BBP: Appendix E Will People Get Saved During the Endtimes?

Appendix E

Will People Get Saved During the Endtimes?

A) Scripture argues against anyone getting saved after Antichrist’s Resurrection at the very beginning of the Endtimes (Rev 13:8; 14:9, 11)

Reprobation is a theological word that refers to people who are so hardened they cannot be saved. Even God gives up on them. Such people may be described by Paul who writes:

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking [God gave them over to a depraved mind, NIV] and let them do things that should never be done. (Rom 1:28 NLT)

The topic of reprobation is too large to enter here, although it is clearly taught in Scripture (cf. Matt 12:30-32; John 12:37-41; Rom 9:18; 2 Tim 3:8; Tit 1:15-16; Heb 6:4-9; 10:26-27 ^[1]). What will be argued here is this. Antichrist’s Resurrection and his resulting worship will cause every unbeliever at the time to be a reprobate and pass a “point of no return” in terms of their salvation.

It must be admitted that this claim can only be confirmed when the Endtimes begin, and we see for ourselves how pagans respond to the Gospel. But the claim of this chapter is in sharp contrast to many Christians who claim that a multitude of people will be saved in the Endtimes. For example, the Pre-tribulationist Tim Lahaye claims: “During the first part of the Tribulation the greatest soul harvest in all history will take place.” ^[2]

However, the predictions in Revelation 13-14 indicate no one will be saved after Antichrist’s Resurrection which will occur at the very beginning of the Endtimes. The timing of Antichrist’s Resurrection was discussed in The Beginning of Birth Pains (chs. 10-17). There it was argued that this event is portrayed in the opening of the First Seal (Rev 6:1-2) with the picture of a rider on a white horse imitating and claiming to be Christ and conquering the world with the deception of his resurrection (cf. Matt 24:5). Therefore, Antichrist’s Resurrection is the first certain sign the Endtimes have begun.

What will be the result of Antichrist’s Resurrection at the very beginning of the Endtimes? John writes of the Antichrist:

I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast [Antichrist]; they worshiped the dragon [Satan] because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast [Antichrist]…

And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast [Antichrist]. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of [eternal] Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made. (Rev 13:3-4, 8, NASB)

If a person is among those whose names were not written in the Book of [eternal] Life, they can never be saved. After Antichrist’s Resurrection, how will we know that someone’s name is not in the Book of eternal Life and can never be saved? They will follow after and worship the beast Antichrist. The simple meaning of these prophecies is that everyone who worships the Antichrist after his Resurrection cannot be saved. Their worship of the Antichrist will be the kind of sin that will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (Matt 12:32 NIV).

Accordingly, their worship of the Antichrist will eventually lead to them taking the Antichrist’s mark. What will be the punishment of those who do this. An Angel proclaims in Revelation 14:

If anyone worships the beast [Antichrist] and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury [during Christ’s Wrath], which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will [also] be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb [in Hell]. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name. (Rev 14:9-11 NIV)

The Scriptures are clear: Everyone who is not in the Book of Life will worship the Antichrist and everyone who worships the Antichrist will go to Hell. That worship will begin rather immediately after the Antichrist’s Resurrection.

It’s as if the Antichrist’s Resurrection will be an unprecedented spiritual dividing point for the world. At that point, everyone whose names were not written in the Book of [eternal] Life … will worship the beast. The same seems to be implied in 2 Thessalonians 2. Paul writes:

The coming of the lawless one [Antichrist] will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.

They perish [eternally in Hell] because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (vs. 9-12 NIV)

Those who are perishing will be those who will not be saved and whose names were not written in the Book of [eternal] Life. At the time of Antichrist’s coming, his displays of miraculous power, including his Resurrection will deceive those who are perishing. Why will this be? Because at this point in God’s plan for the World, it would seem the Age of Grace has ended. God Himself will send … those who are perishing … a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all of them will be eternally condemned. ^[3] It seems no unbelievers will be able to resist God’s powerful delusion in the Antichrist’s Resurrection and so they will believe the lie and so they will be eternally condemned. It seems Antichrist’s Resurrection will be an unprecedented “turning point” in God’s plan of salvation for the World.

It is possible there may be people whose names are in the Book of Life but have not yet been saved at the time of Antichrist’s Resurrection. Maybe they resist worshipping the Antichrist for some time and get saved. But Scripture does not give any clear evidence of this and, in fact, argues against it.

First, it seems only those who would be indwelled with God’s Spirit and regenerated will be able to resist the powerful delusion of Antichrist’s Resurrection. If you are not regenerated before this event, it is unlikely you will be able to resist worshipping the Antichrist.

