In The News

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The movie "Left Behind" that premiered in theaters on October 3rd might be raising some question about who will get left behind and why. The movie is based on the Christian teaching that there is coming a point in history where God will supernaturally, in a split second, call people out of the world. They will suddenly disappear. So, what are the determining factors as to who stays and who goes? Will you be one who is left behind to experience God's wrath upon humanity, or will you be one who escapes into God's eternal presence? Can you know for sure which one you are?

The Bible is clear about two major events that will occur in the future: (1) all believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and (2) there is coming a time of horrible judgment upon the earth and humanity. These are expressed in the following two passages of scripture.

I Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout...then we shall be caught up together..in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air..."

Matthew 24:21 speaks of a "...great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be."

The world is going to get so bad that God, by his grace, is going to provide a way of escape for millions of people. Why has God let the world get so bad? A better question to ask is why have so many people chosen, by their own free will, to mess it up with evil, injustice, sickness, and many other things? People have chosen to move away from God and do things their own way. They have chosen to not acknowledge God and not to give him his rightful place in their lives. Some people have elected to raise their fist in denouncing God, and have refused to have anything to do with him. Here are three passages that emphasize this: Proverbs 1:24-32, Jeremiah 18:12, and Romans 1:18-32.

Man has a sinful nature, and this sinful nature has, too often, chosen to do sinful and evil acts. How else can one explain what is going on in the world today? Terror, with the beheadings of people, is only the beginning. Men and women are not a bunch of robots. God is a God of grace, but he is also one of judgment. He is a holy God. Right now we are living in what many Christians refer to as the Age of Grace. It has been going on for over 2,000 years, ever since Jesus Christ died upon the cross and rose from dead. Humanity has had this much time to respond to his grace. This present time of grace is coming to an end. A time of judgment is coming upon the earth. It will last for seven years. People who have not responded to his grace will be left behind to experience this. It has nothing to do with how good of a person you are, or how religious you are. The only requirement that will separate you from whether you remain upon the earth or go into God's presence is whether you have responded to God's grace in your life by acknowledging Jesus, God's son, as your personal Lord and Savior. You must admit that you have a sinful nature, and recognize your need for a Savior. I know it is not politically correct and is considered "hate speech" today, but Jesus himself said that he is the only way.

If you choose to not acknowledge God and are left behind to experience the Great Tribulation, you will still have opportunities to receive Jesus into your life. There will be 144,000 converted Jewish missionaries traveling the world. Someone recently compared this to having this many "Billy Graham's" giving crusades. However, if you wait until this time of severe testing to receive Jesus, you will still be exposed to all of the horrible events, which could have been avoided had you made the decision before the disappearing of the believers, and not have been left behind. For example, imagine having a lot of illnesses like Ebola all at the same time spreading around the world. Revelation talks about pestilences, which are deadly epidemics. So, being left behind is all about refusing to accept God's grace when you had a chance.

I John 5:11-13 says "And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life."

With this assurance you can know that you will not be left behind.

(See my other articles,"The Rapture Passage: I Thessalonians 4," and "What To Expect If The Rapture Occurs and You Get Left Behind.")

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