The rapture is an event that takes place at the end of this age when living Christians are taken out of the world by Jesus. They do not die, but are “caught up” into the air and taken directly to heaven. After the rapture a horrible seven year time period will begin. This time is called the Tribulation. During the tribulation the Antichrist will come to power, every person on the planet will be forced to worship the Antichrist and terrible catastrophes will unfold on the earth resulting in the death of billions of people and widespread destruction of the earth’s surface. At the beginning of the rapture there will not be a single genuine Christian on the planet (though there will be many who claimed to be Christian.)

The time of the Tribulation will be a time of intense religious oppression. The antichrist will seek to crush every religion but the worship of himself. The Holy Spirit will be less active in the world and Satan is given freedom to be more active. The antichrist and his chief of staff, the false prophet, will be great deceivers (Matthew 24:24; Revelation 13:14). Satan is a liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44) During the tribulation he will be even more aggressive in attempting to keep men from the truth of salvation. On top this, the Bible teaches in 2 Thessalonians that God will send a strong delusion on those who live during the Tribulation. With all that the Bible says about the difficulty of coming to saving faith during the Tribulation, it would seem that none can be saved after the rapture.

But the book of Revelation specifically describes certain ones who will be saved. Revelation 7 and 14 speak of 144,000 Jewish men who will be specially marked out as servants of God during the Tribulation. These men will stand firm for the Lord in a world that is going mad with hatred for God. On top of this, the book of Romans says that all Israel will be saved. (Romans 11:26) The prophet Zechariah says that during the Tribulation many Israelites will be put to death, but God will be at work in the survivors to bring them to faith in Him. (Zechariah 13:9)

Despite great difficulties against faith and great persecution against Christians many in the Tribulation will trust Jesus as Savior. The terrible time of the Tribulation reminds us today of God’s wrath against sin. The Almighty God will bring to judgment all who persist in rebelling against Him. God will graciously forgive those who cry out to Him for mercy and salvation. Those who trust Him will not have judgement, but eternal life and eternal joy.