For most people, messages from heaven are usually accompanied by choirs of angels, spectacular miracles or at least the odd burning bush. But one website says it will offer devout Christians a more prosaic mode of communication from the beyond - by letting them email unbelievers when the second coming takes place.



YouveBeenLeftBehind.com promises subscribers "one last opportunity to reach your lost family and friends for Christ" by automatically sending them a series of emails and documents if the rapture should occur.

For an annual fee of $40 (£20), customers are offered the chance to send these messages to their loved ones to convince them to believe in God.

The site suggests preparing messages which could prove useful to those who remain on earth, which are then fired off if the second coming of Jesus happens.

According to the website, such a biblical event would mean that "there will be a small window of time where they [non-believers] might be reached for the kingdom of God".

The website, which is based in Massachusetts, is run by a small team of Christians who must log on every day to indicate that the rapture has not yet taken place. If enough of them fail to log in, however, the system assumes that the second coming is nigh and sends out messages from all its subscribers.

"The people on my team are Christians who expect to be raptured," Mark Heard, the site's creator, told the Guardian. "They must continually log in to the system. The team is spread out as far apart in the US as is possible to prevent against more than one member being taken out by, attack, natural disaster, or epidemic."

Heard told the Guardian the subscription fee was only intended to cover his initial investment but he hoped he would be able to cut the price - or even provide it for free - as more people signed up.