Let's look at Bill's query. When the trials and tribulations start---do all the babies and young children die and go to heaven due to their innocence or do they just die---if the innocents automatically go to heaven is there a certain age that they automatically would be taken up?

Before I answer, let me point our some problems with Bill's question. First off, no one who goes up in the Rapture will die in the sense that we now consider dying. When the Lord Raptures His Church, it will be changed from mortal to immortal in the twinkling of an eye as it goes up to be with the Lord. Secondly, "When the trials and tribulations start" is too ambiguous. Remember, the Church will not be Raptured till at the end of the Tribulation Period: a time that will be so catastrophic that no flesh would be saved but for God's personal intervention.

Mt. 24:21-31
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Behold, I have told you before.
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

(For more on our understanding of the Tribulation Period [Israel's prophetic "Midnight Watch"], the Rapture of the Church, and the following 3 1/2 years of the time of God's Wrath [Israel's prophetic "Cockcrowing Watch"], check out our online book THE CLOCK OF THE AGES.) And thirdly, Bill's question seems to imply that there will be nothing left for mankind after the Rapture of the Church. There is a misunderstanding floating around that the events associated with the Rapture will bring about the end of the world, but this teaching is not Scriptural for it leaves no place for Daniel's 70th Week or the 1,000 years of peace of the Kingdom Age. Because the Kingdom Age will follow the Age of Grace in which we now live, those unbelievers who come through the Tribulation Period and the awful 3 1/2 year period that follows the Rapture of the Church will in effect become the "seed" with which the Lord King Jesus will repopulate His earth.

Now, as to what will happen to the babies at the time of the Rapture; I can find no Scripture that deals specifically with the subject. However, there are several Scriptures that let us know God's heart toward the children.

Psa 68:4-5
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, [is] God in his holy habitation.

We also find in the Scriptures how God expects we fathers to deal with our children.

Mal 4:5-6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

If God feels this strongly about the way we feel toward our children, we know that He will meet His own responsibility toward them!

To me, it is unthinkable that at the time of the Rapture, a Christian family would have to leave their babies behind in a world that will be reeling from the fury of the devil and under the wrath of Almighty God! The following Scripture seem to support the idea that the children of the believers will go up with the Church.

Let's look now at Joan's questions: I know and believe that the 'saved' will be taken in the Rapture but what about those left behind at that point? Is there scripture that says those left behind will be given a chance to end up in heaven also but that they will be going through the tribulation first? Is there such a thing as a 'second chance' after the rapture takes the saved in Christ to heaven? To answer Joan we'll need to refer again to our illustration of the four night watches of Israel; and as we do, we'll see how our answer to Joan will tie into our comments to Bill.

Do the Scriptures give us any information about what will happen to those who are left on the earth when the Church is taken up? Yes, they do. We are told in the Book of Revelation that all who will take the mark of the beast so that they might be able to buy and sell will not be permitted to come through the 1st 1/2 Daniel's 70th Week into the Kingdom Age (See our study of the Book of Revelation). But we are also told that Jesus and the glorified Church will rule the earth for a thousand years. Consequently, there will be others who will not worship the beast or sell there soul for a morsel to eat--these will be the "seed" that the Lord uses to repopulate the earth.

Jesus Himself told the disciples what would happen to the nations at the end of this 3 1/2 year period just prior to the Kingdom Age.

As to which nations qualify as "goats" and which as "sheep," Jesus did not leave us to wonder.

(It will help us keep things in perspective if we keep in mind that, contrary to what some would have us believe, the end-time "beast" will not rule the entire world during this time. True, he will be given power for a season to try the hearts of men and women, and "spiritually," he will be allowed to rule the hearts of those who want nothing to do with the God of Abraham, but from the judgment of the nations we can decipher that he will only be one of many world rulers at the time.)

Let's look now at a couple of quotes from our on-line book, CLOCK OF THE AGES.

"...after the many, many deaths of the great tribulation; after the Rapture of the Church which brings to an end our time of grace; after the many, many deaths during the first 3 1/2 years of Daniel's seventieth week, there will be nations that will have been refined though as by fire. These nations will have the nature of sheep. Also, there will be nations who will have the nature of goats because they have stubbornly resisted God. A separation of the goats and the sheep will be one of the first orders of business in King Jesus' new administration."

