Rapture Will Impact the World as Will the Deluding Influence that Follows It

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

We have been talking about the Rapture, the tremendous increase in lawlessness following that event and the Tribulation itself which begins due to one specific event spoken of in Daniel 9:27. In what will probably be the final installment in this short series, I want to try to paint a picture of what life will be like after the Rapture happens, leading up to and just after the start of the Tribulation period. Of course, the Scripture does it best, but I want to focus on what parts of Scripture tells us so that we can begin to see how horrific life will be for those who remain on this earth after the Rapture occurs.

There is no way that the Rapture can take place without directly impacting the world. To think that the Rapture is merely a “way of escape” for the Church is completely illogical in all respects. There is much more to it than that!

In fact, Paul tells us that an apostasy so large and all-encompassing will occur that no corner of the globe will be left untouched. It will be global in nature. This won’t happen if the Holy Spirit is working through the Bride of Christ that is still here in this world.

In fact, it is patently clear that because the world wants no part of God any longer, He will oblige them by not only removing the Church (a constant reminder of God, His presence, and His authority over all of His Creation), but once the Church is gone, He will oblige the world by sending a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie.

“…and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness,” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

Notice Paul’s words carefully. God will send a specific delusion to those on earth “because [those who perish] did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.” People will actually be to the point where they want nothing to do with God! Can you imagine a world filled with people who not only prefer not to think about God, but passionately reject even the very concept of God. We are starting to see this in society now and it has been brewing for a while. More and more atheists are becoming not only arrogant but emotionally so when they denigrate the very idea of a loving God. To them, it is a myth and they don’t care who hears them say it. Gone are the days when there was a semblance of courtesy and politeness in society. Now, it takes very little for well-known atheists to attack Christians and even believers of other religions with all manner of castigating, even childish remarks. Imagine if you can a world where nearly 100% of the population thinks and feels in those terms. Can you? Take Richard Dawkins and Dan Savage and multiply it times 3 billion or so.

At some point in the future, the entire world will so desperately want to be “done” with God that He will do two things that will give the world what they seek. First, God will remove the Church from the earth. Second, He will send them the deluding influence they ask for in order that they will fully embrace what is false. God grants their request and they end up embracing what is false, which ultimately works against them! They will be judged because they took no pleasure in truth, but in wickedness. They wind up fully embracing Satan’s position and will face judgment accordingly. I cannot stress how important it is for us to understand these facts.

The world will want God completely out of the picture. They will come to a point where they want nothing more than to not even think of God any longer. For this to occur in society, the true Church must be taken out of the world and God will also send a delusion so that they will believe in their hearts that God does not exist. What a tragedy! God loves the lost, but He will give them what they seek, which for too many of them, will mean eternal death. Today, if people will not harden their hearts, God will show them the truth of salvation. Many who see that truth do embrace it and become children of God.

But here’s the problem. At some point in the future, because the world over will no longer have any love for the truth concerning God and will wish for nothing more than to believe that He does not exist, God will give them what they ask. In so doing though, these people who desperately want no more reminders about God will become God’s enemies. This is the greatest of all tragedies.

People today who are not saved still have some measure of protection from God. He still loves and cares for them. He still reaches out to them. It still yearns for them to come to know Him and adore Him and receive eternal life so that they will spend eternity with Him. But because there will be a time of absolute and abject refusal to acknowledge God, the people living then will literally be pushed away from God by God. The delusion that He sends will – for most of them – give them the relief they seek, but at a huge cost to them. They will then be treated as enemies of God.

I don’t think people – even Christians (myself included), understand the full ramifications of such a situation. The future will be more than bleak. After the true Church is Raptured and God sends His deluding influence, the people living during that time will experience a horrifically abysmal time on this planet. Though we know from Scripture that some people will still receive His salvation, it will be under the harshest terms one can imagine. In fact, I don’t honestly believe we can imagine it. We read about it in His Word and we understand the words, but it is very difficult to picture.

We think we have it bad now in the world? This pales in comparison to what life will be like in the future after the Church is Raptured and the deluding influence is sent by God so that people willfully embrace what is false. The aftermath of both events (Rapture and the delusion sent by God) will be so devastating and so pervasive throughout global society that people will actually wish for death because they believe that at least the horrors of this life will be over (cf. Revelation 9:6). Those who think that way of course have no understanding of who God is and the fact that He is everywhere at once. To go from this life to the next without Jesus means to lose every opportunity to see the truth regarding salvation.

Folks, is there any other reason you can think of that should cause us to increase our efforts to evangelize the lost? I can’t think of one. It is time for you to reach out to friends, neighbors, and even family to share with them the only information that can provide them with the possibility of receiving salvation.

Please pray that God will empower you with boldness to preach the gospel. Pray that he will move you to reach out to those who are lost around you. It is time because it is still day. A time is coming when no one will work because it will be night (cf. John 9:4).

Or, if you want, you can pick an argument with a Christian about how wrong you think they are about the time of the Rapture, or that Jesus isn’t coming back because He already came back spiritually in AD 70. Does that sound good? I pray not!

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective