Introduction from Shattering the 'Left Behind' Delusion

INTRODUCTION

Confronting the 'Left Behind' Craze

The truths contained in this book have been hidden for too long. As a result, millions of Christians are caught up in a new and seductive teaching about end-time events-events that will not happen. This new teaching is, quite simply, a delusion,' and one that Jesus specifically prayed against.

These millions fervently believe that some day soon-very soon-they will be removed, alive, from the surface of planet Earth, and taken away from earthly problems and responsibilities. What will happen to those "left behind"? In the multimillioncopy book series, and the pending multimillion-dollar movie (to be released September 2000), those "left behind" will suffer unbelievable havoc and horrors. Since this entire dramatic scheme is based on a twisted interpretation of Scripture, it is sad indeed that it is the predominant view of conservative, evangelical Christianity. Moreover, the Left Behind craze has infected non-Christians as well.

Be forewarned, this book is challenging. This cannot and should not be avoided. But so many have been so misled away from biblical truth, and so "left behind" from the blessings offered by the true "rapture," the fulfilled and established "rapture" reality, that the scriptural truths in this book may seem like a hurtful shattering of a cherished hope. Yet God's Word can heal this hurt. Eventually, God's Word will prevail. So let me encourage you to be like the Bereans, who were commended for being "of more noble character" because they examined what the Apostle Paul was teaching to be sure it was in accord with the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). You should do the same with everything you read, including this book! "Let God be true, and every man a liar" (Rom. 3:4) which includes this author. What I write must line up with God's Word.

Make no mistake, ideas have consequences. What we believe affects what we do and who we are. In the case of this popular craze, the effects are highly negative. Several generations of Christians have been and are being diverted from what they should be doing. They think., "why bother, when it is all coming to a screeching end?" And when the turn of the millennium passes without any rapture - as it will - what then? Who is going to pick up the pieces? Hopefully, it will be you and me.

Many Bible passages address a so-called "rapture of the Church7-scripturally it's the rising of the dead and the changing and catching up of those alive-Le. resurrection. Most assuredly, resurrection is one of the central truths of the Christian faith and is based upon Jesus' bodily resurrection. But even though Jesus' resurrection is basically uncontested in conservative evangelical circles, how and when an individual believer participates in Christ's bodily resurrection has been one of the most distorted, confused, and misunderstood concepts in Christendom.

In this book, we propose to reexamine the biblical concept of resurrection in its multifaceted, totally fulfilled, eternally established, and fully available reality. We'll address the timing and nature of bodily resurrections in the Bible, and the spiritual and bodily resurrection of individual Christians today. What's at stake here is not merely academic. It's extremely pragmatic and poignant; it tells us where believers today go or don't go upon physical death, what form or state they are in once there, and what difference resurrection can make in one's life, here, now, and forever.

So what did the Apostle Paul mean when, by inspiration, he penned these perplexing words?

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18)

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, 0 death, is your victory? Where, 0 death, is your sting?'

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

If it is true, as the Left Behind people tell us, that these inspired words of Paul have not been fulfilled for over 19 centuries and counting, then the nonoccurrence of the event he describes puts us in a highly problematic dilemma. It would mean that Paul's words of encouragement were a cruel misrepresentation to his original readers. It would mean that 1st-century believers actually deceived "each other with these words," rather than encouraged each other. It would mean they "died in vain," not having received what they expected. It would also mean that Paul's Holy Spirit-guided imminency expectations were proved false (see Jn 16:13). If that were so, how can we trust him to have given us truth in his other teachings?

The preterist view respects these words of Paul as meaning what they say. Only in the preterist perspective is the resurrection no longer " a mystery," and the "ignorant" is removed and replaced with a knowable reality. Fulfilled resurrection is one of the most convincing elements of our view. Let's see if we can arrive at a better understanding of the time of fulfillment and the nature of biblical resurrection.

Our first chapter addresses what the resurrection is not. The next two chapters tell what it was. The last three chapters tell what it is, and what that means for us today and in the future. This book goes forth in the hope and prayer that many will come to a better appreciation of this part of God's completed plan of redemption.

In other writings, this author and other preterists have presented more than enough evidence documenting A.D. 70 as the time of the Lord's parousia return and the fulfillment of all things. These end-time events occurred exactly as and when Jesus said they would happen and every New Testament writer and the 1st-century church expected (Jn 16:13).' We cannot cover this same material here, but we will refer to it when appropriate. The final event that would complete the resurrection was directly coupled with Jesus' return (I Cor 15:23; 1 Th 4:15). Distorting, omitting, or ignoring any part of this past fulfillment is a serious matter, indeed.

Footnotes for Introduction

1. A delusion is "a false belief .. maintained in spite of unquestionable evidence to the contrary" - The World Book Dictionary, 1982, by Doubleday & Company, Inc.

2. For further preterist insights, see author's book Beyond the End Times: The Rest of .. The Greatest Story Ever Told, 1999, Preterist Resources / International Preterist Association.

| Table of Contents |
| Foreword | Introduction | Conclusion |

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