An Open Letter to Those Left Behind

Sometime in the near future an event of unprecedented proportions is going to occur. At the same time it takes an eye to blink, countless numbers of people will disappear. This will be a shock to the systems of the world. This will be an astounding event of biblical proportions. If you are one of those remaining on earth after this event, you might wonder, “What just happened?” This letter is for you. It’s an “open letter,” meaning, it’s a letter for you and anyone else wondering what has happened. This is an open letter for all to see.

What Happened? The Rapture Happened

In 1970, during the Jesus People revival, Larry Norman wrote a song entitled, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready, that expressed the eschatology (i.e. doctrine of Last Things) of that movement. It became a very popular song among the young people coming to the LORD. It’s a song about what will one day happen when the Rapture occurs. Here are the lyrics:

I Wish We’d All Been Ready Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you've been left behind

[Verse 2]
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone
I wish we'd all be ready

Two men walking up a hill

One disappears and one’s left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you've been left behind

[Verse 3]
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind?
The Father spoke, the demons dined
The Son has come and you've been left behind

[Outro]
You've been left behind
You've been left behind
You've been left behind
You've been left behind

 

If something like that happened you’d want to know “why?” You’d probably want to apply as many resources as possible to finding the answer to the missing persons. The Bible speaks of an event in the future that will have a very similar effect only on a (hopefully) much broader range. This event is called The Rapture.

The Rapture will be a sudden event. The Bible describes the Rapture as a shockingly sudden event:

• 1 Corinthians 15:51–52 (NKJV) - ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

According to Siri, the average eyeblink takes 350,000 microseconds or 1/3 of a second. Just that suddenly, the Rapture will occur.

The Rapture will be a snatching away by Jesus. The Rapture is also described as Jesus coming in the clouds to receive believers to Himself in the clouds:

• 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 (NKJV) - ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The phrase “caught up” is a translation of the Greek term harpagesometha (Future/Passive/Indicative of harpadzo which means will be carried off, will be taken, will be snatched away, will be caught up, will be seized. Jesus will one day come and catch us up to Him in the clouds in the twinkling of an eye. The Rapture involves a sudden snatching away.

The Rapture will separate people. Jesus spoke of such an event in His Olivet Discourse saying:

• Matthew 24:36–44 (NKJV) - ³⁶ “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ³⁸ For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴² Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Rapture is not only sudden and snatching, but it involves a separating of people. The Rapture will be a time when people will be separated. Born again believers in Jesus will leave unbelievers behind. True believers will leave false believers behind. Believing family members will leave unbelieving family members behind. Believing friends will leave unbelieving friends behind.

Nothing can be more frightening than the fear of losing a loved one. But those who depart could not be in a safer place when they are taken. They will be with Jesus. The greater cause for concern is for those left behind.

Those who are left behind will not likely know what’s happened. They weren’t paying attention to the gospel message of Jesus. They mocked and threw aside any thought of a “Rapture.” But when the Rapture does occur, they will be thinking, “Now what did that christian say about the Rapture and the End Times?”

Why Did this Happen?

Why did this, the rapture, happen? There are two reasons.

First, God will judge those who reject Him. There is a time of God’s judgment coming for those who persistently resist and rebel against God. God is patient and longsuffering, but there is a time when His patience runs out. When this happens, His judgment on this world will occur.

This is explained in 2 Thessalonians where it states:

• 2 Thessalonians 1:3–10 (NKJV) - ³ We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, ⁴ so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, ⁵ which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; ⁶ since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, ⁷ and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, ¹⁰ when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.

You have been left behind because you, “do not know God,” and are one of those, “who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Second, the Rapture is Jesus’ rescue plan for the saved. God’s word and promise to those who receive Jesus as Savior, is that they are saved from God’s wrath. This is stated in the following verses:

• Romans 5:9 (NKJV) - ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:10 (NKJV) - ¹⁰ and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (NKJV) - ⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
• Revelation 3:10 (NKJV) - ¹⁰ Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

The Rapture is God’s means to remove His born-again believers out of this world before He pours out His wrath of judgment on this Christ-rejecting world.

But I go to church. Why was I still left behind? It’s interesting that in His letter to the church in Thyatira Jesus said the following:

• Revelation 2:21–22 (NKJV) - ²¹ And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. ²² Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.

