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Answer: To answer your question, many Evangelicals believe the Bible teaches [as R.A. Torrey did, whom I was quoting] that when the Rapture of the Church takes place those who are left behind will be the ones who do not believe Jesus Christ of the Bible is God. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed- 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
When this happens those who are left behind will join together in one ‘Universal Church’ with a ‘religious leader’ at the head of this body. This religious leader will support the Antichrist. There will be a one-world government, a one world economic system, and a one-world religion.
It will not just be the Roman Catholic Church and Protestants that are left behind that unite, but all false religions will untie together. I am not speaking of the Roman Catholic Church that is present right now, nor am I speaking of the pope of today. I am speaking of a religious body that will be formed in the future that will unite everyone around a false christ. I do not know that it will be called the Roman Catholic Church any longer when the Rapture takes place. Look at what the book of Revelation reveals on this subject:
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication."
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY,
BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
7 But the angel said to me, "Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
12 "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."
15 Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:1-18)
What I am speaking of is how that all those who are not truly born again, when the Rapture of the Church takes place, will be left behind. These will be those who are not saved and are from all religions or those who claim no religion. This includes all the people from Protestant churches as well as the Roman Catholics churches that are not saved. This one world religion will include all the false cults as well. What is left of the Roman Catholic Church, after the Rapture takes place the Antichrist will use as a hermit crab uses a shell not his own. When all the believers are taken home to heaven in the Rapture those who are left behind will carry on the ‘religious’ work. The ‘harlot’ that is spoken of is this false religious organization.
The Roman Catholic Church has embassies in almost every part of the world, so the Antichrist will be able to use these as his own. The false world religion will have a religious leader something like the papacy is today, but be a person who will support the Antichrist. This is not the case today; the Roman Catholic Church claims that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. Yes, they have their problems like every Church today has, but they still have basic beliefs from the Word of God. After the Rapture, though, this ‘harlot’ [false religions] will support the Antichrist for three and one half years. Then the Antichrist will dump the ‘harlot’ and set himself up to be worshiped as god.
The Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel so they can build their temple again. This covenant will be for seven years, but after three and one half years he will break his covenant with Israel. He will go into their temple and set himself up as god. So then he will have no use for the false religion he used to get to this point.
"And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate." (Daniel 9: 26-27)
“And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
23 "Then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ! or There! do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 "Therefore if they say to you, Look, He is in the desert! do not go out; or Look, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it.” (Matthew 24:3-23)
I want to make it very clear that I do believe there are believers in the Roman Catholic Church of today. I have stated this in our article on the Holy Catholic Church where I point out that the Holy Catholic Church is made up of all born again believers from whatever denomination they go to including the Roman Catholic Church of today. Even as there are believers in Christ in many other denominations. But when the Rapture of the Church takes place the ones left behind in these denominations will be those who do not truly believe Christ as LORD.
All the Roman Catholics and Protestants that are left will form together with Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Christian Science, Spiritualism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Eastern Mysticism Unity, Unification Church, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Atheism, Agnosticism, Skepticism, Marxism, Secular Humanism, Existentialism, and other primitive religions, etc. as one organization.
There is a move a foot today to unite together with these false religions now, but I do not believe it will be fulfilled completely until the Rapture takes place. “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)
This is just a short answer, but I hope it helps. You may want to look at another article called Prophecy Of The Future, In Summary.
Yours in Christ,
Gary T. Panell
The Scripture used in this discussion is taken from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.
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Keywords: antichrist, pope, prophecy, devil, Rome, Roman empire