Pop-Prophecy’s Cartoonish Eschatology
(5-Minute Read Time)
[From my article with Daniel E. Daniel E. Harden , “The Rapture, It’s No Secret Anymore: So, Who’s Going to Buy the Antichrist’s Lure? (Eric Ogea: Editor), on Cruickshank’s Corner at Burros of Berea and Last Days Past]
In its original form, Dispensationalism taught a “secret rapture” of the Church. It was to be a stealth removal of believers before the Antichrist showed up to do a number, so to speak, on those left behind. The secret rapture would be a covert rescue operation, before seven years of tribulation. After that, Jesus returns, kills the Antichrist, and sets up His Millennial kingdom – or so the theory goes.
The phrase “secret rapture” is a fitting term in more ways than one, as the Church had never taught this before. Christian doctrine was pretty much standard across the board in this regard. Basically, the rapture, resurrection, and Second Coming all occur simultaneously and coincide with each other.
In other words, there was no seven-year split in the action.
Pop-Prophecy’s Rosetta Stone
But in the mid-1800s, a strange little British man discovered a strange little doctrine that had eluded God’s people for centuries. Or, maybe it was a Scottish girl in a trance a few decades earlier? That’s debatable. Either way, the secret about the “secret rapture” wasn’t a secret anymore. And that’s precisely the problem for Dispensationalism: the secret is out.
With several feature films, numerous books, and even graphic novels touting the Dispensational narrative, the jig is up. If it all plays out, everyone already knows every act in the play.
In a nutshell, millions of people vanish off the face of the earth, and then men in black trench coats show up and say, “Hello, we’re with the Antichrist and we’re here to help.” But who is going to buy it at this point? Anyone who has their wits about them will simply say, “No thanks, I’ve seen the movie!”
As much as people today love their tattoos, “666” is one stamp that nobody will be getting. The modern infatuation with tattoos is matched only by an equal disdain for the government being able to track our every move.
In short, the mark of the beast is going to be a tough sell at this point. It seems the Dispensationalists forgot to preface their previews with spoiler alerts. This will ruin everything once the real movie starts playing.
Sign Here on the Dotted Line
According to the Dispensational screenplay, the “first important piece of the puzzle” after the rapture is the Antichrist showing up to make a seven-year “peace treaty with Israel.” The problem here is that everyone already knows about the fine print in that treaty. Are the Israelis going to forget what happened in the previews? Will Benjamin Netanyahu be the only person on the planet who doesn’t realize this is the Antichrist? Didn’t he see the movie trailer?
Hopefully, he has at least seen Star Wars: The Phantom Meance. Queen Amidala knew better than to sign a peace treaty with a creepy bad guy in a dark cloak. At the very least, one of Netanyahu’s advisors should have enough sense to Google it and discover that this sinister leader is going to renege on the deal in 3 ½ years. At the end of the day, it’s not much of a puzzle anymore if the whole world has seen the picture on the box.
What about the menacing Man of Lawlessness taking his stand in the newly rebuilt temple of God and claiming to be God? Isn’t this going to ring a bell in the minds of…well…everyone? Again, they can Google it, they can read a book, they can watch a movie.
Actually, a great scene for a movie would be a couple sitting in their living room watching the evening news. A crowd of reporters surrounds the Lawless One as he makes his big announcement. The husband turns to his wife and says, “Seriously? Is anybody buying this guy as God? Morgan Freeman and George Burns made a way better God than this dude!” The wife turns to the husband and says, “Nah, nobody’s going to buy it. They’ve all watched the movie.”
The Antichrist on the Big Screen
What movie, you ask? Take your pick. Here’s the short list of the most recent ones:
The Moment After
The Dark: Great Deceiver
Jerusalem Countdown
New World Order
Revelation Road Movie Series
The Mark Movie Series
In the Blink of an Eye
The End Times: How Close Are We?
These are merely the ones that are available now on Pure Flix. A simple search online will turn up a plethora of others, including the 1970s classic, “A Thief in the Night.” Hitting the big screen while Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth was simultaneously hitting the bookshelves, this was the premier film in the rapture-trope genre. The modern reboots have nothing over on the original’s 60-Minutes-style, ticking clock intro.
On the other hand, the Antichrist’s upgrade in the newer movies is an improvement. A “Sith Lord” type of figure makes a much better end-times bad guy than a used car salesman wearing a Ben Matlock suit.
The Antichrist Leaving His Mark on Young Minds
Nonetheless, the Matlock-suited Antichrist still left his mark (pardon the pun) on impressionable young minds back in the day. One person comments:
“I was only 16 when I saw this movie and it had robbed me of many joys in life. I gave up friends, a girlfriend, sports, and much much more. What I replaced it with was massive Bible studies, church almost every day, and depression. Only recently have I realized how much this movie has affected me and is the root of many of my problems.”
Sadly, this story is all too common for young people growing up under the fear of Dispensationalism’s false scenario. Rapture Anxiety Disorder (RAD), is now an officially recognized mental condition similar to post-traumatic stress.
According to one CNN report, “… ‘rapture anxiety’ can take a lifetime to heal.” Theologically, it’s a rather quick fix since it’s fairly easy to point out the errors of the Dispensational approach and demonstrate what the Scriptures really say. Emotionally? That’s another story.
There are countless tales of people who realized that they missed out on their childhood and teenage years while waiting to get beamed up. Some had even wasted a good part of their adult lives as well before they finally woke from their “rapture dream.” Jesus never showed up on the clouds to take them to the sweet by and by and, before they knew it, a good part of their lives had passed them by.
The truth is, they might as well have been waiting for Scotty in the Star Ship Enterprise. The Dispensational narrative is no closer to the Biblical narrative than an episode of Star Trek.
The bottom line? Bad theology is damaging. Dispensationalism not only damages the Church on the collective level, but it has personally damaged many on the individual level – emotionally and mentally.
Yet, modern-day believers keep falling for this cartoonish version of Bible prophecy which has become a caricature of itself. This makes the cartoon makers very wealthy, and even unbelievers are cashing in on the action.
Cashing in on the Antichrist Action
For example, there is the parodic book, How to Profit from the Coming Rapture: Getting Ahead When You’re Left Behind. The book blurb reads: “The investment guide the Antichrist doesn’t want you to read.” There is also the incredibly vulgar 2013 movie, “Rapture-Palooza.” These mockeries of the Dispensational scenario only serve to underscore the fact that everyone is going to be ready for what’s coming after the rapture because everyone already knows the plotline.
By the time millions of people suddenly disappear from the planet and the dastardly villain shows up announcing that he is God, his cover is already blown. This will turn out to be a really short movie.
It’s more like an episode of Scooby Doo, only we don’t have to wait until the end for Fred to pull the mask off the bad guy. Right after the opening scene (i.e., the rapture), everyone will say in unison: “It’s the Antichrist!”
For the rest of the article, sources, and footnotes, go to -> “The Rapture, It’s No Secret Anymore: So, Who’s Going to Buy the Antichrist’s Lure?”, on Cruickshank’s Corner (links above)
