Our Prophecy Q/A Series continues with this question from a Prophecy Pros podcast listener.
Q: Do you think there will be a lot of others besides Jewish people that will come to Jesus during the tribulation? Will people who reject Christ and miss the rapture have a second chance?
A: Yes, I believe the biggest revival ever will occur after the rapture due to the ministry of the 144k protected Jewish witnesses, the 2 witnesses in Jerusalem, resources left behind, and because many who heard their “crazy” Christian friends and relatives talk about the rapture will realize what happened and finally turn to Christ. By the 5th seal in the first set of judgments (Revelation 6:9) we find that there are many post-rapture believers who will have been killed for their faith early on in the tribulation period.
There will be great delusion, but this is progressive. Like Pharaoh who first hardened his own heart before the Lord hardened it, people in the tribulation period are given every chance to receive Christ. In Revelation 14 there is even an earth-circling angel preaching the Gospel to make sure every single person has heard the Gospel (actually 3 angels w/ different messages in Rev. 14:6-10).
A careful reading of Revelation shows that in the midst of God’s wrath on earth, his grace is present. Revelation details the process whereby post-rapture people either move closer to the Lord or farther away. They are redeemable up until they take the mark of the beast at the midpoint of the tribulation period. After that, they are lost forever.
And yes, the primary focus of the tribulation is to reach the Jewish people, but God’s grace is broader than that. Anywhere people respond to Him, grace is available. The tough part is that most who become Christians in the tribulation period will lose their lives via martyrdom…but God will have a special reward for them.