This Is Not A Game

On October the 30th 1938 a radio network music program was suddenly interrupted and it was a breaking news flash saying that strange activity was being observed on the planet Mars. The music program then continued for a while longer until there was another interruption and more breaking news flashes of strange activity.

What sounded like a legitimate newscast was in reality nothing more than a unique one-hour drama presented by Orson Wells on the Mercury Theater of the air.

Millions of people that were listening to the program in the United States actually believed that planet Earth was being invaded by Martians.

Let me give you one of these news flashes. First the announcer said that a meteor had crashed to the earth near Grovesmills, New Jersey. Next an on site report came from New Jersey that said thousands of people had been killed not by a meteor as had originally been reported but by death ray guns that were brandished about by an army of space invaders.

An eyewitness described the scene as weird creatures streaming from a huge silver cylinder and burning everything in their path. Martians it seemed had landed on the earth.

Right in the middle, this terrifying report was cut suddenly due to circumstances that were out of their control. Now other parts of the country began to report. One after the other the reports were much the same as in New Jersey.

News flashes said that:

∑ The National Guard had been called out.

∑ The Secretary of War was mobilizing the army.

∑ The White House had declared a state of national emergency.

Keep calm, keep calm the reports urged the public. The same voices that told of weird space creatures burning their way to New York City and had incited fear were now calling for composure. That was taken from Curtis Mitchell’s news broadcast.

Despite assurances that this was only a broadcast drama Americans believed that we were under attack from outer space.

∑ Switchboards were swamped.

∑ Churches were filled to capacity.

∑ Highways leading out of New York City were jammed with the cars of people trying to escape the terror of it all.

∑ In the state of Washington a small town experienced a routine power failure (What a bad time to have a power failure). That power failure was the last straw for the frightened citizens of that town and they believed despite assurances that we were under attack.

∑ Police stations were visited by people who claimed to have seen with their own eyes creatures from outer space.

But it was all make believe.

∑ There were no Martians.

∑ There was no invasion.

∑ There were no death ray guns.

∑ There was no slaughter of innocent people.

But the panic of this nation brought on by a fake broadcast was unbelievable. Even though they constantly reminded the listeners: This is not real it is only a drama.

Almost sixty-two years have past now since that infamous broadcast of the “War of the Worlds.” But I want to tell you today of an event on Gods timetable that is not a drama of man’s imagination and skilled presentation. This one, brothers and sisters, will be true. This one will be real. It will make the “War of the Worlds” and its traumatic impact on society look like child’s play. That day will be when Jesus Christ removes his church, the bride that is called by his name, from planet earth.

That whole scenario will happen suddenly. It will take place in a split second or the Bible calls it a twinkling of an eye event.

∑ Some call it the rapture

∑ Others call it the catching away of the bride.

∑ While others call it and the Bible calls it the first resurrection.

Whatever you choose to call it is irrelevant to this preacher. The bottom line is that this event will impact the entire world like no other event has impacted this world in human history. There has never been anything that can compare to the rapture of the church.

∑ Millions and millions of people will suddenly disappear from the earth.

∑ Untold numbers of graves will without warning burst open.

∑ The sea will instantly give up the dead that is in it.

∑ From every nation and island around the world there will suddenly be chaos and confusion.

∑ Cars will lose their drivers

∑ Airplanes will lose their pilots

∑ Trains will lose their conductors

∑ Buses will lose their drivers

∑ There will be mass destruction and confusion everywhere

∑ Telephone lines will be down for days because of the volume of calls that will be made of people trying to figure out what is going on

∑ People will be trying to find their loved ones and panic will set in on them when they can’t be found