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“Left Behind” – The Discrediting of a Theological System
There was a series of books published in the “Left Behind” series. At least two movies have now been made based on those books. They are the source of ridicule from the unbelieving world, and the authors of the ideas presented in those books and movies think the unbelievers are proving the point of their stories. What if their ideas are simply unbiblical and foolish? What does that do for the reputation of the Christian faith, when unbelievers think such ideas are what all Christians believe? What if the theology of those stories is a recent invention that perverts the words of Jesus and the prophets? Thankfully, such theologies typically die over time, but the damage done during that time can be great.
The movies do two bad things. They teach unbelievers that Christians have the most ridiculous theology of the “end” that ever was devised. Even if unbelievers were stupid enough to get scared by the movies, being scared that you’ll be left behind in a world of Tribulation is not the way one recruits the best new believers.
It teaches Christians that the “end is near;” therefore, there’s really no reason to engage the culture and build long-term for the future. An organization named “The Long Now” are building a 10,000 year clock to remind people of the importance of long term thinking. It’s located next to the border between Texas and New Mexico. I heard a representative of the organization explain what triggered the idea for the clock. He had heard about a huge beam having rotted in a building in New College, Oxford University, England. It was a 50 foot long beam of critical importance to the structure, both aesthetic and structure.
The New College administration wondered where they would find a 50 foot long solid beam in modern England. They went to discuss the problem with the Forester for Oxford University, who was quite calm when he heard of the problem. He said, “Oh, that’s an easy fix.” The New College administration people asked how that could be, and he answered, “The folks who founded New College 900 years ago planted a forest for the very purpose of replacing the beams of the New College buildings.” That’s long term thinking. Such thinking does not happen in the people devoted to the theology of “Left Behind.” It’s a miracle if they think about the next day, much less nine hundred years forward.
But what does God want. If His kingdom is forever, and He is building it for its great climax, when all enemies are put under His Son’s feet, the last enemy being death, then we’ve got a good way to go before “the end.” And if the tree of the kingdom grows over time, resulting in it becoming the largest tree in the garden, when will that be? If you’re thinking this generation, you’re not thinking big enough. We’re just at the beginning of the advancement of Christ’s kingdom. It’s a little sprout of a tree, not an oak.
