LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 352

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352 THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

ents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ —
which is the first commandment with a promise—‘that it may go
well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth’” (Eph
6:1-3). In its Old Testament setting, this Fourth Commandment
promises that obedient children will live long on the land the Lord
God is giving them. But Paul here applies the same promise to the
children of Christian parents living 700-800 miles from the land of
Palestine. These children of Gentile and Jewish Christians who sub-
mit willingly to the authority of their parents will, Paul promises,
enjoy long life on the earth, indeed eternal life—the new heavens
and the new earth.

Similarly, the book of Hebrews indicates that Christians have the
land (which is described as the rest into which they have entered
through Christ) in a way that even Joshua did not achieve for Israel
(Heb 3:12-4:11). In Heb 11:13—16 the central Gospel motif is the land.
The pilgrimage of faith is set in three scenes: (1) a land from which
they set out in faith, (2) the present context of wandering, and (3) the
hoped-for homeland that is a “better,” indeed, “heavenly” city.

Finally, Peter speaks of the Second Coming of Jesus in con-
junction with the final judgment and the punishment of unbelievers
(2 Pet 3:10-13). To this same apostle of the circumcision (Gal 2:7)
Jesus says nothing about the restoration of the kingdom to Israel in
the land of Palestine (Acts 1:6—7). Instead, as his readers contem-
plate the promise of Jesus’ Second Coming, Peter fixes their hope
upon “a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness”
(2 Pet 3:13).

To summarize this section, there is no suggestion that Jesus or
the apostles believed that the Jewish people still have a divine right
to the land, or that the Jewish possession of the land would be an
important—let alone central—aspect of God’s plan for the world.
Rather, present day spiritual descendants of Abraham will inherit
not the land, but the new heaven and new earth. And for Paul these
descendants of Abraham are those Jews and Gentiles who through
faith in Christ have been declared righteous (Rom 4:1—12).

For Christians the promise of the land has become a promise that
they will inherit the world (Rom 4:13). Indeed, they will inherit a
new world, “for the first heaven and first earth” will pass away (Rev
21:1). Here the imagery of the land is a picture of restored paradise
that finally has come to consummation. It is not, however, just a re-
turn to an earthly paradise (like a restored “Garden of Eden”), but
a reconstructed cosmos with resurrected people. The consumma-
tion of God’s work of redeeming the fallen world is no longer
merely a portion of the earth. Instead, the entire cosmos participates
(Rom 8:19—-23). Hence, the land was promised to Abraham, taken
possession of under Joshua, and subsequently reinterpreted by
Jesus, Paul, the author of the Hebrews, and Peter as a new heaven
and new earth.

The Book of Revelation

Despite the importance of certain Old Testament prophecies, the
major biblical background for Left Behind is the book of Revela-
tion. According to LaHaye and Jenkins, after the letters to the seven
churches (chapters two and three) Revelation is a prophecy con-
cerning events that will occur during the last seven years—before
the coming of Christ to establish his earthly kingdom—when God
will pour out His wrath on a sinful world. They also hold that the
last three and a half years is the Great Tribulation spoken of in Dan
9:25—27 and in the Savior’s Olivet discourse (Matt 24: 15-25).

This theology is built upon the belief that the tribulation period
will witness a restoration of the fourth worldly kingdom spoken of
in Dan 2:42-45. The feet of iron and clay represent the latter phase
of the kingdom. This kingdom is also represented by the terrible
beast of Dan 7:7-8, the Roman Empire that will be restored in time
for the tribulation. In the Left Behind novels it is significant that the
Antichrist—Nicolae Carpathia—comes from Romania.

2007 Convention Workbook

In general, LaHaye and Jenkins put forth the idea that the An-
tichrist’s confederation will consist of ten kings or kingdoms
headed by the little horn of Dan 7:8, also known as the son of perdi-
tion (2 Thess 2:3-11). The son of perdition is called the Antichrist
and spoken of in Rev 13:11-18, where he causes all who dwell on
the earth to receive the mark of the beast. More specifically, ac-
cording to the Left Behind series Revelation chapters 6—19 indicate
that during the seven-year period a number of events will occur on
earth. For example,

1. The Antichrist begins his cruel reign. For the first three and one-
half years he acts favorably toward the Jews and he even “makes
a covenant” with them. Yet in the last three and one-half years
he breaks this covenant and begins persecuting them.

2. Out of this persecuted group of Jews come the 144,000 of Rev 7:4
who believe in Jesus and preach the “gospel of the kingdom.”

3. Through their witness a great number of Gentiles are saved.

4. Toward the end of the tribulation several battles take place, the
last and greatest of which is called Armageddon (Rev 16:16).

5. At the end of this seven-year period Christ, together with the
church, returns in glory to destroy His enemies. The vast major-
ity of the Jews are converted, Satan is bound for 1000 years and
believers enjoy the vast blessings of the golden age, which is the
millennium.

However, an important clue to interpreting the book of Revela-
tion correctly is to notice its use of different visions covering the
same period: the New Testament era beginning with Pentecost and
culminating on the last day. We can see, for example, that Rev
12:7—11 and Rev 20:1-6 are parallel in several ways. Revelation
12:7 and 20:1 are both heavenly scenes; Rev 12:7-8 and 20:2 de-
pict angelic battles with Satan; Rev 12:9 and 20:2 portray Satan as
“the great dragon...that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan”;
Rev 12:12 and 20:3 speak of Satan as having a “short time”; Rev
12:10 and 20:4 tell of how Satan’s defeat results in the kingdom of
Christ and His saints; and finally, Rev 12:11 and 20:4 describe the
faithfulness of the saints. Thus, Revelation 12 and 20:1-—7 depict the
same events and mutually interpret one another.

We find another example of how John gives a series of visions
that depict the present age from different vantage points in Revela-
tion 6 and 16. In Rev 6:12—14 John says, “every mountain and is-
land was moved out of its place,” while in Rev 16:20 he writes,
“every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.” The
question then is this: If every mountain and island were moved in
chapter six, how can they be back again in chapter sixteen? The an-
swer (apart from its clearly symbolic language) is that Revelation
is structured around parallel visions and is not a historical narrative
that describes sequences that chronologically occur one after an-
other. This writing style evident in Revelation chapters 6-20 is
sometimes called “recapitulation,” in which the same basic pattern
is repeated in a variety of formulations.

The book of Revelation contains six different descriptions of the
same era, the era of the New Testament church stretching from the
day of Pentecost until the Last Day. They are as follows: the seven
seals (6:1—8:5); the seven trumpets (8:6—1 1:19); the vision of the
church preserved against Satan’s assaults (12:1—-14:20); the seven
bowls (15:1-16:21); the vision of Babylon overthrown
(17:1-19:21); and the binding of Satan (20:1—10). Each vision gives
a different picture of the same time period. The visions are syn-
onymous, albeit with growing intensity. This repetition in the book
of Revelation does not exclude a deepening and completing pro-
gression in the visions, for judgment builds (as does the terror). Yet
Christ is in control and has the last word, victory for His church.

Though Revelation can be difficult to understand because it uses
so many symbols, it actually provides a very clear description of the
end times that was well understood by the early Christians. For ex-
ample, after reading Revelation and the rest of Scripture, the early