...

"Our Lord’s answer to the questions poised by the nations gives us some understanding about the ruler that He will use to measure the nations. Lord, when did we see you hungry? thirsty? in prison? and not minister to you? His answer will be, when you saw my brethren [the Jew will be the only "brethren on earth at the time--the Church having been raptured] during his time of trouble and refused to help him. How the end-time nations treat Israel will determine their place in our Lord’s new kingdom. The end-time nations will encounter a principle that has ruled since the Hebrew nation began. Those that bless Abraham’s descendants will be blessed of God, and those that curse them will be cursed of God (Num. 24:1-9); and for the end time, this will be especially so!"

(For more on the judgment of the nations prior to the Kingdom Age, click on the CLOCK OF THE AGES button on our home page and go to booklet eight, chapter 32.)

Also, as to these individuals living during the first 1/2 of Daniel's 70th Week, the Book of Revelation and several of the Old Testament prophets tell us of major catastrophes/judgments that will wipe out large segments of the earth's population. (For particulars on these catastrophes/judgments, go to our study of the Book of Revelation and our on-line book, THE CLOCK OF THE AGES.) In fact, by the time that this first period of the wrath of God is finished, the population of the earth will be greatly reduced. As we've said, those that are left will be the "seed" with which the Lord Jesus will repopulate the earth during the Kingdom Age.

The second part of Joan's question was: Is there scripture that says those left behind will be given a chance to end up in heaven also but that they will be going through the tribulation first? Yes, many of those left behind--i.e., those who make it through the awful day of God's wrath--will be given a chance to make Christ Jesus their Lord and Savior. However, they will not be able to be born again by receiving Christ as we do during the Age of Grace. Instead, they will get to go into the Kingdom Age and be subject to its covenants. We are not told in the Scriptures just what those who live during the Kingdom Age will have to do to inherit eternal life. But the WORD Himself will be among them and He will let them know the particulars. I also might mention again that the period to which you refer will not be a part of the tribulation period but is known in the Scriptures as the Day of God's Wrath. In the Scriptures, tribulation is a tool used of God on the rebellious in an attempt to get them to repent so that they can be converted. This differs greatly from the pouring out of God's wrath.

Finally, how does all this tie into Bill's concern about the children? There is an almost universal belief in the churches that God takes all children who die in innocence to Himself. This belief is well founded in the light of the following Scripture, and others like it.

There is enough basic information about the end time on our web pages to keep one busy for quite a while. If you'll dig in, I'm sure you'll be blessed. However, if you'll stop and consider, everything in the Bible is a revelation: i.e., revelations about God, about how we came to be, about who and what each of us are—and about what we were made to be. In fact, the revelations about the Lord's return, the primary emphasis of this web site, is actually secondary in importance to another revelation in the Bible.

There is an old saying in the Missouri foothills from whence I came and it is probably not unique to that area. "You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family." Well, in the natural that is true; but not in the spiritual. In the spiritual realm you must choose all of your relations—including your father; but first, before one can choose, there must be a "revelation."

Mat 16:13-17
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

This passage speaks of the most important revelation to mankind presented in the Bible, for the eternal destiny of our souls is determined by it. In this passage we see this revelation presented first as a personal revelation to Simon Barjona, one of the Lord's disciples; but then it was widen to incorporate the whole Church.

Mat 16:18-20
And I say also unto thee [Remember, His question was addressed to all of the disciples.], That thou art Peter [i.e., "little rock"], and upon this rock [this personal
"revelation" of Whom Christ is] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee [the Church] the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Then charged he his disciples that they should tell noman that he was Jesus the Christ.

We should note that at this point in time, Jesus told them not to tell others that He was the Messiah, for He had not finished His work on the cross, nor had he been resurrected from the dead. But when these things would be accomplished, Jesus would then command His disciples to go into all of the world and tell Who He was.

Mark 16:15-20
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but hethat believeth not shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with [them], and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

What an extraordinary thing it is that when we go forward telling others Who Christ is and what He has done for them, that He is working with us! But think about it; when we go forward in His Name, it is imperative that He go with us for only He by His Spirit can reveal Himself to the spirit of man.

