The book club I belong to recently completed the second installment in the series Left Behind.

For those unfamiliar with the series, it’s a collection of 13 books dealing with a Christian view of Biblical End Times (written by authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins) and weaves a dramatized story line based on the book of Revelation in the Bible of various characters’ processing of the events that are occurring following the Rapture.

I finished book two of the series a few months ago and at the time of the reading I noticed two coincidences.

Spoiler alert: some of the following may give some of the plot away.

The first coincidence in the story had to do with a plane similar to the Air Force One. The plane, intended for use by the President of the U.S. while on government business, ends up under the control and use of one of the main character in this story.

The second coincidence I noticed were some of the traits of the perceived Antichrist character. The character’s rise to power in most stories almost always starts with money, and in this story, this man was loaded and had all the political connections across the world- including the President of the US.

Does that remind you of someone who recently dominated the news the first quarter of the year?

To be clear I am not suggesting the aforementioned coincidences from the book and present times indicate the End Times are occurring now, indeed, the Bible is clear that no man will know the time or the hour of the return of Christ but to be ready. However, what I want to point out is a foreshadowing of how things could potentially play out leading to those times.

First, I would like to start with the date of which the second installment of the Left Behind book was published. The publication date is 1996. I’m not a fan of coincidences but there is no possible way for the authors to foresee the parallels of the plane and the Presidential friendship of one of the wealthiest men on earth to coincide with the year of 2025.

So why is this worth noting?

The people who will be left behind after the rapture occur will want to know answers as to what exactly happened to millions of people who seemingly vanished in thin air.

These people will be comprised of the ones who heard the Salvation message through various messengers (family members, friends, church) but didn’t heed the message while others will be people who never heard the message.

These are the people who will want to know at what point in history were there signs leading up to the rise of power of the Antichrist and how they could have missed these signs. Not that there would have been anything that could have been done to prevent the tribulation period from occurring, rather it has everything to do with accepting the gift of Salvation.

The good news now is that there is hope in the foreshadowing of events. The kind of hope that leads to salvation. And where there’s hope, there’s a way.

Ask forgiveness for your sins; be willing to turn from your sins; and believe that Jesus Christ—our Lord and Savior—died for your sins and rose again.