Jesus said not everyone who is in a church is necessarily “born again” or spiritually alive (Matthew 13:24-30). Jesus said some would even call Him “Lord, Lord,” but they aren’t known by Him (Matthew 7:21-23). Some may even do church related things. But the only ones who are accepted by Jesus for heaven and who will be taken at the Rapture are those who have bene “born again.”

Jesus said to Nicodemas the very religious pharisee:

• John 3:3 (NKJV) - ³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

It’s not about religion or religious practice, its about knowing Jesus.

In His High Priestly prayer Jesus said:

• John 17:3 (NKJV) - ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Do you know Jesus? If you knew Jesus, you would not have been left behind. You must be born again!

When Will This Happen?

When will the Rapture happen? No one knows except the Father in heaven according to Jesus. In Matthew 24:36 Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” No one knows except the Father in heaven. And since no one knows, Jesus says we ought to be watchful:

• Matthew 24:44 - ⁴⁴ Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Jesus gave signs we should look for to know that His return was close:

1. Leading up to Jesus’ return it would be like the Days of Noah – people would be ignoring God’s prophetic warnings and indulging in depravity and sin - Matthew 24:37-39; Genesis 6
2. Leading up to Jesus’ return it would be like the Days of Lot – people will go about their everyday life with no concern for God’s judgment - Luke 17:28-29

The Bible also says that leading up to the prophetic culmination of all things (including the Rapture) believers would be able to discern the “times and the seasons” but unbelievers would be deceived by apparent “peace and safety!”:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 (NKJV) - But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. ² For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³ For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ⁴ But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. ⁵ You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. ⁶ Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. ⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. ¹¹ Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

 There are many passages of scripture which speak of the times leading up to the Rapture and beyond, e.g. Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 17:20-37; 21; Ezekiel 38-39; Revelation 2-3. You may be hearing or paying attention to these passages for the first time. That’s one of the reasons you have been left behind. God has been calling, shouting a warning, you have not listened.

Why Hasn’t the Rapture Happened Yet?

God still loves you. Why hasn’t the Rapture happened yet? The short answer is because God loves you. This is an open letter to those left behind at the Rapture, but did you know that God has provided us with an open letter long before this? The Bible is God’s open letter to us. In this letter, from the beginning, God has expressed His love toward us. He has also expressed His justness. His love is Holy, it is unique, uncommon, there’s no love like it. And just because you have been left behind doesn’t mean God doesn’t love you anymore.

To give you an idea of the love of God for you, here are a few scriptures from God’s letter:

• John 3:16 (NKJV) - ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
• Romans 5:8 (NKJV) - ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
• 1 John 3:16–18 (NKJV) - ¹⁶ By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷ But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? ¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
• 1 John 4:9 (NKJV) - ⁹ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

Sometimes love must be tough. You have been left behind because you have persisted in your rejection of God. But that doesn’t mean God hates you now. God still loves you. He wants you to spend eternity with Him. But time is running out. You have resisted, so God is resorting to tough love to hopefully shake you up and wake you up to your need of a Savior Jesus, and a willingness to turn from your sins and trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

That God is willing to use tough love to get out attention is seen in the following verses:

• Psalm 66:10–12 (NKJV) - For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. ¹¹You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs.¹²You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.
• Hebrews 12:3–11 (NKJV) ³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ⁴ You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; ⁶For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” ⁷ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸ But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹ Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

 

In life, hardship and trial does not necessarily mean God’s judgment, it may be His efforts to wake you up to your need of repentance and salvation.

Repentance and salvation (forgiveness). To repent is to have a change of heart or mind that leads to a change in behavior. We cannot enter heaven or have a relationship with God is we hold on to our sins. We must be willing to let go of what God calls sin and trust God. This is conveyed to us from God’s heart to ours in His following words:

• 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) - ¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
• 2 Corinthians 7:9–10 (NKJV) - ⁹ Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰ For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

This leads us to the answer to the question of why the Rapture hasn’t yet occurred.

God desires that none perish. If you’re a skeptic, it might interest you to know that the Bible speaks of your skepticism. The Apostle Peter wrote:

• 2 Peter 3:1–9 (NKJV) - Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ² that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³ knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶ by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

⁸ But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

You see, its’ really for your benefit that Jesus hasn’t yet come to take His church out of here. It’s to your benefit that you have more time to consider your ways, repent, and trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

Why Should I Care to Be Raptured?

