Saturday, April 6, 2013

Left Behind: The Movie!

Or, THE NOT-IMMINENT RAPTURE

In the last few days it has come to my attention that the book Left Behind is about to be made into a major motion picture with Nicholas Cage playing the lead character. This news is a concern to me on several levels. When it comes to spiritual themes, Hollywood has a way of getting it almost right some of the time. Yes, I know. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins are reportedly going to be the screenplay writers having the "final say" on all matters of content, etc. But, therein lies the largest part of my problem.

As far as Left Behind:The Movie goes. I assume that this A-grade production will cause a big splash. It will have the accompanying tsunami of advertisement and a media blitz worthy of the subject matter. But, beneath all the excitement surrounding the production of the movie, I am alarmed by a mostly unnoticed element from the release of LB. And it is this: The movie, as did the LaHaye/Jenkins book, will leave the "low-information" viewer with the distinct impression that there is only one interpretation of end-time, Biblical events, when, in fact, there are several major viewpoints and multitudes of variations! The LB brand presents an interpretation that, in the opinion of many, has substantial problems! An interpretation that, in my mind, flies in the face of a simple, straightforward reading of the Bible passages involved. And what is the LB interpretation? The rapture of the church by Jesus Christ can happen at any time... that there is nothing keeping Him from coming back for His church at this very moment... and, that it occurs before a 7 year countdown called the Tribulation. For those of you who have read the book I am sure that this sounds familiar. At this point I imagine that a number of you are thinking, "Okay, so what's the big deal! It's just a movie!" True. But, I am going to attempt to show an unintended consequence from the LB product line. An outcome that contains significant spiritual peril to the church.

The rapture viewpoint displayed in the LB series has a name. It is referred to as the "pre-tribulation rapture" view. This "pre-tribulation rapture" persuasion of prophecy has been the most promoted viewpoint for many years among American Christians. The "pre-trib" notion was first brought forward in the 1700 and 1800s. Popularized by J.N.Darby it later made its way into the thinking and writings of men like C.I.Scholfield, John Walvoord and Dwight Pentecost. Hal Lindsey and his book The Late Great Planet Earth probably did more to bring this line of thinking into the mainstream than anyone in the last 40 years. That is until the Left Behind series appeared. Let me cut to the chase before I get bogged down in the historical crevices. I owe a lot to "Late Great"... It was that book, after all, that God used to pry me out of a life as a professional musician to follow Christ. But, what "Late Great" shares with LB is the same "pre-trib" prophetic conviction! May I say with all love and respect... This view of scripture may simply not be true! Historically, there are a number of other scriptural persuasions concerning the return of Christ held by great men and women of faith over the years. Some of these views are a LOT older than our current popular view.

So, what do we have... a block-buster book series, a coming movie, the high-dollar promotion of a "this is the way it is" interpretation of the last days. What is this "peril" about which I am so concerned?!

* * * * *

A THESSALONIAN NIGHTMARE

As a young believer I was part of a movement in the 70s that bore a resemblance to some of the churches in the New Testament. We were young and ready to learn. We were fresh in Christ and willing to do anything that the Lord showed us to do. And, God did some pretty amazing things. In those days you were never sure who might walk through the house-church doors. People looking for God or, just looking for friends. Others trying to score some good weed..."Sorry, wrong house!" Those who dropped by to "help" us "young people" see what we were doing wrong. And, those who came to inject outright false doctrine into our small group.

The Thessalonians had a great church, too! They were the total package. From day one they had taken everything that God had given to them (through Paul) and returned it in manifold ways. They were the example to follow... excited about the things of God and looking forward to the return of their Lord and Savior, Jesus. But they, like my young church, had to deal with the same kinds of problems and people in their day.

In his second epistle to the Christians at Thessalonica, Paul took much of the letter to confront a false teaching that had walked through the front door of their church.

"Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come."II THESS.2:1,2 nasv

It was a serious business. Someone had come in and told the believers that Christ had already come... that the day of the Lord had taken place! And here were the poor, confused Thessalonians... still in the flesh and living on earth, not in Heaven with their Lord.

[[[ Let me take a moment and address this term, "the day of the Lord" in I Thessalonians 2:2. Keep in mind that I am not a scholar, nor seminary trained nor an ordained pastor.

