Was the Bible Left Behind? II
The previous blog began a short series on the movie Left Behind (and behind it the series of novels by that name) and its view of the Bible in general and the Book of Revelation in particular. I shared some positive elements of the Left Behind phenomenon and promised to start dealing with what I perceive as the flaws in the thesis, which can be very convincing to the uninitiated. Following are some of the flaws I saw in the movie and some cautions I would offer to whose who are intrigued by its message.
First, always beware when people jump from text to text in the Bible. In the movie, what little Bible was actually mentioned was in the form of strings of texts without any inherent connection. You can take Bible texts from a variety of contexts, and put them together to prove anything you want to prove. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and even some Seventh-day Adventists, have built compelling theologies on strings of texts whose primary relationship was a system in the interpreter’s mind rather than the ideas expressed by the biblical writers themselves. When the compelling impulse for Bible study is to support your existing beliefs, it isn’t hard to see what you want to see in the Bible. When you string texts together out of a concordance, the original purpose of those texts is often lost and God’s intention can be lost with it.
The safest approach to the Bible is when you ground your understanding on the clear texts and on the broad reading of whole Bible books. The clear texts of Scripture ground the reader in the great central themes of the biblical message. This provides a safeguard against the strange ideas all of us can come up with when examining texts that are more ambiguous. What I mean by a clear text is one that clearly address the subject you are interested in. Such texts can be safely compared with others that are clearly on the same subject and use the same kind of language. Similarly, when you read Biblical books from beginning to end, the Biblical author is in control of the order and flow of the material. When the author is allowed to lead you naturally from one idea to the next, your exposure to the Bible is much less likely to be controlled by pet ideas from your own background. Broad reading of the Bible naturally encourages a teachable spirit and helps you see the text as it was intended to be read. Let’s apply the broad reading/clear text approach to the "biblical" teachings of the movie.
I challenge anyone to read the entire Bible from end to end and find a single text that clearly teaches that there will be two distinct comings of Jesus, a secret one such as the one portrayed in the movie, followed by a public, visible one that will be seen by all. See also if you can find any text that expresses the coming of Jesus with a plural. Do the reading with an open mind and with attention to the purpose of each biblical book. If you do this, you will find that there is only one text in the Bible that comes remotely close to teaching two distinct comings of Christ, 2 Thess 2:8-9. Since this text directly addresses the perspective of the movie, let’s take a closer look at it. Please indulge me for using my own translation in order expose the force of the original language.
"(8) And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay by the breath of His mouth and put an end to by the brightness of His coming, (9) whose coming is according to the working of Satan. . . ."
Hold it right there! Whose coming is according to the working of Satan? The natural meaning of the language would point to the "His" in verse 8. But Jesus’ coming itself is not according to the working of Satan. Nevertheless, the two uses of the word "coming" are almost side-by-side in the original, so they are clearly in some kind of relationship.
"(9) Whose coming is according to the working of Satan in all kinds of miracles, signs and lying wonders."
So the "whose" in verse 9 must refer back to the revelation of the lawless one in verse 8. What we have here is a counterfeit of the true coming of Jesus! Which will be first, the coming of the lawless one, or the coming of Jesus? Verse 8 tells us that the lawless one will be destroyed by the brightness of Jesus’ coming, therefore the counterfeit comes before the true.
Please do not miss this point! There is only one text in the Bible that talks about two separate comings of Jesus, and in that one text, the first of these comings is a counterfeit! Could this movie and its underlying theology be part of a giant setup to get people to confuse the satanic counterfeit with the real thing? In the blog that follows this one, we will take a closer look at how the movie’s portrayal of end-time deception stacks up against the clear teaching of the Bible.
Hello Dr. Paulien:
It was this passage that helped me see more fully the timing of the counterfeit second coming: that is comes during the time of the sixth plague and not prior to the close of probation. It was this passage and your understanding of what the unclean spirits like frogs being the final counterfeit that placed it all in perspective.
Thank you for your timely web site and may God grant us all a greater understanding of the end times in preparation for Jesus' coming.
Kevin
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Jon, why is the deception of 2 Comings of Jesus Christ and even the teaching of Eternal Death still popular in most Churches pulpits?
From your experience what do you see that drive most of the best of scholars, who have the same tools as you, to teach and print books on this lie?
Pray for me Jon, my spiritual fiber in not well connected at the moment. The local church has not been of use to my family and sometimes this bring tension between me and my wife on which church to go to Sabbath or Sunday?
Is is okay to settle for Sunday church going though my heart believes in Sabbath? How will God see this arrangement.
Maybe too many questions.
Kemboi
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You asked for anyone to rebut your opinion that the bible has only one "second coming". Ok, here it is:
Matthew 25 starts out with; "At that time... (what time? the coming like a thief!) the Kingdom of Heave WILL be likened as 10 Bride's maids.
Go ahead and read the whole thing. This IS a prophecy, like it or not. My question to you is; Are the 10 maids the same as the "Bride"? No, of course not! Their job is to get the bride ready for marriage.
Next question; do the maids see Jesus come? NO! They are ALL sleeping! Question #3: What about Mat. 24 in that there is only ONE (count them yourself) that is left in charge of the Master's household. Who is this? Who are the "bondservants" that get the food at the proper time?
Now, when you read about what will happen by the time the 7th trumpet blows and that the world will NOT be like it is now, you tell me how can it be the same "as in the days of Noah?
