WILL YOU BE LEFT BEHIND?
Kevin D. Paulson
I. The Second Coming of Christ
It is perhaps the most precious promise Jesus gave to His disciples.
John 14:1-3:
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.
"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also."
A few hours later, Jesus declared this same promise to the high priest who was about to condemn Him:
Matt. 26:64:
"Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
The book of Revelation likewise tells us that those who condemned and crucified Jesus will be raised to life to see Him come back:
Rev. 1:7:
"Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him."
Jesus used similar language when speaking to His disciples about His second coming:
Matt. 24:30-31:
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
“And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
As Jesus ascended to heaven, the angels who attended Him gave His disciples this reassurance:
Acts 1:11:
"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven."
In the last verses of Hebrews, chapter 9, we find what some have called:
The Four Great Certainties
Heb. 9:27-28:
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,
"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
1. Death
2. Judgment
3. Jesus' sacrifice for sin
4. Jesus' second coming
I Thess. 4:16-18:
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
"Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
I Cor. 15:51-55:
"Behold I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
"So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
But Jesus not only promised that He would come back.
He also warns us against believing false things regarding how He will come back.
Matt. 24:3-5,24:
"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?
"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
"For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. . . .
"For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
It isn't enough merely to believe in Jesus, or His second coming.
We have to know the truth about His coming, from God's Word.
Isa. 8:20:
"To the law, and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
Acts 17:11:
"These (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
John 8:31:
"If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed."
The written counsel of God is the unerring test of all doctrine, all worship, and all behavior.
II. The Secret Rapture
Few books made a greater impact on both the Christian world and the secular world in our time, than the famous Left Behind series on end-time events.
Well, what do books such as Left Behind and its sequels teach about the second coming of Christ?
The secret rapture doctrine.
Those who believe this teaching take it very seriously.
"At least one church, in North Hollywood, has taken steps to preserve its property should its officers disappear during the rapture. The church's insurance companies have agreed to delay premium payments for seven years, when the raptured officers return."
Newsweek, Nov. 1, 1999, p. 74
"House Majority Whip Tom DeLay has a wood carving in his office that reads THIS COULD BE THE DAY, a phrase widely used to refer to the Rapture."
Newsweek, Nov. 1, 1999, p. 70
A. "Like a Thief in the Night"
Those who believe in the rapture doctrine often quote verses where Jesus is described as coming like a thief in the night.
I Thess. 5:2:
"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."
This verse comes immediately after the passage we have referred to already, about Jesus coming from the heavens with a shout, to raise the dead and take the righteous living to heaven:
I Thess. 4:16-17:
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Thus the two passages (I Thess. 4 and 5) clearly refer to the same event.
Rev. 3:3:
"If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."
Rev. 16:15:
"Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."
Now let's turn back to I Thess. 5.
I Thess. 5:3-5:
"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.
"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness."
Who are surprised by the coming of Christ as if by a thief?
The wicked. Not the righteous.
II Peter 3:10:
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."
This doesn't sound very secret.
These verses are hardly compatible with the idea that any functioning society will be left on earth after Jesus takes His people to heaven.
B. "One taken, and the other left."
"But," someone asks, what about Jesus' statement that two will be in the field, one taken and the other left?"
Let's look at these statements:
Matt. 24:40-42:
"Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come."
But the Gospel of Luke gives a bit more detail about what happens at this event.
Luke 17:34-37:
"I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto Him, Where, Lord? And He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will be eagles be gathered together."
Turning back to Matthew 24, we find a similar statement:
Matt. 24:27-28:
"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
"For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."
There is no support in these or any other verses for the idea that there will be two second comings--one secret, and the other visible, taking place after seven years of tribulation.
Those left behind when Jesus comes are not left alive. They are left dead, corpses for the birds of prey to consume.
We find the same thing in Revelation.
Rev. 19:11-16:
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called, Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.
"His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew, but He Himself.
"And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God.
"And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
"And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God.
"And He had on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
Now we read a passage similar to those we found in Matthew and Luke:
Rev. 19:17-21:
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God:
"That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army.
"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
"And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."
The Bible is clear that Christ comes only once to take His people home. When this happens the righteous dead will be raised and the living righteous caught up to meet their Lord in the air (I Thess. 4:16-17). This event will be unexpected, like a thief in the night (I Thess. 5:2), which is why Jesus warns us to be ready (Matt. 24:44).
But though unexpected, Jesus' coming will be visible to all (Matt. 24:27; Rev. 1:7) and cataclysmic to this earth (II Peter 3:10).
Those left behind will be left dead, to be devoured by vultures (Matt. 24:28; Luke 17:37; Rev. 19:17-21).
Two Suppers
Rev. 19:9:
"Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."
The marriage supper of the Lamb
The supper of the vultures
Which one will you be at?
3. A Second Chance?
Many are thus saying that if they see all the Christians mysteriously vanish, they'll accept Christ.
This "second chance" theology can easily convince people to postpone the readiness of their hearts and lives, fooling themselves that once they actually see the events of the last days, they will finally be convinced, and can safely join with the righteous.
Luke 17:26-30:
"As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
"They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded:
"But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
"Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."
Did the people in Noah's day get a second chance.
Did the people in Lot's day?
None of us knows when we will be called.
II Cor. 6:2:
"Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."