Leaving the “Left Behind” Behind Us

Speculation on how the world might end is not unique to Christianity. For example, the Norse believed that the day would arrive when the gods would war with death and chaos in a great final battle. But what fills modern religious discussion are not the battles of Norse gods but the belief that the biblical texts record divine predictions about the end of the world. This “End Times” theology, technically called “dispensationalism”, has been popularized through books such as the “Later Great Planet Earth” by Hal Lindsey and most recently by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye in the fictional “Left Behind” series. Some say that End Time theology has even seeped into policy decisions by US government officials.

Taking the biblical texts at face value we find something interestingly different than the dispensationalists would have us believe.

Note: As usual, there is a need for a disclaimer before starting the study. Such verse by verse study is not meant to endorse proof texting or literalism.

This Generation

Repeatedly the texts imply that whatever events are expected were imminent to occur in the time of the writing of the texts rather than far off in the future.

Matthew 24:34
"This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

Romans 13:11-12
"And that, knowing the time… The night is far spent, the day is at hand."

Romans 16:20
"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly."

Hebrews 1:2
"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son"

Hebrews 10:37
"For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry."

I Peter 1:20
"Who (Christ) verily was fore ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."

I John 2:18
"Little children, it is the last time... whereby we know that it is the last time."

Revelation 1:1
"The Revelation... to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass."

Revelation 1:3
"The time is at hand."

Revelation 22:6
"These sayings are faithful and true... things which must shortly be done."

Revelation 22:10
"Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand."

The Antichrist(s)
The dispensationalists (the most common, and the most modern, group that holds the Apocalypse is still to come) say there is only one Antichrist. But read this:

Matthew 24:5

"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.

1 John 2:18
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour."

1 John 2:22
"Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son."

1 John 4:3
"and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world."

2 John 1:7
"For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist."

Obviously the texts refer to not one Antichrist but "many antichrists". And when were they to live? According to the texts of over 1,900 years ago they were "already in the world". Also, notice the absence of a verse from the book of Revelation. The reason is that the term "Antichrist" cannot be found in Revelation of John.

Examples of the “many antichrists” can be found both within the texts and in historical documents. In Acts 8:9-10 Simon Magus appeared and persuaded the people of Samaria that he was the great power of God. There were also recorded by Josephus several of others. Dositheus, the Samaritan, who pretended that he was the Christ foretold by Moses; Theudas, who said he was a prophet, and talked a large number into following him to the river Jordan, which he promised to divide for their passage (it didn't); and so many more that while under the reign of Nero false claims to being the messiah were so frequent that some claimants were taken and killed on almost daily basis.

 The Beast
As mentioned previously the Antichrist isn't found in the Book of Revelations the image of a malevolent "Beast" is. Many dispensationists would say that this Beast is a future person or entity. One popular dispensationalist idea has that the Beast would be a super-computer. Yet, the biblical texts actually lead to a different direction.

Revelation 13:1
"And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names."

What should we make of the bizarre image? There has been a lot of speculation but a possible source was that the author was referencing to Imperial Rome since the city of Rome is surrounded by seven hills.

Revelation 13:18
"Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six."

Many don’t know some ancient manuscripts have the number of the beast to be 616, not 666. One will find that mentioned in most good copies of the bible.

So who was the writer speaking of as the Beast? There is still some discussion among mainstream theologians. While many think it was Nero there is some evidence that points to the Roman general Titus. Titus was the Roman general who ultimately led the Roman army as it destroyed Jerusalem in during the 70 C.E. rebellion and who placed the Roman standard in the Temple (called the "Abomination of Desolation"). His name, when written in Latin, was TEITAN. Using Jewish numerology common at the time then the math is T=300, E=5, I=10, T=300, A=1, N=50: Total=666. An alternative spelling of TEITAN is TEITA. And that totals to 616. He fits whichever number is used.

Second Coming
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we read "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God..."