You see, Jesus told his 11 disciples that when He returned, He would come back just like he left. Question: How many people saw Jesus go to heaven? Answer: Not the whole world, just his "bondservants"!
In Rev. 3 you find Sardis, the 5th church. This is the same event at Mat. 25. However, you will see at the last of the church message that there are a FEW that are not sleeping. Well, those few are the next church, the ONLY church that God does NOT find anything wrong with. They will go through the time of trouble, but it will NOT be a test for them, why?---because they have been sealed by Jesus when he came like a thief---not for the world, but for the sealing of the 144,000, and the 5 wise virgins. That is why later in Rev. you see that God told the angles to only "count" those in the temple, and leave out those outside. The final coming, the one in the clouds will be for those outside.
If you don't understand this, perhaps a quick look at what happened on the day of Atonement. First, the high priest had to make himself clean. Without this being done, no one else could become clean.
Next, the priest tribe had to make themselves clean, and then, (3rd) the rest of the Kingdom of Heaven (Israel) could make themselves clean. Well, what about the world? Nada, the sins were placed upon the goat and sent into the wilderness (world).
The end of the world will be just like this: Our high priest, Jesus, made himself clean. (John 17:19) so that WE can also make ourselves clean, (sanctification).
The next group of people to make themselves clean, are the 144,000, who have "overcome, just like I have overcame". This is the coming like a thief---NOT a rapture, but coming to seal the 144,000. The 144,000 then wake the KOH, (SDA church by the way) and create a great shaking. The 144,000 and the 5 wise represent the Priest Tribe, who help the great uncountable multitude during the time of trouble. Without the 144,000 and the 5 wise, there never could be the coming in the clouds!
Richard Humpal, JD
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Richard,
A few questions. What is KOH? What do you mean by the coming like a theif is not a rapture but a coming to seal the 144,000? Where did you get this vew? Are you the only one or is this the view of a group? If so, what group? Thanks Richard. Hope you read this.
Blake
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You gave us a challange and I will answer briefly, but will send you attachements of written articles in the web site above if you will read them. However, Matthew 25 tell use that AT THAT TIME, the KOH will be liken to Ten Virgins. They did NOT see Jesus come as this was the coming like a thief. Rev. 11:1-2 you will see there is TWO judgments. 1 for the KOH and one for the nations of the world. The coming like a thief is ONLY for the sealing of the 144,000 and 5 wise virgins--these being from the SDA church, the ONLY religious group that exactly matches the discriptions in Matt. 24 (good and faithful servant) and Matt. 25, AND all of the points in the 7 churches founds in Rev. 2 and 3. NO--there is not any rapture, there is just two comings. 1 like a thief for the KOH and one AFTER the time of trouble for the nations--those that go thru the time of trouble and learn the truth from the 144K and the 5 wise virgins.
Look at http://web.mac.com/spiritoftruth to find the truth. Common sense SHOULD tell you that the events before the time of trouble and just at the time of the 7th trumpet are and can't be the same. When Jesus went to heaven only His servants saw him go--and only His bondservants will see Him come like a thief. Check it out - the Ten Virgins do NOT see Him come--and they are His host for His own Kingdom! There is NO grace in the ten virgin prophecy! Therefore, Paul MUST be a false apostle, just as Ellen White was a false apostle and prophecied about in Revelation 2: 18-27. The "few" found in Sardis, (Rev. 3:4) are those found in Philadelphia, the 144,000. Read the new Christian book called "THE SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH" by Neufeld and Sterling to see all of the evidence in the Bible regarding the difference between Paul's gospel and Jesus' gospel.
Blessings,
Dr. Rich
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I understand your point now and agree with it in principle. Probation does not close at the same time for believers and unbelievers. The concept of coming is used metaphorically in this sense, as is the case with Rev 2:7, for example. Matt 25:31 does not use the technical terms for the Second Coming, like parousia or epiphaneia. Probation closes before the actual coming of Jesus itself. The judgment of separation comes in two stages, as you suggest. But these texts should not be used to imply that there will be two physical comings of Jesus (as rapture theorists suggest). That is where I think I misunderstood you.
May I be bold enough to suggest that you tone down your language a bit? In my experience the kind of confidence you express in your language is usually associated with people who don't know what they are talking about. Emotive adjectives and adverbs make it harder to engage your arguments seriously. They may work in a courtroom but they tend to have the opposite effect in scholarly discourse.
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Dear Blake, I got these from the bible. They are NOT my words, but from the bible. Study this for yourself and don't take my word for it. The 'KOH' means the Kingdom of Heaven. The SDA church is the ONLY religious group that fits all of the points of the Ten Virgin prophecy and the points found in all of the 7 churches in Rev. 2 and 3. If you find another group, please let me know. So, it fits that the SDA church is NOW spiritually sleeping.
As for any 'group' that understands this? Try the Sabbath School of Calimesa California SDA Church called "The Revelation of Jesus". Their teacher for the last 14 years is Rick Sterling. You can listen and participate in their Sabbath School class on Sabbath at 10 am Pacific time by going to: www.blogtalkradio.com/spiritoftruth Or, you can listen or download all of their recient studies at: http://web.mac.com/spiritoftruth You can also listen to my talk radio show called "THE BIBLE ON TRIAL" at: www.blogtalkradio.com/sot We search and strive to know the truth! IF ANYONE can show us where we are wrong, please do! But, you first might want to read the new controversial christian book called; "THE SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH" by Neufeld and Sterling. This book may start the great 'shaking' that will soon come to the SDA church.
Blessings,
Dr. Rich
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