SALVATION AFTER THE RAPTURE

THE PRINCIPLE

Joel 2:32
The invitation, “whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” is stated in connection with the arrival of the day of the Lord and is valid throughout the entire period of judgment.

 

Salvation has always been the same. The basic message of the gospel (just as it has been since Adam’s fall, thus, the EVERLASTING gospel) is, “fear God and give Him glory.” This is expressed through total trust (faith) in the person and work of Jesus the Messiah/Savior. Those in the Old Testament were saved by faith in the COMING of the Savior and his work on the cross. NT people are saved by looking back to the historical reality of Messiah’s work on the cross.

 

After the rapture (prewrath), there will be many people left on the earth to go through the trumpet and bowl judgments. From among these, many will be saved by total trust (faith) in God the Father and the person and work of Jesus the Messiah/Savior. Same way as we are. The fact that the rapture has taken place does not in any way affect HOW someone gets saved. It will be the same in the Kingdom age also. There MUST be additional converts after the rapture in order for Jew and Gentiles to go into the earthly kingdom in mortal bodies. These will be believers who go in, not unbelievers.

Although the kingdom begins with ONLY believers, all who are born after that must become believers by faith in the Father and the Son.
Eventually, over the course of the 1000 year reign, the “seed” of spiritual truth will become watered down and there will be many - in fact, a vast majority - of the people who will REMAIN unbelievers as adults. Overt rebellion against God will be discouraged, but there can be no control over what is in a person’s soul. It is these who are organized by Satan when he is released at the end of the 1000 years, and they will OVERTLY rebel against God and attack Jerusalem (Revelation 20:7-9).

 

EVIDENCE OF SALVATION AFTER THE RAPTURE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION

1. At Rev. 9:4, the demon “locusts” hurt only those who do NOT have the seal, of God. That suggests that not only will every believer get the seal, but that there are in fact, people on the earth who are believers during the trumpet judgments. There are at least the 144k bond servants who are believers and are alive at this time.

 

2. The 144,000 are converted after the return of Jesus: Rev.7:1-8

     A. If they were saved before Jesus returns, they would go up at the rapture.

     B. They are mentioned after Rev. 6:12-15, which is when Jesus
         returns. All the 6th seal tells us is, “here He comes” and He
         is bringing wrath.

     C. At Rev. 7:1-3, the 144,000 are viewed as still UNSEALED
         and still needing to make a salvation decision for Messiah.

     D. And the wrath is actually held back until this special group
         does get saved.

     E. In addition, they are NOT sealed BEFORE the Day of the Lord
         judgments. Rev. 7:3 says, “do not harm . . .
         UNTIL we have sealed. . .”
     F. This fact also means that the 144,000 is NOT "the woman" who flees into the wilderness to HIDE, for they cannot function as God’s servants if they are hiding in the wilderness. The ones who flee into the wilderness are unbelievers, but citizens of national Israel who reject the rule of the beast over them. If they were believers - OR if they were the 144,000, THEN there would not be a distinction between them AND those who keep God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus at Rev. 12:17.

THE TWO WITNESSES

It Appears that a large group of people in Jerusalem respond to this gospel message.
It happens right after the TWO witnesses ascend into the sky and the earthquake destroys 1/10 of the city and kills 7,000 people (Rev. 11:13).
“And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest became terrified and GAVE GLORY to the God of heaven.”
They became emphobos: terrified is the initial reaction, but they were then convicted based on gospel information they had heard and responded with acceptance and glorification of God.

This expression from “the rest” fulfills the requirements of the everlasting gospel mentioned at Rev. 14:7. It is through recognizing God in this manner that these people also trust in God’s Messiah, Jesus.
This group of people designated as “the rest” will not include people who have taken the mark of the beast. Thus we find in Jerusalem at this time a large group of people who are unsaved resisters to beast worship, and yet have not been killed off by the beast.

It is probable that there are many Jews hiding in Jerusalem, staying underground to hide from the persecution activity of the beast. During the trumpet judgments, the ability of the beast to implement his persecution activity will be greatly hindered. At the end of the week, when the evangelistic testimony of the Two is being completed in Jerusalem, It is probable that many of the Jews who have been hiding will have come out to hear them.
These have been resisting beast worship and through the testimony of the Two, and through the earthquake, these "the rest" will be seriously frightened, and accept the gospel message that has been proclaimed - they give glory to God by trusting in the gospel.
This is how we can find so many believers in Jerusalem and vicinity as “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” at the time the armies of the world invade during the Armageddon campaign (Zechariah 12:5-8; 14:14).

