Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times - Conscious Evolution TV

More documents

Recommendations

Info

How robin-bobin Popular Are the Left Behind Books . . . and Why? 17I was moved to rededicate my life to Christ not because I fearedgetting left behind after the Rapture but because I wanted mypre-Rapture life to be meaningful.” 20Many readers also apparently accept the claim that, althoughthe books are fiction, the underlying outline of end time eventsis the only self-evident biblical view. Crossings, a Christian bookclub, made the following claim in a recent book advertisement(the first sentence was printed in bold in the advertisement):“The series is guaranteed to be theologically sound. Dr. LaHayeis a minister and noted authority on Bible prophecy.” 21 Theimportance of the LaHaye name in association with the LeftBehind books is the reliance his admirers give to his authority asan expert on biblical prophecy. LaHaye encourages it, indicatingthat his investigation of Bible prophecy is “the greatestresearch project of my life.” “Now, after ten thousand pages ofreading, visits to both congressional and Christian college anduniversity libraries, computer book researches, a canvas of usedbookstores, reading hundreds of letters, and through many conversationsboth in this country and the British Isles, and after acareful examination of every Bible verse related to the subject,I can honestly say I am more convinced than ever of the pre-Tribulation rapture position.” 22 Jenkins defers to LaHaye as aconsultant and guide on such matters.Yet the theology of the books is not endorsed by all, evenamong conservative Christians who, on many other significantissues, share the general perspectives of LaHaye and Jenkins.Some accept almost all of the Left Behind viewpoint but debatethe timing of a rapture in relationship to other events at the endof history. Will the rapture occur first, followed by a seven-yeartribulation (a pretribulation rapture, the assumption behind theLeft Behind books)? Or will the rapture occur in the middle ofthe tribulation (midtribulation) or at the end of the tribulationperiod (posttribulation)? Disagreements among “pre-trib,”“mid-trib,” and “post-trib” views matter a great deal tosome people, including LaHaye, who devotes the last portion ofhis book Rapture under Attack to a refutation of the rivalperspectives.robin-bobin
18robin-bobin Rapture, Revelation, and the End TimesAn example of a fuller conservative Christian rejection of LeftBehind theology is provided by A. L. Barry, now deceased, whowas president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in2000, the year of publication for The Mark, the eighth volume inthe series. Barry released a statement saying that “the entire LeftBehind series . . . is an unbiblical flight of fancy (known bythe term ‘dispensational premillennialism’) receiving far morepress than it deserves.” Disagreeing with the claim of the authorsthat the books are “true to prophecy,” Barry offered three objections.First, he said, “the fascinating book of Revelation is notmeant to be read as a literal account. Instead, it is written inhighly symbolic language and, through grand visions and pictures,presents important truths about the power of God and ofHis Son, Jesus Christ.” This is a significant statement, becausethe Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod generally supports aliteral reading of the Bible except in cases where the Bible itselfclearly indicates that it should be read in another way.Here Barry indicates that the book of Revelation is one of thoseexceptions.Second, he objected that the authors of the Left Behind novels,with their emphasis on the frightening aspects of Revelation’simagery, “sidetrack their readers from the positive Gospelencouragement of the Apocalypse: the joy of the Lord’s return.”Because the length of the series dwells on traumatic happenings,it de-emphasizes “eternally joyful events.”Third, Barry pointed to “an even greater error and danger”:“the idea that there will be a ‘second chance’ for people who donot have trusting faith in Jesus Christ.” He found this notion tobe “completely contrary to the Bible. . . . there is just one occurrenceat the end of history: Judgment Day. That day, for all itspower and majesty, will be far simpler and more conclusive thanthe complex, ongoing chain of events envisioned in the LeftBehind books.” Barry found no biblical support for the complicatedscenario of people vanishing into thin air in a rapture, followedby chaos and hysteria. “This sort of haunting imagerymay sell books, but it is not what the Bible says.” Barryaffirmed a single Judgment Day, and on that day “all things willcome to an end, with no second chances.” 23robin-bobin
Page 11 and 12: 6robin-bobin Rapture, Revelation, a
Page 13 and 14: 8robin-bobin Rapture, Revelation, a
Page 15 and 16: 10robin-bobin Rapture, Revelation,
Page 21: 16robin-bobin Rapture, Revelation,
Page 42 and 43: obin-bobin Left Behind’s Vision o
Page 73:
68robin-bobin Rapture, Revelation,
Page 76 and 77:
obin-bobin3What Does the Bible SayA
Page 78 and 79:
What robin-bobin Does the Bible Say
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
obin-bobinThis page intentionally l
Page 203 and 204:
198robin-bobinDiscussion Questions2
Page 205 and 206:
200robin-bobinDiscussion QuestionsC
Page 207 and 208:
202robin-bobinGlossarythe end times
Page 209 and 210:
204robin-bobinGlossaryJesus or the
Page 211 and 212:
206robin-bobinGlossarydemonstrate s
Page 213 and 214:
208robin-bobinAnnotated Bibliograph
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
214robin-bobinList of Contributorss
Page 221 and 222:
216robin-bobinIndexChristians - con
Page 223 and 224:
218robin-bobinIndexmillennium, 48-9
show all

Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times - Conscious Evolution TV

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?