They did not receive the mark of Antichrist on their hand. Their actions proved to be incomprehensible to the people of the world and also to the members of Babylon the Great, the huge religious establishment that will embrace the religions of mankind, including Christianity. Therefore they will be persecuted viciously by the members of the Christian religion.

All religions, including the religion of Christianity, have much in common. (Please understand, I am not referring to individual Christian assemblies, many of which are splendid, only to the religion of Christianity as a whole.) The religions of the world are man-directed—guided by the human mind. Few of them teach we are to die on the cross with Jesus Christ and be raised with Him to the right hand of the Father. Therefore they are the enemies of Christ and will murder Him when they can, just as was true of the leaders of Israel. They are as high hills leaping in order to gain recognition. But God has chosen Zion.

Only those who have been called, chosen, and proven faithful will be raised from the dead when the Lord appears from Heaven. They will be caught up to their Commander-in-Chief and assigned their places on the white war stallions. This is the first resurrection of the dead and the time of the attack of Armageddon.

No other individual will be raised until the thousand-year Kingdom Age has been completed.

The Bible is a book of war. Throughout the Bible, just as throughout world history, there are found wars and rumors of war. The Book of Psalms, it may be noted, has much to say about war.

God is at war against every personality, angelic and human, that has not surrendered totally to His will. Most Christian people will tell you that no one can do God's will. We ought to try but we are condemned to fail. Therefore God is saving us by "grace." By this they mean we can continue to rebel against God and His Word but will be brought to Paradise in any case.

Such thinking comes from the arrogance of the human race and is supported by Satan.

It would not solve God's problem if every person on earth were brought to Heaven. There is war in Heaven because there is rebellion there. God will shake the heavens until all spirits that are not doing His will are cast down from their position of authority.

How deeply self-will is rooted in the human personality can be seen by the fact that after a thousand years of the rule of Christ and His saints, Satan still is able to deceive the nations until they are willing to go up and attack the camp of the saints. This after a thousand years of righteous government! Think of it!

God will never stop shaking the earth and the heavens until all angels and people have ceased their rebellion, their self-will, their stubbornness, and total victory has been gained through the Lord Jesus Christ and His firstfruits who follow Him.

You and I can, through the Lord Jesus, maintain our position at the right hand of God in Christ. But we must realize we will be tested, tested, and tested again until God is certain no evil way remains in us. It must be true of us that Satan can find no opening in us when he comes.

Only then are we assured of participation in the first resurrection and of our eternal placement at the right hand of God. (from The Right Hand of God)