Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times: Exploring the Left Behind Series

223 Pages·2004·1.27 MB·English

by  Bruce David Forbes

Rapture, Revelation,
and the
End Times
Exploring the Left Behind Series
Edited by
Bruce David Forbes
and
Jeanne Halgren Kilde
RAPTURE,REVELATION,ANDTHEENDTIMES
© Bruce David Forbes and Jeanne Halgren Kilde,2004
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-1-4039-6525-7
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in
any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case
of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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registered trademark in the European Union and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-52884-4 I SBN 978-1-4039-8021-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781403980212
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rapture,Revelation,and the end times :exploring the Left behind
series / edited by Bruce David Forbes and Jeanne Halgren Kilde.
p.cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1.End of the world.I.Forbes,Bruce David.II.Kilde,Jeanne
Halgren,1957
BT877.R37 2004
236’.9—dc22 2003064798
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India.
First edition:June 2004
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments iv
Introduction 1
1 How Popular Are the Left Behind Books... and Why?
A Discussion of Popular Culture 5
Bruce David Forbes
2 How Did Left Behind’s Particular Vision of the
End Times Develop?
A Historical Look at Millenarian Thought 33
Jeanne Halgren Kilde
3 What Does the Bible Say About the End Times?
A Biblical Studies Discussion of Interpretive Methods 71
Mark Reasoner
4 When Do Christians Think the End Times Will Happen?
A Comparative Theologies Discussion of the Second Coming 99
Stanley J. Grenz
5 How Are Jews and Israel Portrayed in the Left Behind Series?
A Historical Discussion of Jewish–Christian Relations 131
Yaakov Ariel
6 What Social and Political Messages Appear in
the Left Behind Books?
A Literary Discussion of Millenarian Fiction 167
Amy Johnson Frykholm
Study Guide
Discussion Questions for Small-Group
Consideration or Personal Reflection 197
Glossary 201
Suggestions for Further Reading from a Variety of
Perspectives: An Annotated Bibliography 207
List of Contributors 213
Index 215
Acknowledgments
In putting together this collection, we have received generous
assistance from many individuals. We would like to thank the
contributors for their chapters as well as for their conversations
throughout the development of this book. In particular, we
appreciate Mark Reasoner’s engagement since the beginning of
the project and Amy Johnson Frykholm’s substantial participation
in reviewing many portions of the book. We also want to thank
Reinder VanTil and Jeanne Barker Nunn for their suggestions
regarding early drafts. Finally, we want to express our deep
appreciation to the following individuals for their interest in
and support for the project in numerous ways: Calvin Roetzel,
Paul Kilde, Jan Carrier, Heather Reid, John Lawrence, Jim Fisk,
Brooke Golliher Williams, and Lynn Kogelmann.
Bruce David Forbes
Jeanne Halgren Kilde
Introduction
Rapture, Revelation, and
the End Times: Exploring
the Left Behind Series
Jeanne Halgren Kilde and
Bruce David Forbes
The Left Behind books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins have
now sold more than 60 million copies in their various forms.
Based on one particular view of biblical prophecy, these books
provide a fictional narrative of the end times: God has raptured
his faithful church to heaven, and readers follow the struggles of
a small group of belated converts as they battle the antichrist
during the seven years of tribulation that precede Christ’s return
in glory. Sold at Target, Wal-Mart, and Barnes & Noble, the
series has reached well beyond conservative Christian audiences
to the general public. In fact, the most recent volumes all have
attained the number-one position in major rankings of best-
selling fiction in the United States, even though those rankings
do not include sales in Christian bookstores.
Although these novels are fiction, they present a scheme of
future events that the Left Behind authors believe to be bibli-
cally based. These writers believe that God will send his son,
Jesus Christ, back to earth to finally conquer all sin and evil in a
series of apocalyptic events that will shatter human society.
Those who have previously become truly confessing Christians
B.D. Forbes et al. (eds.), Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times
© Bruce David Forbes and Jeanne Halgren Kilde 2004
2 Rapture,Revelation,and the End Times
will be called to heaven in an event referred to as “the rapture”
and thus spared the pain and horror of this apocalyptic period.
This religious perspective, called “premillennial dispensational-
ism,” motivates all of the action, events, and relationships
depicted in the series.
On one level, the novels are intended as entertainment. They
tell an exciting adventure story about people who convert to
Christianity after the rapture and remain on earth to fight the
antichrist. On another level, their religious message is central.
For those who believe in the authors’ perspective, the novels
demonstrate the high stakes at play in the process of religious
conversion, affirming the crucial importance of devotion to
Christ. Perhaps even more important, the books are intended to
convince readers that in real life, Jesus’ return and the commence-
mentof the end times may happen at any minute, so it is neces-
sary to embrace immediately the particular style of Christianity
represented in the books. In this vein, the novels are intended as
a wake-up call for nonbelieving readers, a warning that time is
short and that the consequences of putting off consideration of
one’s salvation are eternal.
Given the enthusiastic expressions of appreciation of these
books on the Left Behind website and in conservative Christian
circles throughout the world, it appears that many of the millions
of readers of this series have embraced this particular message
of conversion and salvation. These readers fully expect the rapture
to happen in the near future and the apocalyptic events of
Revelation to proceed.
Many other readers, however, enjoy the adventure story but
find the religious content curious or confusing. These readers
