# "Left Behind" - What's that all about? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693 "2003-12-23T19:13:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tampa\_Tom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b77776/32.png) [@Tampa\_Tom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tampa_Tom)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/1 "2003-12-23T19:13:41Z")
OK, here’s a good one - Someone I work with is an Evangelical Christiain, and she has some - what I believe - are pretty wacky beliefs. For instance, she doesn’t carry credit cards, use checks, or keep her money in the bank (She walks around with basically her entire bank account - in cash - on her person) because she believes when the second coming happens, the antichrist is going to come through the banking system. She wants to be completely free of this, so when the big guy comes back, she gets to go right to heaven, while the rest of us schlubs who use ATMs and checking accounts deal with the troubles to come. Apparently, there a lot of people who believe this, and a bunch of books and movies that have this ‘Left Behind’ theme. It sounds like a bunch of hooey. I mean, come on, the second coming happens and _poof_ all the believers just transport Star Trek like to heaven. I was surprised to even see a movie called ‘Left Behind’ made in 2000. I was surprised and thoroughly confused by this. Can anyone shed some light on this…😕 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/2 "2003-12-23T19:26:18Z")
Shed any light in what, exactly? Yes, there is a whole bunch of wackos around. I think the whole Banking = Satan thing comes from garbled interpretations of “the mark of the beast” without which nobody could trade (?) Sorry, my Biblical knowledge is not too great. A bit of Googling got [this page](http://www.countdown.org/markof.htm). > [@](#): > > …So as we can see the technology & the public acceptance to make the Mark of the Beast system work is rapidly falling into place…Already we are constantly hearing about the “New World Order”, or “global community”, & these buzz slogans are slowly sinking in as the world heads towards an international financial and political system, a cashless society controlled by a computer data base that covers the entire globe, keeping track of every man, woman & child, where they cross borders & when they buy & sell–exactly like the one predicted in Revelation chapter 13 nearly 2,000 years ago! > > “If any man worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture…And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever…” (Revelation 14:9,10) > > That may seem like pretty stiff punishment for simply accepting a Mark that allows you to buy groceries. However, this prophecy indicates that receiving the “Mark of the Beast” is not merely an economic decision, but also implies acceptance and worship of the Satan-possessed Anti-Christ, and a pledge of allegiance to his anti-God global regime. :rolleyes: Google **“credit card” “mark of the beast”** and get your eyes a-rollin’… ---
**Author:** ![mbacko1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@mbacko1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbacko1)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/3 "2003-12-23T19:33:35Z")
“Left Behind” is a highly popular series of books and a couple of movies starring Kirk Camaren (ooohh) about the 2nd coming of Christ aka “The Rapture” and it places these events in the present day. My wife was reading them, so I read a couple of them and all in all they do hold some facination for me as a Christian and a Sci-Fi fan, but I found them getting preachy and very repititious. It wouldn’t be a stretch for me to believe that some people think that with 9/11 happening, that the book of Revelations is currently unfolding around us and we need to be ready for the second coming of Christ. I’m sticking with my plan or earning a living, being nice to be neighbor, and earning a bunch of money that I can use to buy food and weapons when the end is near. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/4 "2003-12-23T19:35:24Z")
“Left Behind” is a series of books describing events after the [Rapture](http://www.raptureready.com/), the name for what you’re describing. There are groups of fundimentalist Christians who believe that the end of the world is near and that the saved will go directly to heaven. Supposedly, the signs are all around us. Why? Throughout history, there have always been “prophets” cropping up and insisting the world is going to end soon and that everyone should get ready. Their predictions haven’t had a very good success rate. 🙂 But for some reason, people tend to find the idea that everything is coming to an end very appealing. “Left Behind” is a a science fiction/fantasy series about someone who didn’t quite make the Rapture, but end up fighting the forces of evil among those who were left behind. I understand it isn’t all that bad – fairly good fantasy adventure. It’s been massively popular, but it merely tapped into the Rapture mythos as a starting point. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/5 "2003-12-23T19:45:54Z")