In the New Testament there are some examples of how Christ was revealed to men and women. In the second chapter of Acts, we see God making His Son real to about three thousand souls by anointing the preaching of the Apostle Peter and adding them the Church.

About preaching, Paul wrote:

I Cor. 1:18-24
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Where [is] the wise? where [is] the scribe? where [is] the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

As we consider this matter of preaching we should note that Peter's sermon recorded in the second chapter of Acts was the first sermon preached in the Age of Grace. And we should also notice the simplicity and the content of that sermon. It was simply Christ and Him crucified: the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the reason for the New Testament.

Then, in the book of Acts, we have an extraordinary example of how God revealed Himself through the Scriptures.

Act 8:25-40
And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
And Philip ran thither to [him], and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
And as they went on [their] way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, [here is] water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

As you read the account of Philip and the eunuch, remember that the New Testament had not yet been written; therefore, the Old Testament was the Bible that the eunuch was reading. From this we can be assured that God will go to great efforts to see to it that anyone with a sincere, humble, and open heart who applies himself to the Bible can understand the Scriptures and that God will reveal His Son to such a person (Cf. Jn. 7:16-19). Today, the Spirit does not have to translate someone to another person to give understanding of the role that Christ plays in the salvation of man; for we now have the New Testament. Consequently, anyone who reads today's bible with the attitude of the Ethiopian eunuch can trust God to honor his faith and reveal His Son and the salvation that He purchased for man with His own blood.

The Apostle Paul's conversion is another example of how God reveals himself to man. In Paul's case we have a devoutly, religious person who thought that he was serving God although, in truth, he was opposing Him. In Paul's instance God appeared to him while he was on the way to Damascus to persecute members of the New Testament Church.

Act 9:1-18
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: [it is] hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought [him] into Damascus.
And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I [am here], Lord.
And the Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for [one] called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting [his] hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, [even] Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

In Paul's salutations to Timothy in his second epistle to him, we see where Jesus was revealed to young Timothy by the testimony and lives of his family.

II Tim. 1:2-7
To Timothy, [my] dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, [and] peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from [my] forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

These are only some of the many instances in the Bible wherein people believed and received the Son of God as their Lord and Savior. Although each instance was very different (and I'm satisfied every conversion experience is different), yet there is a common denominator. Before each of these could receive Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior, He first had to be revealed to them.

Let's look at some more Scriptures having to do with this "revelation."

That every genuine conversion has a revelation at its heart does not contradict the way of faith, but fulfills it.

Gal 3:22-24
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Rom 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

For those who are concerned about their relationship with Christ Jesus, there is a test that every church member may or may not pass—a test that every born-again believer will pass for he/she knows from experience what these verses mean!

John 10:27-30
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand.
I and [my] Father are one.

Rom 8:16
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

So, there is more about "revelation" in the Bible than the prophecies concerning the "end time." It would be great if everyone in the world were interested in and understood the prophecies concerning Christ's return and the things that lie ahead. But how much greater would be the rejoicing in heaven if the lost could actually see Christ in the Church that is called to bear His name! That God honored the preaching, witnessing, and efforts of the first disciples is apparent; but that He is honoring very few today is equally obvious. When we look around us at the diminishing, powerless church, it is not hard to figure that those is the church are either going forward/preaching in another name [i.e., a denomination, an organization, a preacher, a teaching, etc.] or in their own might, trusting in their own efforts. Either this or they're just not going forward at all! Remember, Jesus said that He would go with His Church; and because He would go with them, that signs and wonders would follow.

As I've said, there is enough basic information about the end time on our web pages to keep one busy for quite a while. However, my prayer for you is that you'll so dedicate your life to Christ that your light will shine in the darkness around you—and that others will see the Christ of the Bible in you. Wouldn't it be nice if we all could read the great commission as it was intended: i.e., with our name after the "ye"… "And he said unto them, Go ye [Alicia/Don] into all the world, and preach [impart] the gospel to every creature… (Mar 16:15).

Thanks for WRAPPING with us,