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“Left Behind”
Categories: NEW TESTAMENT, RELIGIONSI grew up with a very "secular" type of Christianity; I was always taught that the end times will resemble how it's depicted in the "Left Behind" novels. Is that the way the Bible actually describes it?
Sincerely,
Left In Doubt
Dear Left In Doubt,
No, the Left Behind books are pure fiction. The Left Behind series written by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins is a literal interpretation of the book of Revelation with a twist of dramatic effect and a dash of denominational tomfoolery. The key words are ‘literal interpretation’. Should the book of Revelation be taken as a literal book with real dragons, sea monsters, gold paved streets, and bowls that contain the destruction of mankind? The answer is 'NO'.
The apostle John wrote the book of Revelation and said that it was a book of signs and symbols (Rev. 1:1). The context states over and over that things are not what they seem. Candlesticks representing churches (Rev 1:20), a lamb representing Jesus (Rev 5:5-6), white linen representing the righteous saints (Rev 19:8), and a dragon representing Satan (Rev 12:9) are just a few examples of how we would really miss the whole point of the book if we took it literally.
Furthermore, John makes it clear that the book of Revelation isn’t about what will happen at the end of time – it is what would happen to the christians very soon. Twice in the introduction of the book John mentions that the things in this book would soon come to be (Rev 1:1 and Rev 1:3). John wrote to the christians of the first century to prepare them for a persecution they were soon to face. The Left Behind series makes for fun reading, but they do not at all represent God’s message to John.
Instead, we are told by the apostle Paul that the end of time will come like a ‘thief in the night’ (1 Thess 5:2), and Peter reiterates that fact (2 Pet 3:10). The reality is that no one knows when Christ will return, so we must live every day as though He might (1 Thess 5:8-9).
