I need some help finding a Science Fiction book. Someone described the book to me several years ago but I never got the title (or forgot). But it always caught my interest.
They described the book as a Sci-Fi based book were events duplicate a Biblical rapture or Alien Invasion. In the book several events happen:
-The dissapearance of millions of people
-The appearance of stange creatures, described by some as aliens or by some as demons.
…And the rest I forgot about. (sorry)
These events lead people to fall into two camps:
(1)People who all these events are a sign from heaven and the end is near.
(2)The ones who believe they are aliens and Earth is being invaded by aliens.
I think this might be a short story rather than a novel. Can’t remember the author, but it could have been in “Dangerous Visions” or something like that. The characters go through Rapture-like events, some believe it’s demons and other think it could be aliens trolling them. The end of the story the protagonists are executed by soldiers working for the “Antichrist”, and it’s still ambiguous what the real story is, sufficiently advanced aliens being indistinguishable from magic.
No, because in Childhoods End the aliens don’t reveal themselves until long after the “invasion.” And I’m pretty sure there is no mention of the Rapture - not a popular concept 60+ years ago.
I’m remembering a bit more about the short story I read–which might not be the one the OP is thinking of.
The viewpoint character is part of a Christian survivalist group, hiding out in the mountains from the forces of the Antichrist. The group gets captured by antichrist human troops, and are given the choice to submit or die. The viewpoint character has a conversation with one of the troopers, and tries to convert her to Christianity and turn away from Satan, but she says he’s crazy, she thinks she’s working for sufficiently advanced aliens and he should just give up, which he refuses. The Christians all get executed without either viewpoint being confirmed in the story.
I would have read this short story in the late 70s/early 80s.
I read the plot summary for all those books you mentioned and none of the plots really fit: all of them seem more about Aliens with no mention of a rapture or religious parallels.
From what I remember the person told me the book was relatively new-ish.
This mystery has stumped me for the past few years and can’t figure it out.