Will They Remember Us?

Q

You may have answered this, but after the Rapture people will be left behind. Will they have a memory of us, or will they be confused about where we all went, and go out and start looking for us. I believe some will know what happened to us but a lot won’t know.

A

According to my understanding those left behind after the rapture will have full recognition that many are missing, and a lot of people will know why. I see two hints in Scripture that this will be the case.

The first is the huge group of martyrs that will arrive in Heaven during the first half of Daniel’s 70th Week (Rev. 7:9-17). John called them a multitude that no one could number from all over the world (Rev. 7:9). By their description it’s obvious they’re not part of the Church, but to have such a large group arrive in Heaven just a year or two after the rapture signifies their conversion happened as a result of it. I think they’re the fence sitters and nominal Christians of our time, having neither accepted nor rejected the Gospel. When the rapture comes they’ll realize they waited too long to make their decision and will hurry up to do so.

The second hint I see that the rapture will be remembered is in Rev. 13:6. I fully understand the anti-Christ slandering God, but why include those who dwell in Heaven? It wouldn’t make any sense for him to slander angels, and many of the tribulation martyrs will have been sent there on his orders. But if there’s another group missing whose disappearance he won’t be able to explain, it would make sense for him to slander us. He could do this by attributing our disappearance to our evil and outdated beliefs. Remember, when Satan indwells the anti-Christ the whole world will worship him (Rev. 13:8). He’ll be seen as the good guy, while God and those who follow Him will be their enemy.