Of her, Jesus said, “You too suffered the guillotine for My name’s sake, speaking boldly for Me to the end. Wear this for eternity.”
Of Buck he said, “You and your wife gave up a son for My sake, but he shall be returned to you, and you shall be recompensed a hundredfold. You will enjoy the love of the children of others during the millennial kingdom.”
Jesus took extra time with Tsion Ben-Judah, praising him for “your bold worldwide proclamation of Me as the Messiah your people had for so long sought, the loss of your family—which shall be restored to you—your faithful preaching of My gospel to millions around the world, and your defense of Jerusalem until the moment of your death. Untold millions joined Me in the kingdom because of your witness to the end.”
Rayford enjoyed Jesus’ welcome to dozens of others whose names he had forgotten, underground believers in various countries who had worked through the Co-op, hosted Trib Force people, and sacrificed their lives in defense of the gospel.
Only by the miraculous work of God through Jesus, the honoring of more than two hundred million tribulation martyrs and saints was suddenly over. Jesus stood at the front edge of the vast platform and spread His arms as if to encompass the mighty throng of souls, most with glorified bodies, the rest mere mortals who had survived the Tribulation.
“I will declare the decree,” He said. “The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’
“Now therefore, I say be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
“I welcome you, one and all, to the kingdom I have prepared for you. Rayford, welcome.”
“Thank You, Lord.”
How anyone found anyone else in the endless mass of souls was a miracle in itself. Rayford saw Chaim making a beeline to Tsion, who was already in the embrace of his wife and two children. Albie and Mac were laughing and shouting and hugging.
There were Buck and Chloe running to Kenny as he ran to them.
And seemingly out of nowhere, at Rayford’s elbow stood Irene. One thing he could say for the glorified body: She looked herself, and as if she had not aged. No way she could say the same for him.
“Hi, Rafe,” she said, smiling.
“Irene,” he said, holding her. “You’re permitted one cosmic I-told-you-so.”
“Oh, Rayford,” she said, stepping back as if to get a good look at him. “I’ve just been so grateful that you found Jesus and so thrilled at how many souls are here because of what you and Chloe and the others did.” She looked behind him. “Raymie,” she said, “come here.”
Rayford turned and there was his son. He scooped him up in a tight embrace. “Even you knew the truth that I didn’t,” he said.
“I can’t tell you how great it is to see you here, Dad.”
Rayford pointed to Buck and Chloe and Kenny. “You know who that is?”
“Of course,” Irene said. “That’s my grandson—your nephew, Raymie.”
They approached shyly, but it was Buck who broke the ice as Chloe gathered in her parents. “So nice to meet you, finally,” he said, shaking his mother-in-law’s hand. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Kenny seemed fascinated to have a real uncle, and one so young.
As they laughed and hugged and praised God for each other and for their salvation, Amanda White Steele approached. “Rayford,” she said. “Irene.”
“Amanda!” Irene said, pulling her close. “Would you believe I prayed for you even after I was raptured?”
“It worked.”
“I know it did. And you and Rafe were happy for a time.”
“I was so afraid this would be awkward,” Rayford said.
“Not at all,” Irene said. “I didn’t begrudge you a good wife and companionship. I was so thrilled that you both had come to Jesus. You’re going to find that He is all that matters now.”
“And I,” Amanda said, “am just so happy you made it through the Tribulation, Rayford.” She turned back to Irene and took her arm. “You know, your witness and character were the reasons I came to the Lord.”
“I knew that was your testimony,” Irene said. “But I hadn’t recalled making any impression on you.”
“I don’t think you tried. You just did.”
Rayford had the feeling that his family would be close, affectionate friends throughout the Millennium. He didn’t understand it all yet, in fact hardly any of it. But he had to agree with Irene: Jesus was all that mattered anymore. There would be no jealousy, envy, or sin. Their greatest joy would be in serving and worshiping their Lord, who had brought them to Himself.
As Buck and Chloe continued to interact with Irene and Amanda, Rayford borrowed Raymie. “There are so many people I want to see, Son. You must meet them all. And we’ve only got a thousand years.”
Epilogue
But after these things [Satan] must be released for a little while.
Revelation 20:3
About the Author
JERRY B. JENKINS, former vice president for publishing at Moody Bible Institute of Chicago and currently chairman of the board of trustees, is the author of more than 175 books, including the best-selling Left Behind series. Twenty of his books have reached the New York Times Best Sellers List (seven in the number-one spot) and have also appeared on the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal best-seller lists. Desecration, book nine in the Left Behind series, was the best-selling book in the world in 2001. His books have sold nearly 70 million copies.
Also the former editor of Moody magazine, his writing has appeared in Time, Reader’s Digest, Parade, Guideposts, Christianity Today, and dozens of other periodicals. He was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 2004.
His nonfiction books include as-told-to biographies with Hank Aaron, Bill Gaither, Orel Hershiser, Luis Palau, Joe Gibbs, Walter Payton, and Nolan Ryan among many others. The Hershiser and Ryan books reached the New York Times Best Sellers List.
