The Joys of Being Left Behind!

 

The movie LEFT BEHIND is back! This rebooted story, staring Nicholas Cage, tells the tale of a group of survivors who are left behind after millions of people suddenly vanish and the world is plunged into chaos and destruction. This movie is based upon a series of religious novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, that promote a overly dramatic and sadistic view of end time prophecy. On national television, these authors admitted that they feel fear is an acceptable strategy to motivate people into accepting Christ. God, however, would never endorse conversions out of fear. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

FICTION IT IS

Fiction it is, Biblical teaching it is not. As fiction—what a plot! A vindictive God, does battle against a superman Antichrist for the souls of men. The time frame is a future seven-year tribulation in which this vicious and revengeful God rains all sorts of horrors on the followers of Antichrist. A gigantic burning mountain and falling stars kill hundreds of thousands. Fire burns up one-third of the earth. But that’s not the end of the story, no, the horrors continue. By the end of 3 1/2 years, three billion people are killed. And if that’s not enough there’s more! As the story continues to be told in this left behind series, so do the cataclysmic killings. Finally a worldwide earthquake wipes out all the cities, mountains and islands. What happens after this? All the people that remain, curse God. Wow, what a dynamic influence this Antichrist character has upon the world!

ANTICHRIST LOST THE FIGHT - BUT WON THE BATTLE

But in the end, this superman Antichrist finally gets his comeuppance. He is thrown into a lake of fire to be tormented forever. But that’s only part of the story, because all those deceived by Antichrist—the majority of the world's six billion inhabitants—are also thrown into the lake of fire to suffer eternally. Yes, Antichrist went down fighting, and in the end he won the battle. Why? Because Antichrist got the majority of men's souls!

LEFT BEHIND is breathtaking drama, but Bible teaching it is not! It is revisionism. It disowns the historic Protestant teaching expounded by Luther, Calvin and Wesley, that Antichrist was not an individual but a system—Papacy. It embellishes the Catholic Jesuit Counter Reformation concept of the book of Revelation that was put forth between AD 1580 and 1595.This concept of the secret rapture, seven-year tribulation literalism, was not embraced by any Protestant before 1829. It did not even become popular among born-again Christians until after World War II.

Historic Evangelicals like the Baptist giant, John Gill (1697-1771), believed Revelation was symbolic, not literal. Mountains are symbolic of nations (Isaiah 2:2-4), stars symbolic of teachers (Jude 13) and earthquakes symbolic of revolutions (Rev. 11:13 KJV margin). The beast is symbolic of Antichrist which is a church state system-Papacy (Rev. 13:1-3).

THEIR GOD IS TOO SMALL

The bottom line of the seven-year tribulation theology is that everyone since the resurrection of Jesus, who did not have the opportunity to even hear about Jesus-let alone believe on Him—will be damned to eternal torment. What a God-dishonoring concept!

God brought mankind into existence. Mankind had no choice. Since the majority did not respond to God's love, we are told, they will suffer eternally. They would have been better off, had they never lived. What blasphemy to claim that God jeopardizes billions with eternal torment. Life is indeed a favor from God. Those who reject their Creator's provisions for life through Christ justly deserve no greater punishment than eternal extinction-their previous condition before they were born.

The Bible teaches eternal destruction—it does not teach eternal torment. Psalm 145:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; John 3:16; Luke 6:10. Matthew 10:28 plainly states that the soul is destroyed, not tormented in hell (gehenna). Therefore, gehenna is symbolic of destruction.

NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND

All humankind will have a full, fair opportunity for eternal life—including the millions who never even had the opportunity to hear the name of Jesus. The Bible uses two precise and conclusive words to clarify the scope of salvation, these two words are - ALL and EVERY.

In Luke 2:10 the angel who announced the birth of Jesus said, "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be unto ALL people." Verses 30 and 31 speak of salvation for "ALL people." First Timothy 4:10 speaks of Jesus as the "the savior of ALL men."

