Posted on 09/30/2014 11:41:47 AM PDT by NYer
Five Myths About the “Rapture” and the “Left Behind” Industry | Carl E. Olson | CWR
On the (short) history, (bad) theology, and (continuing) appeal of premillennial dispensationalism
This year has marked a sort of second coming of “the Rapture”. On June 29th, HBO launched a new series, "The Leftovers", based on the 2011 novel of the same title, written by Tom Perrotta, which follows the struggles of various characters living in the aftermath of the sudden disappearance of millions of people. “And then it happened,” states the novel's Prologue, “The biblical prophecy came true, or at least partly true. People disappeared, millions of them at the same time, all over the world.” The twist is that Perrotta apparently uses the Rapture as a plot device, but does not adhere to the dispensationalist belief system which features the Rapture (more on that below).
The recent movie, “The Remaining”, however, is completely dedicated to the “left behind” theology, as co-writer and director Casey La Scala explains:
And ever since I was a kid, I wondered what would happen if the Rapture were to happen and all of the sudden we were in seven years of hell. So, I went through Revelations and I got to the sixth trumpet, in which the Abyss is opened and the demons are released, and I said, ‘There it is!’ ... In the process of writing The Remaining, once I was sure the project would stand up to an evangelical base, I did a lot of work on making sure the rules of the Rapture were biblically accurate.
If La Scala really did refer to The Apocalypse as “Revelations”, then readers will be forgiven for questioning the depth of his research and knowledge of Scripture. Then again, being “biblically accurate” has never been a strong suit of the “left behind” theology (again, more on that below).
And then there is the new “Left Behind” movie, in theaters this coming Friday, starring Nicholas Cage (yes, he's still acting—or at least appearing in movies). The verbiage is boilerplate and sensational, a combination that has been an essential part of Rapture fiction since British author Sydney Watson published a trilogy of end times novels a hundred years ago—Scarlet and Purple (1913), The Mark of the Beast (1915), and In the Twinkling of an Eye (1916):
In the blink of an eye, the biblical Rapture strikes the world. Millions of people disappear without a trace. All that remains are their clothes and belongings, and in an instant, terror and chaos spread around the world.
With all of this eschatological excitement in the pop culture air, it's not surprising that I've received e-mails and questions about the newest round of Rapture roulette. The biggest question is simply, “Are the 'Left Behind' books and movies compatible with Catholicism?” Others follow. I addressed those and many, many other questions several years ago in my first book, Will Catholics Be Left Behind? A Catholic Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers (Ignatius Press, 2003; e-book). I also write a number of articles about the “Left Behind” phenomenon, including pieces about the unoriginal nature of the Tim LaHaye/Jerry B. Jenkins novels, a short history of the “left behind” theology, a comparison of dispensationalism and Catholicism, and a rather scathing review of the Glorious Appearing, the twelfth Left Behind novel.
With that in mind, I am reposting an article I wrote in late 2003 for Crisis magazine, which examines five of the central myths, or misunderstandings, about the Rapture and related matters. I've not updated it (for example, there are a total of sixteen Left Behind novels, and they have sold around 65 million copies in all), but the main points are still just as good today as they were then.
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Three years ago I mentioned to a Catholic friend that I was starting to work on a book critiquing the Left Behind novels and premillennial dispensationalism, the unique theological belief system presented, in fictional format, within those books. “Why?” she asked, obviously bewildered. “No one really takes that stuff seriously.”
That revealing remark merely reinforced my desire to write that book, Will Catholics Be “Left Behind”? (Ignatius, 2003). Other conversations brought home the same point. Far too many people, including a significant number of Catholics, do not recognize the attraction and power of this Fundamentalist phenomenon. Nor do they appear to appreciate how much curiosity exists about the “end times,” the book of Revelation, and the “pretribulation Rapture”—the belief that Christians will be taken up from earth prior to a time of tribulation and the Second Coming. In addition, I hoped to pen the sort of book I wish that I, as a Fundamentalist, could have read while studying and approaching, by fits and starts, the Catholic Church.
