A Distant Thunder (1978 film)

"A Distant Thunder" is a 1978 evangelical, fundamentalist Christian film by Russell S. Doughten and directed by Donald W. Thompson. The film is a sequel to the 1972 film "A Thief in the Night", which portrayed the event in Christian eschatology sometimes called the Rapture. These films are part of a four-part series. "A Distant Thunder" continues where"A Thief in the Night" left off.

Plot

Patty is lying awake one night in a church basement, distraught and scared. She is to be executed the next morning for refusing to take the mark of the beast. Patty knows what lies ahead if she takes the mark but can still not believe in Christ. When those around her try to comfort her and encourage her to accept the Lord, she lashes out at them, too scared to think straight. They are able to calm her down, however, and learn her story of how she got to the point she is at tonight.

A very horrified Patty has just learned that her husband and millions of others have disappeared in the Rapture, an event she has heard of, but never believed in - until now. Patty desperately seeks to find her friends and family members but they have all disappeared.

Patty and two of her friends hide out at Patty's grandmother's and watch devastating events unfold. Drought, famine, and earthquakes become the norm and Patty and her two friends barely manage to eke out an existence. Even through all these circumstances, Patty refuses to believe in God, instead blaming God for all the terrible things that have happened to her.

As time goes on, Patty and her friends' livlihood becomes more and more desperate as UNITE, the world-wide government, seeks and destroys those who will not take the mark of the beast. Patty and her friends manage to hang on until a supposed friend betrays them to UNITE and they are taken to a church to await their sentencing.

It is now the morning of Patty's execution and Patty still cannot make up her mind. At one point she almost decides to accept Christ, until she is faced with the guillotine and the surprising identity of her betrayer. This is too much for Patty, who loses her mind and goes to the chopping block without ever making a decision.

The story is continued in "Image of the Beast".

Films in the series

"Preceded by:"
* "A Thief in the Night" (1972)

"Followed by:"
* "Image of the Beast" (1980)
* "The Prodigal Planet" (1983)

External links

*