related page: “Salvation to Maturity” (a simple guide) Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. © Copyright 2010 - 2019   All rights reserved. Daniel 11 Explained (condensed ‘one page’ commentary) ‘Matthew 24’ Explained (must match Revelation) The ‘Seals’ Explained (Revelation timeline revealed) Seven Churches Explained (Past & Present Church Prophecy) Note: ‘Sitemap’ shows a complete list of all pages (by category). ‘Homepage’ gives 3 simple steps + timelines + summary. Current Events from Daniel 11 (matching the Middle East) The Abomination (Daniel 11:31) done Recent Events ISIS - Saudi - Turkey (Daniel 11: 24-27) Final Events to the Abomination (Daniel 11: 28-30) Shiites re-take Persia + America’s Role Begins (Daniel 11: 21-23) soon done done Can People be Saved after the Rapture?     This page was written to address the above question, but in doing so, it summarizes several other Biblical topics, which I think are important for overall understanding. Part 1: Who gets a 2^nd chance?   There’s a long-standing misconception that people in general, or gentiles, will get a 2^nd chance to enter heaven, after the rapture, by not taking the mark of the beast.  In reality, that 2^nd chance is only for a small remnant of Jews, the 144,000 from Rev 7, who will become priests during Jesus’ 1000-year reign on earth, as noted in Rev 20:4-6.  Revelation 20:4-6  [end of tribulation - after Armageddon] “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”   The ones who are ‘beheaded and become priests’ are clearly the 144,000 Israelites who are ‘sealed’ or chosen in Rev 7, and then martyred in Rev 14. Revelation 7:3-4 [getting chosen just before Trumpet plagues start] “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.”  Revelation 14:1 [after Trumpet plagues or middle of tribulation] “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. Revelation 14:19-20 [144,000 getting martyred] “The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.  They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.”   Naturally, if the antichrist was going to murder 144,000 Jews for not having the mark of the beast, then he would probably use ‘beheading’ as a method, and perhaps do it next to a stream of water, which would account for the distance the blood traveled.  Gentiles would not be included in the 144,000 because Rev 7 clearly states that they are from all the ‘tribes of Israel’.  Besides, why would a gentile who missed the rapture but got to heaven on a 2^nd chance become a priest?  That doesn’t make any sense, but it makes perfect sense for the 144,000 Jews, who will become like a ‘tribe of priests’ such as the Levites were in the OT.  Part 2: Summary of the Rapture in the Bible   There is a second possible origin where this misconception arises, but like the other, it also stems from a gross misunderstanding of Revelation.  To explain this, I must first back-up and explain a little more about the general concept of the ‘rapture’, which literally means ‘gathering’.  Jesus described the gathering in the sky to His disciples in Matthew 24:29-31.  Paul elaborated about the same event in 1 Cor 15:51-52 and 1 Thess 4:16-17, but that information is not critical to this discussion.  Matthew 24:29-31 29 Immediately after the distress of those days, 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'   30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.   The key element, which cannot be disputed, is that the gathering in the sky takes place at the same time as the signs in the sun, moon, and stars.  That is extremely important because that is what links the rapture to Revelation.  In fact, the same signs in the sun, moon, and stars are mentioned together in the 6^th Seal, in Rev 6:12-13.  Revelation 6:12-13 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.   It must be the same event, because there would not be two such events, both during end times, with those identical signs.  Plus, there are people described as hiding in the mountains, during the 6^th Seal, who see Jesus (the Lamb), in the sky, and they are terrified. (Rev 6:15-17)  That matches Matt 24:30, above, which said, “the nations of the earth will mourn.”  It also matches the fact that Jesus told Judea to flee to the mountains when they see the ‘abomination’, which is immediately before the rapture, so it makes sense that many would be in the mountains to see Jesus in the sky.  Finally, the Christians are described in heaven, in Rev 7 (great multitude from every nation), which is the results of the rapture.    There is no question or doubt that the 6^th Seal is the rapture in Revelation.  It is important to note that Seals 1-5 are already fulfilled, so Seal 6 is the next to take place.  It is also important to note that in addition to the multitude from every nation, who are in heaven, there are also 144,000 Israelites in Rev 7, who remain on earth because they don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God and their Messiah.  They are the same 144,000 that I mentioned earlier, who are ‘sealed’ or chosen by God, so they don’t get fooled by the false prophet and receive the mark of the beast.  As I said before, they are martyred in Rev 14, which is before the Bowl plagues, which accounts for their ‘days being shortened’.  Matthew 24:21-25 [after the abomination and rapture] 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.     