The Left Behind Deception - The Secret Rapture

This is the first of many messages exposing the Left Behind Deception.....

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=132448171&blogID=297922909

No conspiracy here... it's just FICTION. His,Rev J

jive4005 said:

No conspiracy here... it's just FICTION. His,Rev J

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My message isn't about the story, its about the theology behind the story that most of Christianity believes today.

Although I didn't agree with EVERY single detail, I agree that the theology upon which "Left Behind" is based is full of holes. I especially liked your discussion of "one is taken and the other left". That is PRECISELY what it means.

Luk 17:34-37 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left." [Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.] And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."

Left Behind is always classified as "Fiction". but they treat it like its supposed to be real prophesy. If you ever see Tim Lahey (I think it's him), whoever the author of Left Behind is, he actually seems to believe the Left Behind series is going to be true, which is kind of strange, especially since it is ALWAYS labeled as Fiction. that is very strange to me.

The people are not real, hence it's fiction. The theology behind it is something that greater men than I have debated and come to different conclusions, so how one web link can have solved all the questions is beyond me.

Greetings in the name of Jesus;

What should man believe? That God wants them to suffer and sacrifice unto death: or that God wants them to be caught up, and saved from suffering through tribulation.

Pick your choice of God. God of Jesus which suffered and died as did disciples; or New church which is happy and non suffering and not sacrificing for faith; but dwelling on prosperity and wealth, and mans vanity and will being fulfilled.

Wow, happy of flesh, or suffer of flesh..hmmmm I dont want to suffer? So if of choice I will choose fleshly pleasure.

But what if its not Gods will, and causes Loss of salvation, because its not Gods word, but vanity of man and flesh and Satan.? ooops. lets not upset the blind and doomed who choose to save their lives of flesh.

Man should not pick and choose their God or doctrines of God; but seek out Gods will for men, and be obedient unto Gods will: not Gods truth being subservient unto mans desire for God.

I pray my words do not offend, may God bless Christian Forum and all who use it.
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But what if its not Gods will, and causes Loss of salvation

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Do you have any Biblical backing for this? What causes men to reject God is sin. Men choose darkness and reject light because of sin, John 3 says this clear.

May I suggest that we all spend more time doing our own research regarding the end times, and all parts of it.

Of course there are disagreements on when the rapture will occur, just as there are disagreements on most of the other doctrines.

My studies have shown me that the rapture comes before the tribulation, and that believers will be spared the horror of living through the tribulation. In fact, Christ, Himself, said we would be spared.

Just because someone puts something on "my space" does not mean it is accurate.

Remember that the bible says that as the end times approach there would be such things taking place. That "even the elect would be convinced, if that were possible".

The rapture will be "secret" until millions of people simply disappear. They will have one thing in common, that being that they are all believers.

When Christ actually touches down on earth for the second time (the glorious appearing) it will be visible to the entire world.

Perhaps the real issue is more concerning how His second coming happens. It will happen in two phases. Phase 1, the rapture when He comes to call His believers out of this evil world. Phase 2, when He comes in judgement of the world, at the end of the tribulation period.

Fred

Greetings in the name of Jesus:

If I had my will, I would ask not to be saved from; being like Jesus or his disciples; But pray to God for strength to endure the tribulation, and martyr and sacrifice for the lost sheep of God. And seek that which all saints and servants of God so endured unto death.

I do not seek a new doctrine to save my flesh, but to give my life, for the Gospels sake, And by giving my life for Christ and Gospels sake, I shall surely save it.

When the times are bad, is not the time those of faith should seek to be saved, but to stand up for truth and God, and trust in God to lead, and give us his word in truth and power to endure what is Gods will for each man.

I pray my words do not offend, and ask God to bless C.F. and all who use it.
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Yes, I agree with everything the article says.

My one thought is in revelations. After the sixth seal is opened, a great multitude appears in heaven, then the seventh seal is opened. The seventh seal seems to be God's complete destroying of the earth. What do you all think?

Followers4christ said:

The Rapture is biblical as stated in the scriptures.The word rapture is not found in the bible but the word taken is.The Lord will come like a thief in the night without warning (1 Thessalonians 5:2).He will save his saints from the coming of the anti-christ.The people who become believers after the saints are caught up will suffer great persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ.God Bless


Luke 21:36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."

Mathew 24:40-44 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

1 Corinthians 15:51-55 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

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greetings in the name of the Jesus:

Dear Followersofchrist:

I would disagree with your interpretation of " thief in the night" This is different from "Caught up". for Thief in the Night of thess 5;2, is the " day of destruction" As 1 thess. 5;3 speaks of peace and safety, sudden destruction shall cometh upon them. Also it is written " the day of the lord" is a " destruction from the almighty" as is written in Isaiah 13;6, and Joel 1;15. And God is consistent. and 1 thess 5;3 confirms these other, scriptures as truth of " day of the Lord" as a " destruction from the almighty".

