LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 357

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 357

the central teaching of Scripture affect one’s understanding of the end
times?
Answer. The Left Behind series emphasizes the work of Christ on the
cross less than the unfolding of Scripture in current events. While there
is nothing wrong with an appropriate examination of end-times teach-
ing in the Bible, it is important to do so in light of the central teaching
of Scripture: the justifying work of Christ accomplished through His
death and resurrection and given freely by grace through faith in Him.
Focusing on Jesus in His glory results in an over-emphasis on
His power, sovereignty, wrath, and judgment. Such an approach
tends to neglect His mercy and grace for sinners brought about by
His death and resurrection. The Left Behind view sees faith largely
as a means of avoiding suffering under God’s wrath here on earth,
while Scripture teaches that faith is the instrament through which
we receive forgiveness, life, and salvation (Eph. 2:8~9). The Left
Behind interpretation of the Bible also shifts the focus away from
Christ’s fulfillment of Old Testament promises that point to Him as
our sin-bearing Substitute. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ
alone gives us eternal life with God, and faith in Him engenders
hope even in the midst of earthly suffering (see Rev. 7:9-17).

Study Two: The Rapture
The Rapture

The word rapture comes from the Latin for the term caught up
in 1 Thess. 4:17. The Left Behind series interprets this verse to mean
that all Christians (along with all infants and children who have not
reached the age of accountability) will meet Christ in the air at the
time of His “secret” and “invisible” coming. All believers who are
alive at this time will be immediately transferred and taken to the
heavenly mansions that Christ has prepared for them. Unbelievers
will be “left behind” to suffer during the seven-year tribulation.

The full context of 1 Thess. 4:17 (1 Thess. 4:13—5:11), however,
shows that this passage has a different meaning. According to verse
13, the primary purpose of this text is to comfort those who are unsure
that there is life after death, not to discuss the details of Christ’s sec-
ond coming, the final judgment, and the chronology of the end times.

In addition, the description of our Lord’s return in verse 16—
the “cry of command,” the “voice of an archangel,” and the “sound
of a trumpet”— does not speak of a hidden, secret coming of Christ.
In 1 Thessalonians'5, Paul continues to teach about the same event,
which constitutes a singular day of the Lord (see vv. 1-3). This is
at odds with the Left Behind end-times scenario that includes at least
three “days of the Lord.” Christ’s first end-times coming, accord-
ing to this view, occurs at the rapture. His second appearance takes
place at the end of the seven-year tribulation and will usher in His
thousand-year earthly reign. The third and final appearance happens
when Jesus comes to put an end to Satan’s “little season” (Rev. 20:3,
7) in order to bring about the new heavens and new earth.

Discussion Questions

1. What do the following passages have to say about the coming of
our Lord?
a. How many returns of Christ will there be? (Dan. 12:1-2; Matt.
25:31-46; John 5:28-29)
Answer: One day, one hour, one resurrection of the dead. These
texts indicate that there will only be one return of Christ, not sev-
eral (see also Acts 17:31; 24:15).
b. Who will see Christ when He returns? (Dan. 7:13; Luke 21:27;
Rev. 1:7)
Answer: Every eye will see Him come in His glory. Scripture
does not teach a “secret” coming (see also Mark 14:62 and Acts
1:11).
2. What are the dangers of the Left Behind view of the rapture and
the several comings of Jesus? (Matt. 24:45—51; 25:1-13)

Answer: If people will have further opportunities to believe in
Christ after the rapture, then an attitude of apathy may arise. Lost
is the sense of apostolic urgency expressed in texts like 2 Cor.
6:1-2. Jesus does not discuss second chances but speaks of one.
opportunity to believe before His return in judgment. For exam-
ple, in Matt. 25:10, He teaches that at His second coming the door
will be shut and there will be no second chance (see also Heb.
9:27).

Further, Left Behind allows the rapture to serve as the main topic
of the Christian witness to unbelievers. This shift in emphasis re-
places the central component of the Christian witness—namely, that
the Gospel is the power of God for salvation (see Rom. 1:16). Chris-
tians are empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) to bear witness
to Christ’s death and resurrection, which have brought about sal-
vation for those who are still under the Law (Rom. 10:13-15).

The Left Behind view not only offers the rapture as a sign of sal-
vation for those who are left behind, but it also encourages believ-
ers to dwell on the visible signs of current events. Both hopes are
misguided because they turn attention away from the means of grace
instituted by Christ for the benefit of His people. God has revealed
that it is through His Word and sacraments that He calls people to
faith in Christ, not any other way.

Study Three: Israel and the Church

Premillennial dispensationalist writers suggest that a proper un-
derstanding of the end times hinges on the question of the nation of
Israel. At issue, then, is the relationship between the Old Testament
nation of Israel and the New Testament church.

The Left Behind View of Israel and the Church

Left Behind assumes that, because the Kingdom was offered by
God to (and yet refused by) the Jews, it will be offered to them again
in the future. Those who espouse this view point to the creation of
the political state of Israel in 1948 as a sign of the beginning of these
events. Current events in the Middle East, therefore—and espe-
cially in Israel—are of vital importance in the Left Behind inter-
pretation of the Bible.

Discussion Questions

1. How might Left Behind use the following verses to support its
view of a separate covenant for the people of Israel? (Ezek.
37:7-11, 21-23; Luke 21:24; Rom. 11:25-27; Rev. 7:2-8)
Answer: If these passages are taken out of their context and their
type of literature is ignored, they may seem to suggest that a sep-
arate plan of salvation remains for Israel.

2. What is the Left Behind view of the role and place of the church?
(see Acts 28:28)

Answer: In the Left Behind view, God’s plan changed to a sal-
vation of the Gentiles because the Jews rejected their Messiah,
Jesus. This is a temporary plan that will cease with the rapture.
After that the seven-year tribulation will begin and God will
reinitiate His primary plan, which is to save His “chosen people,”
the Jews.

What is in a name?

Since Left Behind holds that the Old Testament promises given
to Israel are not fulfilled in the church, the nation of Old Testament
Israel in its view must be preserved in order to receive the fulfill-
ment of these promises. Accordingly, the Left Behind series un-
derstands the following four terms to be synonymous: Israelite,
Hebrew, Jew, and Israeli. God’s promises to the Israelites of the Old
Testament, therefore, are applied to modern-day Jews, and espe-
cially to the 1948 state of Israel. But these four terms actually have
different definitions. They are as follows:

2007 Convention Workbook