Will the world stop its materialistic activity before the Lord comes?
No, the world will not stop its materialistic activity before the Lord comes. Scripture indicates that at Christ’s coming, especially the rapture, worldwide economic activity will be underway, with people caught up in prosperity and spiritual indifference. Materialistic activity continues until at least the midpoint of the tribulation, when chaos begins.
Les teaches that the present construction of office buildings, homes, and highways shows a worldwide economic activity that does not fit with the idea that Y2K would stop the world on January 1, 2000. The Bible says that at the coming of Christ, and especially for the rapture, there will be such worldwide economic activity, and people are so caught up in it today that they cannot get interested in spiritual things. They have it too good, are making big bucks, and the stock market is roaring, so who has time for eternity? Les therefore feels the world is not going to collapse January 1, though he does not ridicule the idea. It just does not seem to fit the situation Jesus described regarding their materialistic bent and wicked activity, which they could not carry on without mobility. If they cannot travel, they will not have all this opportunity for sinfulness. He concludes that up until at least the midpoint of the tribulation, that is when the sky is going to fall and everything goes into a chaotic condition, but he can foresee nothing that the world is going to fall apart or stop all its materialistic activity before the Lord comes.