And the Thief in the Night, is how destruction so comes. And 1 thess 5;17 "we which alive and remain, shall be caught Up" alive and remain from what? the destruction from the almighty.

for me to use Rapture, is to say, God needs help in scriptures, and Gods words are not pure. I said they are, and rapture is not " Caught up for those who are alive and remain". God didn't say Rapture. neither should we.

I hold to scriptures, and add not nor take away as it is so written.

I pray my words do not offend. God bless C.F. and all who use it.

Spiritofprophecy said:

greetings in the name of the Jesus:

Dear Followersofchrist:

I would disagree with your interpretation of " thief in the night" This is different from "Caught up". for Thief in the Night of thess 5;2, is the " day of destruction" As 1 thess. 5;3 speaks of peace and safety, sudden destruction shall cometh upon them. Also it is written " the day of the lord" is a " destruction from the almighty" as is written in Isaiah 13;6, and Joel 1;15. And God is consistent. and 1 thess 5;3 confirms these other, scriptures as truth of " day of the Lord" as a " destruction from the almighty".

And the Thief in the Night, is how destruction so comes. And 1 thess 5;17 "we which alive and remain, shall be caught Up" alive and remain from what? the destruction from the almighty.

for me to use Rapture, is to say, God needs help in scriptures, and Gods words are not pure. I said they are, and rapture is not " Caught up for those who are alive and remain". God didn't say Rapture. neither should we.

I hold to scriptures, and add not nor take away as it is so written.

I pray my words do not offend. God bless C.F. and all who use it.

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Hey brother, It seems the Lord has recently opened my eyes to the amillenial view of revelation. After being pre-trib, pre-mill for years i am leaning more towards amill, what do think?

spiritlead said:

Hey brother, It seems the Lord has recently opened my eyes to the amillenial view of revelation. After being pre-trib, pre-mill for years i am leaning more towards amill, what do think?

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Just to be sure we are on the same plane, please define

• Pre-Trib
• Pre-Mill
• Amill

Curious as always,

OldChurchGuy

OldChurchGuy said:

Just to be sure we are on the same plane, please define

• Pre-Trib
• Pre-Mill
• Amill

Curious as always,

OldChurchGuy

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pre-trib- church raptured before tribulation

pre-mil---after tribulation, church comes back with Christ to rule and reign for 1000 years

amil---- 1000yrs is figurative of the church age now

spiritlead said:

Hey brother, It seems the Lord has recently opened my eyes to the amillenial view of revelation. After being pre-trib, pre-mill for years i am leaning more towards amill, what do think?

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Greetings in the Name of Jesus;

I am pleased if your convictions have changed, if they change toward Gods truths, and not follows of doctrines of men, which is precepts of men.

If you consider Change of ones doctrine; it usually means you are wrestling with the spirit of God for truth; And for this I praise God for your spirit in Seeking God. And all truths of Gods words, and true interpretations, come from the spirit.

I would agree with you; even though my opinion is worthless without the spirit and word behind it.

I pray God shall keep you safe.

and pray my words do not offend, God bless C.F. and all who use it.

you guys do know that the book is fiction - right?

Let us all be careful now and judge everything by the scriptures. The word Rapture is semantics, it's silly to say "the exact word isn't in the bible, so the concept must not be true!" The word Asteroid isn't in the bible either, yet John clearly, beyond doubt, describes an asteroid in Revelation as one of the trumpet judgments. Some words were invented later in time, but the concepts they encompass is what's important, not the word itself.

The "amillennial" view is totally unbiblical. The bible says Christ himself returns to reign, both in Revelation and in Daniel this is clearly stated. This is not metaphorical, but literal. For instance, in that time, the Church becomes the bride of Christ--therefore the Church isn't "Christ" and Christ is a separate entity, being Himself physically return to earth. How is that hard to understand? In that time, if someone dies at the age of 100, they'll be called a mere youth, or child. You don't see that happening right now, do you? Also, in that time, war will be no more, and Satan will be chained in the abyss so sin and suffering in the world will be vastly reduced. That is certainly not the current state of things! Moreover, all the judgments (seven seal, seven trumpet, seven bowl) must happen first, and they definitely have not! After all, the second bowl judgment destroys all life in the oceans, entirely! Moreover, the Antichrist and his mark must be there and the world, the ENTIRE world, must be under his rule. This is why none of this could happen in the past, because the entire world was not united as it is NOW. China, the Native Americans, they were all off on their own, totally unknown to the middle eastern world, till now a days, and only now with technology as it is has the world started to become one. Therefore, the amillennial view is totally flawed and wrong and has no basis or grounds in reality or scripture.