The simple logic of Jesus dying for ALL is found in 1 Cor. 15:22, "As in Adam ALL die so in Christ shall ALL be made alive." Similarly, Romans 5:18 shows that "by the offense of one [Adam] judgment came upon ALL men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [Christ] the free gift came upon ALL men." Father Adam sinned with the unborn race yet in his loins. Therefore, ALL were born in sin and shapen in iniquity (Psalms 51:5) and thus worthy of death. God knew that Adam, due to a lack of experience, would disobey. Thus 1 Peter 1:19-20 speaks of the blood of Christ as being foreordained for our redemption even before Adam was created. Since ALL were lost in Adam, it was necessary that Jesus "by the grace of God should taste death for EVERY man." Hebrews 2:9.

John 1:7 speaks of Jesus as "the light, that ALL men through him might believe." Verse 9 says he is "the True Light, which lighteth EVERY man that cometh into the world." How can this be? Countless millions died before the time of Jesus. They never saw the True Light! They never heard the name of Jesus. And since the death of Jesus millions died never hearing of the only "name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). If you are a Bible believing Christian, you know no one is saved through ignorance but only by believing in Jesus as their Savior.

The key is found in 1 Timothy 2:6, "Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time(s)." The Greek word here translated is plural—"times." Now is not the time for ALL to hear the name of Jesus. God is not trying to convert the world between the first and second advents. If He was, then He has failed. For only one-third of the world's population even profess to be Christian.

Mark 4:11-12, "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without all these things are done in parables. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them."

The Bible is not written like a textbook that starts at page one and follows a sequence of logic. The Bible was purposely written in parables and symbols so that many would not be converted and have their sins forgiven. This is why there are over 500 Christian denominations with so many different interpretations of the Bible. God has not attempted to convert the world but is only calling a "little flock" (Luke 12:32) at this time.

Acts 15:14-17 reveals that God is visiting "the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name" (not to convert all). "After this I will return and build again the tabernacle of David (set up the kingdom of God again)...that the remainder of men might seek after the Lord and ALL the Gentiles."

The due time for the "little flock" to hear and believe on the name of Jesus is between the first and second advents. The due time for the remainder of men to hear and believe is in the 1000 year Kingdom of Christ. The "little flock" or "Church of Christ" will reign with Christ as kings and priests to bless and judge the world (Revelation 20:6 and 1 Cor. 6:2).

Revelation 11:15-18 synchronizes the seventh trumpet with Christ's second advent. Then follow the words "the time of the dead, that they should be judged"-mankind's trial time. Note the raising of the dead is at the beginning of the 1000 years and not when the 1000 years are over. Daniel 12:1-4 confirms this. Jesus said in John 5:18-19, "ALL who are in their graves shall come forth; they that have done good (the "little flock") unto a resurrection of life (live and reign with Christ) and they that have done evil to a resurrection of judgment." Most translations say judgment. (The NIV's "condemnation" is a gross violation of the Greek) The Greek word is "crisis." A doctor will speak of a patient reaching their crisis. The crisis time is when the patient will take a turn for the better or the worse. The "crisis" or probation time for most of mankind will be in the kingdom.

First Timothy 2:3-4 states that God "will have ALL men to be saved and to come unto the (Greek - accurate) knowledge of the Truth." There is a salvation that comes before knowledge. Christ's "ransom for ALL" guarantees that ALL who died in Adam will be saved from Adamic death. That is, ALL will be awakened from the sleep of death and given an accurate knowledge of the Truth. In the kingdom "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9). Also Jeremiah 31:34 says, "for they shall ALL know me from the least of them unto the greatest." Verse 29 shows that for the majority the kingdom will provide the first full, fair opportunity for salvation. They will no longer die for the inherited sins of their fathers but for their own iniquity (Jeremiah 31:29, 30). Jesus' death for "ALL" guarantees a full, fair opportunity for "ALL".

Praise the Lord! In the real story, told by God himself, No one is left behind!