"Strong Delusion"

I was reading Scripture the other day and came across something that made me think of my non-Christian friends. Are you familiar with the Rapture? Well, the basic idea is that all Christians will dissappear from the earth before the seven year reign of Antichrist, allowing him to rule over who is left. Up to reading 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, I was certain that any non-Christian left on earth would immediately recognize what happened, realize that the Bible was true, and then repent and believe, ultimately saving their souls from hell. I always figured, "better late than never." That was until I read this:

11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

This to me was a shocker, because it effectively set a time limit for those living in these "end times." In other words, for those that heard the Gospel (i.e. Jesus died for your sins) and did not take heart by accepting this free gift will receive a strong delusion to follow antichrist and die with him at the end of his 7 year reign. In other words, it will become impossible for anyone who has had an opportunity to become a follower of Christ before the Rapture to become one after it.

So, I send this with a gentle nudge to anyone putting off the decision to follow Christ, because there is a cut off date, and I believe that cut off date is near. How near is anyone's guess, but all prophecies that needed to be fulfilled before the Rapture have already been fulfilled, resulting in what's called a belief in Imminency, meaning it could happen at any time - no other prophecies need to be fulfilled before the Rapture occurs.

The wierd thing is that, if anyone was to read this blog after the Rapture, any pleading I could do would have no effect. However, that is not the case for anyone reading it now. They still have the free will to choose.

I have tons of notes on the above passage and even a pamphlet concerning the Rapture. If you are interested in either one, let me know.