It is probably at this that the Northern alliance of nations will invade Jerusalem, having been pushing against the kingdom of the beast throughout the world, for several months.
A summary from the Armageddon study:
 
The advance of the king of the north into Jerusalem will probably occur at the end of the 70th week, when the beast's reign will have been terminated by the decree of God (He has been given only 42 months to reign, Rev. 13:5; Dan. 7:25). It seems that the beast is still in control in Jerusalem as he confronts the two witnesses at that time and kills them (Rev. 11:3-8).
After the two witnesses ascend into the sky there is a great earthquake and a tenth of the city is destroyed.
This then seems an opportune time for the king of the north to actually enter the city and try to wrest power away from the beast (king of the West).

It is after this, and at the 7th bowl judgment, that Messiah will come down from His location "on the cloud" and stand on the Mount of Olives to rescue the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the clans of Judah (Zech. 12:7).
From there He will go to the valley of Megiddo for the final removal of the armies at Armageddon.
Zechariah 12 and Zechariah 14

THE PROGRESS OF ISRAEL'S SALVATION
At Isaiah 59:20, it says, “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.
Paul who quotes Isaiah (Rom. 11:26), writes, “thus, all Israel will be saved.”

This means that there will come a time when everyone alive on the earth in the nation of Israel will be saved. This happens after Armageddon and after the separation of the bad sheep from the good sheep so that the kingdom begins with only believers.
This will occur in five phases.
Details at Malachi 3:1-6

FIRST: the nation must be in a receptive condition.
Jesus said to the NATION, “you will not see Me again UNTIL you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Mat. 23:39.

Through the ministry of the church and the two witnesses, Many from the nation of Israel will be RECOGNIZE Jesus as the MESSIAH, and be convicted of their sin. It is THEN that He will arrive in the clouds of the sky in power and great glory.
HOSEA 5:15
"I will go away and return to My place
UNTIL they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In THEIR AFFLICTION they will earnestly seek Me."

They need to acknowledge their national guilt of rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.

Isaiah 59:20, "And a Redeemer will come to (or for) Zion, and to (or for) those who turn from transgression in Jacob."

He will come only after the nation "as a whole" acknowledge the national transgression.

SECOND
Jesus will THEN arrive "in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory, (Mat. 24:30) "and every eye will see Him, (Rev. 1:7)"
Rev. 19:11, "And I saw the sky opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war."

THIRD
And when "every eye will see Him," many out from among the Jews will at that moment trust in Him as SAVIOR.
The first fruits of those who believe will be the 144,000 Jewish bond servants of Rev. 7:1-8; Rev. 14:1-7.

FOURTH
This will be when Jesus descends physically ONTO the earth to rescue the nation of Israel from the many invading armies of Zech. 14:2-3.
He will go first to Edom. Isaiah 63:1-6
Then to Jerusalem and stand on the Mount of Olives. Zech. 14:4; Joel 3:16
And then to Megiddo to fight all the armies at Armageddon. Joel 3:14-16; Rev. 14:17-19; 16:12-16; 19:17-21.

FIFTH
After Armageddon during the next 45 days (Dan. 12:12) according to Ezekiel 34:15-24, Yahweh/Messiah will separate the fat and strong sheep from the lean. That is, He will separate the unbeliever from the believer, and the believers will then constitute the “saved” nation of Israel to go alive into Messiah’s kingdom.

As a result the only people of Israel who will be left are believers.
It will then be said at that time, that "all Israel" is saved.

