Up, Up, Up With People

For those Christians getting ready to be yanked up into heaven on Christ's return—assuming you think he's going to come back—there's an increasingly popular website called raptureready.com crammed full of info for that final journey. "The rapture is going to strike without warning," says the site. "The rapture is going to happen suddenly. The rapture is going to be one of the most astonishing events ever to occur."

Chockful of articles, background readings, advice columns, chats with such headings as "The Perfect Pastor" and "Preparation, information, links and sharing forum," and up-to-the-minute dope on such questions as "Do our pets go to heaven?" Rapture Ready wants to get everyone set for the Big Moment. You can spot a Rapture Ready buff by his or her handsome dark blue Rapture Ready T-shirt. Check out the Rapture Index, designed to "measure the type of activity that could act as a precursor to the rapture. You could say the Rapture Index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture." As of April 19, the Index stood at 143, down from a record high of 182 on September 24, 2001, but still in the range of "Heavy Prophetic Activity." Two points higher, Rapture Ready says, and you can get ready to "Fasten your seat belt."

Additional reporting: Alicia Ng and Phoebe St John