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I’ve
read the book. Jesus wins!
By Al
Ruechel | 07-22-04
I hate to argue with
other columnists but Nicholas Kristof has a screw loose. Of
course, he works for the New York Times so his opinions
shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s upset with the ending of the last
installment of the Left Behind series. That’s the smash hit
books that novelize what will happen in the final days before
Jesus returns. Kristof’s views represent just how little
understanding and tolerance secular humanists have for those who
believe in the absolute authority of the Word of God.
In Kristof’s words, (NY Times, 7/20/04) “Glorious Appearing has
Jesus returning to Earth to wipe all non-Christians from the
planet. It’s disconcerting to find ethnic cleansing celebrated
as the height of piety.” Kristof goes on to say if Muslims
published a book describing the massacre of millions of
non-Christians we would have a fit. What really bugs him is the
descriptive language used in the Left Behind series, 60-million
copies sold worldwide to date, with Jesus shredding and melting
away non-believers with the turn of a finger. He argues there
has been a shift away from the kinder, gentler Mister Rogers
version of Jesus to a martial messiah presiding over a sea of
blood. “Militant Christianity rises to confront Militant Islam.”
He raises this question: Should we really give intolerance a
pass if it is rooted in religious faith?
The answer to your question, Mr. Kristof, is that it doesn’t
matter whether we give it a pass or not. You may not like the
way this last book in the series ends but that’s the way it’s
going to end, according to that other annoying book, the Bible.
Tim Lahay may have taken a little bit of artistic license with
the details, a tad bit too much Steven Spielberg I suspect, but
we get the idea. And no, it’s not ethnic cleansing. It’s called
death being swallowed up in victory. We also didn’t write the
book and we didn’t make up the rules. I know that flies against
your belief that man created his own religions to fit his own
particular needs or fears. If you’ve seen one you’ve seen them
all. Wrong. This is God’s doing, not ours.
Actually, it has nothing to do with race and everything to do
with sin? In God’s eyes, not ours, sin is unacceptable and will
be treated for what it is: a one-way ticket to hell! A perfect
God isn’t going to have imperfect sin botching up his home.
That’s why Jesus died, to correct the sin problem. And for those
willing to accept him, those called by his name; those are God’s
ground rules. Those who come to know Him will live with Him in
eternity. Those who do not follow will be cast into the fiery
pit. You will not pass go. You will not collect 72 virgins.
Here is another one: At the mention of the name of Jesus, on
that final day, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord. We will either bow out of respect or
reverence for the Savior of our Soul, or we will bow under the
weight of His judgment.
No, what bothers Mr. Kristof and others like him is that we
Christians have the gall to believe that our God is somehow
superior than the God, say of the Muslims. Thou shalt have no
other Gods before me. He equates all of the world’s religions as
being equal. He believes it is absolutely the height of
arrogance for Christians to act as if Jesus was the only true
prophet and God at the same time. You can read between the lines
that his real fear is that Christians will call for the slaying
of the infidels of the world, a Christian “jihad”, making us no
better than the Muslim extremists we currently face.
It ain’t gonna happen Kristof. Maybe the nut cases or the
mentally unstable will consider this a rally cry. It won’t come
from the mainstream evangelicals that you seem to fear so much.
Jesus doesn’t call us to exact His judgment on anyone. To the
contrary, he expects us to act upon faith and leave the judging
to Him. The Muslim extremists believe Allah has called them to
do his slaying for him. Big difference don’t you think? Love
your enemies versus blow them to bits.
When Jesus returns He will be the one calling the shots. If He
chooses to change His mind about sin and about how He wants to
deal with those who have rejected Him it’s just fine with me.
For now though, all we have to go on is the Word of God, and the
Word of God says judgment isn’t going to be pretty. So be it.
There is a right and wrong. There is a heaven and hell.
In the meantime, we Christians are called to love our brothers
and sisters and love our enemies. That is what makes America so
special. Our forefathers knew we would have our own built in
tolerance based on scripture. Christians can truly love those
who do not agree or understand or even curse our God. We are
called to endure hardship and rejoice when those who are lost
find their way. We are called to help the helpless, defend the
defenseless, and, if need be, sacrifice our own lives that
others might live. The practical translation of that admonition
means we will treat those of other faiths with respect. We will
not treat them as sub servants but work to win their respect and
the right to share our faith with them.
Pretty radical stuff isn’t it. We are supposed to be cool and
chill now because we already know how this world ends. Jesus
wins, the other Gods and non-believers won’t share his glory.
Tough to swallow, but it’s the truth.
Al Ruechel, Copyright 2004, All
Rights Reserved
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