2. The Hopeless condition of the left-behind ones.
What will happen when Christendom awakens to
the solemn fact that the real Church, the Church of God, has been removed from
this earth and taken to be with the Lord? Again we say, it is not difficult
for our imagination to supply the answer. But we are not left to the exercise
of our imagination; the Holy Scriptures contain a plain and full reply to our
inquiry. The Word of God intimates that following the Rapture of the saints
many of the left-behind ones will earnestly seek the salvation of their souls.
Multitudes of men and women will, for the first time in their lives, all upon
the name of the Lord and cry unto Him for mercy. But their cry will not be
heard. Their seeking will be in vain, because they have delayed the
all-important matter of their salvation until it is too late. The door
of mercy will then be closed, for the Day of Salvation will have ended. Often
had these left-behind ones been warned, but in vain. Servants of God had
faithfully set before them their imperative need of fleeing from the wrath to
come; knowing the terror of the Lord, they had sought to persuade their unsaved
hearers to be reconciled to God, only to be laughed at for their pains. And
now the tables will be turned. God will laugh at them, laugh at their
calamity and mock at their fear. Listen to the solemn declaration of Holy Writ
- "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 they shall 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." (Prov. 1:24-31). Unspeakably solemn words are these -
words which ought to be thundered forth from every pulpit in the land. Many
the time had these same people heard the Gospel preached, but they had
deliberately hardened their hearts. Many the time had they been urged to "Seek
ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is
near" (Is. 55:6), but they despised the invitations of Divine grace. Now
they shall reap as they have sown. Hitherto they had mocked God; now God shall
mock them. Hitherto Go had called to them, but they had refused to attend; now
shall they call upon God and He will decline to answer them.
Parallel with this solemn declaration is the Old
Testament Scriptures we find our Lord Himself testified, "Strive to enter in at
the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall
not be able when once the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the
door, and ye being to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying Lord,
Lord, open unto us; and He shall answer and say unto you, I know ye not whence
ye are" (Luke 13:24,25). These words contain an amplification of His utterance
concerning the "foolish virgins" - "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" (Matt. 25:11,12). Whoever the "great multitude" of Rev. 7
may be, it is certain that none in Christendom who have rejected the Gospel
during the present dispensation will be among that number. 2 Thess. 2:10-12 is
equally explicit. The Anti-christ shall come "with all decevableness 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 ALL might be damned who
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." Let it then
be distinctly understood that, there will be no "second chance" for present-day
Christ rejectors left behind on the earth after the removal of the Church, for
when the Church goes the Holy Spirit, too, is taken away. Knocking and
crying then will be useless. The door has been closed. The Day of
Salvation is over. An angry God shall then mock those who have mocked Him. As
it was with Israel of old, so shall it then be with a God-forsaken Christendom
- "Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I
have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I
not hear them" (Ezek. 8:18). Unsaved reader, consider thy peril. The Lord
is at hand, and if you are not among the number caught up to meet Him in the
air, then your doom will be eternally sealed. "He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;
but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). But not only shall the
left-behind ones seek the Lord in vain, but they shall be the objects of His
wrath. This leads us to consider -