This brings us on to the nature of the end-times Tribulation, which those close to the Lord will be removed from experiencing. We know that it will be a savage time, when Christians and Jews will be severely persecuted. We are told: “then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”[1] The fifth seal of Revelation describes the souls under the altar who had been slain for the word of God and for their testimony.[2] It is not clear if this group is comprised only of those killed during the final seven years of this age, or whether it also includes the brave Christians who up to the Tribulation have daily been giving their lives for the Lord. Open Doors, a non-denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians around the world, list on their website in July 2024 the countries where Christians face the most persecution. The list starts with North Korea, then Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen and Nigeria. They report that more believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria each year than everywhere else in the world combined. Shockingly, this level of persecution and murder of Christians is slated to severely escalate during the End Times.
The Scripture describes the martyrs of the fifth seal each being given a white robe and being told that they should rest for a little while “until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”[3] We are told later, “Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”[4] The world will be led during the Tribulation by the Antichrist, who will orchestrate this savagery against believers in the Lord Jesus. This group of the Christians who are persecuted unto death will, in my opinion, comprise both those who are not taken in the Rapture and also those who subsequently come to faith – providing both groups refuse the Mark of the Beast and do not worship the beast, the Antichrist. Note, and be encouraged, how these believers will be rewarded by ruling and reigning with the Messiah for 1,000 years.
Even though the Rapture will, in my understanding, happen some years before the Second Coming, nevertheless this does not preclude faithful Christians having to live through tough times, for which we would also be wise to prepare. The four horses of the Apocalypse comprise the first four seals in chapter 6 of the book of Revelation. These horses probably start riding out after the Rapture, at the start of the last seven years of this age, also known as the 70th week of Daniel. Nevertheless, prior to the snatching away, we are all being increasingly impacted by the ever-intensifying labour pains or birth pangs coming upon the earth.[5] All of us, whether wisely prepared for the Rapture, or not, may shortly be encountering very difficult times.
[1] Matthew 24:9-14
[2] Revelation 6:9
[3] Revelation 6:11
[4] Revelation 20:4
[5] Matthew 24:8 and Mark 13:8
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.