People often use Matthew 24:15-31 as support for post-tribulation, but they fail to recognize, or perhaps chose to ignore, the fact that Jesus is describing two different groups, the same two groups as mentioned in Rev 7 - the multitude of Christians who arrive in heaven and the 144,000 Israelites who remain on earth.  The ones who have their ‘days shortened’ and avoid the pitfalls of the false prophet (mark of the beast) are of course the 144,000 Israelites still on earth.  It can easily be shown that the multitude of Christians arrive in heaven before the tribulation (pre-trib) because the 7^th Seal is a half-hour of silence before the Trumpet plagues can start. (Rev 8)  In other words, the Christians are in heaven ‘between’ the 6^th and 7^th Seals, which are explicitly before the Trumpet plagues and subsequent Bowl plagues.  Note: The Seals are referred to as the “great tribulation” (past tense in Rev 7:14) but they are not part of the post-rapture tribulation, which is just the Trumpet and Bowl plagues (along with many accompanying events such as the two witnesses and rise of the antichrist).  Like I said, Seals 1-5 are in the past, so they naturally can’t be part of the post-rapture.  It is actually very dangerous to listen to post-tribs because they overlap the Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls, to make the rapture at the end, but that changes God’s prophecy of end times in Revelation, essentially making them false prophets.  They don’t regularly advertise their overlapping procedure, which is deceptive, creates contradictions, and subtracts about half of Revelation, which is forbidden in Rev 22:19.   Anyway, moving right along, old-school pre-tribs who believe the rapture starts in Rev 4 are mistaken because that theory also creates contradictions.  The most obvious contradiction is that Rev 5 clearly symbolizes the ‘crucifixion’, which can’t be after the rapture.  Secondly, they claim that the Rider on the White Horse, in the 1^st Seal, is Satan or the antichrist, but Jesus is clearly the Rider on the White Horse, in Rev 19:11-16, which is within the same set of visions.  The 1^st Seal is clearly the resurrection, which naturally follows the crucifixion from Rev 5.  Everything makes perfect sense, but old-school pre-tribs want to make excuses that the Riders in Rev 6 and 19 are holding different weapons.  Yet, that doesn’t matter because one is the resurrection and the other is Armageddon, about 2000-years apart!  Yet, they are both Jesus.  To be clear, old school pre-tribs are not as bad as post-tribs because they don’t try to overlap and rearrange Revelation; they just put the rapture in the wrong place because they didn’t understand the Seals.  To their defense, when that theory was first proposed, in the late-1800’s, it would have been almost impossible to correctly interpret the Seals.  However, after WWII and the Holocaust, which was Seal 4, it became much easier, but now many old-school pre-tribs refuse to accept anything new, out of loyalty of tradition.  That is wrong because Hebrews describes God’s Word as ‘living and active’. (Heb 4:12)  People should not get bogged down in tradition, like the Pharisees, when God is revealing new things, such as the Seals, which help to clear-up the confusion about Revelation and end times.    Well, the reason all that is related to my original topic is that old-school pre-tribs believe that the Seals are in the future, during tribulation, which is wrong.  Yet, that’s how some justify their belief in the 2^nd chance for gentiles.  They believe that the 5^th Seal describes people getting martyred during tribulation, which is wrong.  The 5^th Seal has been happening since the end of WWII, when Christian missionaries increased their efforts to spread the gospel throughout the world.  That matches Jesus’ prophecy about the ‘gospel being preached in the whole world’, in Matt 24:14, just before the abomination in Matt 24:15.  Likewise, it matches the martyrs in the 5^th Seal, spreading the gospel, just before the rapture in the 6^th Seal.  Everything makes perfect sense.  However, the old-school pre-trib theory makes no sense because they have the great multitude in Rev 7 as the 2^nd chance gathering, but there is no mention of any gathering in Rev 4, where they claim the original rapture takes place.  I’ve heard excuses for that, but the excuses make no sense.  Therefore, they are wrong about the rapture in Rev 4, wrong about the Seals being in the future, and thus wrong about the martyrs in Seal 5 being a 2^nd chance for gentiles.  Seal 5 is actually the Christian martyrs, before the rapture, who are still trying to spread the gospel throughout the world, and getting killed for their trouble.  When you read Revelation correctly (Seals 1-5 in the past), there is no evidence to support that gentiles get a 2^nd chance after the rapture.  Just because people have been led to believe something, it doesn’t make it true.  God will conduct end times as His Word says, not the way people incorrectly interpret it, or think it says.  Part 3: More proof in post-rapture scriptures   Plus, there are several other scriptures to support my theory that gentiles don’t get a 2^nd chance.  For one, God will send a ‘powerful delusion’ to make people believe the lie.   2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 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.”   