Mathew 24:40-42: “Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (ESV – all emphasis is mine).
In John 14:3, Jesus states: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also.”
The above verses speak of our Savior coming back to take His flock off this earth to be with Him in Heaven. This would not be His actual return to rule for 1,000 years in Jerusalem at the end of the 7-year tribulation, but an action that occurs prior to the actual appearance of the ultimate evil antichrist and his false prophet.
Our Heavenly Father promised that true believers would not go through the wrath/tribulation, but would be removed prior to that time. This is noted in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, and Revelation 3:10.
In numerous verses in the Bible, we’re told that when a person receives and accepts Jesus as their Savior, the Holy Spirit would come and live within them. John 14:16-17: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
Another verse is John 15:26: “But when the Helper comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.”
In 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7, Paul tells us that the lawless one, or antichrist, is being held back by a “Restrainer,” and cannot appear until that “Restrainer” is taken out of the way. The only one that could hold back Satan’s ultimate evil one would have to be a part of the Triune Godhead, which consists of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When that Restrainer, or Holy Spirit, is taken out of the way, all whom He indwells would have to be removed as well. This removal is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. All who were in God’s will prior to Calvary, and all who received and accepted Jesus from Calvary on, would be in that “taking up” or “Rapture” to meet Jesus in the air and to be with Him forever.
All who are still alive at this Rapture who do not have Jesus as their Savior will be left behind to face the worst 7 years this earth will ever experience. It will start out with the appearance of a person who initially seems to be reasonable and has answers for all problems. As time progresses, a mark of loyalty will be required to be on one’s forehead or hand.
All who receive that mark are actually pledging allegiance to the antichrist, and ultimately to Satan. All who refuse the mark will be subject to being martyred. Receiving the mark is the second unforgivable sin. The first is to pass from this earth without having Jesus as your Savior.
At the end of our Savior’s thousand-year reign on earth, Satan will be released from a bottomless pit where he had been bound and tossed into from the time of the end of the tribulation/wrath (Revelation 20).
Satan will be allowed to gather a massive army to attack Jerusalem, but the battle will be over before it can really begin. Revelation 20:9 states that fire would come down from Heaven and consume the devil’s army. He then would be cast into the lake of fire where the antichrist and false prophet had been from the time of the end of the wrath, and they will be “tormented night and day forever.”
As for all humans who were on this earth from the beginning and up to the final judgments, there are only two paths available. One is an eternal Heavenly Home with our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. The other is the lake of fire forever with Satan and all his demons.
There are false prophets who are proclaiming there are many ways to heaven. Our Savior knew this would take place and told of the only two roads available in Matthew 7:13-14. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”
The hard part about the narrow path is believing that it is not more complicated. The easiest way is to accept Satan’s lies and to question anything that has to do with Salvation. His question to Adam and Eve is still here; “Did God Really Say?” (Genesis 3:1) At that time, it was only about eating the fruit from one tree, but today it refers to our complete lifestyle.
God’s instruction to Adam and Eve was that they could eat from any tree except one. If only they had resisted Satan’s temptation, our world would be totally different today.
For all the “many ways” people try to add to or subtract from our plan of Salvation, in Romans 10:9-13, we’re given simple steps to eternal life with our Savior.
First, we must admit or confess that we’re sinners. For anyone who tries to deny this, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23 agree that “All have sinned.” God knows that this will be so as long as we’re in these human bodies and gives us the way to forgiveness in 1 John 1:8-10.
We must believe that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, and that His sacrifice was for everyone who will receive and accept Him. Therefore, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
There are no special works or donations that will earn or buy our Salvation as stated in Ephesians 2:8-9. To try to add to or take away from the Father’s word is the same as calling Him a liar. This is the predicament that the false prophets and antichrists will find themselves in at their final judgment.
The Great White Throne Judgment is found in Revelation 20:11-15. No one at this Judgment will escape the lake of fire.
The Judgment Seat of Christ is found in 2 Corinthians 5:10. At this Judgment, rewards will be won or lost, but the final outcome is still eternity with our Lord and Savior in Heaven.
All the events taking place around the world today are rapidly leading to the end of this era. The next biblical event would be the Rapture, which opens the path for the antichrist to come out and start the tribulation/wrath.
Now is not the time to delay in accepting Jesus as your Savior. As 2 Peter 3:9 states, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
There will come a time when the Father will say, “Enough!” and will send His Son to call His flock up to meet Him in the air. Then the tribulation will officially begin. The best action is to have already received and accepted Jesus as Savior before that happens. Once the Rapture starts, it will be over in the twinkling of an eye, which is faster than anyone can call out to be saved.
The choice is up to each person, and the Father will force no one either way. Satan’s greatest hope is that everyone will put their decision off until later.
Eternity is absolutely a very long time, and forever in Heaven totally beats forever in hell. Your decision; your choice. Hope to see you at Home when the Trumpet of God sounds and there‘s a shout from an archangel. (1 Corinthians 4:16)
Come, Lord Jesus!