Second, despite all the popular claims of some great soul harvest in the Endtimes, Scripture never describes such a thing and to the contrary, describes great resistance to the Gospel. This will be the next subject.

B) The lack of repentance predicted in the Endtimes

B.1) The 144,000 sealed Jews will not be world evangelists

As noted above, especially Pre-tribulationists promote the very attractive idea that there will be a multitude of people saved in the Endtimes. Accordingly, MacArthur claims:

Throughout the terrifying judgments of the Tribulation, God will save people. The result of the gospel preaching by the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, the two witnesses, and an angel flying in midheaven will be the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever known (cf. 7:9). ^[4]

It should be admitted most would have a bias in favor of accepting this view. Who would not want to believe that “the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever known” will happen after Christ’s Return and the Church’s Rescue. But such a bias must be resisted if we want to ensure we will have the biblical truth on this matter. We will discuss the “144,000” in this section and the Gospel-preaching Angel in the next.

MacArthur mentions several events through which he believes a multitude of people will be saved during the Endtimes. The first is what he calls “the gospel preaching by the 144,000 Jewish evangelists.” This refers to the 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel who will be sealed for protection (Rev 7:4) at the time of Christ’s Return before Christ’s Wrath begins (cf. 6:12-17).

Contrary to Pre-tribulationists, the 144,000 are never described as “witnesses” or Evangelists, neither in Revelation 7:2-8, or in the rather extensive description of their character and actions in 14:1-5. ^[5] As usual, Pre-tribulationism is appealing to our natural bias, rather than clear statements of Scripture.

MacArthur assumes the 144,000 will be “evangelists” because Revelation 7 describes another group at Christ’s Return:

A great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… wearing white robes and who have come out of the great persecution [thlipseōs] and who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:9, 14).

MacArthur and other Pre-tribulationists wrongly claim these people will be some kind of “post-rapture” Christians in the Endtimes.

However, concerning those who will come out of the Great Persecution, (7:14) there is nothing that tells us how many of them will be saved during the Great Persecution. The vast majority of them may have been saved before the Endtimes even began and they entered into the Great Persecution.

Contrary to Pre-tribulationism, this great multitude is the Church that will be persecuted during The Greatest Persecution and Rescued at Christ’s Return. As discussed elsewhere, the Pre-tribulational view of some kind of “post-rapture” Christians completely ignores the sequence of Endtime events that Christ gave us in His Endtimes Teaching:

The great persecution (megalēs thlipseōs) mentioned in Revelation 7:14 is the same greatest persecution (megalē thlipsis) that Christ spoke of in Matthew 24:21. And Christ made it clear that the greatest persecution will occur before the Church’s Rescue (cf. Matt 24:29-31). Therefore, it is impossible for this great persecution in Revelation 7 to occur after the Church’s Rescue as Pre-tribulationism claims. (Christ’s Endtimes Teaching, ch. 14, sec. C)

Therefore, the great multitude of saved people from every nation described in Revelation 7 lived on Earth before Christ’s Return and the Church’s Rescue. Nowhere does Scripture mention the presence of Gentile Christians on the Earth after Christ’s Return and the Church’s Rescue. Therefore, the great multitude of saved people from every nation described in Revelation 7 will not be the fruit of evangelism efforts by the 144,000 Jews. Accordingly, there is no description in Scripture of these 144,000 doing any evangelism.

The 144,000 Jews are described as those who were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb (Re 14:4 NIV). Therefore, it seems they are the beginning of God’s plan to restore Israel in the Endtimes. But the fact that they are specifically described as Jews argues against the claim they are evangelists to every nation, tribe, people, and language in the world.

B.2) The testimony of persecuted believers has no recorded effect

The Bible predicts that a specific way that the Gospel will be preached to all nations is through the testimony of persecuted believers to pagan officials. For example Jesus taught regarding the Endtimes:

“When these things begin to happen, watch out! You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. For the Good News must first be preached to all nations.

But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 13:9-11 NLT)

But there is no indication here of what effect such testimonies will have on pagan officials in the Endtimes. In fact, because they will be leading the persecution of Christians, it is implied the effect will be very little.

B.3) The Gospel preaching Angel has no recorded effect

MacArthur mentions “the gospel preaching by … an angel flying in midheaven” during the Endtimes as another means by which there “will be the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever known.” ^[6] This is a reference to John’s remarkable statement in Revelation:

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth —to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come.” (Rev 14:6-7 NIV)

Again, it is very attractive to believe a multitude of people will be saved in this event. But this is unlikely. First, while it is unclear exactly when this event occurs, it seems most likely to occur sometime very early in the Endtimes. Here we need to remember some things discussed in the previous section.