First, notice the ‘past tense’ that people “refused to love the truth and so be saved,” which confirms that Paul was talking about the post-rapture.  God sends a powerful delusion so that “all will be condemned” (except of course the 144,000 who have God’s seal).    I think the powerful delusion is referring to the counterfeit miracles and other signs that the false prophet is allowed to do, ultimately causing them to take the ‘mark of the beast’.  I mean, no one causes fire to come down from heaven (below) unless God allows it, as demonstrated by the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. (1 Kings 18:19-40)  Revelation 13:13-18 [false prophet and the ‘mark of the beast’] 13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.  18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.   Another passage of scripture to support my theory that gentiles don’t get a 2^nd chance is the Bible’s account of the two witnesses who prophesy in Jerusalem for 1260-days. (Rev 11)  Note: That is the same 42-months that the antichrist is allowed to gain power and ‘exercise his authority’, as described in Rev 13:5-8.  Note: Both accounts: the two witnesses and the antichrist, occur during the 1^st 42-months of tribulation (during the Trumpet plagues).  Note: In the passages below, the ‘beast’ is the combined armies of the antichrist and the ‘mouth’ is the antichrist himself. Revelation 13:5-8 [antichrist] 5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.   There are a few interesting points about the above passage.  First, it is obviously after the rapture because the antichrist slanders both God and ‘those who live in heaven’, neither of which he would do before the rapture because he is a devout Muslim.  Secondly, it says ‘all’ inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast, not just some.  That’s because the inhabitants of the earth will be those whose names are ‘not’ in the Book of Life.  That’s because the rapture already gathered those whose names ‘were’ in the Book of Life.  Those who are left will fall for the delusion and worship the beast by getting his mark.   Finally, after 42-months, the antichrist is given ‘power to make war against the saints and conquer them’, which is when the armies of the beast will invade Israel and kill the two witnesses.  Revelation 11:7-12 [two witnesses] 7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.  11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.      The main thing about this passage, concerning a 2^nd chance for gentiles, is that the inhabitants of the earth will be glad that the two witnesses are dead, even celebrating because the two witnesses “tormented” those who live on the earth.  Now, if the two witnesses were sent by God to explain how people can get a 2^nd chance, which is what most people have been led to believe, then why will people hate them so much?  Explaining a 2^nd chance would not be “tormenting.”  Rev 11:2 also says that gentiles will “trample” the holy city for 42-months, which means they will flock to Jerusalem to see the two witnesses.  However, “trample” does not sound like an affectionate term for the visiting gentiles, as they are “tormented” with the ‘truth’, which is that they missed their chance for heaven and there’s no 2^nd chance.    Another passage that illustrates my point follows the 6^th Trumpet war, in Rev 9, which is where the antichrist invades Israel and kills the two witnesses.  In that war, the number of mounted troops is said to be ‘two-hundred million’ and a ‘third-of-mankind are killed’. (Rev 9:15-16)  The war will be near the ‘middle’ of tribulation, after 42-months of Trumpet plagues, with the Bowl plagues still pending, which are much more severe than the Trumpet plagues.  Revelation 9:20-21 [after 6^th Trumpet war] “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood-idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent  of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.”   The post-rapture will be a perilous time, the worst in the history of the world. (Matt 24:21)  So, why does anyone think that a person who can’t believe in Jesus and obey God, now, can do so during the post-rapture?  No one except the 144,000 will be able to resist, especially when God sends a powerful delusion to make people believe the lie of the false prophet.  Part 4: When does the mark of the beast take place?   I’m including this section because I’ve recently received several emails about the 1290-days in Daniel 12.  Apparently, there is someone on you-tube or elsewhere who is confused, and in turn, is confusing others.  They are trying to use Daniel 12 to say that the rapture is 1290 or 1335-days after the abomination, which makes no sense. (see verse below)  Just because the word ‘blessed’ is used doesn’t mean that it’s referring to the rapture.  On the contrary, the rapture happens immediately after the abomination, which is why Jesus told Judea to flee to the mountains, and people are hiding in the mountains, who see Jesus, as I explained earlier.  In my opinion, Daniel 12 is clearly talking about the ‘mark of the beast’ and the 144,000 Israelites who refuse to take it.  Daniel 12:11-12 “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.  Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.”   First, some key words in the passage are ‘from’ and ‘and’, which means that the counting of the 1290-days starts when both the ‘sacrifice is abolished’ AND the ‘abomination is set up’.  