Why should a person even care to be raptured? There’s a reason why Jesus takes His bride the church out of this world. Jesus raptures the church out of this world to spare them what will be happening after the Rapture. That’s something unbelievers should consider. Right from the start I’d like to provide you with information on what you can expect to happen after the Rapture.

1. God’s Righteous Wrath - Once the church is removed, God will begin to pour out His righteous wrath on the Christ-rejecting world – Revelation 6:16-17; 11:18.
2. A Left Behind False Church - God’s wrath will be poured out on the False Church and its congregations who have been left behind – Revelation 2:22
3. Antichrist - A prominent figure who is very attractive, charismatic, cunning, deceptive, powerful, will rise to power. This is the Antichrist spoken of in scripture (e.g. Revelation 13) – Revelation 6:1-2.
4. The Tribulation Begins - The Tribulation will begin when Antichrist brokers a covenant with Israel – Daniel 9:27. This is a seven-year period of history Jesus described as, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).
5. Unprecedented Conflict – Revelation 6:3-4
6. Unprecedented Scarcity – Revelation 6:5-6
7. Unprecedented Death - Revelation 6:7-8
8. Unprecedented Persecution - Revelation 6:9-11. Those who do come to their sense and turn to Jesus after the Rapture, will be severely persecuted for their faith. Those who put off coming to Jesus now with the idea they can just come to Him later, should consider, if you can’t live for Jesus now, what makes you think you will be able to die for Him later in the Tribulation.
9. Unprecedented Global Shaking – Revelation 6:12-17. The earth will literally be an earthquake. There will be no place to hide. There will be no escape.
10. Revival – Revelation 7. Even in the midst of God’s outpoured wrath, He will be merciful and send out His gospel through 144,000 Apostle-Paul-like evangelists. He will raise up two Tribulation Prophets to call the world to repentance (Revelation 11). He will even send an angel throughout the world to proclaim the everlasting gospel (Revelation 14:6).
11. A Third of the World’s Vegetation will be Destroyed - Revelation 8:7
12. A Third of the Oceans will Be Turned to Blood by a Cataclysmic Event - Revelation 8:8-9
13. A Third of the Rivers and Inland Bodies of Waters will Be Destroyed by a Cataclysmic Event - Revelation 8:10-11
14. Another Cataclysmic Event will Knock Out a Third of the Sun, Moon, and Stars – Revelation 8:12-13
15. Demons will be Let Loose from the Pit of Hell to Torment Earth-dwellers - Revelation 9:1-12
16. A Third of Mankind will be Killed by Four Angels Released on the Earth - Revelation 9:13-21.
17. Israel will be Attacked Mercilessly and There will be Great Persecution of Believers - Revelation 12
18. Satan will Rule through His Counterfeit christ, Antichrist - Revelation 13. You won’t be able to buy or sell unless you take the mark of the Antichrist. This mark will be an oath of allegiance to the Satanically empowered Antichrist. If you take the mark, your soul is lost eternally.
19. God’s Wrath Will Be Just and Severe for Those Who Persist in Rejecting Him - Revelation 14:17-20.
20. The World Will be infected with a “foul and loathsome sore” - Revelation 16:1-2
21. The Sea Turned to Blood - Revelation 16:3
22. Inland Waters Turned to Blood - Revelation 16:4-7
23. People of the World will be Scorched from the Sun - Revelation 16:8-9
24. Darkness and Gnawing of Tongues in Pain - Revelation 16:10-11
25. Terrible Literal Shaking of All the Earth - Revelation 16:17-21
26. The Destruction of the One World Religion - Revelation 17
27. The Collapse of the World’s Economic System - Revelation 18
28. Antichrist and the World’s Nations are Defeated by Jesus at His Second Coming - Revelation 19
29. Satan Bound - Revelation 20:1-3
30. Jesus Reigns 1000 Years on Earth with True Believers Serving as his Ambassadors throughout the Earth – Revelation 20:4-6
31. One Final Rebellion Put Down - Revelation 20:7-10
32. The Great White Throne Judgment - Revelation 20:11-15. If your name isn’t found in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.
33. All Things Made New - Revelation 21-22. Without Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will miss out on all of this.

