It is common knowledge that Jesus Christ is coming to take away ready saints (a term referred to in eschatological discussion as the RAPTURE). It is also common knowledge that this event will happen soon and suddenly. Everywhere you turn today, people allude to the happenings around us (chaos, insurrections, global economic meltdown, increased natural disasters, wars, etc.) as evidence that the Rapture will take place any moment from now. However, one important thing many seem not to grasp or choose to shut out of their mind is THE HORRORS those who miss the Rapture will experience.
After the Rapture of the Church, a personality called the Antichrist will take over the world and ruthlessly deal with anyone who opposes his government. He will unleash terrors particularly on Christians who miss the Rapture due to their carelessness, for standing against his heresy and declaring their allegiance to Christ. To start with, he will make them suffer intense hunger and deprivation for opposing his policy on doing business. But this is just a tip of the iceberg of what is to come later. If you didn’t know this before, pay attention! No one will be allowed to transact business¬-sell and purchase anything-or earn a living without the seal of the Antichrist on them. Everyone, except few Christians whom the Bible calls “the elect of God” (Mark 13:20), will submit themselves to him in awe and wonder. But the Scriptures reveal that anyone who receives his seal, mark, name, or number will be doomed FOREVER (Revelation 13:16-18; 14:11).
If that sounds like a fairy tale to you, then listen to this. The world would go cashless at the time of the Antichrist and nobody will be able to withdraw a dime from their account without a smart card embedded with a microchip. Besides, technology today has made the world a global village, where everyone can transact business, communicate, interact, relate and have easy access to one another without a problem of distance or location. With the advent of the GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking device, the governments of many countries now have an unimaginable control and power over their citizens. At the punch of a button, a person’s current location can be determined, even if it is the basement of their house.
The Great Tribulation as Jesus calls it will be the most awesome event in human history. The Bible tells us that this event will bring the most intense suffering and anguish the world has never experienced since its creation. World Wars I and II, inter-tribal wars, civil wars, all other wars and all cataclysmic occurrences in the history of human existence put together cannot be compared with the Great Tribulation. It will be a period of unparalleled suffering, dreadful woes and frightening destruction on sinners and careless Christians who miss the Rapture. It will be the climax of God’s judgment and punishment on the world. It is also a time when Satan will unleash TERROR and wickedness upon the inhabitants of the earth through his Beast, the Antichrist (Revelation 6:4-9).
During the Great Tribulation, the earth will be plagued with diseases and famine; wild animals will come out of the jungle to tear human flesh into pieces and feed on their corpses; and hail and fire mingled with blood will consume people as well as destroy one-third of the world sources of sustenance (Revelation 8:7). Friend, you may be one of the victims of those horrific events if you miss the Rapture. Ponder on that! Also, the seas will turn to blood and fountains of waters will become wormwood-a poisonous thing if swallowed. In essence, water, including those you have stored in your house or poured in your dispenser, will become dangerous to your health (Revelation 8:8-11). Pause for a minute and imagine life without water to drink or bathe for just 24 hours. Can you cope with that? But it is going to happen as part of God’s punishment for sin and reckless living. Giant locusts that sting like scorpions will equally torment men and women for five months without relief. These strange-looking creatures will be released by God on earth, specifically to hurt sinners-people who don’t have His seal on their forehead-but not to kill them. However, the pain they will inflict on their victims will make them wish they were dead (Revelation9:3-11) The Bible says, “And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, but death shall flee from them“ (Revelation 9:6). Moreover, painful and stinking sores will be on everyone. What an epidemic! Even the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) won’t be able to help the situation.
There are just some of THE HORRORS of the time. It will be a period of real brutality, devastation, and destruction. For an Angel to cry: “Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth . . .” (Revelation 8:13) means the event will be absolutely terrifying. Yet, your eternal salvation will depend on your ability to endure THE HORRORS and untold sufferings without compromise or denial of Christ. Let’s face it. Can you withstand the terror of the period? I seriously doubt it. Jeremiah 12:5 says, “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied the, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?”
If you cannot make the Rapture when you have the freedom and grace to live for and serve God, it is when fierce-looking soldiers of the Antichrist dismember you or stick a hot iron in your anus, asking you to deny Christ and receive the mark of the Beast, that you will be able to stand? It is fatal to neglect or reject God’ salvation or His Word. This is the time to repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord if you are a sinner or backslider, and to live a righteous and holy life if you’re a Christian, so as to be “accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to be able to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
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