REVELATION 20:4-6
All Christians are raptured at the Day of the Lord return of Jesus.
The only ones left on the earth are unbelievers.
BUT - from these, many will get saved.
The beast will still be reigning and trying to implement his agenda of beast worship and persecuting God’s people. However, his activity will be greatly restrained because of the trumpet judgments.
Even so, out from among these believers, many will be martyred,
beheaded by the beast.
    A. The tribulation starts at the MIDPOINT of the week. There will be many difficulties for those who do not worship the beast (seals 2-4), and specifically many will be killed for their faith (5^th seal).
    B. After the tribulation at an unknown day and hour, the rapture will occur, and all believers will be removed from the earth.
        Mat. 24:29-31; Rev. 6:12-17; 7:9ff. This is the 6^th seal.
    C. Then come the trumpet and bowl judgments of the 7^th seal and 7^th trumpet, Rev. 8-9; 15-16.
    D. Then the battle of Armageddon.
    E. AFTER THAT, before the kingdom starts, another group is raised up (Rev. 20:4). These are those who were martyred between the rapture and Armageddon.
         1. The ones who were raptured are mentioned at the first of v. 4, “I saw thrones and they sat upon them.” This is the body of Christ in heaven.

          2. THEN those who were martyred at the hands of the beast ONLY are raised up, “AND I saw,” and they join with the others to reign upon the earth together with Christ.
         3. These can ONLY be people who became believers after the rapture.

 

EVIDENCE OF SALVATION AFTER THE RAPTURE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. Jerusalem will become filled with believers before Armageddon.
    Zechariah 12:5-8
“A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through Yahweh of the armies, their God.”

2. When does Jerusalem become filled with believers?
Probably right after the TWO witnesses ascend to God and the earthquake destroys 1/10 of the city and kills 7,000 people (Rev. 11:13).
“And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

3. Isaiah 59:18-20
Many Jews will believe BEFORE Jesus descends to the mount of Olives.
“And a redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob.”

 

4. Many citizens of Egypt will become believers before the battle of Armageddon.
Isaiah 19:17, "The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts which He is purposing against them."

 

Because Egypt will move against the king of the West into Palestine, "Judah will become a terror to Egypt." Not because Judah does anything at this time, but because "Judah" or rather the attack against Judah is what causes terror to Egypt through the counter attack from the King of the W.
In other words, it is BECAUSE they messed with Judah, that they reap judgment as God allows the king of the West to defeat them.

 

But this terror upon Egypt will actually become a source of blessing.
Isaiah 19:22, God's judgment on Egypt will be both striking and healing.
When Egypt receives this crushing blow from the king of the west (the beast), it will elicit in the inhabitants of Egypt a response of trust toward God. The people as a whole will call out to God and God will deliver them.
The invitation of Joel 2:32 applies to everyone during the Day of the Lord.
"Whoever will call upon the name of Yahweh will be saved."
Egypt will have a large population of people who become citizens of the kingdom of God.

Thus, after the beast moves on to the other countries, eventually arriving in Megiddo, he will be destroyed there by Jesus. Egypt, as well as other countries will thus be delivered from the oppression of the beast.
After the dust settles, the surviving peoples of the world will be evaluated (Mat. 25:32-46).
The sheep (believers) will be divided from the goats (unbelievers), and judged accordingly.
The believers will be accepted into the eternal kingdom of God, which begins with the earthly kingdom (Zech. 14:16).
The unbelievers will go into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. This refers to the lake of fire rather than "torments" in Hades.
Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14-15.
 

 

Isaiah 19:18, "In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to Yahweh of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction."
Again, "in that day" refers to the time period of the day of the Lord. This time the focus is after the battles have all been resolved and the kingdom has started.
The reference to "the city of destruction" is probably the idea that ONE OF THE FIVE will be designated as an historical "reminder" or memoriam of all that happened during the day of the Lord judgments. This is suggested by verses 19-20. The "pillar" will be a sign and a "witness" BECAUSE, "they will cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them."

 

Isaiah 19:19-20, "In that day there will be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Yahweh near its border. It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them."

 

The blessing on Egypt that is described here is BECAUSE they called out to Yahweh.
There will be many people of Egypt who did not take the mark of the beast. These will turn to the Lord during the time of oppression and Jesus the Messiah will rescue them.
There will be world-wide evangelism during the whole time period of the 70th week.

Isaiah 19:21a, "Thus the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Yahweh in that day."
Apparently, and finally, the people of Egypt (and Assyria) will be impacted by the message and accept it. I suggest that this "impact" will be made upon the people during the time from Christ's arrival in the clouds and His physical descent to the earth several months later.

