Left Behind- Yes
When people talk about the rapture, the general concept is that either before or during a time of severe persecution before Jesus returns, Christians will be taken from this world (raptured) and the non-Christians will be “left behind” to deal with the evil in the world.
One problem with this whole teaching is that it can’t be found in church history until about 190 years ago, according to Revelation scholar Shane Wood (PHD) of Ozark Christian College. Later it was taught by D.L. Moody, then later still by Billy Graham, and finally made popular with the 1970’s book The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsey. I remember reading that book back then and wondering about the maze of things that he had figured out about the End Time. Why was his teaching so unique? Had he stumbled onto something almost no one else knew?
So, historically this concept of a “rapture” is relatively new. That by itself doesn’t make it wrong, but as Shane Wood says, it should throw up a red flag and make us look closer at what the Bible does say.
A primary text used by those of this philosophy is Matthew 24:40-41, where we read, “Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one left.” The assumption is that the one taken is raptured, the one left behind is in for trouble.
Shane Wood again says a primary concept taught at Ozark Christian College is context. And it should be a primary concept for all Bible students. Don’t take verses out of the context of what is being talked about and allow the surrounding verses to help clarify. What is the context of Matthew 24:40-41? We need to go back to verse 36 to see what Jesus is talking about.
He is talking about his second coming. “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” we read. So, for the Hal Lindseys and others who predict when Jesus will return, they are wasting their time, and yours, if you get caught up in such. Further down in this passage we learn that Jesus will come like a thief in the night, and since we won’t know when that will be, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” His point? You DON’T know when, so ALWAYS be ready. Live out your faith!
But back to the rapture idea. In this talk, Jesus says, “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man.” That is followed with verses 40 and 41 about one taken away, one left. So, the “one taken and one left” idea is parallel to what happened with Noah and the people who were washed away in the flood. The ones washed away in the flood were taken, and it was Noah (and his family) who were left behind to repopulate the world. Running that parallel, if two men are in the field and one is taken and one left behind, the one left behind parallels to Noah, so it is the Christian who is left behind. Same with the two women at the grinding mill, the one taken is now gone, the one left behind is saved, just as Noah was.
Doesn’t this make sense? There’s no reason to think Christians will be spared the persecution toward the end. That’s just not the way things have worked (see Hebrews 11:32-38). Those who endure such will be rewarded! We learn later in the book of Revelation that when Jesus returns there will be “a new heaven and a new earth…and I heard a voice saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man’” (Rev. 21:1-3). The redeemed will spend eternity on a new earth. It will be worth what we must endure. The lost will be taken away to judgment. The saved will be left behind to inhabit the new earth. So, I say, “Left behind – Yes!”
Cross Point: Another verse used is I Thess. 4:13-18. In context it gives no concept of taking people out of the world secretly, like those of rapture mentality would say. In fact, as Christ returns, we hear “a cry of command, the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God!” When Jesus returns, everyone knows it; judgment occurs. It’s the end. The 1,000-year rule of Christ symbolizes the church age, and it will have ended.
One problem with this whole teaching is that it can’t be found in church history until about 190 years ago, according to Revelation scholar Shane Wood (PHD) of Ozark Christian College. Later it was taught by D.L. Moody, then later still by Billy Graham, and finally made popular with the 1970’s book The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsey. I remember reading that book back then and wondering about the maze of things that he had figured out about the End Time. Why was his teaching so unique? Had he stumbled onto something almost no one else knew?
So, historically this concept of a “rapture” is relatively new. That by itself doesn’t make it wrong, but as Shane Wood says, it should throw up a red flag and make us look closer at what the Bible does say.
A primary text used by those of this philosophy is Matthew 24:40-41, where we read, “Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one left.” The assumption is that the one taken is raptured, the one left behind is in for trouble.
Shane Wood again says a primary concept taught at Ozark Christian College is context. And it should be a primary concept for all Bible students. Don’t take verses out of the context of what is being talked about and allow the surrounding verses to help clarify. What is the context of Matthew 24:40-41? We need to go back to verse 36 to see what Jesus is talking about.
He is talking about his second coming. “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” we read. So, for the Hal Lindseys and others who predict when Jesus will return, they are wasting their time, and yours, if you get caught up in such. Further down in this passage we learn that Jesus will come like a thief in the night, and since we won’t know when that will be, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” His point? You DON’T know when, so ALWAYS be ready. Live out your faith!
But back to the rapture idea. In this talk, Jesus says, “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man.” That is followed with verses 40 and 41 about one taken away, one left. So, the “one taken and one left” idea is parallel to what happened with Noah and the people who were washed away in the flood. The ones washed away in the flood were taken, and it was Noah (and his family) who were left behind to repopulate the world. Running that parallel, if two men are in the field and one is taken and one left behind, the one left behind parallels to Noah, so it is the Christian who is left behind. Same with the two women at the grinding mill, the one taken is now gone, the one left behind is saved, just as Noah was.
Doesn’t this make sense? There’s no reason to think Christians will be spared the persecution toward the end. That’s just not the way things have worked (see Hebrews 11:32-38). Those who endure such will be rewarded! We learn later in the book of Revelation that when Jesus returns there will be “a new heaven and a new earth…and I heard a voice saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man’” (Rev. 21:1-3). The redeemed will spend eternity on a new earth. It will be worth what we must endure. The lost will be taken away to judgment. The saved will be left behind to inhabit the new earth. So, I say, “Left behind – Yes!”
Cross Point: Another verse used is I Thess. 4:13-18. In context it gives no concept of taking people out of the world secretly, like those of rapture mentality would say. In fact, as Christ returns, we hear “a cry of command, the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God!” When Jesus returns, everyone knows it; judgment occurs. It’s the end. The 1,000-year rule of Christ symbolizes the church age, and it will have ended.