearing.

Maranatha!!

-Jonathan