As noted above, there will be another Angel that seems to follow this “Gospel preaching Angel” rather immediately. That Angel will warn: “If anyone worships the beast [Antichrist] and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury” (Rev 14:9). This would seem to take place relatively early in the Endtimes in response to the results of Antichrist’s Resurrection.

Therefore, if the “Gospel preaching Angel” speaks sometime after people are worshipping the Antichrist, then we should not expect anyone to get saved. The Scriptures say that everyone who worships the Antichrist does not have their name written in the Book of Life. It will not matter for such people if even an Angel preaches the Gospel to them.

Second, we should note the contents of the eternal gospel the angel will proclaim to the world. It is easy to assume this will be a message of salvation. But the prophecy specifically tells us the contents of the Angel’s message: “Fear God and give him glory.” These people will give God glory by being scared of Him, not being saved by Him.

This is similar to another event described in Revelation chapter 11:

At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city [of Jerusalem]. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified [emphoboi] and gave glory to the God of heaven. (Rev 11:13 NLT)

The Greek word translated here as terrified is the same Greek word used in Revelation 14 when the Angel tells people to fear [phobēthēte]. The text says nothing about the frightened people in Revelation 11 getting saved. The same is true for the results of the Angel’s preaching. The Angel’s gospel will be “Fear God and give him glory.” Likewise, the Gospel is described elsewhere in Scripture as the gospel that displays the glory of Christ (2 Cor 4:4 NIV), not necessarily the grace of Christ. But even if the Angel’s gospel contains a message of saving grace, there is no evidence that anyone gets saved from it. Claiming otherwise is at best an assumption from silence on the matter. And as demonstrated further below, the biblical evidence is against it.

B.3) Why does Christ say the Gospel will be preached until the end of the world?

In Christ’s Endtimes Sermon He predicted: “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt 24:14 NIV). It should be noted that Jesus may be referring to the event described above from Revelation when an angel flying in midair will have the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth —to every nation, tribe, language and people and will say in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come” (Rev 14:6-7 NIV). Clearly, this is one way Christ’s prediction in Matthew 24 will be fulfilled.

However, it is possible that this prediction will also be fulfilled by Christians in the Endtimes. It is also possible that Christ’s prediction implies such evangelism may be successful in saving some during the Endtimes.

But even in Jesus’ day, He warned that the purpose of Gospel preaching is at times to bring greater condemnation, not salvation. For the elect, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15 NIV). But for the non-elect, Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world” (John 9:39 NIV). ^[7]

In fact, Jesus said He spoke in “parables … to outsiders so that … when they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to me
and be forgiven” (Mark 4:11-12 NLT). Romans 1 tells us that the purpose and effect of some divine revelation is to condemn, not save (cf. Rom 1:18-2:4).

This is why Christ repeatedly warned that greater revelation of His truth and power could lead to greater condemnation (cf. Matt 10:12-15; 11:20-24; John 15:22-24). ^[8] Accordingly, sometimes the ministry of His disciples was to cause a testimony against people. Jesus told His disciples:

“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town, and shake the dust off your feet [as a testimony against them Mark 6:11]. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” (Matt 10:14-15 NIV)

Therefore, sometimes the testimony of the disciples to the Gospel was a testimony against unbelievers to bring them greater judgement. Jesus seemed to describe the same purpose for the testimony of His followers in the Endtimes. In His Endtimes Sermon He warned:

“You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them [so you will bear testimony to me, Luke 21:13]. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations… [But] Everyone will hate you because of me.” (Mark 13:9-11, 13 NIV)

There is no indication here that the testimony of the gospel being spoken by these Endtime Christians will be for the purpose of saving people. On the contrary, Jesus immediately warned “Everyone will hate you because of me.” ^[9]

B.4) The conversion of a multitude to Antichrist’s Religion

Again, it is suggested the Pre-tribulational claim that a vast multitude of pagans are converted to Christianity in the Endtimes is largely an argument from silence. But what does the Bible clearly say about religious conversions in the Endtimes? There is not a single description of mass Christian revivals occurring in the Endtimes. On the contrary, the clearest and repeated descriptions of religious conversions in the Endtimes reflect the massive revival that will occur for the Antichrist’s Religion.

Again, in response to Antichrist’s Resurrection, all the people who belong to this world will worship the beast [Antichrist] (Rev 13:8). As a result, Jesus warned that:

“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt 24:10-14 NIV)

Yes, the “gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations,” at least by an Angel circling the Earth (cf. Rev 14:6-7). But Jesus does not even hint that it will be received well. On the contrary, He specifically predicts that, “many will turn away from the Christian faith” and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.” Instead of Christian love growing in Christian revival, He says, “the love of most will grow cold.” Instead of describing a revival, He promises, “those who stands firm to the end will be saved” possibly implying there may not be many who will. Contrary to Pre-tribulationists, Jesus predicted the deception of many in the Endtimes, not their salvation.

