Pie in the Sky

I tried. Really hard.

The Rapture, the third prequel in the Left Behind series, was released in bookstores back on June 6 (and no, I paid absolutely no attention to the whole 6.6.06 Mark of the Beast/Day of the Apocalypse hoopla. It was used as nothing but a marketing ploy, same thing with The Omen remake, with no bearing or weight placed upon the Biblical meaning of 666. And as Christians, I feel we have more important things to concern ourselves with).

Anyway, I tried to wait until the book was released in paperback. Not to save myself a few dollars, but just for consistency's sake. Every book in my Left Behind collection (excluding The Regime) is in paperback. But as I was driving away from Chick-Fil-A on Woodruff Road, having just picked up dinner, I saw the Family Christian Bookstore in my rearview mirror. And I just couldn't wait any longer. So I drove over there and picked it up.

I'm often told that I'm a speedy reader. I guess that's true, because I finished the 351-page book in less than 24 hours. Or maybe the series is simply that engaging (would that I could plow through a William Faulkner book in that amount of time).

So everything comes to a head in this book. Now that we've covered the past lives of our lead characters and seen the events and circumstances that shaped them into the people that they are, we come full circle and return to the point where it all began: the Rapture. We have several scenes taken straight from the original Left Behind novel, but make no mistake, this is not purely a re-hash of what's gone before. The main thrust is what Irene and Raymie Steele, wife and son of Rayford, experience as they are taken from the Earth along with billions of other believers, and meet Jesus in the air. We get scenes in Heaven interspersed with what's happening back on Earth. And it feels every bit as haunting and claustrophobic as it did when I read it the first time. But now it is balanced out with the glory and triumph of those who placed their faith in Christ, and received their rewards at the throne.

As always, I enjoyed the book immensely. I'll probably go back and reread it different sections at a time over the next several days. It's hard to read this and not hurt for Rayford. He had so many chances to come to Christ and join Irene and Raymie, but he wasn't willing to listen. For Cameron "Buck" Williams, who would not take the last step beyond acknowledging the existence of God to believing in Jesus. As a reporter, he was consumed with the truth, yet he missed the biggest one of them all. For Chloe Steele, who wouldn't accept anything that couldn't be proven at face value. For Abdullah Smith, who didn't take seriously his wife Yasmine's newfound faith until it was too late to meet them. For Bruce Barnes, the assistant pastor at New Hope Village Church. His life was a lie, his ministry produced no fruit, and he found himself wracked with shame and guilt when every member of the church disappeared, including the pastor. It's a pretty sobering read. I'm only glad to know what happens to them next.

There are some pretty heavy theological issues in this book. The whole pre/post-tribulation debate is brought up in a sermon given by Pastor Vernon Billings. I'm sure experts and others are going to rip LaHaye and Jenkins a new one for the lengths they go to put this out there. I'm no theologian and hardly an expert. So I'm not qualified to join that camp by any standard. I will say that, in my personal opinion (and it ultimately means nothing), there is a lot of truth in this book, and the series. The fact that countless people have cited the series as the springboard that inspired them to come to faith is proof enough of that. There is also a lot of junk to be found. Areas in which artistic and creative license is used. And that's true for any "inspirational" book or Christian-fiction. These authors are only human. Their books should not be considered well-springs of truth. Only the Word of God fits that bill.

I feel that the job of these books should be to get people interested, make them ask questions, and broaden their perspectives. If they are non-believers, I sincerely hope it pushes them to get into the Bible, bring their questions to a family member, a close friend, or a local church pastor. Someone who can help guide them to the truth and a salvation experience in Jesus Christ. Because they won't find it solely in Left Behind, Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins, or any fictional or media device in existence. And they shouldn't be lauded as such. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That hasn't changed today. And so I think if the series directs people to Jesus, it's doing the job. If it's focused solely on success and fortune, it's a colossal failure. Fortunately, I have confidence that the authors have the big picture in mind as they churn out these books.

One point I was particularly glad LaHaye & Jenkins brought up was the whole idea of giving up on the world at large. By that, I mean the view of Christians sitting around anxiously, doing nothing but awaiting Jesus's return to Earth, obsessed with end times, dates, being taken away from this sinful world, etc. In other words, not focused on living, but on dying. I'll quote directly from the character of Billings, who sums it up better than I ever could:

"Just because you may be rescued someday before the Tribulation hits doesn't mean it's time to sell all your own and sit on a mountaintop waiting for a chariot to haul you away. If you truly believe Jesus is coming and that He could be coming soon, you ought to be about His work. And that's more about widows and orphans than it is about setting dates, figuring out who the Antichrist might be, waiting for pie in the sky, by and by."

When we become sold out to Jesus, we are called to share the truth. Time spent on figuring out dates for Christ's return, postulating why Saddam Hussein or George W. Bush could be the Antichrist, is time being wasted. Jesus Himself said all of that would happen in its own time and its own way. God's timetable is not ours to know or to fully understand, so we shouldn't concern ourselves about it. Our big concern is obeying the Great Commission. To go out and confront the world on God's terms. To conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel. To be bold as conquerors in the faith, wise as serpents in separating truth from falsehood, yet gentle as doves in loving and winning people to the Kingdom. That's why I see books like these as springboards, not well-springs. The real work happens after they are read. What you do with it. Do you jump into the Bible? Do you take that next step on the fence with God, ready to fall into the arms of the Lamb? Do you take action, renew your own personal committment to reach that neighbor, co-worker, or church prospect with the truth? Or do you replace the book on a shelf? Dismiss it as a compelling read, but not willing to go further? To have questions answered?

If nothing else, that's what I hope the Left Behind series accomplishes. We shouldn't focus on our pie in the sky. There's plenty of fruit to be produced here. And it's our job to find it and harvest it. While we still have the time.