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As you can determine by the title of this
article, I am alarmed
about the way the Left Behind series is going, especially since the last book,
The Mark, was released. If these books were simply fictional works that would be a
serious enough indictment against them, but the authors have declared them to be "hung upon a
scriptural outline" and "Truth
with a capital T."
How does the
reader discern between what
the authors are promoting as biblical fact and what is to be discounted as
mere fiction?
Distinguishing between fact and fiction in
the Left Behind series is critically important, especially in matters pertaining
to salvation and related teachings such as the mark of the beast.
I have compared what Tim LaHaye has written in
his nonfiction books with the doctrines promoted in the Left Behind series. I
have been scrutinizing his doctrines about the mark
of the beast in particular, and have been truly alarmed at what I have found.
Here are two articles I've
written recently about this: Can A True Christian Willfully Reject God and Take the Mark?
We do not know Antichrist's identity yet, but we do know
he would love for Christians (and those who are to become Christians) to
be confused about the mark of the beast and think that maybe, just maybe (if the
circumstances were "just so") they could take it and be forgiven.
For those who believe you will not be here for the
mark, and thus reason the teachings about taking the mark in Tim LaHaye's nonfiction
books and the fictional Left
Behind series are unimportant, please stop and think biblically about your
responsibility to your "neighbor" who Jesus commanded you to love as
yourself.
Billions of people will be here when the mark
of the beast is mandated. Millions will have the teachings about the mark
of the beast they have read in The Mark and in Desecration in their minds and the majority by far will never check to see what the Bible, which is
absolute truth, has to say about it, but will instead trust the authors
assertion this series is based upon a "scriptural
outline." In other words, people will assume that a doctrine of such
gravity will be handled in accordance with the Holy Bible. They will take
this for granted. This will be an eternally fatal error!
The truth
must be separated from the fiction NOW, before any time of crisis
occurs. If this is done now, rather than attempted during a time of
turmoil, clear thinking according to the Word of God will prevail and not automatic
responses due to fiction unwittingly received into the mind as truth!
It is time to love our neighbor as ourselves and
warn everyone that under no circumstances whatsoever, may ANY person take the
mark of the beast (whether Christian or unbeliever) and have opportunity for
forgiveness!
Whether we in the body of Christ believe we will be
here or not when The Mark is mandated as the law of the land has zero bearing
upon whether we should be committed to make known the absolute truth concerning
the taking of the mark of the beast. It is a matter of spiritual
life and death--eternal life or eternal smoke and torment!
Tim LaHaye is taking the absolute truth
about the mark of the beast and the devastating eternal results of succumbing to
taking it and making it relative in both his nonfiction books and the Left Behind
series. If you think this is preposterous, please read my articles linked above.
Jesus used pretend stories or parables to teach and
illustrate truth. He never used parables to lead any person down the path of
untruth to the hurt of their own soul.
Please don't allow yourself to believe any story, no matter who wrote it, that would destroy your soul if acted out in
real life. Because if you do believe it, you WILL "live out" what you
believe. This is the nature of true belief. What you really believe
you will DO. There is not a separation between true belief and
action. If you believe the book's scenarios, and then circumstances in
your own life line up with the story, you will live it out. What we
really believe,
we will do.
If you really believe Chang was justified in taking the
mark (Remember he never declared he was a Christian and he never denounced the
Antichrist either so the fact that he was "forced" was really because
they thought he was afraid of the procedure and not because they thought he was
afraid of the one True, Most High God!)) then you have already
made provision in the back of your mind to take the mark of the beast
yourself! Upon further reflection about Chang, I must say the
"forcing scenario" would never have happened if he had confessed
Christ before men and taken the consequences. Instead, he denied Christ by
his silence, and after being "forcibly marked", we can see he came to
terms with this sin and began to consider possible benefits of it! (see
THE MARK, page 353)
How a Christian Can
Be DESTROYED by the Unbiblical "Forced to Take the Mark" Teaching!
Let's just imagine for a moment a Christian being
positioned in the guillotine awaiting execution. He has no desire to take the
mark of the beast; he certainly has not sold his soul to the devil and he has
not chosen to take the mark. However, because he is standing firm
in his faith he finds himself in this terrifying situation. This Christian
is staring straight up at a shiny, sharp blade just about to descend upon his
throat and slice off his head.
Suddenly thoughts flash into his mind from
some place in his memory that he had long since thought he had forgotten:
"Nothing can separate us from the love of
Christ, and that has to include our own selves. And God says we're hidden
in the hollow of his hand and that no one can pluck us out. I didn't
choose the mark. It was forced on me." (The Mark page 354)
This Christian, under incredible duress, thinks to himself,
"Yes, I am not choosing the mark either." (He recalls reading
something about the mark being something one chooses.) "It is
being forced on me. I do not want this mark; they are forcing me to take
it, and this guillotine proves it! Nothing can separate me from the love
of Christ. Yes, that includes ME! Even I cannot separate myself from
the love of Christ!"
Then tragically, the Christian yells out,
"Guard! I will take the mark." End of story, and
definitely the end of
that Christian's soul. This will not be just a story
if Christians continue to entertain the demonic lie that Christians may be
forgiven for taking the mark of the beast IF they are forced!
Forget
About What is Acceptable to You; Prove What
is Acceptable Unto the Lord!
No matter what scenarios are played out in
Desecration,
please remember to "prove what is acceptable unto
the Lord." How is this done? By believing the Word of God in context only, and not
by any man's
"spin" on it.
Please be careful in all you read and view and
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of
life." Proverbs 4:23
May you, the readers of the next Left Behind
novel, Desecration,
arm yourselves with the word of God and not allow any imagination that
exalts itself above the knowledge of God to be received into your hearts and
minds.
Do not make provision for the
sins of the flesh, least of all the unpardonable sin of taking the mark of the
beast. Do NOT make provision for the sin of taking the mark of the beast
by entertaining fables about taking it and getting away with it! Ask God to remove all false teachings about the
mark of the beast from your mind, and walk in the light, renouncing the darkness
and anything that would deceive you into fellowshipping with fleshly lusts that
war against your soul.
May you separate the true from the false,
the pure from the impure, and the light from the darkness. Remember, God is light, and in him is
no darkness at all. 1 John 1: 5
10/19/01
edited 6/02/03
Note:
As of July, 2002, Jerry B. Jenkins went on record with the message that the
examples and doctrines promoted in the Left Behind Series were to be taken
seriously--as truth:
Fiction has a unique role in conveying Truth.
In fact, only fiction that is Truth with a capital T is
worthwhile.
See:
Jerry
B. Jenkins Revealed Left Behind Agenda: They Want You To
Believe it is "Truth With a Capital T"
return to: Exposing
False Doctrines in the Left Behind Series
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