I was shocked to find out a good friend of mine has zero, nil, no retirement plans. He does not invest in 401K, IRAs, etc., nor does he save any money in a savings account. He does have credit cards, mortgage, and traditional direct deposit checking. His rational is that the end of the world (Rapture) events will play out in his lifetime so why worry about retirement when he’ll not be here then. The remaining stuff he leaves for the collectors to track him down in Heaven on the money he owes, I guess. I duly informed him that as a friend of 21 years now, he cannot move into my home when he turns 65. MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/6 "2003-12-23T19:53:52Z")
I read the first 10 books in the series because I received them as a Christmas gift. Repetitious is barely able to describe the horror that is the “Left Behind” series. Each book (except the first obviously)starts out which a very long summary of the entire series through character flashbacks, every new character has to go through a few pages describing how they found Jesus and the characters are more wooden than a tree. Besides this, the story telling really sucks because the characters do things that no sane person would do such as telling a detailed story while being chased by the military. Another strike is that the authors obviously know very little about technology and when describing anything modern like a laptop, it got to the point of making me want to groan. I forgive the preachyness of the books because they are Christian literature so it should be obvious that they are going to revolve around people finding Jesus. Don’t think that just anyone can find Jesus though because you would be wrong. In the books, Catholics are not included in the rapture. All of that being said, the books deal with the subject of Revelations. The idea is that the events described in the book of Revelations happens exactly as written in the bible, no metaphors or interpretations. In the first book, everyone who is a true believer in Christ is taken to heaven in the rapture. In the bible, Paul mentions people being taken in a flash and from this, the belief in the rapture came about. So after the rapture, people are freaked and along comes the anti-christ who promises to make everything better. He persecutes the poor christian believers who are the only ones who realize he is the servant of Satan. It goes on and on and on and on and on and on and… ---
**Author:** ![Demigorgon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bc79bd/32.png) [@Demigorgon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demigorgon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/7 "2003-12-23T20:04:19Z")
The answer is… Your friend is a nut case. ---
**Author:** ![Tampa\_Tom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b77776/32.png) [@Tampa\_Tom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tampa_Tom)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/8 "2003-12-23T20:22:38Z")
(All of that being said, the books deal with the subject of Revelations. The idea is that the events described in the book of Revelations happens exactly as written in the bible, no metaphors or interpretations. In the first book, everyone who is a true believer in Christ is taken to heaven in the rapture. In the bible, Paul mentions people being taken in a flash and from this, the belief in the rapture came about. So after the rapture, people are freaked and along comes the anti-christ who promises to make everything better. He persecutes the poor christian believers who are the only ones who realize he is the servant of Satan.) So, the Christians wink out and go to heaven, but the Christians who don’t wink out understand who the AntiChrist is? Are these folks selected to the rapture by some random lottery system. “Congratulations, Mary Smith! You’ve been selected to the rapture! Leave your beloingings behind and get ready to hit the dusty trail. Oh, so sorry, Larry Smith. Even though you went to the same services and had the same beliefs as your wife Mary, your number wasn’t called. Here’s your helmet and bible for the big battle taking place!” Dude, and they say us Catholics are messed up… (Your friend is a nut case.) I’m coiming to see this… ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/9 "2003-12-23T20:27:44Z")
A fair number of people believe in the Rapture, when Jesus will suddenly take away all Christians. Not all Christians believe that, though, and it’s based on interpretations of Revelation, a notoriously difficult to interpret book. The part about not using credit cards is also related to a passage in Revelation which describes the government marking the worshippers of the ‘Beast’ with a number, which has over the years been interpreted as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or some future universal ID system. That’s a lot more fringe than the Rapture thing. And, yes, your friend is a nutcase. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/10 "2003-12-23T21:33:04Z")
I would bet that her “church”'s next step will be to say something along the lines of “You know what, it might be safer if you just give us all your money to hold on to. You can’t be too careful with that nasty banker anti-Christ!” The louder someone shouts “Amen”, the closer you have to watch your wallet. Tell her you will “hold on to” her cash for her, simply as a good Christian thing to do 😉 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/11 "2003-12-23T21:52:40Z")
