What will be the fate of those “left behind” after the rapture of the church, called the Body of Christ?

Answers to Bible Questions

Scriptures are from the KJV of the Bible

(Q)  What will be the fate of those “left behind” after the rapture of the church, called the Body of Christ?

 

(A)  Before answering this question I want to make it clear that no one needs to be left behind. Any and all who put their sincere faith, trust and belief in Christ Jesus their Lord and Savior will not be left behind. On the other hand, any and all who remain in unbelief up to the time of the rapture will be left behind. Remember, it will be your choice if you are left behind. It is your free will decision to make.

A short time after the rapture has taken place those left behind will enter into Daniel’s seventieth week, also known as the Tribulation. God divides the last seven years of human history into two equal parts. The first half is called “The Tribulation.” God named the second half, “The Great Tribulation.” God is reminding us that the second half of the seven year tribulation will be “much” worse than the first half.

“Tribulation” is the term used for the general era of God’s judgment on a rebellious world of earth-dwellers. It is a time that will begin with Antichrist signing a seven-year covenant guaranteeing Israel’s peace and security Daniel 9:27. This era is kicked off, symbolically, beginning with the first horseman of the Apocalypse, Revelation 6:1.

The “Great Tribulation” is considered to be the last three and one-half years of that seven-year period known as “Daniel’s seventieth week.” The last three and one-half years is called “the time of Jacob’s trouble” in Jeremiah 30:7, when God’s most horrific, but totally righteous, wrath is poured directly upon the rebels of planet Earth.

These judgments are portrayed and precisely outlined in Revelation, chapters 6 through 19. The Tribulation will end when Christ returns from heaven to defeat God’s enemies at the final battle of Armageddon and set up His millennial kingdom on earth Revelation 19:11-16.

All seven years of the tribulation are God’s Wrath, not Satan’s.  Some believe that the first three and one half years of the tribulation are Satan’s wrath, but nowhere in the Bible is that statement ever made. The idea that the first part of the tribulation is the Wrath of Satan comes from the King James Version of Revelation 12:12 where Satan is described as having great wrath because he’s been kicked out of heaven and knows he has only a short period of time to accomplish his goal of conquering Earth. His expulsion from heaven will happen at the beginning of the “Great” Tribulation, shortly before the Bowl judgments that complete God’s Wrath which are unleashed against him and his followers. So you see, Satan is not the author of this final series of judgments, and also he is not the author of the first part of the tribulation either. ALL SEVEN YEARS OF THE TRIBULATION ARE GOD’S WRATH.

It’s very important that you understand that NOTHING HAPPENS WITHOUT GOD’S PERMISSION. Satan can only do what God allows him to do. Any and all trouble that Satan causes now or during the tribulation is because God has given him permission to do so, Job 1:6-12: ⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. ⁷ And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. ⁸ And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? ⁹ Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? ¹⁰ Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. ¹¹ But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. ¹² And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Another place in the Bible that shows nothing happens without God’s permission is in II Thessalonians 2:6-7:  ⁶ And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Paul refers here to the Holy Spirit as the restraining force in this world, restricting the many little “antichrists” existing today, (see 1 John 2:18)  as well as the final Antichrist. In verse six quoted above the Holy Spirit is called  ketechon in the greek or “that (which) withholdeth.” This uses the neuter gender and corresponds to the phrase Pneuma in the greek for the “the Spirit,” which also is in the neuter in John 14:26. In verse seven quoted above it is keiechon in the greek or “he who letteth,” denoting that the Antichrist will never be able to do anything without the specific permission of the Holy Spirit. Of course, verse seven does not refer to a departure of the Holy Spirit, but to the removal of His restraining power. This will allow Satan and the Antichrist to have free reign on the earth, but whatever happens will help to further God’s plan according to His own timetable.

In II Thessalonians 2:9-12 we can also see that the things taking place during the time of the tribulation are sent from God: ⁹ Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, ¹⁰ And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this cause “God” shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: ¹² That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

God can and does use Satan to do His will, as God did in the above scriptures about Job. This is what will happen during the seven years of tribulation. God will be using Satan, as well as Himself to administer His wrath upon mankind because of their sins, and because mankind as a whole has refused to believe in His Son Christ Jesus their Lord and Savior. God’s wrath is always the origin of any judgment. But, remember God can use any means to accomplish his will or wrath.