Also, the breaking of the seventh seal is not the destruction of earth. Hardly so. The breaking of the seventh seal is the ushering in of the seven trumpet judgments. In other words, the seventh seal contains the seven trumpet judgments, and the seventh trumpet contains the seven vial or bowl judgments. Each set gets worst and worst too, but each set has a different purpose. The seven seal judgments are to wake up the earth to the power of the Lamb and warn the inhabitants of earth to turn from their evil. The seven trumpet judgments are more an answer to the slaying of the saints, and a continuation on the theme to get people to turn away from evil. At the end of every judgment set, John talks about how the inhabitants of earth did not repent of their sins, so the judgments go on (the most amazing thing about God, to myself, is that He will easily relent from judgments. It is the one and only thing He will change His mind on, and that is to ease up and stop them if there is repentance. God doesn't have to do this, by no means, but it goes to show how boundless and endless is His mercy and love). The final set of judgments are aimed mostly at the kingdom of the Antichrist (they start out that way too, the first bowl being sores poured out on those who have the mark). The final set are also really nasty, destroying all life in the ocean, the rivers, basically working the earth towards where it'll be utterly destroyed. Infact, it's said by Christ himself that if the times of the Great Tribulation (the last half of the tribulation) were not cut short, all flesh would perish, but for the sake of the elect (the saved), they will be cut short so all won't die. They are cut short by Christ returning for the 1000 years, after which Satan is released, and there is one last final battle. It is then that the entire earth and heavens are destroyed, it is then that God casts the final judgments on Satan, his demons, and all of Mankind, it is then that the earth and the heavens are recreated anew and better than they ever were--basically it is then that heaven begins. Before hand, during the 1000 year reign, we will reign with Christ over the nations. But after that, everything is utterly new and we cannot even envision it.

As to the Left Behind books, I finally started reading them this summer and just finished them all. Yes, there is some debated theology in it that I think they took the wrong stance on, but the majority of the theology in those books is based utterly upon scripture and nothing else. All the "eh" parts are stretches that aren't so firmly rooted. Now, will there be a Rapture before the Tribulation? That I don't know. There will be a rapture, there is no doubt to that. However, personally, I think that is at the end of the tribulation when Christ returns for the millennial reign. When the Son of Man comes in the clouds with great power and glory, it is then that I think we'll be caught up with Him and transfigured, those of us who remain (which also insinuates this is after the tribulation, since massive, massive amounts of Christians across the entire globe will be murdered throughout it) will join those who died before hand.

Also, remember, the entire tribulation is seven years long. We know that from Daniel's "sevens" which lay out the entire time frame of the world from the laying of the foundation to repair the walls of Jerusalem and rebuild the city (Nehemiah), to Christ's entrance into Jerusalem and then death (which Daniel's prophesy is absolutely perfectly on time with and perfect in description of), then there is an undetermined amount of time known as the time of the Gentiles which we are in now, then finally there is the final "seven", seven years, which is the Tribulation before the coming of Christ to reign over the nations with an Iron Rod. The reason people believe that the Rapture happens before the Tribulation, is that the Tribulation can only start after the time of the Gentiles has come to its end. This now is the time of the Gentiles. We are living in that time now, where the Gentile church is the focus of God, and the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles across the entire world. Once all have heard it, or had a chance to hear it, including those lost tribes in far distance places, then the time of the Gentiles shall end; the power of God's holy people will be broken (Daniel 12:7) and the end will come.

greetings in the name of Jesus:

Dear Zerosaiyaman:

I would first like to commend you on your post and manner and merits thereof. Thought provoking post.

I would like to add to some distinctions of doctrines which you did address.

First about the word Rapture coming from " caught up" for those who remain. scriptures. This is a noun change for a two verb action. to me is a elaboration of a simple verb action " caught up". But your point is valid.

On the term end days or times of the Gentiles, I do not believe it is directly related to 7 years of tribulation, although I believe it is part. I do believe the end times or " last days of the gentile rule" is related in last days verses to the return of Israel as a state, basically from the parable of the fig tree, of Israel becoming a state. And also related to this " last generation" spoken of which says it "shall not pass away until all things written shall come to pass". And the term Last days is related to this. And gentile rule ends, upon Jesus establishing his rule.

Now on the seven year tribulation; which I totally agree with your origins and discernment; except to add what it originally represented and also represents in the last days. The years which God determined unto Israel, which seven years remain. I believe are rightly interpreted as Years which the state of Israel, is ruled or dominated by a foreign ruler as was years determined before; or giving away authority and or rule to a non Jewish lord or King or President as in babylonian control years. Which I interpret as seven years of antichrist rule over 1/3 of world including Israel which still remain.

which to me makes end days a generation time of 40 to 65 years starting with 1948 the foundation of Israel. and seven year tribulation a time of universal rule by a man of Great sin, or antichrist Calling himself God.

This is Just my opinion and interpretations as so the spirit so reveals unto me.

I pray my words do not offend, God bless C.F. and all who use it.
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