Jenkins assisted Dr. Billy Graham with his autobiography, Just As I Am, also a New York Times best seller. Jerry spent 13 months working with Dr. Graham, which he considers the privilege of a lifetime.
Jerry owns Jenkins Entertainment, a filmmaking company in Los Angeles, which produced the critically acclaimed movie Midnight Clear, based on his book of the same name. See www.Jenkins-Entertainment.com.
Jerry Jenkins also owns the Christian Writers Guild, which aims to train tomorrow’s professional Christian writers. Under Jerry’s leadership, the guild has expanded to include college-credit courses, a critique service, literary registration services, and writing contests, as well as an annual conference. See www.ChristianWritersGuild.com.
As a marriage-and-family author, Jerry has been a frequent guest on Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family radio program and is a sought-after speaker and humorist. See www.AmbassadorSpeakers.com.
Jerry has been awarded four honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Dianna, have three grown sons and six grandchildren.
Check out Jerry’s blog at http://jerryjenkins.blogspot.com.
DR. TIM LAHAYE (www.timlahaye.com), who conceived and created the idea of fictionalizing an account of the Rapture and the Tribulation, is a noted author, minister, and nationally recognized speaker on Bible prophecy. He is the founder of both Tim LaHaye Ministries and The PreTrib Research Center.
Dr. LaHaye speaks at many of the major Bible prophecy conferences in the U.S. and Canada, where his prophecy books are very popular.
Dr. LaHaye earned a doctor of ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary and received an honorary doctor of literature degree from Liberty University. For 25 years he past
ored one of the nation’s outstanding churches in San Diego, which grew to three locations. During that time he founded two accredited Christian high schools, a Christian school system of ten schools, and San Diego Christian College (formerly known as Christian Heritage College).
There are over 59 million copies of Dr. LaHaye’s 50 nonfiction books, some of which have been published in over 37 languages. He has written books on a wide variety of subjects, such as family life, temperaments, and Bible prophecy. His fiction works include the Left Behind series and the Jesus Chronicles, written with Jerry B. Jenkins. LaHaye’s other fiction series of prophetic novels consist of the Babylon Rising series and The End series. Dr. LaHaye is the father of four grown children, grandfather of nine, and great-grandfather of eleven.
TEST YOUR PROPHECY IQ
How can you avoid being left behind and going through the Tribulation?
See answer at the end of this section.
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FICTION
THE PROPHECY BEHIND THE SCENES
While Armageddon prepared us for the great battle, we see it unfold and witness Christ’s victorious return in Glorious Appearing. Here is how Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins describe the biblical background of that dramatic story, from chapter 15 of their nonfiction book Are We Living in the End Times?
The Glorious Appearing
Some news stories are so enormous that ordinary headlines and bold print just won’t cut it. For outsized events and cataclysmic happenings, newspapers for decades have resorted to what came to be known as “Second Coming type”—that is, a style and size of lettering that jumps off the page, grabs a reader by the throat, and demands, READ ME!
But why give the name “Second Coming type”? Why not just call it “Big News type” or “Major Event type” or “Can You Believe This? type”?
The reason, of course, is that there is no bigger event than the second coming of Christ, and even the most irreligious journalist at the most liberal newspaper in the most ungodly city in the world knows it. Ironically, when He comes, Second Coming type will sit unused on the presses. Why? Because there will be no time left to put out a flash street edition to announce His return! [That was 1999—imagine how the message would be disseminated with social networking, Twitter, and smart phones, much less any other technology developed by the time you read this!]
The Second Coming: The Cornerstone of Prophecy
At the second coming of Christ, Jesus will come back to this earth to judge His enemies, set up His kingdom, and rule over the earth for one thousand years.
Among the 318 New Testament predictions of Jesus’ return, the Holy Spirit used many terms to describe His second coming, from “the coming [again] of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 3:13, KJV) to “coming . . . with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26) to our favorite, found in Titus 2:13, the “glorious appearing.” This latter term seems to us to best describe that magnificent event.
The Glorious Appearing will end the time of Satan’s deception of mankind and will usher in Christ’s kingdom of peace on earth. It is the very cornerstone of Bible prophecy and is one of the most loved and believed doctrines in the Bible, accepted by almost every denomination that still considers itself Christian. It is so much a part of the Christian faith that a recent Gallup poll commissioned by U.S. News and World Report indicated that 61 percent of the American people believe that Jesus Christ is physically coming back to this earth in the future—at least 25 percent more than claim to be “born again.”
Belief in Christ’s second coming is much more prevalent among those who profess to be Bible-believing Christians because it is basic to our faith and has been a significant declaration of all official church councils since the third century. Only the doctrine of salvation is mentioned in Scripture more than is the Second Coming—and salvation is the only way to prepare for His coming.