The "Day Of The Lord" is a term used in both Old and New Testaments. Its full meaning crosses many lines and includes a number of features of God's ultimate plan for the earth, His children, the last days, the millenium and the eternal kingdom. I believe that one of the guidelines when reading scripture is to look for the simplest, most easily understood meaning from any given verse or passage. Often the answer to questions found in a passage are found nearby; either in the same passage or in the context of whatever is being covered. I think that that is true in these two verses. The question would be: What is "the day of the Lord" in verse 2? It would be reasonable to say, upon a closer look, that the answer is found in verse 1. Paul points to the topic when he says, "...with regard to..." then, he presents the subject matter... "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,... I.e. the "day of the Lord" or, at least, this portion of the Day of the Lord.

For some reason "pre-trib" folks split verse 1 into two parts! Part One: "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ", and Part Deux: "and our gathering together to Him,..." They say that the first part speaks of the coming of the Lord at the end of the tribulation and, the second refers to the Rapture seven years earlier!! (It seems odd that the Holy Spirit would chronologically transpose the two events in this way!) I totally disagree with that interpretation in any event. The two verses are simple and straightforward. The wording, "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him" is no stranger than saying, "the coming of Grandma and our eating cookies with her." Certainly, there could be a gap between Grandma's arrival and the eating of her cookies. But, seven years?!?! No. It would be reasonable to conclude that Paul is speaking of one event. A coming and gathering event. ]]]

But, imagine! If you had been in Thessalonica! You have been taught and you have believed that Jesus is coming back for YOU and now you are informed that He has already been there and gone... without you! For a Christian this would be devastating!! The blessed hope... the dearest longing of the believer's heart shattered!... with no explanation or understanding of what happened! A nightmare! And yet, that is exactly the place the American church could find itself in the foreseeable future. We have been told and taught for decades that the church will be gone before the Tribulation begins. And now, with the release of LB, we will be encouraged to promote this interpretation by participating in an "evangelism opportunity" using a movie that will, at its heart, present an escape-from-tribulation brand of salvation. A false escape. This prompts a troubling question. "What happens on that future day when we are confronted with clear evidence that the Tribulation has already begun... and that we are still here!?" Compounding this ... What if we were quite sure (up to that point) that our spiritual "upbringing" has been from solid, Bible-believing pastors. That our congregation, our whole denomination is deeply conservative with historical foundations in Scripture. How?! How could they have been so wrong?! What else have I been taught that is wrong?!? What happens to Christian hope on the day we wake up to find that some recognizable tribulation event is the main news story on Good Morning America and that, apparently, the rapture has not taken place? What would American believers think? What would you think?

I do not need a seminary or psychology degree to point out that if the above events were to happen there would be massive confusion and discouragement in the church. Pastors, trying to deal with their own confusion, doubt and fear, would be inundated with the confusion, doubts and fears of their flock. The word would quickly spread into the media and the news mill would begin the weeks-long, national churning of "up close & personal" stories featuring those who had lost faith... faith in their church... trust in their pastors... faith in God. And as for Satan... he would be having a field day!! Some of you might say, "Well, that is the way the sheep and goats are recognized." That might be true. But, going through it would be spiritually crushing for everyone involved. A national, spiritual calamity!

My prayer and desire in writing these articles is to attempt to bring balance to the topic. The American church is so deeply invested in only one way of viewing the return of the Lord. And, let me say, "Hallelujah!" if the "pre-trib" viewpoint is the right one. I am ready to rest in the arms of Jesus TODAY!!!

So, what are the balancing views? Well, it might be a "mid-tribulation Rapture", or a "post-tribulation Rapture" way of thinking. But realize, both of these views claim that Jesus' coming is not imminent... that He comes sometime after the Tribulation begins. Perhaps somewhere in the middle or, at the end of the Tribulation the rapture of the church would take place. There are several other viewpoints. But, I am most interested in helping you see that there are other ways... other ways of interpreting these prophetic Bible passages given to us by God. I am looking to present an understandable interpretation that needs only a "simple, straightforward reading of the Bible passages involved." That is the line of thought that I will attempt to present to you.

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