What happens to people who reject the gospel after being convicted by the Holy Spirit?
After hearing the gospel and being convicted by the Holy Spirit that it is what they need, those who reject it are immediately blinded to the truth and immediately embrace the man Antichrist. The context distinguishes them from the billions who have never heard the gospel and therefore are not described as having rejected that conviction.
Les explains that the gospel is a concerted faith and trust in God's act, that God Himself paid the penalty for all sin, and that if only one person had lived, Christ would still have gone to the cross to purchase redemption. That faith—not works—is what God sees as salvation, as Romans 4 shows with Abraham, who believed God and was accounted righteousness. Then he addresses those who have heard this gospel and been convicted by the Holy Spirit that this is what they need, yet reject it: they will be immediately blinded to the truth and immediately embracing the man Antichrist. But Les says to face reality: billions on the planet have never heard the gospel, and multitudes in every city have never heard it. Even when a preacher on radio or television preaches the gospel in truth and sincerity, some people do not hear it.