Leaving Behind the Rapture

How can it say it? Rapture theology promotes an end-time scenario of escapism, survivalism, and a violent destructive end to earth. The clock is ticking but not in the way dispensational Left Behind thinkers imagine. God did not so love the world that he sends us World War III. I am a huge Star Trek fan but Rapture theology sure sounds a lot like "Beam Me Up" theology. Let me give a few words about Rapture theology scriptures:

1.  Thess.4:13-18 is not about the rapture but a but the resurrection of the dead. In other words, there are not two stages of Christ's final coming, there is only his final return. This text of Scripture is not emphasizing some people will be left behind but we will all be together with our loved ones in our resurrection life!

2.  Matt.24:39-42 & Lk.17:34-35 says nothing about born again Christians being taken up in some kind of rapture to escape the last great days of Tribulation. There are Christians throughout all of church history until the present that are going through great tribulation. The only promise Jesus makes is his followers will go through tribulation (Jn.16:33), not escape it. This judgment describes in Matthew and Luke will be like the days where those taken, swept away by the flood or taken up is not as positive thing but are the ones who are going to judgment. The ones left may be the righteous and therefore these versus not only don't teach about the Rapture but actually teach the opposite!

3. And however one wants to interpret Jesus Olivet discourse in Matthew chps. 24-25,  one has to deal with Jesus words in verse 34, "Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place." In the end, the ancient church has always focused on a new heaven and new earth where God's people are a new creation in Christ. It is not the Rapture that has been the historical teaching of the church but its all things become new because of the Resurrection of Jesus, God's Messiah.

Why You Might Want To Be Left Behind

On the less serious side, I think people might want to be left behind for several reasons:

1. You love to eat breaded locust.
2. You always wanted a fly circus.
3. The moon turning red is your favorite color.
4. I would rather eat a scroll than read a scroll any day.
5. Hey, I love apocalyptic movies so the real thing should be better.
6. I saw the grapes of wrath on Veggie Tales and I thought they were cute.
7. If the seas turn to blood, no more blood mobile drives! Yeah!
8. I like big bon fires!
9. I always wanted to see death and hades get theres in the end!
10. I've always been an introvert and preferred hiding in caves!

I mean, who reads the book of Jude anymore? All that cryptic stuff about hell, fire, judgment, and angels roasting on an open fire. But notice the angels who face everlasting judgment did not keep their proper domain because they LEFT their own abode (v.6) The angels are taken to judgment because they left behind heaven. Besides all the judgment talk in Israel being taken into captivity and judgment, the Bible is full of stories of those left behind and those taken.

Most of us have been taught since childhood that the good people will be raptured away to heaven and the bad people get stuck on earth since we know earth is hell or hell is coming to earth. But God's Word does not treat creation with contempt but with dignity. The earth is good and does need restoration. Just like there is a new heaven coming, there is also a new earth coming. Almost all the Bible commentators say that those who get left behind are the bad people while the good ones get taken up into heaven. This is why we cannot trust Bible commentaries! Often what is popular and contemporary at the moment gets presented as ancient biblical truth. But can it be that God has new light to shed on His word for us today? Luke 17:31-36 is about two groups of people who are either left behind or taken. Can it be that those who are taken are taken into judgment rather than bliss? Can the ancient Jewish view actually be right that God wants to restore paradise on earth or bring heaven down to earth? The two examples given are Sodom's destruction and the global flood in Noah's day. In Matthew 24:38-39, the ones taken away were those who were swept away into God's judgment by the flood!

Many people today are rightly concerned about being left behind and thinking they won't get raptured much less have to go through the great and terrible tribulation period. But if the rapture and escapist thinking are not correct, maybe we have been reading God's Word from the wrong persepctive? Maybe its just opposite of what we have always thought and those who get taken away get zapped and those who are left behind are blessed? If this is the case, then this may be why one should be more concerned of getting left behind rather than getting taken away into judgment.