Now we will begin to look at some of the things to take place during the seven years of tribulation. We shall start in the book of Zephaniah chapter 1, verses 14-18: ¹⁴The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. ¹⁵ That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, ¹⁶ A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. ¹⁷ And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. ¹⁸ Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

Zephaniah 1:14-18 just quoted above opens with a message regarding immediate judgment upon Judah by Babylon, then depicts their judgment in the future Day of the Lord. This judgment is also going to fall very soon upon our world today.

Matthew 24:21-22 adds more to this time of trouble coming upon mankind in the very near future: ²¹ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

We can see from Zephaniah and Matthew that those left behind at the time of the rapture are going to experience great trouble and tribulation never before seen upon this earth.

Luke 21:22-27 has more to say about this time of trouble: ²² For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. ²³ But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. ²⁴ And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. ²⁵ And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; ²⁶ Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. ²⁷ And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

There is much more detail coming about this terrible time of trouble which I will get into shortly, but as you can see already it’s not going to be a pleasant time to live through. Just know that these things are going to happen just like the scriptures are telling us. Is does not matter if you don’t believe these things, they will still take place, believe it or not.

Do you have a hard time believing that the Bible is really God’s Word? Maybe you don’t even believe there is a God. Do you believe the things I am telling you here in this article are really going to happen? Some will say to themselves, I won’t believe until I see it happen. Well, with this kind of an attitude, you will be left behind!

Before I continue, let me give you something to think about. No other book than the Bible contains so many prophecies concerning the future. There are 737 distinct prophecies in the Scriptures and 594 have been fulfilled to date, with one-hundred percent accuracy every time. In other words, eighty percent of the prophecies have already been fulfilled down to the last letter.

Did you know Jesus literally fulfilled 109 prophecies relating to Himself in His First Coming? In the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life, 25 specific prophecies came to pass, all of which were written into the Old Testament between 500 and 1000 years “before” his birth. Do you know what the odds are of 25 specific predictions coming to pass in one 24-hour period of a specific person’s lifetime? Billions to one!

With all these prophecies having been fulfilled with 100% accuracy, do you think the rest of them won’t be? Christ Jesus will accomplish fulfillment of the remaining prophecies, those yet future, very soon.

There are no prophecies yet to be fulfilled before the rapture of Christ’s Church. That is not to say prophecies yet future will NOT be fulfilled before the rapture, just that none are given that MUST BE fulfilled before that stunning event.

After the rapture takes place we believe the nations of earth will be in chaos. The turmoil will cause severe ramifications while governments seek to restore civil order and regain governmental and economic equilibrium. Profound shifts of power will likely take place, with the EU becoming the new superpower, absorbing America’s power and authority, the U.S. having lost the most people in key places, thus having suffered the most loss of control. According to prophecy, one man will step forward to proffer a plan to quell the fears of war in the Middle East, Daniel 9:27. This prophecy correlates to Revelation 6:2, with the rider on the white horse riding forth.

Peace Covenant Confirmed – This great world leader will arrive just in time to look to be the shining knight on the white horse. He will have the answer to the looming all-out war in the Middle East. He will be able to sell a seven-year peace plan that is already available, apparently. Israel will agree to the covenant, as will her enemies, and, in effect, the whole world will accept the European leader’s masterful sales pitch. But Israel’s acceptance will fly in the face of God. This “covenant made with death and Hell,” as it is called in Isaiah, chapter 28, will cause God’s judgmental wrath to begin to fall.

Anyone watching the news today knows that President Obama and John Kerry, the current U.S. secretary of state, have been pushing hard for Israel to sign a peace treaty. We are living in the time when this will happen, and it looks like it will be very soon.

When Israel signs this peace treaty with this great world leader, also known as the Antichrist, it will mark the beginning of the tribulation and again correlates to Revelation 6:2, with the rider on the white horse.