Those two events happen at the same time, which is consistent with Daniel 11:31, when the ‘armed forces rise up to desecrate the temple fortress’, which I think is the Western Wall.  That will naturally ‘abolish the daily sacrifice’, which I think is the daily prayer at the Wall, not animal sacrifices, although Israel has begun to perform those on occasion, but not daily.   Basically, the passage above indicates that a major event takes place 1290-days ‘from’ or ‘after’ the abomination (and rapture), which is also 30-days after the antichrist invades Israel and kills the two witnesses, since they prophesy for 1260 days.  First of all, Daniel 12 is specifically talking to ‘Daniel’s own people’ (v1), who are the Jews, of which the 144,000 will be part.  Secondly, since the false prophet who enacts the mark of the beast is described in Rev 13:11-18, after the antichrist exercises his authority for 42-months and kills the two witnesses (v. 5-8), then it’s natural to think that the major event on day-1290 is when the false prophet will force Israel to take the mark of the beast.  After all, they won’t have the two witnesses there to protect them any longer.  The ones who will be ‘blessed’ for reaching day-1335 will be the 144,000 who refuse to take the mark of the beast.  At that time, they will be rounded up and slaughtered (Rev 14), but they will be ‘blessed’ because they didn’t take the mark.  They will become priests during Jesus’ 1000-year reign on earth.  It makes perfect sense, especially since Jesus said, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” (Matt 24:22)  Therefore, the 144,000 only need to resist taking the mark for 45-days, which is still a long time considering that they won’t be able to buy or sell, and a person can only go about 40-days without eating.    After the 144,000 are martyred (day-1335), the Bowl plagues will start (Rev 16), which are far worse than the Trumpet plagues.  The Bowl plagues, of which Armageddon is #7, will finish God’s wrath.  The Trumpets and Bowls together will take 2300-days and then Jesus will re-consecrate the sanctuary (Daniel 8:13-14) and start His 1000-year reign.  Praise Jesus! Part 5: Salvation   If you’re reading this and haven’t been ‘saved’, make sure you pray and accept Jesus as your personal savor, before the rapture, because there’s no 2^nd chance.  Paul gave basic instructions for being saved.  Romans 10:9-11 “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”   In other words, you must pray out loud and tell God that you believe Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for your sins and rose again and ascended to heaven and will one day return to gather those who love Him.  Furthermore, ask God to forgive your sins, in Jesus’ name, which God will faithful do, but only if you ask.  I mean, a person must ask because if God forgave everyone’s sin, whether they asked or not, then everyone would go to heaven, which the Bible indicates is certainly not the case.  From there, it’s important to obey God, or refrain from sin as best you can, because obedience shows our love for God.  1 John 5:3-5 “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”   Many people will point out that salvation is a ‘gift’, obtained by ‘faith’ in God and Jesus, which cannot be earned through good deeds, or bought with money.  That is certainly true and I agree, but simple obedience is not the same as good deeds.  It’s ridiculous to think that a person can pray once, consider themselves ‘saved’, and then do anything they want in the world, making no effort to obey God at all.  We must at least ‘try’ to obey, and if we slip up, ask again for forgiveness, as many times as it takes.  If a person doesn’t at least try to obey, then that person doesn’t really know Jesus.  1 John 2:3-5 “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.”    As a final example, take Paul who certainly had immense faith, but he still wrote this.  1 Corinthians 9:27 “No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.   My question is: If getting to heaven only requires faith, and no amount of obedience is required, then why does Paul think he can be ‘disqualified for the prize’, which is heaven?  There must be some level of obedience required.  So, what does a person obey and do?  Paul says that the ‘sinful nature’, which we are to avoid, is obvious. Galatians 5:19-22 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Matthew 7:19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”   Notice that the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ (good fruit) that a person must have are all inward qualities, not good deeds.  So, it’s not about earning your way to heaven; it’s about loving God and becoming a new person in spirit.  A person is saved through ‘faith’, but if a person has ‘true faith in Jesus’, then they will also have ‘love’.  As you can see below, there’s a lot of qualities wrapped up in ‘love’. Galatians 5:6 “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” 1 Corinthians 13:2-7 “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.  4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”   For more about salvation, read my page called ‘Salvation to Maturity’. Related page: The Antichrist Re-written: 10-13-2019 Related page: Who are the Two Witnesses? (Revelation 11) Related page: ‘Matthew 24’ Explained (must match Revelation) Related page: The ‘Seals’ Explained (plus summary of Revelation)