The Remaining (2014) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Skylar's parents are taken during what the film presents as the Biblical Rapture. Their eyes turn milky white right before they vanish, this signals that they were believers who were taken up to heaven while non-believers were left behind in the apocalyptic chaos.

• rapture
• skylar parents
• believers taken
• biblical event

Skylar theorizes they are experiencing the Biblical Rapture, a theological event where God lifts all believing souls to heaven while non-believers remain on Earth to face tribulation. She references specific trumpet passages from Revelation, believing the catastrophes (plane crashes, hailstorms, demonic attacks) are the prophesied end times events.

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• biblical prophecy
• end times
• revelation
• skylar theory

Pastor Shay explains that the baby was stillborn because its spirit was already taken by God during the Rapture, only the body remained. This demonstrates Shay's interpretation that anyone with faith, including unborn children, was taken while their physical shells were left behind.

• stillborn baby
• church
• pastor shay
• rapture victims

Skylar is abducted by a supernatural force outside the church and suffers severe injuries from the encounter. When the group reaches a hospital, they discover she has died from demonic venom, the toxic effect of the demonic forces unleashed during the Rapture. She succumbs before receiving medical treatment.

• skylar death
• demonic venom
• hospital
• supernatural abduction

Dan is impaled and taken into the sky after raging against God following Skylar's death. This mirrors what happened to Allison earlier, she was also taken upward in a similar fashion. The film presents this as divine punishment for Dan's blasphemous outburst, showing that those who curse God during the Rapture face dire consequences.

Foreshadowing: Allison was previously taken in a similar manner, foreshadowing Dan's fate.

• dan death
• taken by god
• impaled
• allison fate
• divine punishment

The piercing trumpet sounds correspond to the Biblical trumpets from the Book of Revelation. Pastor Shay identifies the Fifth Trumpet as the signal that releases the demonic forces attacking survivors. Each trumpet blast represents a progressively worse apocalyptic plague being unleashed upon the Earth.

• trumpet
• fifth trumpet
• revelation
• demons
• biblical plague

Jack seeks comfort in baptism at the relief camp, hoping to find faith and protection. However, his newfound belief doesn't save him, he becomes another victim of the demonic terrors unleashed on Earth. The film suggests that baptism alone doesn't grant immunity from the Rapture's consequences or protect against the attacking demons.

• jack death
• baptism
• demons
• relief camp

The demons are unleashed after the Fifth Trumpet sounds, they are the fallen angels of Biblical prophecy sent to torment those left behind. Pastor Shay explains these entities are specifically targeting survivors, and they brutalize the church intruders before launching a full assault on the sanctuary itself.

• demons
• church attack
• fallen angel
• fifth trumpet
• pastor shay

Pastor Shay sacrifices himself to save the remaining survivors when the Fallen launch their assault on the church. He deliberately puts himself in harm's way to allow Tommy, Jack, Sam, and the others to retreat to the basement and escape the demonic attack, embodying selflessness amid the apocalypse.

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• church assault
• fallen attack

Tommy and Sam reach a relief camp where they make their final stand against the demons. As 'Amazing Grace' plays through the speakers, the demons descend upon them, drawn to their expressions of faith. The film ends with the pair facing a doomed battle against the overwhelming demonic forces.

• tommy
• sam
• relief camp
• final stand
• demons
• amazing grace

The milky white eyes are the visual indicator the film uses to show someone has been taken in the Rapture. This symptom appears on Skylar's parents and later on other believers as they are lifted to heaven, it's the supernatural sign that distinguishes those being taken from regular death or disappearance.

• milky white eyes
• rapture sign
• taken
• believers

The planes falling and exploding are part of the chaotic fallout from the Rapture. With pilots and passengers suddenly taken, planes crash uncontrollably. This demonstrates the global scale of the event, the disasters aren't localized but affect infrastructure worldwide as believers disappear simultaneously.

• planes crash
• apocalypse
• global chaos
• rapture effect