understand that the series advocates a specific perspective on
Christianity and society but feel ill-equipped to evaluate it.
Many are frustrated that they do not have the knowledge of the-
ology, biblical interpretation, or the history of Christian thought
to fully appraise the religious perspective conveyed through the
series.
Numerous questions arise: Do all Christian groups share the
theology that requires Christian conversion in order to avoid
Introduction 3
eternal damnation? Do all Christians believe that the Bible pre-
dicts that true Christians will be swept up to heaven prior to a
period of unparalleled horror and tribulation on earth? How
did the Left Behind perspective on these end times events
develop? Why are other groups, particularly the Jewish people,
included in the apocalyptic events? Why are so many social and
political issues woven into these books? And, perhaps most
interesting, just why have these novels gotten so popular? On
what levels does it appeal to contemporary society?
The goal of this “guide” is to answer these questions, providing
the background and contextual information readers need to
make their own critical assessments of the Left Behind series in
particular and of end-times fiction and premillennial dispensa-
tionalism in general. By offering this material, the contributors
to this volume hope to deepen readers’ understanding of the
Left Behind series as both a religious and a cultural phenomenon.
The essays are intended neither to advance nor to dispute the
views of the end times presented in the series. Rather, the authors
in this volume strive to provide readers with a balanced survey
of the diversity of perspectives available on this subject. Several
of the contributors summarize their own viewpoints, but they
also try to be fair in discussing alternatives.
Because religious beliefs intersect with many aspects of life,
the chapters in this volume are written from several disciplinary
perspectives. The study of popular culture and of literary genres
is represented in chapters by Bruce David Forbes and Amy
Johnson Frykholm, which focus on Left Behind’s popularity and
its debt to the social and political themes common within religious
fiction. The history of Left Behind’s perspective is examined by
Jeanne Halgren Kilde, who traces the development of premillen-
nial dispensationalism and millenarian thought through Christian
history, and by Yaakov Ariel, who investigates the specific role
assigned to the Jewish people within millenarian thought. New
Testament scholar Mark Reasoner examines the interpretive
position of the Left Behind authors, and theologian Stanley
Grenz compares this interpretive position to other evangelical
Christian perspectives. This multidisciplinary approach is meant
4 Rapture,Revelation,and the End Times
to provide background, answer questions, and raise new areas
of inquiry for readers’ further investigation.
Bringing together these disciplines highlights some interesting
differences among them regarding language use. For instance,
readers will notice that while historian Kilde uses the term “pre-
millennial dispensationalism,” evangelical theologian Grenz
prefers “dispensationalist premillennialism.” This difference
highlights the contrasting backgrounds of the authors, because
different academic fields and different theological perspectives
vary in their preferences in terminology. In another example, the
term “proof text” is seen by some theologians as a pejorative
label, while many historians and literary scholars use it as a
neutral, descriptive phrase to denote one approach to biblical
interpretation. In this collection, the editors have elected to
allow each author to use the language with which he or she is
most comfortable, in spite of the fact that this results in some
inconsistencies. Readers should keep in mind these disciplinary
differences.
Readers’ questions form the foundation of this collection’s
exploration of the series. In addition to questions that are
addressed in the chapters themselves, a list of discussion ques-
tions is provided at the end of the book, to encourage personal
reflection or to provide a guide for small-group discussion. But
these are only a starting point. The authors of this book encour-
age readers to go beyond the basic issues presented here to think
about how the religious, social, and political positions presented
in the Left Behind series relate to their own values and views
regarding religion and society. To aid in further inquiries, a
book list appears at the end of this volume, offering suggestions
for additional sources written from a variety of viewpoints.
This book, then, is intended as a kind of “first stop” for readers
attempting to fully understand the series in all its religious, social,
and political implications. Answering some of the basic questions
about Left Behind’s religious perspective, it provides tools readers
require to make their own judgments about the religious mes-
sages embedded in the books and at the same time launches read-
ers into several new and unexpected areas of inquiry.
1
How Popular Are the Left
Behind Books . . . and
Why?
A Discussion of Popular Culture
Bruce David Forbes
A few years ago, a stranger seated next to me on an airplane
looked up from the novel he was reading and asked, “Have you
read any of the Left Behind books?” I replied that I had heard of
them but had never read one. He held up the latest installment,
told me that he was hooked, and said that he had recommended
the novels to several family members and friends who now were
reading the entire series as well. When I asked about his per-
sonal religious background, he said that he was not much of a
church-going person, but the books fascinated him.
As that kind of encounter occurred again and again, my
curiosity was piqued by the number of unexpected persons who
were enthusiastic about the Left Behind books. I am aware that
many conservative Christians believe in dramatic events at the
end of history and a literal return of Christ, but so many com-
ments came from people who did not fit in that category: an
inactive Catholic, a friend who was skeptical about all institu-
tional religion, a mainline Protestant who had never really
B.D. Forbes et al. (eds.), Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times
© Bruce David Forbes and Jeanne Halgren Kilde 2004