{"id":5990,"date":"2012-12-21T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2012-12-21T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/?p=5990"},"modified":"2012-12-20T13:06:10","modified_gmt":"2012-12-20T21:06:10","slug":"if-youre-reading-this-blog-youve-been-left-behind-mayan-friday-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/21\/if-youre-reading-this-blog-youve-been-left-behind-mayan-friday-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"If You’re Reading this Blog, You’ve been “Left Behind” – Mayan Friday Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Fear\"photo \u00a9 2008 Dr. Wendy Longo<\/a> | more info <\/a><\/span>(via: Wylio<\/a>)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In light of the \u201cend of the world\u201d scare, I am reposting what I wrote for the day the Rapture was supposed to take place in May of 2011. If the Mayans are correct, then a great change has taken place\u2026 a new era has begun\u2026 and likely, Christians are goners \ud83d\ude42 Replace any refernece to \u201crapture\u201d with the Mayan 2012 stuff and this post will make lots of sense \ud83d\ude42 Also, if you are familiar with basic elements of \u201cLeft Behind\u201d this will make even more sense.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n

Right now it\u2019s 6pm on Saturday in California. There\u2019s a possibility that I\u2019m no longer in my home state however, as the rapture<\/a> was to come on Saturday May 21st<\/sup>, 2011<\/a> at 6 o\u2019clock in each time zone.<\/strong><\/em> If this is indeed the case, what follows is a letter to all of you who were \u201cleft behind<\/a>.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In the Bible we have clarity about why<\/em> anyone gets \u201cleft behind\u201d on the earth. T<\/strong>he reason that you are in the world is to reflect the realities of God\u2019s kingdom.<\/strong><\/em> Jesus prayed in the sixth chapter of Matthew: \u201cYour kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

To truly live out that God-sized-vision takes utter dependence on the Creator who invites you into a movement that is bigger than you. The key to all of this is faith in the midst of the chaos you now face. For those of you who were \u201cleft behind,\u201d you\u2019re probably struggling to find even one ounce of faith that circumstances can actually get better.<\/em> You may even feel like a failure to God. You\u2019re also worried about being stuck in a world of violence, poverty, corruption, the unknown, and of\u2026 tribulation.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Because of God\u2019s goodness, even in the midst of great tribulation there\u2019s still hope<\/em><\/strong>. God\u2019s invitation to you is to partner with others who yet remain on earth to form a \u201cTribulation Force<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a kingdom of God coalition. As a resistance movement<\/em>, you will be charged with gathering up a remnant<\/a> of Jesus followers to confront this day of evil that is upon creation.<\/strong><\/em> The signs<\/em> of this evil day are clear: famine, preventable disease, war, promiscuity, gluttony, imbalances of power, slave labor, and a lack of basic resources like clean water<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

And when these signs of evil are great, the resistance movement must humbly endure<\/em> and attempt to undo the work of the \u201cBeast\u201d<\/strong><\/em>[1]<\/a> who will receive power from the \u201cDragon.\u201d[2]<\/a> You have been left with a purpose. Just because you weren\u2019t taken up into heaven (even if you thought you would be), it doesn\u2019t mean that all hope is lost.<\/strong><\/em> God did not give up on you, even if you feel like giving up on God. Hope remains.<\/p>\n

I assure, however, that in the days to come you are going to face grave temptation. Instead of resisting the anti-Kingdom, the convenient thing to do will be to choose compromise<\/em>. The empire of the Beast and Dragon will be hell-bent on luring you into allegiance.<\/strong><\/em> They\u2019ll offer comfort, financial stability, peace, pleasure, and security, all the while inviting you to take on their \u201cmark of loyalty.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> \u201cThe mark<\/a>\u201d will be subtle yet clear: emblems of empire, status, wealth, health, and a civil religion<\/strong><\/em>. The Beast will attempt to co-opt your imagination<\/em> so that the only kind of world you know is one where turning the blind eye to injustice is normative.<\/strong> Do not be marked out by anything other than your baptism into the counter-cultural movement of new creation!<\/em><\/p>\n

New creation. Now there\u2019s a thought. If you\u2019re \u201cleft behind\u201d in the brokenness of the old creation, what would happen if your Tribulation Force used this tribulation moment to become an agent for God\u2019s good world as you anticipate the \u201cglorious appearing<\/a>\u201d of Jesus?<\/strong><\/em> For all of those who have been \u201cleft behind\u201d hope is not lost because between now and when Christ comes to establish his Kingdom come<\/a> on the earth, YOU carry forward the message of God! A day is coming soon when there will be \u201cno more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things [will] pass away\u201d (Rev. 21.4). On that day, the creation will be \u201cliberated from its bondage to decay\u201d (Rom 8 ) and God will be \u201call in all\u201d (1 Cor 15.28). YOU have the opportunity to choose the way of Jesus, to subvert the kingdom of darkness, so that the world may know of God\u2019s love and peace.<\/strong><\/em>\"\"<\/p>\n

So, on this day of confusion, chaos, pain, and evil; may all of you who were \u201cleft behind\u201d find incomprehensible joy in the reality of God\u2019s invitation into mission. You\u2019ve been left with a calling \u2013 to be hope. Now do not confuse this hope as a means of escape from the days of tribulation<\/strong><\/em>. You will endure the \u201cgroaning\u201d of creation. You will feel the pain of the world. You will have moments when you want to give up and find an evacuation plan\u2026 but don\u2019t lose heart and abandon the mission<\/strong><\/em>. For if you remain faithful, at the \u201cglorious appearing\u201d of Christ, both you and the part of this world that you influenced for God\u2019s Kingdom will discover the finality of new creation.<\/p>\n

Being \u201cleft behind\u201d might in fact be the greatest opportunity YOU have ever been given. YOU have been given a second chance to join in God\u2019s redemptive story! Go, resist the Beast and his empire\u2026 flee from compromise\u2026 and live in light of the emerging new creation as you help usher in the reign of the world\u2019s true King!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n
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[1]<\/a> In Revelation the \u201cBeast\u201d most likely represents the Roman Empire as a whole and the Emperor in particular. By extension it may be appropriate to ask: Who is acting like the Beast in our day?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[2]<\/a> The \u201cDragon\u201d represents Satan and the kingdom of darkness.<\/p>\n

*** Just to be clear, my linking to Left Behind is not an endorsement of dispensational theology. I hope you caught on to that \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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