I have heard Bible prophecy teachers say things like a third or half of the population might not survive the tribulation. That sounds bad enough, but the truth of the mater is that less than ten percent of the earth’s population will live through these end of the age judgments. If God had not limited the length of the judgments for the sake of the elect, no flesh on earth would have survived. After a harvest, only the gleanings remain in the field. A few here and a few there. The tribulation is the end of age harvest of souls.

Before the end of age harvest, the Rapture will come for believers and remove some unknown percent of the earth’s population. The number departing is not known because we do not know who is truly in Christ. I do believe that dependent children of believers will go with their parents in the Rapture, but I see no biblical foundation for those claiming that all children under the age of accountability would be taken. I cannot even imagine a world going on like usual with all the children gone. The Rapture is only for those born of the Spirit. That eliminates those who only have Christian identity and those that have not yet trusted in Jesus. Therefore, after the Rapture, I think there will still be around 8 billion people on the earth.

The great judgment at the end of the age begins as the Lamb opens the seven seals of Revelation and the events play out on earth. The war, famine and disease of seals 2 through 4 probably eliminates about a quarter of the earth’s population so maybe just 6 billion live to experience the subsequent events.

I think we can assume that hundreds of millions are killed in the persecution of the fifth seal. We also can assume that many will be killed when the earth crust shifts at the sixth seal and everyone hides in caves for protection. With that in mind, I do not think more than 5 billion survive to experience the seven trumpet judgments.

In this same period, the two prophets bring judgment on the earth as often as they wish. I do not know how many die as a result. The seven trumpet judgments kills more than a third of the remaining people on earth because just the sixth trumpet indicates that a third of mankind is killed. I think it is reasonable to assume that the trumpet judgements reduces the population of the earth to under 3 billion people. We also need to keep in mind that most of those that will not take the mark or worship the Antichrist will be killed. John sees them in heaven around the throne and says the number is so great that nobody can count them. I think those slain for not worshiping the Antichrist will be well over a billion people. So, by the time of the bowls of wrath and the gathering of the tares to be burned, there are probably only a billion or two people still alive on earth.

As the Lord returns, The Dragon, Antichrist and False Prophet gathers all nations to come against Israel. The Lord slays all of them the whole length of Israel. Revelation tells us the multitudes are so great that their blood flows up to the horses bridles. With the removal of the tares to be burned and the treading of the grapes of wrath only the gleanings will remain alive. with that in mind, it seems to me that less than a billion people will survive the great tribulation. Even after the tribulation of those days, there is still the sheep and goat judgment of Matthew 25. Only those that did not oppose the gospel of the kingdom will be allowed into the kingdom. The rest will be cut off.

The scriptures indicate that after the end of age judgment, men will be rarer than pure gold on the earth (Isa 13:12). Apparently more women survive than men. The scriptures specifically do tell us that only one third of the Jews in the land of Israel will survive the tribulation. I think the Gentiles will fare much worse than Israel.

Isaiah 24 describes those days and says the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste. He says few men will be left. It will be like the days after a great harvest. Only the gleanings will remain. A few olives on a upper branch or a few grapes on a vine. Hebrew farmers that abide by the law of gleanings would still harvest more than 90 percent of the crop. When you take into account the wording in Isaiah and elsewhere in scriptures, I do not believe more than ten percent of the world’s population survive and enter the Kingdom Age.

Those that think they can survive through the tribulation of those days are not taking the appropriate texts literally. The end of the age judgment of fire is comparable to the Noahic Flood. Only 8 people lived through that judgment. The Lord will start His millennial reign with a greatly reduced natural population. Unbelievers will be cut off and most believers bodies of flesh will be killed. The remnant of Israel that is refined through the fires will only be a few million people. Most Gentiles will either get saved and die as martyrs, or they will die in the judgments removing the ungodly. I think the Lord will start His kingdom on earth with a remnant of millions not billions.

The plain truth written in scripture destroys the arguments of contemporary “Christian” humanist’s believing the Church defeats evil and restores paradise lost. The great tribulation is called the worse time on earth that ever occurs because that is exactly what it is. The present Church age is really about taking out a supernatural bride to rule and reign with the Messiah in the Kingdom Age. It is not about Christianizing the tares that are following the god of this age. In other words, as we approach the end of the age, people should learn how to be taken alive at the Rapture or they should be preparing to die.