7/28/08

Make Sure Your Loved Ones Are Rapture Ready

The most popular books in our library here at Antioch Baptist Church are the "Left Behind" series. I have never read them, I hear from people all the time how good they are. I disagree with much of the theology behind the fiction, but the focal point of the books is the rapture. Through out the history of the church there have been predictions for hundreds of “imminent raptures” and have thus far failed to materialize (I hope or we have been left behind). The question has always been what happens when the rapture takes Christians from the world before the Great Tribulation, what happens to those who are left behind.

Well, if you are worried about you lost loved ones then this service may be for you. To that end, welcome to the world wide web youvebeenleftbehind.com. This handy-dandy website allows subscribers the opportunity to remind special friends and family members who missed the Rapture that they still have hope, and a chance, to gain the Kingdom of Heaven.

From their website:

“You’ve Been Left Behind gives you one last opportunity to reach your lost family and friends For Christ. Imagine being in the presence of the Lord and hearing all of heaven rejoice over the salvation of your loved ones. It is our prayer that this site makes it happen.”

That’s right friends…for a mere $40 per year subscription fee, youvebeenleftbehind.com will let you store up to 250Mb of documents that can be automatically e-mailed to up to 62 different lost people when the Rapture happens.

But wait, you might be asking, how does this service work? I mean, the Rapture takes all the Christians away, and these folks who run this site are obviously good Christians. How does the system send out all these e-mails to the lost if they’ve (the site hosts) been taken back to Jesus?

Just as Noah got instructions from God on how to build a really big boat, the fine folks at youvebeenleftbehind.com have an ingenious trigger that can only be divinely inspired.

“We have set up a system to send documents by the email, to the addresses you provide, 6 days after the “Rapture” of the Church. This occurs when 3 of our 5 team members scattered around the U.S fail to log in over a 3 day period. Another 3 days are given to fail safe any false triggering of the system.”

Got it? If three of the five team members fail to log in to the system for three days in a row, the trigger is set. Another three days pass, and it’s sure the Rapture took place.

The site is the brainchild of Mark Heard, who came up with the idea while buying stocks online one day. He worried about how his wife would gain access to his account and password if he were to be Raptured at that moment.

“In the encrypted portion of your account you can give them access to your banking, brokerage, hidden valuables and powers of attorneys. There won’t be any bodies, so probate court will take seven years to clear your assets to your next of kin. Seven years, of course, is all the time that will be left (during the Tribulation) so, basically the Government of the Antichrist gets your stuff, unless you make it available in another way.”

I wonder if Mr. Heard’s wife is openly non-Christian or he just has serious doubts. But you know what they say….behind every great man….whatever.

So should you go out and join today in hopes of offering your lost loved ones the chance of salvation after the rapture? Up to you, but I think John was right when he said of Jesus "John 12:37 Even though He had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in Him."

So, tell your friends about Jesus now and don't depend on some website to do it for after your gone. Remember the writer of Hebrews warns "Heb 9:27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once--and after this, judgment." Make sure you and your loved ones are ready?

Pastor Phillip