All who will be here to witness the signing of this peace covenant have been left behind. The rapture has happened and the tribulation has begun. As stated before, the first three and one half years will not be as bad as the last three and a half years. Remember, the first part is called the Tribulation, the second part is called “The Great Tribulation.” “The Great Tribulation” will begin when the abomination of desolation takes place.

The “abomination of desolation” refers to the “image of the beast” Revelation 13:14,15 which will be set up by the Antichrist and His “false prophet” Matthew 24:11 as an object of enforced global worship, “so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God , shewing himself that he is God” II Thessalonians 2:4.  This will take place, according to Daniel’s Prophecy of the seventy weeks, Daniel 9:24-27, after the “prince that shall come” the Antichrist has made a seven year treaty with Israel to allow their ancient temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem and their worship rituals to be reestablished. He will break this covenant “in the midst of the week” ( after the first three and a half years of the treaty period), and erect his “overspreading  of abominations.” His great idol image, with overstretching arms, mocking the cherubim in the original holy place-in God’s temple Daniel 9:27; see also Daniel 11:31 and 12:11. This will signal the unleashing of his genocidal fury against Israel and all who refuse to worship him.

The middle of “The Great Tribulation” begins at the time of “the abomination of desolation” as I said above, and about the same time there is war in heaven with Satan and his angels, Revelation 12:7-13: ⁷ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, ⁸ And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. ¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. ¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. ¹² Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. ¹³ And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

The war in heaven with Satan and his angels, and the abomination of desolation all take place at the middle of the tribulation and mark the beginning of “The Great Tribulation.”

As I said earlier in this article, some believe that the first part of the tribulation is Satan’s wrath, because they believe as it say’s above in Revelation 12:12 that Satan or the dragon is cast down to earth, having great wrath. But as I have shown you Satan is cast down in the middle of the tribulation, not the first part. So if any part of the tribulation would be considered Satan’s wrath, it would have to be the second half, but we know it is not Satan’s wrath, but God’s.

In Revelation 6:1 the tribulation begins with Jesus (referred to as the Lamb), opening the seals of the scroll and beginning the seven seal judgments.  Since Jesus is Lord, see Hebrews 1:8, this is therefore the beginning of the wrath of God upon a Christ rejecting world.  The first four seals are the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.  The fifth seal is the cry of the martyrs and the sixth seal is of cosmic disturbances upon the earth.  All of these seal judgments seem to happen very rapidly in succession because at the end of the description of the sixth seal it says in verses 15-17 the following:

¹⁵And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  ¹⁷For the great day of His wrath (Christ Jesus) has come, and who is able to stand?”

All the judgments in the book of revelation are the wrath of the Lamb (Christ Jesus) as it says in verses 16 and 17 of Revelation 6.

During the time period of the Day of the Lord, (the tribulation) there will be those who truly repent and are saved, but those who remain enemies of the Lord, whether Jews or Gentiles, will be punished.

In the New Testament, the Day of the Lord is related to the Second Coming of Christ. So also is the phrase “the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:8; 5:5; Philippians 1:6, 10; 2:16; II Thessalonians 2:2).  Both expressions, the “Day of the Lord” and the “Day of Christ,” refer to time periods of judgment by Christ. The Day of the Lord will include the time of the Great Tribulation. It also refers to the liberation by Christ of His Church. Zechariah 14:1-4 explains that the events of the Second coming are included in the program of the Day of the Lord. Thus, the Day of the Lord and the Day of Christ occur simultaneously. For the Church, it is the rapture; and for the unbelieving world, it is the beginning of judgment and the Tribulation. The Day of the Lord is that extended period of time when God begins to deal with Israel after the rapture of the church. It also continues through the Second Advent and the millennial age preceding the creation of the new heaven and new earth.

