The
thrust of Crown & Sickle Ministries is the proclamation
of the imminent return of Jesus for His church. Many
issues are addressed in these pages, at prophecy conferences
and in those series of meetings held at churches,
but make no mistake about it — the driving message
is the imminent return of Jesus which is commonly
called the rapture. As you might imagine this dominant
theme creates a strong basis for evangelism and rededication.
But, at the same time it causes people to think about
those who might not be ready when it happens.
At times the most heart-felt questions
from audiences are not voiced in the occasional Q&A
sessions some churches like to have following the
presentations, but at the door as people leave. From
time to time people will draw close and almost whisper
their questions in an attempt to hide their concerns
from those around them. And among those questions
the most distressing have to do with their unsaved
family members. Quite simply they want to know who
will be left behind so they can see if those they
love the most will “make it or not”.
I cannot answer that specifically,
for I do not know such things. However, I do know
what God has said about some of those who will be
left behind. This we shall consider briefly.
Heaven or hell will not be gained
by accident
The first thing people must understand
is that no one will be saved or lost by accident.
No person will find himself being caught-up in the
rapture and wonder how he got there. Likewise, none
will pass from this life through death and wonder
how he got to Hades (there is currently no one in
hell — Revelation 20:10-15) or heaven. The only exceptions
to this are those innocent due to childhood or mental
incapacity; there should never be any undue concern
regarding the eternal destiny of the blameless (Deuteronomy
1:39; Mark 10:14).
I believe the best situation is Christian
homes where children are taught the truth from birth
via words and example. At the same time, though,
if this kind of spiritual environment is haphazard,
or if it commands a lower priority than academics,
sports, secular achievement, etc., a very serious
danger might present itself, and that is the danger
of “family” faith. That is, a child might be taught
the truth, but in such a casual way that it is never
connected with individual sin and accountability.
In short it never becomes his or her own truth. They
“become Christians” at a certain age because it is
traditionally expected of them. They might take the
attitude that it is, “now time to walk the aisle,
make a profession of faith, be immersed…” In those
circumstances the Holy Spirit has little to do with
conviction. In reality it becomes religious protocol
instead of a contrite sinner humbling himself before
a just, holy and gracious God.
Those who expect to be wafted up
to eternal bliss at the rapture or at death in some
sort of heavenly up-draft because they were “raised
in a religious family” might be surprised. Jesus
had some very strong words about the impotence of
such man-made religion. Though many preachers and
congregants alike tend to ignore them, yet their import
will resound throughout hell’s eternity: “Not everyone
who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom
of heaven…” (Matthew 7:21). For those people salvation
is wrapped up in family or the upscale, entertainment-inclined
church they attend, or who they are around town or
what great religious things they do for all to see.
The good ole boy syndrome
When I was a teenager I knew of a
preacher who was almost attacked after a funeral by
family members of the deceased because he did not
preach their loved one into heaven. He did not say
bad things about him; he just did not punch his ticket
to heaven. And the reason was the deceased was a
spiritual reprobate. But, says the family, he provided
for his wife and kids, did not get drunk, worked steadily,
helped at the volunteer fire department, would give
someone the shirt off his back, etc. The preacher
clearly understood the man might have done all that,
but there was one thing he had not done, and that
was to make Jesus both Lord and Master of his life.
I have preached funerals of people
I had never seen, either alive or even while in the
casket. You see, usually when a family has no real
biblical convictions just any old preacher will do
for a funeral— as long as everyone is assured the
dead man is saved. Funny how eternity receives no
thought until funeral arrangements have to be made.
When survivors are asked about the dead man’s life
it is a sure bet they will tell about what a good
man he was with detailed examples of his kindness
and love for his family. But, it won’t work, for
if heaven was for good ole boys then Jesus was beaten
to a bloody pulp, nailed to a Roman cross and forsaken
by His Father for nothing.
God says every human is rotten to
their core, their hearts are evil, their Adamic natures
are in control, their righteousness is like dirty
rags before His face, they have no redeeming spiritual
value, they are treacherous, vain and obsessed with
self. In short, there is none righteous (Romans 3:10).
However, such divine condemnation does not stroke
the human ego and salve the human conscience. We
inherently do not like to be told these things. That
is why emergent, self-esteem preachers like those
in Garden Grove, CA and Houston, TX never talk about
sin and human depravity. They prefer to singularly
emphasize God’s goodness as though that is the sole
facet of His character.
In modern religion the test is no
longer biblical, but psychological and philosophical,
thus most everyone is qualified to “make it to heaven”
because, after all, “He was a good ole boy…” Interesting
that God gives no such accolade to any man, much less
does He accept it as a ticket for the rapture.
