God’s infallible Word gives us a clear picture of this future fact. Apostle Paul is warning the church at Thessalonica of the Rapture and the appearing of the Antichrist after the Rapture. His words are perfectly clear. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (II Thessalonians 2:7-12)

This text explains how the Antichrist is restrained from appearing until after the Restrainer (He that letteth) is removed with the Bride of Jesus Christ. Then, his appearing (the Antichrist) will be dramatic and even demonic. He will be the master deceiver, fully empowered by the devil with paranormal powers to impress and deceive. His deceiving power will be especially directed by God’s decree against those that had rejected or forsaken the truth of the Holy Scripture. The darkest time of this deception is after the Rapture, but a lesser level is already at work. The first verse above says, “the mystery of iniquity doth already work.” The spirit of deception has preceded the person of evil himself. Present deception is terrible, but only light compared to after the Restrainer, the Holy Ghost, is gone.

This very hour and this generation is the most dangerous period in church history. Jesus warned of this stressful and dangerous period when evil and sin would become so dominating of the world that living holy would seem impossible. His words were, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:12)

The world is almost as if hell has taken over and righteousness and holiness seem so outdated and even strange. Family members and friends will compromise their lifestyle and then pressure you with unrelenting fury to do the same. Just remember, it’s your wedding garment, and you are responsible to keep it clean by your total surrender to the cleaning Blood and keeping power of His Spirit.

“My Spirit Shall Not Always Strive With Men …”
For over four thousands years the Heavenly Father has warned the world that His Spirit has a limit. “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” (Genesis 6:3) He was speaking to Noah’s generation, the same generation that Jesus named in Matthew chapter twenty-four. He compared that generation with the generation when the Rapture would occur. There is a multitude in this very hour that the Spirit is withdrawing His plea. This is going to escalate until the Rapture and then a multitude of religious apostates are going to be left to their schemes and false ideas of Christianity.

The church world has created an endless list of religious ideas that give them an excuse to sin. The doctrine of “once saved, always saved” is one of the worst false schemes of them all. It would not be so bad if men were told that there is no license to live in sin and those that go back to their evil ways were never saved. Yet, to teach that even fornication and sodomy, along with a long list of other vile sins, cannot negate your redeemed stature before God is utterly false. There is a multitude right out of this idea that is being deluded beyond hope. They live like sin is a joke and that God has already forgiven whatever sin in which they choose to indulge.

No one can deny that conviction of sin is rare today. Most sinners have no conscience and treat any idea of right and wrong with disdain. Ministers have retreated in their pulpits to pretty platitudes and psychobabble. To rail against adulterers, cheating, defiling the Sabbath, or any major sin is to be profoundly scorned. Religious television is more dangerous than MTV. There is an all-seeing Eye watching and He will shortly act to change the worldview of sin. Isaiah by the Holy Spirit settled this subject. “… When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isaiah 26:9) One of his most breathtaking words from God were, “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies.” (Isaiah 28:17a)

Doctrines That Destroy Truth
There are doctrines like the “Born Again Jesus” theology that have totally destroyed the saving message of the Gospel. Millions have surrendered to the spirit of these false doctrines even though many do not understand them. There is no redemption in this message. Any person that has embraced Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, and most of the Charismatic teachers has also embraced this spirit and no longer cherishes the bloodstained cross. This is one of the darkest of the End Time delusions.

Doctrines like the “Born Again Jesus” theology make those that embrace the doctrine, or even the spirit of this doctrine, arrogant and unteachable. These doctrinal lies are subtle and many people that embrace these strange teachers do not appear to care what they are being taught enough to search the Scripture. The hyper-Charismatic teachers have deluded tens of millions that will be turned over to reprobate minds because they did not prove all things by the Word of God and the discernment of the Spirit of God.

The present church world is overwhelmed and overjoyed with the new “sinner friendly church” and its soft message and loud swaying music. It’s a perfect picture of apostasy. From Robert Shuller and Bill Hybel to Rick Warren, it’s a march of easy believism preparing another multitude to believe a lie. Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, is clearly the most deceptive work of my lifetime. It’s a lie wrapped in babble so clever that any religious person can claim it if there is no strong discernment by a Christ-centered heart.

