Left Behind: After the Rapture

Many people ask, "Can the people left behind after the rapture be saved, or will it be impossible for them to accept Christ?"

Yes, people can be saved after the rapture, but don't use that as an excuse to put off receiving Christ. After the rapture, the Antichrist will come to power and deceive the world. Jesus said, "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (Matt. 24:24). Because Satan will possess the Antichrist, he will have incredible powers of deception-to the point where he can convince nearly everyone in the world to follow him. However, Jesus said the elect would not be deceived.

Paul tells us more about what will happen after the rapture. He said that the Antichrist is "the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 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. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness." (2 Thess. 2:9-12). God will send a deluding influence, meaning that He will allow it to happen. Only by the revelation of God will someone be able to discern the truth.

The apostle John also confirms this when he says, "And he (the Antichrist) performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men" (Rev. 13:13). "And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain" (Rev. 13:8). The whole world will worship him-not every person in the world, but those whose names are not written in the book of life.

How do we know people will be saved after the rapture?

First, the Antichrist makes war with the saints.
"And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him" (Rev. 13:7). These are people who have been saved after the rapture.

Second, the 144,000 Jews will be saved after the rapture (Rev. 7:1-7).
These Jews from the 12 tribes will accept Jesus as the Messiah and enter into the Millennium to repopulate the earth. The 12 apostles will rule over these 12 tribes during this time. Jesus, speaking to His disciples, said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration [the Millennium] when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. 19:28).

Third, some of those saved after the rapture will repopulate the entire earth during the Millennium (Zech. 14:16-17). Of course, many of those saved after the rapture will be killed by the Antichrist. Those who are alive at the Second Coming will be the ones who will repopulate the earth.

Fourth, the Tribulation saints, who were saved after the rapture, are resurrected after the Second Coming (Rev. 20:1-4). Note that this resurrection is not the rapture, but occurs after the Second Coming of Christ (Rev. 19:11-16).

Fifth, the Holy Spirit will be poured out during the Tribulation Period (Joel 2:28-32). Some people wrongly teach that when the Church is raptured, the Holy Spirit will also be removed. This passage shows this is not the case. The Holy Spirit will convict people of their need to for salvation and will redeem those who call upon the Lord to be saved.

Sixth, Israel will turn to the Lord during the Tribulation.
Paul said, "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob'" (Rom. 11:25-26). This verse prophesies that physical Israel will be converted to Jesus, the Messiah, during the Tribulation.

Those left behind after the rapture can still be saved, but with great difficulty. Now is the time to call upon Jesus to be saved.