There is a strong possibility that Paul did indeed expect that Christ would return during his lifetime and in such a spectacular fashion. Interestingly several historians of the time (Josephus, Eusebius, Tacitus and the Talmud) claimed that near the end of the siege of Jerusalem the sound of trumpets and the voices of angels could be heard. Plus, there were historians that claimed sightings of angels who were to have been seen and heard in the time leading up to and during the destruction of Jerusalem.

The Resurrection of Believers (Not to be Confused with the Resurrection of Jesus)
For many the verse 1 Thessalonians 4 ties into 1 Corinthians 15. 

1 Corinthians 15:42-44
"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body."

Though often quoted as a reference to bodily Resurrection instead it speaks of a “spiritual body” that we would receive.

Tribulation
There is also the issue of the “tribulation”, which is portrayed as a time of suffering either just before or during the time of the apocalypse. But a quick review of the verses along with historical documents, such as the work of Josephus, one quickly finds a different story.

Matthew 24:6
War and Rumor of Wars

"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

Josephus reports that the Jews were expecting war when Caligula ordered his statue to be set up in the temple of God, which the Jews refused. They were so convinced that there was going to be a war that they even stopped farming until the crisis passed.

Matthew 24:7

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.”

Nation against nation

Right before the revolt began in 66 C.E. Israelites fought the following ethnic groups: Syrians, Tyrians, people of Gadara, and the people of Damascus.

Kingdom against kingdom

The Roman Empire civil war in which the forces of Otho and Vitellius fought for control of the empire is well documented.

Famines and Pestilence

During the reign of Claudius there was a famine which is mentioned by Suetonius, Tacitus, and Eusebius that was so severe at Jerusalem that according to Josephus a large number died of starvation. Pestilence is a very common occurrence with famines and large number of deaths.

Earthquakes

There were several. One of interest was in Judea, mentioned also by Josephus. He said it with it so violent it created a wind storm, violent storms with extreme lightning and thunder.

Matthew 24:9

"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name."

The record of the martyrs of the early church is well documented.

Luke 21:11

“…and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.”

Luke adds something at the end of the list found in Matthew 24:7: "terrors and great signs from heaven." Once again a review of Josephus who listed a variety of events that were viewed as divine warnings. 1) A star hung over the city like a sword along with a comet. Both could be seen for a whole year. 2) At the feast of unleavened bread, at the ninth hour of the night, a bright light appeared over the altar and temple for half an hour. 3) The eastern gate of the temple, which was massive and took at least twenty men to move, was seen at dusk to open of its own. 5) Before sunset there were seen, all over Israel, chariots and armies fighting in the sky. 6) When the priests were going into the inner temple during the night, they heard a motion, and then a voice proclaimed, "LET US DEPART HENCE!" 7) A man named Jesus (it was a common name) from the countryside in 62 C.E. ran yelling up and down the streets, day and night: "A voice from the east! A voice from the west! A voice from the four winds! A voice against Jerusalem and the temple! A voice against the bridegrooms and the brides! A voice against all the people!" The people beat him badly and tied him up but he wouldn't stop yelling. He kept on yelling "Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" and "Woe, woe to myself!" This went on and on for years until he was murdered.

The Book of Revelation

Whole volumes have been written concerning the Revelation of John and is far too complex to adequately cover here. It is sufficient to say that the dispensationalist argument that this bizarre and cryptic book as a prediction of future events yet to come is not universally held. There are at least three alternatives views:

Historicist: In this view the document was prophetic but stretches over thousands of years rather than just a future end time.

Spiritual: This view doesn’t look to find historical events in the Book of Revelation but instead find a great divine drama of conflict between Good and Evil.

Preterist: A less common alternative than the others, the preterist view holds that the events in Revelation were prophetic in the same fashion as the dispensationalists but instead hold that the events described have already occurred largely in the destruction of Ancient Israel and the establishment of Christianity as a separate religion.

 For a good analysis of these three views, along with the dispensationalist view, one should read “Revelation:  Four Views; A Parallel Commentary”, edited Steve Gregg.  

Conclusion

In my opinion, of all of the four possible views the weakest one is actually the most popular: dispensationalism. It’s time for us to leave behind the “Left Behind” theology.