Isaiah 19:21b,  They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to Yahweh and perform it."

 

This will occur during the Messiah's kingdom and is summarized at Zechariah 14:16, "Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths."
The unbelievers will be removed from the believers during the sheep and Goat evaluation described by Jesus at Matthew 25:31-46.
Also the unbelieving Jews will be removed out from among the believing Jews in the separation described at Ezekiel 34:17-2.

 

Isaiah 19:22 gives the summary of the judgment and the blessing.
"And Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to Yahweh, and He will respond to them and will heal them.

 

5. At Ezek. 34:11-31 - Israel begins to be regathered back to the land prior to the 70th week. After the Day of the Lord, many will be converted to Jesus. Then after Armageddon, the believers will be separated from the  believers will go alive into the kingdom to populate Palestine and partake of the “earthly” blessings under Messiah’s rule.

Ezekiel 20:33-44 with special focus on verses 37-38.
 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;  and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh.

This indicates clearly that there will be believers on the earth jut before the establishment of the kingdom and that the unbelievers will be removed from believers.

Chapter 37 reviews that gathering process and ends with the kingdom blessing at verses 22-28.

6. Zech. 14:16, there will be people from the nations of the world who become believers before the kingdom starts. These the survivors of the nations will begin the kingdom in “worship mode” because they are believers.

7. Isaiah 45:16, unbelievers will be removed from the earth.
This means that it is only believers who enter into the kingdom.

8. 59:19, there will be salvation during the time of  judgment.

9. Isaiah 60:21, There will be no unbelieving Jews who enter into the kingdom. It starts with only believing Jews and Gentiles.

 

THE SALVATION OF THE GENTILES
During the 1000 year reign of the Messiah, the universal aspects of God’s covenant with Abraham (“in you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”), which include not only salvation (Gal. 3:8), but also “physical” blessings, will be fully realized.

1. The Gentiles who enter into the kingdom will be believers.
Is. 2:4;  18:1-7;  Jer. 3:17; 16:19-21; Zeph. 2:11; 3:9; Zech. 14:16-19

2. Mat. 25:31-46, the separation of the sheep and goats, recognizes the existence of RIGHTEOUS “sheep” on the earth after Armageddon and the removal of the unrighteous goats, when Jesus prepares to establish His physical reign.

3. Ezek. 38:23
“And I shall magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am Yahweh.”’
This indicates that everyone who goes alive into the millennium will be saved.

4. Zechariah 14:16, “the survivors of the nations” are believers who enter the kingdom and worship Yahweh.

Additional passages for consideration.
We must recognize the prophetic promises concerning Gentile participation in the kingdom.
Is. 2:4; 11:12; 16:1-5; 18:1-7; 19:16-25; 23:18; 42:1; 45:14; 49:6, 22; 59:16-18; 60:1-14; 61:8-9; 62:2; 66:18-19; Jer. 3:17; 16:19-21; 49:6; 49:39; Ezek. 38:23; Amos 9:12; Mic. 7:16-17; Zeph. 2:11; 3:9; Zech. 8:20-22; 9:10; 10:11-12; 14:16-19)

We thus recognize the universal rule of the Messiah.

2. The Gentiles will be Israel's servants during the millennium.
Is. 14:1-2; 49:22-23; 60:10-14; 61:5; Zech. 8:22-23.
Especially noted, is that those nations (races) who historically oppressed Israel, will find themselves subservient to Israel, although still under blessing.

3. It is recognized that the Gentiles who enter into the millennium will have become saved before that entrance.  Is. 19:19-25; 60:3-5; Jer. 3:17-18; 16:19-21; Amos 9:12.

Someone asked:
>As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man---the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them "ALL".. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot---the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them "ALL".. (See Lk.17:26-27b; 28a-29)<

The mention of these 2 evens is by way of ILLUSTRATION of judgment. It does not mean that ALL will be “destroyed.” It means that ALL who are left will undergo JUDGMENT. That happens to be the judgment of the wrath of the Lamb and of the Father, carried out via the trumpets and bowls, and culminating in Armageddon. Furthermore, that would be poured out on only those who remain unbelievers. The coming of Jesus at Mat. 24 refers to His arrival at the Day of the Lord which takes place AFTER the tribulation but BEFORE the end of the week.