The neglectful
For if the word spoken through
angels proved unalterable, and every transgression
and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall
we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
After it was at the first spoken through the Lord,
it was confirmed to us by those who heard… (Hebrews
2:2,3 NASB, emphasis mine).
You have just read one of the most
thought-arresting passages in the New Testament.
The author is writing as a Christian to Christians,
and uses the personal, plural pronoun “we” with the
context having to do with Christians drifting away
from the truth due to a careless attitude (Greek:
ameleo). If words and context have any meaning
at all this should get our attention. This verse
forms the nexus of the warnings soundly issued to
his Christian readers in chapters 3,4,6, etc.
Nobody knows for sure who wrote Hebrews,
but one thing is certain: he rightly divides the
word of God so there is no misunderstanding of what
the Holy Spirit was saying through his pen. He does
not speak of those who reject their great salvation,
but those who neglect it. How does a Christian neglect
his salvation? I would like to have seen the author
go into greater detail with a neat list of things
he had in mind, but he did not. The Holy Spirit chose
to leave it as it was knowing we should have the maturity
to figure out the simple things and make the applications.
It is sufficient to say, however, the warnings cited
above are adequate for removing any excuse for negligence
anybody might offer.
Does this take away from the security
of the believer? Perish the thought (John 10:28,29;
1 John 5:13)! The Holy Spirit does not have in mind
here those who might lose their salvation as one might
accidently lose his wallet. Nor does He have in mind
those who might be forcibly removed from God’s hand
against their will. Neither is possible. However,
He clearly and strongly warns about Christians being
careless with their salvation to the point where they
“fall away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12) as
a result of their own choices. Though we tend to
recoil at such a thought and offer humanly-inspired
arguments otherwise, the fact is it is as simple
as that. There is no unusual Greek nuance in the
translation of ameleo into neglect that
could lead to any other conclusion; it means exactly
what it says in English.
The a-religious (they accept no religion)
Yes, the wicked among us will certainly
be left behind. Everybody is quick to say the Hitlers,
Stalins, Edi Amins, Arafats, Ahmadinejads and other
such notables will not make it. If any in that crowd
is religious at all it is a perverted style of Christianity
(Hitler), or paganism in such forms as Islam (Arafat
and Ahmadinejad). Some are fully hateful of any form
of religion no matter the variety (Stalin). These
are the ones easily identified and condemned by those
who like to measure their own religious standing by
such comparisons. Alongside Robert Mugabe or Kim
Jong-il just about any junk-yard dog can look like
an angel. But, these men could not care less about
being left behind. They do not accept biblical precepts
and are totally oblivious to spiritual matters.
These people are not to be confused
with others who call themselves atheists who simply
disavow the existence of God. Rather, they reject
God and His word out of hand and are unconcerned about
Him even if He might exist. And here is where things
can get sticky.
Recently a friend asked me about
the best way to approach someone they know who is
in that group. That person is intellectually brilliant,
leans heavily upon their doctoral degrees, and feels
no need for God and the Bible. This person believes
God and His truth are spiritual drugs the common people
must have to anesthetize them when facing the realities
of life. Though law-abiding and moral this person
sees religion as Marx saw it; that is, as the opium
of the people. Marx said religion was for oppressed
people who live life through illusions. The fact
of the matter is until that person, and multitudes
like them, chooses to allow the Holy Spirit’s conviction
to soften their hearts they will never be reached.
You see, it is all about the heart, not the intellect.
At the taking out of the church the
God-rejecting intellectually elite will be left behind
with only their self-declared intellectual brilliance
to answer their intellectually-inspired questions.
And, just as they have always allowed their own intellectual
faculties to explain away their need of a Savior,
so shall they invite those same intellectual faculties
to lie to their mortal consciences about this great
and humanly unexplainable Divinely-inspired disappearance.
Who shall be left behind? Every
one who believes they have a better way of living,
dying and preparing for the eternal existence of their
souls than the plan God has given us. What shall
be their condition? A hell on earth with pain, suffering,
depression and a sense of futility that cannot be
imagined by any human being. Being left behind will
be a mind-shaking experience for everyone on earth.
However, for those who have loved-ones taken up in
the rapture, who have at least some understanding
of the truth and who will know what has happened the
event will be a horror too great to imagine. Their
grief will be unprecedented.
These are not pleasant things to
think about, yet they must be addressed because they
are on the immediate horizon. Jeremiah wept for his
people who rejected the truth, and Amos thundered
against those who did the same. Sometimes I think
Christians respond only with weeping. Maybe it is
time to ratchet things up to the thunder level.
DLM