My big issue with the _Left Behind_ series was that in flipping through 5 or 6 volumes, I couldn’t find much in the way of important female characters. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/12 "2003-12-23T21:53:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tampa Tom \* > \*\*(All of that being said, the books deal with the subject of Revelations. The idea is that the events described in the book of Revelations happens exactly as written in the bible, no metaphors or interpretations. In the first book, everyone who is a true believer in Christ is taken to heaven in the rapture. In the bible, Paul mentions people being taken in a flash and from this, the belief in the rapture came about. So after the rapture, people are freaked and along comes the anti-christ who promises to make everything better. He persecutes the poor christian believers who are the only ones who realize he is the servant of Satan.) > > So, the Christians wink out and go to heaven, but the Christians who don’t wink out understand who the AntiChrist is? Are these folks selected to the rapture by some random lottery system. > > “Congratulations, Mary Smith! You’ve been selected to the rapture! Leave your beloingings behind and get ready to hit the dusty trail. Oh, so sorry, Larry Smith. Even though you went to the same services and had the same beliefs as your wife Mary, your number wasn’t called. Here’s your helmet and bible for the big battle taking place!” > > Dude, and they say us Catholics are messed up… > > (Your friend is a nut case.) > > I’m coiming to see this… \*\* If at the time of the rapture, you are a true believer in Christ(which does not include Catholics accourding to the books), you get zapped to go live with Jesus. The persecuted Christians in the series converted **after** the rapture. I left that out but I wasn’t shooting to give every detail from the books. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/13 "2003-12-23T22:14:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shoshana \* > \*\*My big issue with the _Left Behind_ series was that in flipping through 5 or 6 volumes, I couldn’t find much in the way of important female characters. \*\* You flipped too fast then since there are at least two female characters who are central to the story. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/14 "2003-12-23T22:29:44Z")
> [@](#): > > The louder someone shouts “Amen”, the closer you have to watch your wallet. Now _there’s_ a gospel I can believe in. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/15 "2003-12-23T23:25:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FisherQueen \* > The part about not using credit cards is also related to a passage in Revelation which describes the government marking the worshippers of the ‘Beast’ with a number, which has over the years been interpreted as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or some future universal ID system. And don’t forget UPC codes. Through a misunderstanding of the codes, some people thought that the three guard bars were actually sixes, i.e., 666 in every code. I remember my piano teacher having some reading material out involving everyone getting UPC codes on their foreheads. Personally, I await with bated breath the day when the Christian wing nuts decide that ISBNs are another Mark of the Beast and stop buying books altogether. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/16 "2003-12-23T23:55:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Punoqllads \* > \*\* > > Personally, I await with bated breath the day when the Christian wing nuts decide that ISBNs are another Mark of the Beast and stop buying books altogether. \*\* Me, I’m waiting on the rapture so I can take all their stuff they leave behind. I’ll also be able to go to Mardi Gras without some nut job coming up to me and explaining how Jesus is gonna save my drunk ass. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/17 "2003-12-24T00:28:32Z")
Besides, somebody has to stick around and maintain [this](http://www.raptureletters.com/) site. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/18 "2003-12-24T00:29:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FisherQueen \* > **A fair number of people believe in the Rapture, when Jesus will suddenly take away all Christians.** I wish he’d hurry up… I’m getting tired of them and I want my country back! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/19 "2003-12-24T00:51:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Demigorgon \* > \*\*The answer is… > > Your friend is a nut case. \*\* And with Christmas just around the corner, better that than a fruitcake. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693/20 "2003-12-24T01:20:12Z")
> [@](#): > > In the books, Catholics are not included in the rapture. The pope in the story gets rapture(d), so this is obviously false. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-behind-whats-that-all-about/220693.md?page=2)