Different From the First
During His first coming our Lord endured persecution, mockery, rejection, and physical abuse, leading up to His crucifixion. He purposely humbled Himself and made Himself a human servant so that He could taste death for all human beings. In His first coming He made himself “lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7). Even so, He was more than a mere man, for He was God in human flesh. And though He had supernatural powers, He permitted himself to be persecuted, rejected, abused, and finally crucified, so He could become “the sin bearer” of God and thus save the world.
His Glorious Appearing will be a much different story, for then He will come in “power and great glory.” He will never come in weakness again! All men will bow before Him; He will be “the King of kings” and “Lord of lords,” and “every tongue will confess that He is Lord” (see Philippians 2:11)! All the angels and even Satan himself will be subject to His authority.
The world will never be the same after Jesus’ glorious appearing! After he destroys the armies of the Antichrist on the mountains of Israel, He will chain Satan in the bottomless pit for the duration of the Millennium, judge the nations of the world according to the way they have treated His chosen people (Matthew 25), and finally usher in a time of peace that men and women of goodwill have yearned for throughout the centuries.
Even So, Come Quickly
The apostle John ends the book of Revelation with several pointed reminders of Christ’s return. He knew some might be reading his book who weren’t ready for the Lord’s return. So to them he writes, “And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (22:17).
Are you thirsty? Then come to Christ, so that you will be ready for Him when He comes. Then you, too, will be ready to say with John, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
IN THE MEANTIME . . . since the Left Behind series was first published.
Dr. Mark Hitchcock served as contributing editor of the Left Behind Prophecy Newsletter from its first issue on January 8, 2003, through the final issue on September 30, 2009. (The Newsletter was produced by Waterfront Media in a license arrangement with Tyndale House Publishers.) In the final issue he was asked to provide a wrap-up of significant events in the drama of the times.
God is preparing the world stage. The curtain is still down. But God is allowing world events to take place and players to assume their roles for the drama to begin. Before the curtain rises, all those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior will rise in the air to meet the Lord at the Rapture.
Sometime after the Rapture, the Antichrist will arrive on the world scene. At that point all the pieces and players will be in place, ready to play their roles in the final drama of the ages. Here’s a summary of the major signposts on the road to the Glorious Appearing.
The Homecoming—After almost 1,900 years in exile, the Jewish people were regathered to their homeland and the modern state of Israel was born on May 14, 1948. This “supersign” of the end times is the one critical piece to the puzzle that’s necessary for the prophecies of the end times to be fulfilled.
The Reuniting of the Roman Empire—The Bible predicts in Daniel 2 and 7 and in Revelation 13 and 17 that the Roman Empire will be reunited in the end times. With half a billion people from 27 nations and a powerful currency (the Euro), the European Union could be the forerunner to this end-times superstate.
World Focus on the Middle East—No one fifty years ago could have imagined that the Middle East would be the focus of the world. Yet today, with almost two-thirds of the world’s proven oil reserves, radical Islam, and the Middle East crisis, this region is front and center in the headlines and the nightly news. According to Scripture, the Middle East is the staging ground for the events of the end times, with Israel in the epicenter.
Globalism and the New World Order—Globalism is here. The 1990s were called the Decade of Globalization. But the move toward a global economy is now on a fast track. The world is shrinking every day. The global economic meltdown has heightened the call for more global interdependence. The New World Order is a phrase that’s c
onstantly on the lips of government leaders. The Bible predicts that in the end times there will be a one world economy, government, and religion (Revelation 13).
The Coming Middle East Peace—The Bible predicts that the seven-year Tribulation will begin with a peace treaty between the Antichrist and Israel (Daniel 9:27). What could be more relevant in today’s world? The world is yearning for peace. The outcry has never been greater. Western powers are attempting to broker a Middle East peace deal and guarantee Israel’s peace and security.
The Growing “Gog” alliance—The prophet Ezekiel, writing 2,500 years ago, predicted than an alliance of nations including Russia, Iran, Turkey, Central Asia, Libya, and Sudan will invade Israel in the end times (Ezekiel 38). All of these nations are currently strengthening their alliances with one another, and they are all Islamic, except Russia.
Never before in human history has there been such a convergence of trends and developments that are part of the matrix of end time events predicted in Scripture.
All of this in just over sixty years! Viewed collectively, the impact of these signs is dramatic. The stage setting today is accelerating so quickly we can hardly keep up. It’s like everything is on fast forward. Before we’re able to catch our collective breath, we’re hurried on to the next series of events on the horizon of the future. The coming of the Lord could be very soon. The stage is set. Make sure you’re ready!
TEST YOUR PROPEHCY IQ—ANSWER
Only by entrusting your life to Jesus Christ can you avoid being left behind. As we end these twelve volumes of the Left Behind series, we do so reminding you of the passion shared by both Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins: that if you have not asked Jesus Christ to be the Lord of your life, you would do so now, and if you are already a Christ-follower that you will recommit yourself to sharing with as many people as possible the eternal hope found only in Christ.