Was the Bible Left Behind? IV
I am doing a short series of blogs 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. In the first blog 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. In the sequel I talked about the tendency of those following the rapture theology to jump from text to text in the Bible rather than following an approach of careful reading of the texts most directly and clearly addressing the question. In the third blog I addressed the two texts in Revelation that clearly and directly address the issue of end-time deception (Rev 13:1-15; 16:13-16), which was so central to the movie. In this concluding blog I will look at the other two end-time deception texts, Matthew 24:23-27 and 2 Thess 2:8-12, and draw some conclusions.
A surface reading of the text makes it clear that Matt 24:23-27 uses the same language and is on the same theme as the other three end-time deception texts (Rev 13:13-14; 16:13-16, and 2 Thess 2:8-12). In Matt 24, as in 2 Thess 2, the end-time deception is a secret return of "Jesus"! The key to unmasking the end-time deception is to know that it will not be universally visible like the true coming of Jesus. "If anyone tells you, ‘check it out, he’s in the desert,’ don’t go out, or ‘check it out, he’s in some secret place,’ don’t believe it, for as lightning comes out of the east and shines even to the west so will the coming of the son of man be." The end-time deception is a counterfeit of Jesus. The end-time deception has a Christian face!
The tragic thing is that, for believers in the rapture concept of Left Behind, the very events portrayed in Matt 24:23-26 will be seem to be evidence that their reading of the Bible was correct (as was the case in the movie). Many sincere people will be convinced by events that Jesus has somehow already returned to earth. But that return will be a deception. How will you know? Matt 24:25, "Behold, I have told you ahead of time." The end-time deception will betray all trust in the five senses. The only safety for the people of God in the end-time is to trust in the broad message of Scripture that they have known and studied in advance. The end-time equivalent of Mount Carmel will prove the opposite of the truth. Truth and reality will be in contradiction.
It is, therefore, my fear that this movie could be part the greatest setup in human history (totally contrary to the conscious and sincere intention of its producers). If Satan were to pull off some sort of rapture, people would be conditioned by the movie’s scenario to believe that the Christian reaction to world events is the only safe place, when in fact the true anti-Christ will not be a latter-day Hitler, but will seem to be the very person of Christ Himself! The anti-Christ will seem to be the savior of the world, and the Christian’s only hope. The final deception will have a Christian face.
What kind of God would allow a deception so severe that even His own people will tremble in anxiety over it? 2 Thess 2:9-12 suggests that He more than allows it. "God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie (2 Thess 2:11)." In the original language, the phrase "powerful delusion" is related to the phrase "working of Satan" in verse 9. The end-time deception serves a purpose in God’s plan, even though Satan is its author. What is the purpose of this deception in God’s eyes? "So that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (2 Thess 2:12)."
The word "condemned" translates the Greek root word for judgment. The purpose of the deception (from God’s perspective) is to clarify where everyone alive on earth during the End-time stands in relation to the truth about God. There are three classes of people on earth today. One group is made up of people who love the truth, people who will not be deceived no matter what. The second class of people is made up of those who hate the truth. But those who love the truth and those who hate it are in the minority. The third class of people consists of the majority who neither love nor hate the truth; they prefer to avoid commitment, to sit on the fence.
God’s purpose in allowing the great End-time deception, according to Paul, is to say, "It is time to get off the fence. It is time to commit yourself one way or the other." Circumstances on earth are arranged in such a way that decision is forced. Everybody ends up on one side or the other. When the End comes everyone on earth will have made a firm decision to either love the truth or to love unrighteousness.
Fortunately, there is good news in the midst of the Bible’s description of the End-time deception. The original language of 2 Thess 2:10 explains why people get deceived in the last days, it is not because they were hypnotized by the anti-Christ, "They perish because they did not receive the love of the truth." The text explains that those who are deceived at the End refuse to receive the love of the truth. The love of the truth is something you can receive as a gift. And that's good news. When you receive God’s gift of love for the truth, when you have a whole-hearted desire to know God and to do His will, you can know that the deception at the End will have no power over you.
Can you explain how the "coming like a thief" is the same as the "coming in the clouds"?
Also, what does Matthew 24:45-51 have to do with the coming in the clouds? If NO ONE can know when Jesus will come, then how come there is a penalty for the one who is found in Mat. 24:48-51? To me this is not fair and there is no grace and love found here, unlike as we are now being told in the churches today. It looks like it may have been true that Jesus didn't know when he was going to return when he said this, but in Revelation 1:1-4 it seems clear that the Father told His Son the time, and so now the Son is telling His bondservants the time, but it will only be understood by the bondservants. So, Revelation looks like it is the timeing of the event(s) that is the "revelation", and not what most people think is the revelation of who Jesus is.
I do agree with you that knowing the truth is extreemely important! Those poor people that actually believe in the rapture, so sad!
R. Humpal, JD
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Good question. It seems to me that the issue in Matt 24:45-51 is whether the wicked servant allows the reality of the Second Coming to make him accountable in the time of delay. One does not need to know WHEN in order to know that it will come and that it will not be pretty for those who lived as if it would never come. Living in the light of the Second Coming is the only wise option when we don't know if we will be alive tomorrow. We don't need to know when to be ready. I wrote extensively about this in my book The Millennium Bug.
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Bravo! Great blog! As you know, pretrib rapturism is less than 200 years old. One fascinating piece I came across is "Pretrib Rapture Diehards" which I found on Google. There seems to be an endless amount of deception in pretrib circles while they try desperately to shore up their crumbling pillar of sand! Marge
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Dr. Paulien,
Could you please explain what it means 'to be ready'? The reason for this question is because it appears in Matthew 25:5 that it was the 'bridegroom' who made the choice to delay. Would not this mean that no one was ready? If the 'Millerites' were not ready, then it must take something tangable like knowing the truth to make someone ready. Could it be that believing that all one needs is 'faith' and 'love' for salvation is wrong?
If "My [Jesus'] grace is sufficient" as we are told in 2nd Cor. 12:7-9, then how come Jesus has not come already? Just what is Jesus waiting for?
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