Film Comment: Left Behind

It says that something is lacking about this 2014 remake of the 2000 film, Left Behind: The Movie, that the most controversial thing about the film has been discussion about whether or not the film's actors were Christians or were just working for a paycheck. More specifically, this question arose about Nicholas Cage, who has appeared in some rather “rough” movies such as Drive Angry (2011) where he portrays a criminal who escapes from Hell to pursue and kill the members of a religious cult which killed his daughter after they chose his infant granddaughter to be their human sacrifice.  Here is the trailer for Drive Angry.

Nothing about the current Left Behind feels particularly Christian or even “religious.” It plays out more as a disaster film which is not particularly well acted. I personally found the film to be rather boring.

The film is based on a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. This is one of the versions of Christian eschatology (the doctrine of “Last Things,”) and describes the period of time at the end of the world.  The Pre-Tribulation view is most commonly held by conservative evangelical Protestants.

In the Pre-Tribulation Rapture understanding of Christian eschatology, the Church, aka: the Bride of Christ, the ἐκκλησία, is suddenly removed from the world by Christ. Hundreds of millions of Christians are suddenly just gone from the Earth. This opens the way for the appearance of the Antichrist. Those who come to Christ during this period are the ones who have been "left beihind."

Some Christian traditions place little or no emphasis on eschatology so the entire premise of this Left Behind film may be confusing to them. In the next few weeks, I will try to explain the various understandings of Christian eschatology and to define some of the associated terminology; Antichrist, False Prophet, Rapture, Millenialism, Preterism, Amillenialism, Pre-Millenialism, and Post-Millenialism.

This is post #1 of the upcoming Eschatology Series.

White Shoe Polish on a Rear Windshield

If you live in the United States you have probably seen an automobile where the owner has taken a white shoe polish dispenser and written a slogan on the glass of the rear window.  Usually the message is something like “Just married,” or a phrase encouraging the local high school football team to win that week’s game.

Yesterday, I saw a car like that, with a slogan in large white block letters, “I love Jesus! XOXO ☮.”  Although I was pleased that someone was not afraid or ashamed to acknowledge Jesus, this disturbed me.

I know that the two teenaged boys in the car were probably sincere and were just expressing the vibrant enthusiasm of young new believers.  My objection was that they were doing it in a shallow way which opened them and the faith up to ridicule.  We must always be careful not to send unintended messages to unbelievers.

The XOXO is a modern cell phone texting abbreviation for “hugs and kisses.”  Yes, the Church is the Bride of Christ, but XOXO is not exactly what is meant by that.  Romance is fine, even silly romance, but the marriage of the Church and Christ the Bridegroom is not all bunny rabbits, bubbles, and flowers.

The Peace Symbol ☮ was popularized among the 1960’s counter-culture which was opposed to United States involvement in the Vietnam War.  Regardless of their feelings about the war, many Christians were highly offended by the symbol.

The Peace Symbol, the symbol for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, appears to be an inverted cross with the cross-arms broken and drooping downward ☮.  The symbol was soon adopted as a generic anti-war logo. The anti-war activists always insisted that the symbol was not intended as an insult to Christianity though many Christians were not so sure.  The 1960’s counter-culture was also associated with the concept of “free love” (interpretation: promiscuous sexuality) and advocated the unrestricted use of illegal psychotropic drugs.

Social Justice and the Church

God (I AM, Jahweh, Elohim, Allah, Deos, Theos, etc) is a God of paradoxes, He is the God of Mercy and the God of Righteous Judgement; the last shall be first; those who ostentatiously pray already have their answer; the King of the Universe appeared to us a a poor man; free will and predestination are both true.

Check your Bible, Jesus always spoke with and dealt only with individuals, never with governments or institutions. In front of Annas, the High priest, He spoke directly to Annas. In front of Pilate, Pilate, He spoke directly only to Pilate (John 18:33-38.) Even when Jesus spoke to large groups, He was speaking to His individual listeners.

Throughout the Bible and the teachings of Jesus is a great concern for the poor. Jesus makes it plain that a failure to help the poor is a failure to obey Him. It’s that simple, but that concern for the poor is a consequence of salvation, it is not the Gospel message.

The Gospel message and the ultimate concern of the Church, is that, through His freely given act of Grace, through His substitutionary death on the Cross, Jesus has defeated the consequences of man’s sin (death) and made it available to every individual on Earth.

The social actions of the Church are a vital function but when they become the primary or only focus, they become what many believe to be a heresy, because they replace the Gospel.
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Concerning the identity of the Church: the Church is not an organization, a denomination, or a “movement.” What constitutes the Church is the totality of all true believers in Christ, indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Not everyone who is a church member is a member of the εκκλεσια, the Church.