The Son Has Come And You’ve Been Left Behind

10 posted on March 10, 2009

POSTED IN: Blog Posts, Childhood Memories

In the 70s and early 80s a realization swept through evangelical churches across the country: Time is short and Jesus could be coming back any time now! Books, tracts and films sprang up announcing the imminent return of Christ. With the cold war in full swing and the soviets just itching to hit that big red “launch” button on their missiles, the end of the world could clearly happen at any moment.

The church I was attending at the time jumped on the bandwagon and became excited with the release of the book, 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be In 1988, written by a bible scholar and former NASA engineer (and we all know how smart those guys are). I remember as an 11-year-old boy being caught up in the mad rush to get my life in order so I could be ready for the quick trip in the sky. Because I was 11 after all and had a lot of stuff to get in order.

Fortunately for young boys like me around the world, the book should have been more appropriately titled, 88 Reasons Why The Rapture MIGHT be in 1988. Turns out even NASA Bible scholars can mess up their end-times math.

But the real kicker for me came when churches realized that films were far more effective that books in scaring the hell out of people. Enter Russell S. Doughten and the people behind “A Thief in the Night“, a movie about the rapture that haunted the dreams of countless little children like me who were taken to watch it. For whatever reason, CareBears and Smurfs were off limits but it was perfectly acceptable to scare the living daylights out of kids with shocking images of end-times horror and tribulation.

I remember the opening Larry Norman song, I Wish We’d All Been Ready, being stuck on endless loop in my head as a kid. I used to picture what it would be like up in heaven after being raptured (whew!) and imagining someone who was “left behind” hearing this song. I suppose it would have been like the worst possible “I told you so” that you could ever get.

(and yes, in case you’re wondering, that is the original song that DC Talk later covered on their Jesus Freak album)

Important Lessons I’ve Learned From Watching End Times Movies

The more pronounced the sideburns, the less likely one will be raptured.
Anyone driving a white van is trying to snatch people. (Probably true, actually.)
…and they’re from the U.N. (Also probably true.)
If you’ve had the bad luck to be a preacher who has been left behind, you’ll be taken much more seriously if you grow out a mountain-man beard and hide in a cabin in the woods
The guillotine is the preferred method of post-rapture executioners.
In the end times, the evil guys masquerade as harmless, good guys, and they’ll subtly do this by wearing a red armband
…who will then hold you down as they tattoo 666 on your forehead.
Little kids like me can watch movies in church, as long as they’re blood-curdling frightening.
Setting up elaborate rapture pranks on some of your more “worldly” Christian friends never gets old.

(ht: KampKrusty)

So did you get caught up in some of the end-times hysteria growing up? Did you watch any of the “Thief In The Night” movies as a kid? What do you remember?

TWEET THIS

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 10:32 am and is filed under Blog Posts, Childhood Memories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

27 Comments

Share yours!

Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

1 Nick said:

Definitely was forced to watch these movies growing up. I never wanted to be ‘Left Behind’ that’s the suckiest thing on the earth!

I think this movie clip is blasphemy, how dare they play a drum, that’s a satanic instrument!

Nick’s last blog post..One in Fifty US Children Homeless
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

2 Sean B said:

In some ways I wish this had been my generation; mine was the generation of Bibleman and the stealing of popular product logos for crappy t-shirts. It’s almost as though the Christians got ticked off about not being raptures in the 80s and decided, “if we’re stuck here, we might as well ruin everything fun and popular.”

Sean B’s last blog post..the Loft
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

3 Jason Ruggles said:

Ha ha… loves Sean B’s comment!

Brad, yes or no… Do you believe that the rapture will, eventually, happen?

Jason Ruggles’s last blog post..Last Minute Retreat
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

4 Brad Ruggles said:

@Nick – You’re right, it would suck to be “left behind”

@SeanB – Never thought of it from that angle before but you might be on to something

@Jason – Yes, I do believe it the rapture actually. Probably should have clarified that a little better in the post. I was just poking fun at the end-times hype at the time.

But yeah, I do believe in the rapture. I’m guessing it will probably look something like this.
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

5 Jason Ruggles said:

No worries… I just didn’t know if you did or not.

But yeah, have fun with the rapture! It’s ripe for humor.

Like, how fun would it be if Obama was actually the Antichrist? Then you could say to your friends: “Dude! You voted for the Antichrist!”

I think that would be the best!

Jason Ruggles’s last blog post..Last Minute Retreat
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

6 Jason said:

Thanks man, now I have that song stuck in my head.

Jason’s last blog post..Living in the world….but not of it
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

7 sTim said:

By that token, Jason, I would find it way more fun if McCain/Bush were to become the AntiChrist.

Or perhaps Alanis Morrissette. I’ve always suspected that anyway!
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

8 Jason Ruggles said:

W. couldn’t have… too isolationist…

Now there was talk about 41! He could have been, what with all of his “new world order” talk!

And McCain… maybe. So long as his publicist worked real hard so everyone would forget he was a war hero.

Jason Ruggles’s last blog post..Last Minute Retreat
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

9 Daryl McMullen said:

Similar upbringing. Raised Seventh Day Adventist so MUCH of it was about the end of time. Left the church for a while then entered a mongo reading binge on eschatology when 25 and leveled out around 27.

I love that I was raised with an understanding of end time events – especially seeing how it is all but villified today.

