The Rapture: An Indiscrimate Killing Spree?

Jonathan Hutson writes a good lead for his story on the New Left Behind “Shoot’em Up Game”:

Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission – both a religious mission and a military mission — to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state – especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is “to conduct physical and spiritual warfare”; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old.

Wow, sounds pretty scary, its a great hook, the problem is its not exactly accurate. I’ve already given my opinion of the the game but the description is inapt.

First of all, if you read on in the text of Hutson’s article you find out you’re penalized for shooting by-standers. So, you’re fighting the people who’ve signed up with the anti-Christ’s forces, not just randomly going around and killing all the Jewish Buddhist Gays who advocate for raising the minimum wage. And unless, they’d join up with the armies of the anti-Christ and renounce Christianity, you wouldn’t be shooting any moderate mainstream Christians. So, the opening is sensationalism at it worst, as is much of the content.

The beauty of the Left Behind Vision of Eschatology is that Christians on Earth today wouldn’t be killing anyone, it would be those who were left behind, who chose to reject Christ and now find themselves isolated and alone. Whereas, they refused to serve Christ when the Church of Cheap Grace was open on main street, they crawl into catacombs and undergo all sorts of hardships and arm up and join the Tribulation Force.

What is the pre-trib rapture? What does it really mean? I’ll tell you. Its a theory that Christ will come back and rescue his church from all trouble, while the rest of you get to suffer through. Now, its become Christian Science Fiction, as the Demonic Anti-Christ and his soulless devil-possessed armies have taken the place of aliens from outer space.

There’s a certain twist on this deal. You see, people who are Christians now get to be raptured when Christ returns. Its the ultimate, “They’ll be sorry” idea. “You’ll be sorry when Christ comes back and you’re left with Michael York ruling the world!” In the movies, the non-Christian characters eventually come to a point of regret, “Why didn’t I listen to my wife and become a Christian? Why was the only thing I could pay attention to in that Christian end times film is how petty and poorly acted it was?” But it’ll be too late for those questions, because you’ll have been left behind.

Too many Christians today have two very dangerous views of the rapture, they’re not excited about the return of Christ, seeing the Lord face to face and the end to poverty, crime, drugs, and human misery, but rather they’re excited by the possibility that all their troubles will be over. Every day, people like Mr. Hutson should thank God for the rapture theory, it keeps millions of Christians hoping the rapture will rescue them and they wouldn’t want to vote lest they slow it down.

The early Christians awaited Christ’s return because they’d get to see Christ, while we long for the ultimate in comfort, Jesus to rapture us out of the mess we’ve made. I’m sick of raptures and theories, and all the slick oily snake oil salesmen who think they know when Jesus is coming or that it’ll be any minute now.

I’m tired of it. I don’t know whether pre-millenial/post-trib or amillenial is right and I couldn’t care less. I’m going to live my life for Christ as best I know how. This only I know, that I want to see Christ.

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