So yesterday’s service was all about the NUMB3R Zero — as in there will be zero raptures of the kind that Left Behind or The Late Great Planet Earth describe it. It’s one of my favorite conversations/debates to have within the church.
It got off to great start as Anjie Carpenter led us in worship. So smooth yet so powerful.
Then came James-Michael Smith’s sermon intro video. See it here:
Then it came time for the message. We saw from Matthew 24:36-41 that being “left behind” is actually a good thing — because that’s what happened to Noah and his family in contrast to those who forgot God and were “swept away” in the flood. We also saw that I Thessalonians 4:16-17 can’t really be describing a secret rapture scenario because there Jesus’ return is loud and obvious. It also can’t be his return after the seven years of tribulation because 4:17 refers to “we who are still alive and are left . . . ” “We who are left” means Christians. How could they be “alive” on earth and “left” if they’ve all been raptured away seven years earlier? So that passage suggests a very different Second Coming than the one Left Behind describes.
So if I don’t believe in a Left Behind rapture, what do I believe in? That Jesus will return at an unexpected time and in an unmistakable way. He will defeat Satan, judge the quick and the dead, and bring with him a new heavens and a new earth. Up there comes down here in a way beyond our understanding. Until then, Christians will endure all kinds of joys and struggles, blessings and persecutions. We’re not supposed to hope for an escape from the world; we are part of God’s plan in redeeming it. That’s why Revelation tells us to “overcome.”
Probably my favorite part was the end. We sang “Sing To The King” which has the best verse:
For His returning we watch and we pray,
We will be ready the dawn of the that day
We’ll join in singing with all the redeemed
As Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King.
That’s something all Christians — whether they subscribe to a rapture or not — can sing together. And so we did.
You can listen to the message here.
There are 3 comments
I’m so relieved! I just knew I’d wake up to find my son’s pajamas in his bed one day and just know that I’d been ‘left behind’! Now I know that’ll be a good thing! Gee, I’m so glad I spent about $1,000 on those Left Behind novels; I could’ve bought more copies of Harry Potter or Lord of The Rings books like everyone else!!! LOL Seriously, this was a great worship experience and I’m glad you addressed being ‘left behind’. 🙂
I cant help but wonder what happens to the nation of Israel in your interpretation of end times? Are they not still the “chosen one’s”? Is it not replacement theology to leave them out? What happened to the 70th week of Daniel? I know it will be discussed this Sunday, but, the 1000 yrs is described in the old testament and proclaims that a decendent of David will literally sit on Davids throne for 1000yrs. How about the the end of Daniel chapter 13 where you can pull out there there are 2 seperate, and distinct, blessings – 1 for the Jew and one for the Church. You can actually correlate this verse with the verse you used this past Sunday in I Thes. It shows a reward for the church, and a reward for those who are still alive at the end. I find that the dispesational theory fills in the gaps a lot better than trying to use history to plug holes that continue to leak. Especially in today’s world (1 world government, a leader “anti-christ” who will be the only one to make peace in the middle east – who else can?, a crippled US economy, “growing pains” as described in Matthew). If you look back in history, you can find plenty of historical events to plug into the bible, but are they correct?
Israel at the end times . . . the church is simply the expansion of the True Israel of God — Jew and Gentile alike. Ephesians 2 is clear that promises originally given to Israel now got to Gentile Christians as well. Plus, Galatians 3:28 suggests a one-ness in Christ, not a two-track plan for salvation. So what happens to Israel at the end of time? Paul, a Jew, says in Romans 11:26 “and so all Israel will be saved” — but then he doesn’t give us the details of what that looks like. I’m trusting God to sort that out.
I’m not sure about your Daniel 13 reference since Daniel only has 12 chapters. If you’ll double check the reference & send it to me again, I’ll try and make a comparison with I Thessalonians. Reading through Daniel 12, though, I don’t see any mention of separate blessings for the church and for Israel.
I find looking back in history connecting it with the bible (for example, Nero = 666) to be much more reliable than using current events and trying to fill in the gaps that way. My posting from last Wednesday (May 14) has some excellent resources written by well respected Christians that give good answers to Dispensationalism.
Thanks for taking the issue seriously enough to comment.