In the course of writing articles, giving talks, and writing the book, I have encountered a number of questions and comments—almost all from Catholics—that indicate how much confusion exists about matters of eschatology, not to mention ecclesiology, historical theology, and the interpretation of Scripture. The five myths I present here summarize many of those questions, and I seek to provide basic and clear answers for them.
“The Left Behind books represent a fringe belief system that very few people take seriously.”
Exactly how many copies of the Left Behind books must be sold before the theology they propagate can be taken seriously?
Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.
1. I don’t think you’d gain any weight if you were raptured.
2. I would hope that, if not raptured, the unmanned car would not hit you and your car.
:-)
Nick Cage can really identify with that.
What with losing his castle in England, his castle in Germany, and his other seven houses, and all that.
Both good points.
No, I’m not kidding.
No, He wouldn't know. Collectively the believers are the bride of Christ. In a Jewish wedding the groom "prepares a place" for he and his bride. When the father decides the time is right and all has been prepared the father tells his son to go get his bride. The son does not know until that very minute.
no way for us to know that. I take him at his word that not even Christ himself the son knows- even now. So I don’t subscribe to your theory but it is pointless to argue about such mysterious matters.
I never saw that movie. Thanks for putting it up here, ifinnegan. People like you make FR fun.
Larry, you always pull through with comedy relief. : )
I watched him in ‘The Knowing’ - sure a little bit ‘otherworldy’ with the Albino-Angel-Guys towards the end, but they actually didn’t put his Christian Pastor-father, mother and sister in a bad light - but that he was missing something. I prayed that he would be more open about the end-times as described in Revelation and the rest of the Bible. God’s Word does not return void - and I hope more seeds are planted in him with this role.
He called me a Christian Taliban and lives in New England.
“There are 3 things (if you can bring more ideas to the table, I’m all ears!) that could be considered to be “holding back” the anti-christ from being revealed.”
Well, here is the problem that I have with this line of thinking: it’s unverifiable, and therefore, any conclusions you draw from it must be tentative ones.
The Bible simply doesn’t tell us what will be taken away before the anti-Christ is removed. We can speculate, and make deductions, and perhaps even guess correctly, but without seeing the prophecy fulfilled (or some further divine revelation), we will never have a certainty that we are correct. So, knowing that, I think we shouldn’t make statements like this:
“Anti-Christ will not be revealed until the church has been removed and is no longer stopping the evil.”
After all, that statement expresses a certainty which we just don’t have. Then, if you are trying to use such uncertain ideas to support other deductions and extrapolations (the pretribulation rapture), you are on even shakier ground.
Now, I wouldn’t be so much of a stickler on this if the pretrib rapture folks would just say “we think the rapture might happen before the tribulation, because we make the following deductions...”. Yet, you don’t often hear them say things like that. Most of the time, their statements are much more final and certain, as if their interpretation is based only on Scripture, and not on their own fallible interpretations of it.
Cage doesn’t “choose” to do roles anymore. He owes so much money to the IRS, he will literally do any movie that will pay his asking price. Just look at the recent stuff on his imdb page, and I think you will see what I mean.
I agree, it is much easier to confess to God than another man, because, after all, God already knows!
There are many opportunities to confess sin in public. The most effective is the “don’t do what I did” confession explaining the real consequences of one’s sin in counseling another. There are consequences within you always whether you are self aware or not; even beyond what society deals out if you are caught.
The rules of God are to keep one healthy and sane and on a larger scale, society the same. It’s better than whispering secrets to the Priest or even like minded congregations.
So true.
Do think God has appointed His people to wrath?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3209503/posts?page=96#96
Well, if God has it in mind to touch his heart, He’ll do it, regardless. I hope it happens.
Amen.
I hope more seeds are planted in him with this role.
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