Do we get a second chance if we are left behind?

In the book Left Behind for Kids, it talks about kids who were left behind and then come to Christ. In church we learned there would be no more chances. I’m confused!

Wowee! This is an awesome question! It is also a very difficult question to answer because of the various theological debates that have been going on for centuries concerning the end times. That is a very fancy way to say that Bible scholars have argued for a long time over the interpretation of the Book of Revelation and other prophetic books of the Bible regarding the end times.

So, I am going to answer your question based on the Left Behind for Kids premise. The authors of that series, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, are respected Christian scholars and authors. In fact, Dr. LaHaye is a nationally recognized speaker on Bible prophesy. He is also a minister and has written 45 books on a bunch of Biblical subjects, including Bible prophesy. So, while their books are fictionalized (made-up) accounts, they have written their stories on their interpretation of the Holy Bible.

The Left Behind series authors, for both the kid and the adult versions, base their stories on the “pre-tribulation rapture” theory. That basically means that the authors believe that Jesus will “take away” his people before the Tribulation period. Some Christian scholars believe there is a mid-tribulation rapture, some believe there is a post-tribulation rapture and some believe there is no such thing as the rapture. I won’t get into who is right or wrong but let’s assume the authors interpretation is correct and there is a pre-Tribulation rapture (by the way, on an interesting side note, you won’t find the word “rapture” anywhere in the Holy Bible).

So, that means that before all the bad stuff happens involving the anti-Christ, Jesus will take away all the people, including kids, that are saved and who believe in Him. That doesn’t mean that those people who are “left behind” are doomed though. According to the authors’ interpretation of Scripture, those people who are not taken during the rapture still get a second chance to come to Christ although life is supposed to get a lot tougher during that period of time.

Scripture also supports the belief that you can be saved anytime before Christ’s second coming. If you look in Matthew 24, up to the point when Christ returns, those who are “left behind” can be saved. Once He returns, though, it’s too late. That’s why we are all warned by Jesus when He says:

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. “ (Matthew 24:36-44)

Don’t ever forget that we have a God of “second chances.” He loves you and does not want you to perish. But, you have to be truly repentant (sorry) and believe that Jesus is who He says He is.

“Yet to all who received Him, to all who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

Is it OK to be afraid of the rapture?

The short answer is – as a Christ-follower, you don’t have to be!

Let’s get to my answer together. Go get your Bible and read Acts 1:1-11 once before you finish reading this any further.

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In the section you just read, Luke the doctor is writing his introduction, and he reminds his reader of what Jesus said about His second coming. Carefully read vs 7 again. What does Jesus say? (He says, “Don’t worry about it.”) Why does Jesus say that? Carefully read vs 8 again. What does Jesus say there? (I’ve given you plenty to do. I want you to spread the gospel throughout Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria – in other words, the world – so get busy and stop worrying about what you can’t know anyway. That’s just for the Father to know!”)

One very simple reason you don’t need to be afraid of the rapture is because Jesus instructs us to focus on the business He has given His followers to do – sharing the gospel! He clearly tells us not to stand around staring at the sky and fearing His return. Those are Jesus’ words.

OK, now I want to challenge you. You ready? Here we go …

Even though Jesus has told us in Acts 1:7-8 not to focus on trying to figure out exactly what the second coming of Jesus will be like, we are curious, aren’t we? God made us curious, so that’s OK. And we’re curious about Jesus’ second coming for many reason. Some people are hopeful, some are scared, some just love knowing stuff, and there are many other reasons why we have been trying to figure out the second coming. The funny thing is, we are not going to know, plain and simple, because Jesus said we weren’t.

But people try anyway. People read the Bible carefully and then they interpret what they read differently. By “interpret” I mean to explain or to understand or to shed light on. Answer this question – if you are trying to explain to an alien (OK, stick with me …) how our alphabet works but you only have some of the letters, do you think your explanation will be very good? Do you think the alien (even if it is really intelligent and really wants to learn) can understand? Both times the answer is nope!

And this is what has happened in our understanding of Jesus’ second coming. God has not given us all the answers in the Bible, and so our interpretations – our understanding – can be different. Just like the alien might not figure out the difference between “rant” “runt” and “rent,” we also can’t figure out the second coming when we’re missing some letters (some information.)

Do you wonder why I am saying all this? Here is the challenge – in our attempts to understand the second coming of Christ, of the rapture, of the final judgment, of the new heaven and new earth, and of the last days and the end of time – there are many different ideas, by many bright people who love Jesus, of what might happen!

I say this is challenging because there may not even be a rapture! Some people think there will be a rapture to lift God’s people off of the earth before a period of great suffering. Another group of people thinks that the rapture will happen after all the suffering (which means Christians will have to suffer, too!) Others think there will not even be a period of great suffering. And the ideas go on and on and on and on.

I want to challenge you to follow Jesus with your whole heart, while at the same time knowing that Jesus has asked us to focus on spreading the good news about Him. Trust Him, even though you will not know all the details of the rapture (or no rapture) and His coming again.

No matter what happens, eternity with Jesus is a magnificent eternity. For that reason, those of us who have given our hearts to Jesus have no need at all to fear the rapture!!

I want to leave you with one more verse – it’s Proverbs 3:5-6.