"Left Behind" Series Gets Left Behind (page 3)

kaykay_mp

I'm thinking of displaying a banner, readable from the church, on the back of my home:
AFTER THE RAPTURE, PARTY AT MY HOUSE!

oh yeah!!! the Rapture!!! Bring it on!!!

laters

kaykay_mp

jws

Sayings like "In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned!"

I saw the answer bumper sticker that says something like, "Come the Rapture, can I have your car?"

By jove I think you are starting to get the picture leolaia . It really is more of God descending to the earth than humans ascending to heaven . I just remember seeing the post cards about the rapture where it shows people floating around in the clouds , it's all pretty silly . IT's about the kindom of the heavens on earth . I still think the apostle Paul writings have been tampered with in a big way but you can still get the general idea of what he is saying .

Steve Egner

jws,

"Come the Rapture, can I have your car?"

That's rich. If I can't find that one, I may just have to print it myself... Excellent banner material, too.

Steve

Leolaia

heathen....My point earlier is that Revelation already has a great crowd "in heaven" long before the Temple and New Jerusalem descend from heaven in ch. 21-22. Prior to this was the tribulation, the desolation of Babylon, the binding of Satan, the millenium, the two resurrections, and the Final Judgment (ch. 17-20). It is after all of this that the establishment of New Jerusalem is then described in ch. 21 as the final eternal state. The apocalyptic conception of Revelation is different from that of Paul. Whether or not Paul's writings were tampered (and of course they were), there is no evidence that Paul ever conceived of an earthly eternal existence for himself or any other Christians -- he repeatedly referred to heaven as his future home, his "eternal house" (2 Corinthians 5:1). What may seem "silly" is just the thing described in 1 Thessalonians. What Paul does not reflect on (but which Revelation does) is what happens after the parousia that will last for eternity; the passage in 1 Thessalonians only addresses what happens at the parousia.

Mulan

You can see why they are upset with the preterist view. It pretty much fulfills the Bible, and it's over.

heathen

Leolaia --- The apostle pauls stance on some issues seems to waver alot from one letter to another , I think the fact is that he did not exsperience this rapture you keep talking about but instead was murdered . Revelations is pretty jumbled as far as when something happens and when something is symbolic . It's up to you to discern for yourself what it really means AFA I'm concerned what I've posted is what I believe . Whithout going into some indepth bible study . We could argue forever over what something meant when it was written and how it is translated today and get nowhere . My opinions are exclusively mine and not some brainwashed ideas of religionists .

Stephanus

The left behind series is hardly a new concept. The mid seventies saw a lot of rapture fiction emerge. I already posted an image from one of these last year:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/63806/1.ashx

Then there was the movie trilogy about the end: A Thief in the Night (about the rapture), A Distant Thunder (about the tribulation) and whatever the third movie was called - by the time it had come out I was rapidly losing interest in pre-millennial doomsaying.

jws

I've read most of this series. I had kept seeing them on bookshelves and an ex-JW I know recommended them to me.

On the one hand, I thought that fictionalized End-Times stuff was something that was missing for me as a JW. The closest we had were pictures of "paradise". Nothing ran me through a possible scenario of what exactly to expect. This was my first encounter with Christian Fiction and I enjoyed that. It was also encouraging to see heros in books that were faithful to God. Some of the books I found to be real suspenceful and real page turners.

On the other hand, I found the books and characters fairly unrealistic. I don't buy into their vision of the end, but I view it like science fiction: just a made-up story. I found the characters so far from realistic. Is this what the target Christians are really like? I found the authors to be obsessed with airplanes and airstrips. I've only known two pilots in my life, yet there are so many of them in these books. I found them to be quick reads. Almost written to level of teenagers. Even some of the non-religious things seemed so unbelievable.. Untraceable internet sites? The whole rise of Carpathia. The blind following of Carpathia by the people and their religious-like fervor for him? That the global communities would just come under his rule? I can see how some Christians can believe that, but I can't.

But, I'm hooked now and I have to find out what happens next.

Chloe

I thought they were printed in so that they guaranteed the authors and the publisher the greatest return. Each book was almost double spaced and the print was large. I think the whole series could have probably fit into a regular sized Steven King novel.

I only made it through the first 4 or 5 because I lost all interest when the metal bugs or whatever they were started flying.

"Left Behind" Series Gets Left Behind

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