A Review of:
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our
being gathered to him … 2 Thess. 2:1
A Lutheran Response to the “Left Behind” Series
A Report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
April 2004
24 pages
A
provocative interpretation of the book of Revelation, indeed of the entire
Bible, was offered in 1995 when Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins published Left
Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days. By serializing the tribulations
of the book of Revelation the Left Behind novels have become the
all-time best-selling Christian fictional series. It is estimated that Tyndale
Publishing House has sold over 55 million copies of the Left Behind books
at the time the CTCR published this document (2004). There has even been two
movies based on the books, a game and a
children’s series of books based on the original series. It is no surprise at
all, then, that the books have had significant impact on peoples' understanding
of the Bible and what it says concerning the Second Coming of Jesus (or, if you
accept the theology of these books, the second, third and fourth comings of Jesus).
In 2002,
then president of the LC-MS Gerald Kieschnick, sent a memo to the CTCR reporting
”a growing concern in our church about the impact that the popular Left
Behind series of books is having on people today, including members of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.” After sharing his conviction that “this is a
legitimate concern and that some attention needs to be given to the matter,”
the President requested that “the Commission review this topic and prepare a
statement on it that will be helpful to our people as they exercise discernment
when reading such literature.” This report is the CTCR’s response.
The
theology undergirding these books is called “premillennial dispensationalism.”
It is a deeply flawed way to interpret the Bible. If you wish to know how this
view is reflected in the Left Behind books, as well as what the Bible
does actually teach concerning the topics the Left Behind books
fictionalize, then this short report is for you. There is an excellent glossary
at the end of the document, as well as an easily understood diagram comparing
different views of “eschatology” (see the glossary for this word as well as “premillennial
dispensationalism”).
To read
the document, just click on the link: Concerning the coming of our Lord JesusChrist.
Blessings
in Christ,
Pastor
John Rickert
In America, we cannot protect fellow Christians and LCMS Lutherans from being exposed to and sometimes influenced by erroneous teachings. All we can do is teach the truth, expose heresy, strive to encourage vigilance. I suppose your main point might be that pastors in the LCMS should include these topics in Sunday sermons as well.
ReplyDeleteHi John. Thanks for the comment. Yes, I think pastors should include such topics in their preaching and Bible studies. Yes, also, in America we can't help but be exposed to and sometimes influenced by erroneous teachings. However I also feel that laymen are perfectly capable of holding a biblically sound position on end times theology, and this report can aid in that. It is important as members of the congregation can't take their pastor along with them when they go to work, play, etc. That, though, is where the conversations with less biblically informed people will happen.
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