One of the mysteries of the Bible is the church. Paul had this mystery revealed to him by Christ, and he tells us about it in Ephesians 3. And what is the mystery of the church? It's the fact that Gentiles and Jews together are able to be saved by grace through faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Up until Paul, the Bible from Abraham on mainly deals with the Jews. But, God shows Paul that during the "church age", the gospel of Christ is for every nation, kindred, and tongue- not just Jews.
Now, the church is mentioned in the book of Revelation from chapter 1 to chapter 3, and then it isn't mentioned again until the end of the book of Revelation in chapter 19. Why is it missing between Revelation 4 and Revelation 18? It's because the church isn't here. God is dealing primarily with the Jews again. The book of Revelation is prophecy, not history; it's future, not past.
Right now, we are in the church age. We aren't suppose to be looking for the anti-christ; we're suppose to be looking for the rapture of the church by Jesus Christ.
Before the tribulation, the church becomes riddled with apostasy. People start looking for feel good messages instead of hell-fire preaching. People become obsessed with self: self-love, self-entitlement, self-gratification, etc. Christians are more concerned with receiving blessings than being a blessing.
Right now, the world's agenda is acceptance. Everyone is going to get together and try not to offend anyone, except God. The world wants a population that will willingly accept one world religion, one world money, one world law, one world rulers, and one Satanic "messiah".
During the tribulation, God removes His church and gives the rest of the inhabitants of the world over for Satan to rule. The world will find out exactly how evil the devil is, because he will have control of all nature and all humanity. What he has wanted to do since the Garden of Eden will be granted to him.
Salvation during the tribulation will be by asking Christ to save their soul by the blood of Jesus Christ, and also works- obeying the 10 commandments, not taking the Mark of the Beast, willing to die a horrible death instead of conforming, enduring the judgments of the Lord that will be poured out on the Satanic world.
Where are we right now? This is September, 2016, and we are right before the tribulation. We can still be saved by grace through faith, without any works of our own. But, time is slipping away. The end of the church age is coming. And, hell is preparing to control the world.
Have you ever read of all the horrors that have happened through the ages? The mass genocide? The tortures from various regimes? Starvation and Famine? Diseases and Plagues?
Now, understand that all of those things are fairy tales compared to what's coming: world war, wide spread famine, natural disasters on a global scale, forced micro-chip implantation, mass public executions, cannibalism, government sanctioned human sacrifice, monsters wreaking havoc on the human populace, and a demonic ruler who demands to worshiped as god.
The sign of the book being shut on the church age is the rapture. The Lord Jesus Christ doesn't set one foot on this earth. He stops in the atmosphere and calls His people by their names and takes them directly to heaven. I Corinthians 15 says it's another mystery- the church age it's self, as well as how it end, was kept a mystery until Paul.
What will the rapture sound like? Christians will hear a trumpet sound and their name shouted, followed by "Come up hither". Unsaved people will hear a curiously loud thundering sound.
And then, billions will disappear- both living people and dead bodies.
And, the Tribulation Period will begin.
Accept God's mercy by his offer of salvation through Jesus Christ before this simple offer is gone forever!