A radical acceptance of the Word of God is the only view of Scripture that does not leave man vulnerable to judgment. Jesus made it clear that His Word is perfect and must be held in total faith. He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) This was also made plain in II Thessalonians. The indictment declared that, “… they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (II Thessalonians 2:10) No person can come to Jesus and say; “I believe part of Your Word so I want to be saved.” Even if you believe the sacrifice of His Blood and claim faith in that Blood, but reject the rest of the Word, your faith is unacceptable. These religious trends are the purest evidence of apostasy and preparations to believe the lie. Multitudes of these apostate people will be outside of grace after the Rapture. They chose new religious ideas over the infallible Word of God. It was their choice and now the result is delusion and judgment.

Matthew 24 and 25
This is the very warning that Jesus Christ was prophesying about in these two chapters of Matthew. Many teachers of prophecy have tried to exclude these words recorded by this apostle from the church world and assign it only to the Jewish nation. It does not fit at all. Please note His words about false prophets and damnable doctrines that hardly apply to the Jews. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:11-14) The Gospel being preached in the entire world cannot be a Jewish matter rather than a church concern. Again, He said, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24:23-24)

After these incredible warnings of apostasy and departure from truth, He proceeds to proclaim the Rapture where some would be taken and others would be left. Sure it applies to the whole world but more specifically to the great crowds that were being deceived by the false doctrines and apostasy trends in the church. “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (Matthew 24:37-41)

These words hardly seem relevant to the heathen world that knows nothing of Christ’s coming. The multitudes around the world that have never heard the daily broadcast of Christian ministers will hear the Gospel by the angels, the two prophets, and the tribulation converts; and millions will be washed in His Blood. It’s the church world, where multitudes cannot repent. The people that cannot repent are people that did not “love the truth” that was so available but rejected. The Western World has had enough Bible to know every principle of the Blessed Book, but is still woefully ignorant of its demands on the soul.

The words of Jesus, spoken after He spoke about the “taking and leaving,” confirm that this crowd knew the truth. They were not heathens that had never heard, but souls that were warned to be watchful. His words were, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:42-44) His entire language is written to people that know but are careless and unwatchful. He could not describe this generation of the religious world more perfectly. These are the multitudes that love pleasure and riches more than they love the wonderful words of life that have been preached over and over, time after time.

The twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew is no different. The ten virgins that go to meet the bridegroom are not the unheard millions of heathendom. All ten of them have at one time had oil and fire, but five of them were undisciplined and careless. They all fully expect to go into the wedding and rise at once when the cry is made. Again, Jesus uses language that cannot be applied to any event but the Rapture and Marriage of the Bridegroom. This Gospel does not speak some hidden message to the Jewish nation. The Jewish Nation will still be in unbelief at this time.

The Master warns, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 25:6-13) This is incredible language that leaves no room for misunderstanding. The door is shut on these foolish virgins and they miss the welcome into the wedding chamber. The warning would suggest that these foolish virgins are just like much of our church world. They once lived in the wonderful joy of being ready and watching, but turned back to accept the careless lifestyle of worldly living and conduct.

The Scorning of Truth
Much of the church does not just ignore this kind of truth but they scorn it. To preach anything but cheap grace that covers sin is to be attacked with fury. How did our generation become so hard against the necessity of righteousness and godliness? Of course, the only answer is apostasy. Everything the Son of God taught and everything that the New Testament teaches is opposite to the present “easy believism.” Listen to the Son of God warn the disciples and converts of His ministry. “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:34-36)

He was teaching His disciples that they and we might teach others. Notice His words, “that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things.” These things were the Great Tribulation that is coming on this world. The saints of God will be raptured and there is no possibility of those living in sin or living careless lives being supernaturally caught up to meet Him in the air.

Who Can Be Saved After the Rapture?
This is the most awesome question I could ever ask anyone. There will be a multitude saved and there will be a multitude that cannot be saved. This fact is already true in our day. When someone crosses the line and the Holy Spirit withdraws His conviction, that soul is forever lost. After the Rapture, those that had refused to love the truth and hold to His supernatural words of Holy Scripture will find themselves either deluded by the lie of the Antichrist or totally unable to repent. Anyone that knows the truth and carelessly proceeds to live disobediently is progressing to the point of being forever lost in this present life.

The multitude that is saved after the Rapture will be people that had little or no opportunity before the Rapture. Every moment a person is rejecting the will of God by Christ in their life, they are living dangerously. Anyone that knows enough about the Rapture and the Tribulation to say, “I’m going to get saved after the Rapture,” has probably already passed the point of no return. That attitude is the very spirit of delusion and deception from which there is no return.

Do not forget the wise words of Solomon, “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.” (Proverbs 1:22-31) Many have already passed the point of no return. When the Rapture occurs, a multitude more will pass that point.