Left Behind: World At War
(11/03/2005)

I had second thoughts about promoting this movie. The method of distribution and release was novel…instead of movie theaters the movie would only be shown in churches (over 3,200 of them). It was up to the churches to decide if they wanted to show the movie for free, charge admission, sell tickets, or take up an offering.

The reason for my hesitation is that the idea of treating churches as "movie theaters" can be a slippery slope. If the movie didn’t have such a strong Christian message and didn’t have such potential to draw non-Christians for a presentation of the Gospel then I would never have gone along with it. I fear that it may set a dangerous precedent and that future films distributed through churches might not be as spiritually sound (even though this is a work of fiction only built on the general concepts of the Rapture and the Tribulation). I hope that the clergy will use the utmost discernment in determining whether this is a rare exception or something which will become commonplace. The church today has too much inclination towards entertainment as it is.

Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I found the message to be clear…"Jesus’ return is real and imminent and only through faith in Him can you be saved."

When I found out that the third installment of the "Left Behind" movies was coming out I had to go see it. I never had much interest in reading the books but a year or so ago I rented "Left Behind: Tribulation Force" and enjoyed it so much that I bought it. Then I rented the first movie "Left Behind" and enjoyed it as well. That led to my researching Kirk Cameron (who stars as "Buck" in each of the movies) and I soon landed on his and Ray Comfort’s website "The Way of The Master." I found their approach to evangelism a refreshing change from the “Christianity Lite” version of the gospel most often heard today.

So when the movie premiered I went to the "Left Behind: World At War" website and located a local church (Sutallee Baptist Church) that was showing the movie. My wife and I braved a drenching thunderstorm and arrived (as usual with me) about 20 minutes early. The rain seemed to have kept most of the people away but the members and staff that were there were friendly and the Pastor gave a good message afterwards.

For those of you not familiar with it, the "Left Behind" movies are based on the books of the same name by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. All of the books have become instant bestsellers and they give a fictional account of a group of people who accept Christ after the Rapture and band together to fight the Antichrist (Nicolae Carpathia, played by Gordon Currie). Kirk Cameron (who plays “Buck”) is the leading protagonist.

In this latest installment, Nicolae has managed to become both the U.N. Secretary General and head of the Global Community. The President of the United States (played by Louis Gossett Jr.) has been partnered with him but begins to suspect that all may not be as it seems. There is also a plot by Nicolae to spread a deadly disease among the few Christians in a most devious and diabolical manner. That’s as much as I can say about the plot without spoiling the movie for you!

The first few minutes are a little slow and it doesn’t seem to flow well until about 30 minutes into it. But it then finds its pace and keeps you intrigued for the remainder of the movie. There is a powerful conversion scene towards the end of the movie where Louis Gossett Jr. surrenders his life to Christ. It provides an opportunity for Kirk Cameron to give a brief presentation of the Gospel and the scene is so intense that it’s difficult to believe that Louis Gossett Jr. was just acting!

I’m sure I’ll wind-up buying the DVD and probably getting the first movie on DVD as well. Theologically, I have mixed feelings about the whole concept of fiction based on events described in Scripture. I’m sure that there are those who don’t know their Bible well enough who will believe that the Tribulation will be just like the movie. On the other hand, the argument could be made that this is sort of a modern-day parable which is not meant to be a literal description of events but an allegorical tale loosely based on the events predicted during the end times. And there is the troubling precedent of making our churches into theaters when there is already too much focus on entertainment instead of exhortation. But in any case, I found the movie enjoyable, inspirational, and it whetted my appetite for the return of Jesus!

P.S. On second thought, let’s leave the entertainment in the theaters!