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I Want to Be Left Behind
SUPERANNO Systematically examines the false theology of the "Left Behind" novels. Key areas examined include the nature of Israel, the Seventieth Week of Daniel, the biblical sequence of end-time events, and the nature of Christ's return for his saints. Original
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2002
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September 8, 2024
A CRITIQUE OF THE "LEFT BEHIND" FICTION SERIES
Ted Noel is also the author of 'A Primer on the Book of Daniel.' and 'A Primer on the Book of Revelation.' He wrote in the introduction to this 2002 book, "It is our fervent hope that this book not be considered merely as an attempt to prove a point... our purpose is to allow God's children to build their hope on the guarantees of Scripture, not on cleverly designed fables. Nor are we interested in saying that any particular person is not a good Christian because he holds to an incorrect understanding of prophecy." (Pg. xv)
He cautions, "In concrete terms, if the secret rapture doctrine is false, it will lead people to expect events that will not occur. Nominal Christians lulled by the Left Behind scenario may be expecting an obvious prophetic event followed by a seven-year second chance when they will make their decision to belong fully to God. If there is no pre-tribulation rapture, however, and the second coming comes AFTER the last chance for this earth, these wavering individuals could lose faith and be lost eternally because they were influenced by a false message." (Pg. x-xi)
He critiques the interpretation of Robert Anderson in The Coming Prince: "First and foremost... Anderson has identified the wrong period. Zechariah 1:12-16 specifically identifies the end of the desolation as the completion of the rebuilding of the temple. Thus, the period of desolation extended from the destruction of the temple (2 Ki 25:8-9) until the temple was fully rebuilt (Ezra 6:15). This span was from the seventh day of the fifth month of 586 BC to the third day of the twelfth month of 516 BC. This is the seventy years prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer 25:11). Second, there is no evidence in any historical document or archaeological find that any Hebrew was even aware that this interval constituted seventy years of 360 days. For that matter, there is no evidence that a year of 360 days was EVER considered for ANY PURPOSE WHATSOEVER in the Jewish economy. Normal years were nominally 354 days long with twelve lunar months... We must therefore declare Anderson's calculation to be anachronistic." (Pg. 55-56)
About the "one who makes desolate" in Daniel 9:27, he suggests, "About AD 66, the Zealots and other groups of rebels fomented a revolt to throw off the Roman yoke. Although there were several leaders... the most influential was John, son of Levi, of Gischala in Galilee. The revolt was in itself an abomination, but worse was to follow. The Zealots murdered over 12,000 priests. Later, as the revolt reached its peak in AD 70, over 8,000 were murdered in the Temple grounds and left unburied, a further abomination. The bloody rebels used the Temple itself as their final stronghold in Jerusalem. The end of the revolt was the complete destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans, with loss of a million Jewish lives. the desolation was complete... The 'abomination' was the Jewish revolt and its aftermath. The one who made desolate was John, son of Levi, who stood... as the corporate image of revolt against God. He, through his complicit countrymen, caused the desolation of Jerusalem." (Pg. 65-66)
He states, "The return of Christ will be sudden, but it will not be without warning. The concern expressed by LaHaye for the doctrine of imminence is misplaced. Christ's return will surprise only the wicked. They will be jolted from complacency, but too late to do anything about it. The saints will not know the exact moment, but they will have been aware of prophetic signposts, they will know his coming is soon." (Pg. 140)
Noel's book is one of the better responses to LaHaye's and Jenkins' books. Other critiques of the "Left Behind" series are 'Left Behind?: The Facts Behind the Fiction,' 'Shattering the Left Behind Delusion,' and 'I Want To Be "Left Behind": An Examination of the Ideas Behind the Popular Series and the End Times.'
Ted Noel is also the author of 'A Primer on the Book of Daniel.' and 'A Primer on the Book of Revelation.' He wrote in the introduction to this 2002 book, "It is our fervent hope that this book not be considered merely as an attempt to prove a point... our purpose is to allow God's children to build their hope on the guarantees of Scripture, not on cleverly designed fables. Nor are we interested in saying that any particular person is not a good Christian because he holds to an incorrect understanding of prophecy." (Pg. xv)
He cautions, "In concrete terms, if the secret rapture doctrine is false, it will lead people to expect events that will not occur. Nominal Christians lulled by the Left Behind scenario may be expecting an obvious prophetic event followed by a seven-year second chance when they will make their decision to belong fully to God. If there is no pre-tribulation rapture, however, and the second coming comes AFTER the last chance for this earth, these wavering individuals could lose faith and be lost eternally because they were influenced by a false message." (Pg. x-xi)
He critiques the interpretation of Robert Anderson in The Coming Prince: "First and foremost... Anderson has identified the wrong period. Zechariah 1:12-16 specifically identifies the end of the desolation as the completion of the rebuilding of the temple. Thus, the period of desolation extended from the destruction of the temple (2 Ki 25:8-9) until the temple was fully rebuilt (Ezra 6:15). This span was from the seventh day of the fifth month of 586 BC to the third day of the twelfth month of 516 BC. This is the seventy years prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer 25:11). Second, there is no evidence in any historical document or archaeological find that any Hebrew was even aware that this interval constituted seventy years of 360 days. For that matter, there is no evidence that a year of 360 days was EVER considered for ANY PURPOSE WHATSOEVER in the Jewish economy. Normal years were nominally 354 days long with twelve lunar months... We must therefore declare Anderson's calculation to be anachronistic." (Pg. 55-56)
About the "one who makes desolate" in Daniel 9:27, he suggests, "About AD 66, the Zealots and other groups of rebels fomented a revolt to throw off the Roman yoke. Although there were several leaders... the most influential was John, son of Levi, of Gischala in Galilee. The revolt was in itself an abomination, but worse was to follow. The Zealots murdered over 12,000 priests. Later, as the revolt reached its peak in AD 70, over 8,000 were murdered in the Temple grounds and left unburied, a further abomination. The bloody rebels used the Temple itself as their final stronghold in Jerusalem. The end of the revolt was the complete destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans, with loss of a million Jewish lives. the desolation was complete... The 'abomination' was the Jewish revolt and its aftermath. The one who made desolate was John, son of Levi, who stood... as the corporate image of revolt against God. He, through his complicit countrymen, caused the desolation of Jerusalem." (Pg. 65-66)
He states, "The return of Christ will be sudden, but it will not be without warning. The concern expressed by LaHaye for the doctrine of imminence is misplaced. Christ's return will surprise only the wicked. They will be jolted from complacency, but too late to do anything about it. The saints will not know the exact moment, but they will have been aware of prophetic signposts, they will know his coming is soon." (Pg. 140)
Noel's book is one of the better responses to LaHaye's and Jenkins' books. Other critiques of the "Left Behind" series are 'Left Behind?: The Facts Behind the Fiction,' 'Shattering the Left Behind Delusion,' and 'I Want To Be "Left Behind": An Examination of the Ideas Behind the Popular Series and the End Times.'
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