Following will be a list of some specific things those left behind will experience:

A man will arise who will achieve victory after victory both in politics and in war (Rev 13:7). This man, who should be easily identified by his rapid rise and popularity, will be the anti-christ. Many people believe that this person must be Jewish. That is, in order for Jews to accept him as Messiah, only a Jew will suffice. This is not necessarily the case. The Bible does not specify that he is a Jew, and it does not specify nationality. Only God-fearing Jews will require a Jewish Messiah. The liberal, ungodly Jews who dominate Israel will be as lost when it comes to Biblical truth as the Gentiles of the world and will be deceived by his charisma, and more than likely, the desires of the world’s media. Currently the new nickname for the United States is the Great Satan. This may have some significance.

Violence will increase in all parts of the world, both nation against nation (ethnic wars) and domestically. Men will indiscriminately slay one another as peace will be removed from the earth (Rev 6:3-4).

There will be extreme inflation, poverty, and lack of food as one day’s wages will buy enough food for one day for one person (Rev 6:5-6).

In a very short period of time, one-quarter of the earth’s population will be killed due to wars, famine, pestilence and wild beasts. These wild beasts could very well be viruses, bacteria and other microbes. In late 1995, Time magazine ran a cover story on the rise of new infections and called microbes “malevolent little beasts” (Rev 6:7-8).

Many people will experience a religious conversion and become followers of Jesus Christ and most of these people will be hunted down and killed (Dan 7:21).

There will be a great earthquake, the sun will be blackened, the moon will turn red and all mountains and islands (which are underwater mountains) will be moved (Joel 2:30-32).

There will be a brief period of calm on the earth following this great earthquake which will give those who survive a false sense of security.

One-third of the earth, one-third of all of trees and all the green grass will be burned up due to a comet or meteor that hits the earth (Rev 8:7).

A meteor will hit the earth causing the sea to become like blood, killing one-third of all sea creatures and destroying one-third of all shipping (Rev 8:8-9).

A “star” named Wormwood will fall from the sky and poison one-third of all fresh water killing many people (Rev 8:10-11).

The sun, moon and stars will be darkened by one-third. The day and night will be reduced by one-third. There is some speculation that this means the rotation of the earth will be changed so that a day lasts only 16 hours instead of 24 hours (Rev 8:12).

Fearsome locust-like beings will be released from underground who only attack people who are not followers of Jesus Christ. These attacks will be very painful but last only 5 months (Rev 9:1-11).

An army of 200 million horse-like creatures will kill one-third of mankind (Rev 9:13-19).

Two men (known as witnesses) of Jewish origin will preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ for 3 1/2 years and be killed at the midpoint of the 7 year tribulation. These two will be responsible for a 3 1/2 year world-wide drought and will be killed by the anti-christ (also known as the beast in the Bible).

People will be required to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy and sell. Those who receive this mark will develop a loathsome and malignant sore on their bodies within a short period of time (Rev 13:13-18).

The oceans will chemically change and become like the blood of a dead man (congealed?) and everything in the sea will die (Rev 16:3).

The fresh waters will become like blood (Rev 16:4-7).

The sun will scorch the people on earth with fierce heat (Rev 16:8-9).

The throne of the anti-christ and his kingdom will become darkened (Rev 16:10-11).

The Euphrates river will dry up allowing the kings of the east to march westward (Rev 16:12).

The kings of the world will gather their armies together to battle God at Armageddon. There will be an earthquake so great that all of the mountains and islands will disappear. There will be hailstones weighing close to 100 pounds that will crush the armies that have gathered (Rev 16:17-22).

Shortly after this great earthquake, Jesus Christ will return with His army to claim the earth as His possession (Zech. 14:3-5).

In conclusion, it is my hope and prayer that all the unsaved who read this article will take these things seriously. God wants you to escape all these horrible judgments coming upon this earth very soon. God has provided the means for everyone to escape these coming judgments, just by grace through faith in His Son Christ Jesus your Lord and Savior, who shed His Holy blood for the sins of the whole world. All you need to do is believe it by faith. Christ does all the saving, we do all the believing. Yes, it is that easy!!

Ephesians 2:4-9: ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) ⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: ⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Do you really want to be left behind?? I hope and pray you can put your trust in Christ Jesus NOW before it’s too late. You will be so, so, sooo glad you did.

DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND!

Maranatha (Lord come)

John