I guess I love the fact that I understand the stuff while at the same time I’m grateful that it’s on the back burner and doesn’t run my life.

Sweet post – loved it.

Daryl McMullen’s last blog post..Go Play in the Dirt!
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

10 Alison said:

Oh man….I went to a Christian school from preschool through highschool. So you know we watched Thief in the Night movies! The first one I saw was in 3rd grade. It was the one where the husband was raptured and the wife found out because she saw his electric razor still on by the sink [because we all know he had time to gently place it by the sink as Jesus descended from heaven (read: heavy sarcasm)]. I was scarred for life. For a long time after I saw it, I thought I got left behind so many times! For example, when my mom didn’t answer when I called her name, I would race through the house to find her. Then breathed a sigh of relief when I found her.
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

11 jonathan said:

I remember coming home from school to an empty house and panicking that God has raptured my family! Totally freaked me out…until my Mother walked in from the back yard.
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

12 Rich said:

Great post and comments. I thought I was the only one that freaked out in the grocery store or when his parents moved without telling him. What were our parents thinking?
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

13 Molly said:

Thankfully the only thing I was exposed to as a kid were the audio tapes of former witches being saved, but all the terrible things they did BEFORE they found God…and they were really descriptive.

I am not sure which is more psychologically damaging….

Molly’s last blog post..Just an Old Pair of Jeans
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

14 ryan guard said:

This is the kind of nonsense that kept me out of church until 8 years ago! I went to one church service in junior high and they were playing some bloodbath endtimes movie… and I wanted nothing to do with them ever again.
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

15 Vince said:

‘A thief in the night’ is pretty funny now. It was spooky when I was a kid, but it did prompt me to ask some important questions.

But what do you want from safe theology American doctrine?

Vince’s last blog post..Red & Yellow & Black & White
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

16 themisfit said:

Those were some great movies. I never believed them as a kid, they were to far fetched.

Larry Norman ROCKS!

themisfit’s last blog post..Samurai Sword
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

17 Jermayn said:

I remember one Pastor once told me (2004) that all new churches should start by viewing the “Big 3″ end times movies. I laughed at him and told him it wouldn’t work. So he tried it and the only visitors at church that night walked out 10 mins into it – lol

I prefer the Baldwin End Times movie “Six” much more hip and present.

Jermayn’s last blog post..Church is like Ice Cream
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

18 anthony rowell said:

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. I couldn’t tell you how many stories I have heard (and played part in) where someone is terrified that they have been left behind. The smurfs comment was a pretty funny memory too.

anthony rowell’s last blog post..Top ten:Why I love my life…
Visit My Website

March 10, 2009

Permalink

19 Steve said:

I remember watching A Thief In The Night in church, I believe it was the first time a film was shown in the little country chapel I grew up in. Like you, it scared the crap out of me – guillotines still do – but it didn’t really create any lasting fear beyond that.

I’m still interested in end times theology though, and really enjoy reading the works of Joel Rosenberg (www.joelrosenberg.com) who was raised Jewish and converted to Christianity as an adult. His thoughts about prophecies in Ezekiel and their relation to current events are pretty interesting. If you pick up his books, I’d recommend starting with “Epicenter”.
Visit My Website

March 11, 2009

Permalink

20 alece said:

watched all those as a kid. and remember wondering why a guillotine?

sadly, larry normon was all up in my childhood.

shame.

alece’s last blog post..iWrite
Visit My Website

March 11, 2009

Permalink

21 alece said:

[oh and that rapture prank video? that is some mean SHIZ!]

alece’s last blog post..iWrite
Visit My Website

March 11, 2009

Permalink

22 Paul U said:

I used to believe in those predictions but now that I have grown up. I look back and I could say that I should have known better.

Paul U’s last blog post..The TV that blogging bought
Visit My Website

March 12, 2009

Permalink

23 Erika said:

Ha. I remember you telling Heather and I about this when it was just us two who came to visit you. haha and why you were so terrified for Jesus to really come back. haha!
Visit My Website

March 13, 2009

Permalink

24 Abby Grisham-Tichenor said:

I just discovered your blog and love it! I can definitely identify with this post because I grew up in a church that believed and taught all of this (plus many other crazy beliefs) and it scared the crap out of me! Ghosts and all other typical things that kids are scared of didn’t scare me – just this! I couldn’t imagine allowing my kids to see movies like this or teaching them this message of being left behind.
Visit My Website

March 16, 2009

Permalink

25 Zack said:

Dude… my mom got all over that bandwagon.

I remember going to a mega-church so big that you could rent ‘christian’ movies from the bookstore, and she rented all of those… several times each.

I spent years terrified that I was going to be left behind.

I remember praying at night before a special day, like my birthday or a cool field trip, that Jesus would wait a day to come back…

So insane.

To this day, as my dad likes to joke, my mom won’t buy green bananas…
Visit My Website

June 27, 2010

Permalink

26 Kathy said:

I can’t believe I found this clip! This song haunted me for years! I went to Christian school in the 80’s and they made us watch it. The only thing I remember about the movie is the creepy song haha
Visit My Website

August 24, 2010

Permalink

27 Dr. C said:

LOL… This is a pretty funny blog.

I actually don’t believe in the “Rupture”… I mean “Rapture”. What I do believe is far more exciting and Biblical… not that it matters.