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.
I would like to see your scriptural source for that belief.
Faith is great when it’s faith in Christ. When it’s faith in some interpretation of Scripture that we can’t firmly establish.... well that’s a different horse entirely.
I would like to see your scriptural source for that belief.
I actually heard one guy describe the book as seeing a large event while standing on the sidewalk and describing what you see, then going up 10 stories in the building there and describing what you see, and then 50 stories, etc.
Though you are seeing the same event, you are noticing different things. You describe the tree in one place, and the forest in which it stands in another.
The thing is, we all, from time to time, infer things in the bible that are not really there. It’s why the early church believed we were the center of the universe and the sun revolved around the earth.
The more I read the bible, the more places I find where I have based my beliefs not on what it says, but on what I inferred it to mean on some previous reading. My beliefs change accordingly.
It is how I became a believer in annihilation as opposed to eternal, conscious suffering for those who die without Jesus. As I read the scriptures dealing with the subject (and there are a LOT of them), the picture became crystal clear.
I find nothing in Revelation to indicate that is not chronological. The sequence of events seems rather clear. What part of Revelation would you point to to indicate it is not?
So, how do you interpret verse 18 from Rev 11?:
“18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”
This verse says, not only “thy wrath is come” but also the “time of the dead, that they should be judged”. So, if you interpret this consistently with your interpretation of the language in Rev 6, it would seem you would have to place the day of judgement in this verse.
Also, since you seem to be asserting that Revelation is strictly chronological, then there must be at least two judgements of the dead, since we have another mentioned later in Rev 20:12. Doesn’t this amply demonstrate that the principles you are using to interpret the book must be flawed, if they generate such contradictions?
Please see my post #186 for an idea of the problems with a strictly chronological interpretation.
Rather than re-invent and document the wheel, I’ll try to google some that have already written up the concept. I’m certainly not the first to come to this conclusion.
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=revelation+chronological+order&gws_rd=ssl
There you will get more perspectives and prayerfully shape your own viewpoint accordingly.
Thank you. I’ve found that the lions share of problems people have with what is in the bible is not actually what is in it. Rather, it is someones interpretation of what is in it that is, in fact, flawed, and creating the problems.
As I mature and continue studying, one of my goals is to identify my own faulty reasoning and eradicate it. I listen to His word on my 2.5 hour round trip commute most days and I can tell you that listening to it definitely gives a different perspective, clarifying the meaning when coupled with reading. And Prayer.
So you subscribe to a partial rapture, with some left to persevere. I am not trying to argue, I just focus more on the admonition to be ready more compelling than the interpretation of prophecy that seems so beyond our comprehension.
God bless you.
Verse 15 of Revelation 11 is the last trumpet. The seventh trumpet calls forth the seven angels with the seven bowls of God’s wrath. Truly the last of the trumpets had been sounded. It had been a succession of events progressively getting worse for those on earth. The sounding of that seventh trumpet meant the time had come. They would not have said that after any of the preceding trumpet sounds as the sounding of the seventh was still to come.
That’s your scriptural source for showing they are not in chronological order? I saw no scripture in that response.
I’ve read most if not all of them. You can’t make the first seal being opened after the the successive seals. You can’t make the seventh trumpet being sounded before the first.
That’s your scriptural source for showing they are not in chronological order? I saw no scripture in that response.
I’ve read most if not all of them. You can’t make the first seal being opened after the the successive seals. You can’t make the seventh trumpet being sounded before the first.
Keep in mind that the book is HIGHLY crammed with symbols. The churches are not really lampstands and the second death is not really a lake of fire.
And To get the FULL picture, there are plenty of scriptures in the old testament and the books of the new testament.
Discussions like this are good in that they force us to study and examine our understanding but we need to keep in mind that our salvation has been secured in Christ. If we have not included paganism or lost our zeal and become luke warm we have nothing to fear.
Your answer doesn’t speak at all to the contradiction I pointed out. Let me state the problem again for you:
You have said that “is come” means an event happens right there in that verse. Rev 11:18 uses the same phrase “is come”, and speaks of the judgement of the dead. So, by your own interpretive standard, you must place the day of judgement of the dead in Rev. 11.
You have also said that you think Revelation is chronological. Well, Rev. 20:12 also speaks of a judgement of the dead. If Revelation is chronological, then a judgement of the dead has already occurred by the time of chapter 20, and chapter 20 must speak of a second judgement of the dead!
So, you have two choices here. You can believe that Revelation is strictly chronological, and that “is come” specifies an event happening at that point in the narrative, in which case you must conclude that there are two judgement days. Or you can concede that your interpretive standards are somehow faulty, and go back to the drawing board.
Which do you choose?
I’m in agreement. Whenever discussing this subject I’m reminded of this scripture:
1 Corinthians 13:12King James Version (KJV)
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
I also take a strong perspective that we are to recognise the seasons and those of us who study will know this stuff when we see it.
This is one of those “shortstop” things for me. That is, like a shortstop, we practice for the line drive, the hard grounder, the double play, etc., so that when something does happen, we’re ready and know what to do.
Those virgins who allowed their lamps to burn out did not make it into the wedding. Not all in all of the "churches" were given the promise "I will keep you from the hour of testing,".
“As I mature and continue studying, one of my goals is to identify my own faulty reasoning and eradicate it.”
Amen to that! It was a big obstacle to me when I was younger, learning to swallow my pride and admit when I had made mistakes interpreting Scripture. However, if you can’t get over that hurdle, you’ll never get close to the truth.
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