 

This is a very brief synopsis of what the person left behind at the Rapture can expect. It will be a terrible time on the earth during the Tribulation. The Tribulation is not merely punitive, but God’s tough-love attempt to shake up the Christ-rejecting world that they might repent and be saved.

Something to remember. The Tribulation is something temporal to be saved from. The Lake of Fire is something eternal that once there, no one can be saved from.

Miracles Happen

Maybe now, before the Rapture takes place, you’re thinking, “Rapture? What a crazy lunatic doctrine that is. It doesn’t make any sense. It defies science. It’s preposterous. It’s impossible. It’s just another lunatic fringe idea.” But one thing such thinking leaves out, the miraculous. Just as surely as God created all things, just as surely as He parted the Red Sea, fed 4,000 and then 5,000 with meagre morsels of food, healed the lame and blind, rose Lazarus from the dead, and resurrected himself from the dead, just as surely God could take all His children out of this world.

There are many miraculous supernatural God-events in the Bible that those who don’t know God or who actively defy God mock and disbelieve. A miracle is something God does that defies nature and natural law. A miracle is God’s intervention in His creation. For instance the Bible says God created the world by merely speaking it into existence (Gen. 1 and John 1). There are incidents recorded in the Bible where God parted seas making a way for His people to escape their pursuers, parted rivers to allow His people to pass through on dry ground, and provided for His people with manna from heaven, squadrons of quail and water from a rock. There are incidents of miraculous healings in the Old Testament where the dead were raised back to life. In the New Testament Jesus and His followers healed people of many assorted ailments. Jesus walked on water, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and promised to return. All of these incidents and events defy human logic. They were God-incidents. So the bottom line is not merely did they actually happen, but do you believe they could happen. If you believe God is who He says He is, then the miraculous is not only possible but logical. Jesus said He would return to take up physically to Himself born again believers of His church. Preposterous? Illogical? Maybe to an atheist, but not to a believer and follower of God in Jesus Christ who knows nothing is impossible with God. If God is Who He says He is, He can do whatever He purposes to do.

What Should I Do Now?

If you are reading this, it means there is still time for you to escape the Lake of Fire and spend eternity in heaven with the Lord. But you must accept the gospel, or “good news” God has offered to you. It’s time to get right with God.

Below is some straight talk on your need to be forgiven for your sins. So, get out your Bible and begin looking up these verses that instruct on how to be forgiven our sins and receive spiritual life in Christ. (You should get in the habit of opening and studying the Bible. It is Gods’ love letter to you and tells you what life is all about.) 

Straight Talk on Salvation

• Life is a vapor – James 4:14
• Death is sure – Hebrews 9:27
• Sins the curse – Romans 6:23
• Christ is the cure – Romans 5:8; 10:9-10; 2 Cor. 5;21; Ephesians 2:1-10
• By grace through faith, not works – John 16:8-11; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7
• But faith leads to works; faith without works is dead – James 2
• Grace is not an excuse to sin – Romans 6
• We must repent – Matthew 4:17 Mark 1:15 Acts 2:37-39
• We must not continue to follow the world – James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17; Gal. 2;20; Colossians 2:6-10
• We need to rely on the Holy Spirit to help us live holy lives – John 14:15 and 21; 16:13;   1 Peter 1:15-16
• We must learn to love – 2 Cor. 5:14-16; 1 John 3:16-23; 4:7-19
• Love is the fruit or product, the evidence that the Holy Spirit is within you and giving you life – Galatians 5:22-24.

Now, simply pray from your heart, sincerely, for God to forgive your sins. By faith trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord. When you do this, the Holy Spirit will come to indwell you. Then live in constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit asking Him to help you live and please God. Welcome to the family of God! See you soon.

 FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE RAPTURE GET PASTOR CLAUDE'S BOOK UNDER THE SAME TITLE An Open Letter to Those Left Behind AVAILABLE AT AMAZON -  Cut and paste into your browser - https://www.amazon.com/Open-Letter-Those-Left-Behind-ebook/dp/B0BJ3BX6KS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=35CSWQVBMMX0E&keywords=An+open+letter+to+those+left+behind&qid=1665822635&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjk2IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=an+open+letter+to+those+left+behind%2Caps%2C65&sr=8-1