The predictions only get darker in the Revelation. Again, MacArthur claims: “Throughout the terrifying judgments of the Tribulation [there will be] the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever known.” If that were true, wouldn’t there be a description of this in the Revelation? And as demonstrated above, the multitude being rescued out of the great persecution at Christ’s Return is not clear evidence of this (Rev 7:9, 14). On the contrary, Revelation describes the world rejecting Christ, not repenting.

After describing the death of a third of mankind in the sixth trumpet Punishment, we read, The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons (Rev 9:15, 20 NIV). In the fourth bowl Punishment Earth’s inhabitants will be seared by intense heat, but they will curse the name of God, who had control over these plagues and they will refuse to repent and glorify him (Rev 16:9 NIV). When the fifth angel pours out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom is plunged into darkness, the people will curse the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores and they will refuse to repent of what they had done (Rev 16:10-11 NIV).

There are not great revivals of Christianity described during the Endtimes.

C) Practical applications to the lack of effective evangelism in the Endtimes

Many Christians may be tempted to boldly preach the Gospel in public during the Endtimes and risk their lives doing so. God may even lead some to do this. But the popular idea that evangelism will be greatly successful in the Endtimes lacks any biblical support. As noted above, our initial attempts at evangelism in the Endtimes will reveal the truth of the matter.

During the Church Age, God expects Christians to openly befriend and sacrificially serve unbelievers in the hope of seeing them saved. But this may radically change in the Endtimes. If the worship of the Antichrist and taking his mark eternally and irreversibly dooms someone, and the whole world is doing this, then opportunities for evangelism will greatly diminish.

Even if people are getting saved in the Endtimes, then all Christians will be living in places where they are heavily persecuted and must be very careful how they do evangelism. As noted above, during the Endtimes Jesus commanded, “You must be on your guard” because everyone will hate you because of me.” (Mark 13:9, 13).

1. For more on the doctrine of reprobation, see Grudem, Systematic Theology, 506-9. ↑

2. Tim Lahaye, Revelation Unveiled (Zondervan, 1999), 153. Lahaye’s claim that “During the first part of the Tribulation the greatest soul harvest in all history will take place” is based on his faulty Pre-tribulational interpretation of Rev 7:9, 14. This is discussed in CET, ch. 14, sec. C. ↑

3. More can be said on the question: “Will anyone be saved in the Endtimes?” For more on this see Advanced Studies on the Endtimes, ch. 10 at www.trainingtimothys.com. ↑

4. MacArthur, Revelation, 180. ↑

5. Unfortunately, in our opinion, Mounce (158), Osborne (311-313), and Beale (416-23) all interpret the 144,000 as the Endtime Church, reflecting the “replacement theology” that misunderstands the inaugurated but not yet complete unification of Israel and Church. Here dispensational/Pre-tribulational commentators are correct in arguing that the 144,000 are among the saved remnant from the restored Endtime nation of Israel (cf. Seiss, Apocalypse, 160-69; Walvoord, Revelation, 140-41; Thomas, Revelation 1-7, 473-82). ↑

6. In addition, MacArthur claims regarding the Gospel-preaching Angel:

   Here [the gospel] is described as eternal because it provides the means to eternal life. It is the good news that God will forgive all the sins of those who repent and believe… As earth’s darkest hour approaches, the angel will proclaim the good news that it is not too late. There is still time to repent before God’s judgment resumes. (86)

   Likewise, Thomas claims: “The goal of the warning is to frighten potential beast worshipers into believing and to encourage the faithful to remain faithful” (1189). ↑

7. Carson writes regarding Christ’s statement: “For judgment I have come into this world” (John 9:39 NIV):

   Formally, the entire clause “For judgment (krima) I have come into this world” stands in contradiction with 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn (krinō) the world” (cf. also 12:47). The charge is superficial. Even 3:17 is immediately followed by 3:18-21, with its contrast between darkness and light and its implicit threat of judgment (cf. also 3:36). Jesus’ point in 9:39 is not that the very purpose of his coming was to condemn, nor even simply to divide the human race. He came to save, not condemn (12:47). But saving some entails condemning others. In that derivative sense, Jesus has indeed come for judgment. ↑

8. As Carson comments on John 15:22, for some: “by coming and speaking to them Jesus incited the … rejection of God’s gracious revelation.” ↑

9. Commenting on a parallel passage in Luke 21:12-19, Marshall writes regarding the use of marturion (testimony) here that it means: “the evidence that will be available on the day of judgement for the disciples and against their enemies” (768). ↑