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Yes, Chang had a choice to actually follow Jesus once he had believed
upon his name. Instead of following Jesus and enduring to the end, as all overcomers must, he compromised from the very beginning by refusing to
confess to his father that he had decided to follow Jesus. He had ample
time to confess the Lord Jesus Christ before his father, thinking he was being
merely contrary, drugged him and carried him away to receive the mark which is
for non-confessors of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The storyline had Chang not confessing Jesus Christ and thereby
saving his own physical life in this world, and also that of his sister,
Ming. The justification made in the storyline for Chang being unwilling to
admit to being a Christian was because he wanted to keep his Christian sister
"safe" to continue serving in Antichrist's regime undetected. If
he was found out as being a "Judahite" then both he and Ming would be
martyred for their faith.
Even when his father made it clear that he was to actually serve in
Antichrist's administration, Chang remained silent about his supposed devotion
to Jesus Christ. His father actually told Chang "And now we know the
potentate is the son of god!" Chang replied, "He is not! I know no such
thing! He could be the son of Satan for all I
know!" Desecration, p 63 Chang had the opportunity and the obligation
to counter this blasphemy by confessing Jesus Christ as the Son of God, but
instead, he denied Christ by his silence on the "Jesus Christ"
matter, even while denouncing the "potentate." He would not accept the consequences that
come to Christians who are patient during times of tribulation. Make no mistake; Chang chose to deny the Lord
Jesus Christ by his silence, and those who deny Jesus Christ will be denied by
him before his Father in heaven.
Yes, Chang intended to tell his Father he was a believer if his father showed
that he was determined for Chang to work in Antichrist's employ, but he never
got around to doing this! Later, after Chang was drugged by his father and
was being carried away to be marked, Chang "crossed" himself and
pointed up to heaven. This in no way is a confession of Jesus Christ
because Chang already had his chance. Chang was required, as a true
follower of Jesus, to confess Jesus Christ (not merely "Christ") while
he was able, and he did not do this.
The reader is given the dangerous example that one can wait until the
very last second to own up to being a Christian. This is actually teaching
the reader to deny Christ for as long as you possibly can! Guess
what? With practice it gets easier. Chang waited too
long and Antichrist's employees thought he was likeminded with them, and he was,
by default. You cannot serve two masters, and you cannot wait
too long to serve the Master you are commanded to be serving now!
"I defy taking the mark!" is the mark of
any generic dissenter. "I serve the Lord Jesus Christ who is my Lord
and Savior I and refuse to yoke myself in any way to Antichrist and his regime!" is the mark of a true Christian.
Chang was defiant about bearing the mark, but he was not devoted enough to
Jesus Christ to confess his name no matter what the consequences! Remember
in Left Behind the authors taught us through pastor Bruce that "defiance
will be a mark (of God) in itself." p 421 I wonder why they did not
have the pastor explain that confessing the Lord Jesus Christ was a mark (of
God) in itself? If they did this, they would never have been able to have
had Chang forcibly marked, and the "Christian marked with the beast and
still saved" doctrine of demons would never have got off the ground!
David Commended Chang For Now Confessing Jesus Christ With
His Mouth!
Back in the book, The Mark, the authors had the character named
David commend Chang for not making it known that he belonged to Christ:
"I'm glad you didn't just scream out that you're a believer."
(The Mark p 53) Chang's silence (when he knew about this days in advance
and was quite capable of telling his father of his faith in Jesus Christ) was
the very reason his father drugged him so he could be dragged away to be
marked as submissive to Antichrist's regime. Losing the testimony of Jesus
IS submission to Satan!
Storyline Chosen to Make Provision For a Christian Having
the Mark of the Beast
Chang's forced marking was made possible only by making provision for it
in the storyline. The real question to be asked is why?
Why have
a Christian deny Jesus Christ by his silence, be marked forcibly with the beast,
and be depicted as a victim of a forced marking? Why have this same
Christian later on answer in the affirmative to questions specifically
formulated to determine if he was loyal to Antichrist as his lord, when anyone
could see this was surely the time to stand up and be counted for Jesus
Christ. Why put Christian characters in Antichrist's service and therefore
under his authority in the first place? I can think of other
storylines they could have used that would have still enabled the Christian
characters find out what was critical to know without putting new born babes in
the company of satanists all day long, and having them cast off the armor of
light and put on the works of darkness rather than growing in the knowledge and
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Why is the "going along with the program" theme repeated
throughout the entire Left Behind series? What ungodly examples, complete
with justifications for most of them, are in the Left Behind
series? What are the recurring themes in the Left Behind series and what
harm could they possibly do to Christians (and Christians-to-be) if believed and
acted upon in the times ahead?
There are many more dangerous teachings and examples in the Left Behind
series than Chang's "forced" marking, and I have detailed these in my
book, God's Wrath on Left
Behind.
return to: Exposing
False Doctrines in the Left Behind Series
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