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TheDoor Interview with Todd Strandberg
by Becky Garrison
ONLINE EXTRA May/June 2004
OK, you survived the Y2K scare, got your "Go Bag" ready in the event of another natural disaster but are you ready to survive big R? No we don't mean 'rasslin' or right-wing Republicans but the "RAPTURE." In an attempt to prep our faithful readers for that fateful day when the Book of Revelation comes alive and the Almighty Salesman comes a-calling, Door Contributing Editor Becky Garrison buzzed Todd Strandberg co-author of Are You Rapture Ready?: Signs Prophecies, Warnings, Threats and Suspicions that the Endtime is Now (Dutton, 2003). She managed to suppress her case of the giggles long enough to allow Todd to impart his words of warning to you, our ever-ready reader.
DOOR: First off, how do you define the words rapture and tribulation?
STRANDBERG: Rapture is when Christ comes before the tribulation starts and removes the church, which will make way for the tribulation to start. The tribulation will start when the Antichrist confirms a peace agreement with Israel. That will kick off the tribulation hour, the seven-year period.
DOOR: Most Christians interpret books like Genesis and Revelations as myths, not the literal word of God. Couldn't the symbols used in Revelations be metaphors and inspirational myths and not actual signs of what will happen?
STRANDBERG: When I see what is predicted happening, I think that's proof enough it's not just a metaphor, it's not just a figure of speech, it's not just an instructional teaching. It's fact, these things are happening.
DOOR: Now, what sparked your interest about the Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series?
STRANDBERG: That's my co-author Terry James' doing.
DOOR: I see, blame the buddy.
STANDBERG: I'm not much a person for fiction. The novel has inspired a lot of people to become interested in prophecy, and probably led a lot of people to salvation, but for me fiction is not really my thing.
DOOR: Wait a minute. Now, people have been predicting the rapture for years. Why are you convinced that in 2003 we're entering the end-times?
STRANDBERG: Well first, Daniel predicted well over two thousand years ago that Europe would come back as an entity. First peace would come during the early church time frame, and then it would come back again. We see this revived Roman Empire that it's commonly called is just one giant indication of being near that. Also, one of the key reasons why I believe in Bible prophecy is the rebirth of Israel. No other nation has ever dissolved from existence and come back and reformed. There is no precedent for this in all of human history.
DOOR: Some people think the song We Are The World is a nice, joyous, happy song albeit a bit nauseous but yet you say it brings prophecy for the end-time into full view. How come?
STRANDBERG: When the world becomes united under one political rule, it becomes autocratic. It's a very nice theme but if you know prophecy, you know that when we get to that point, there are negative things that will happen. It's wishful thinking but it's all a pipe dream here. When that song's desire takes place, it will be under the dictatorship by the Antichrist.
DOOR: Now, how was the revelation that Jesse Jackson fathered an illegitimate child a sign that we're living in the end days?
STRANDBERG: If his little scandal there happened fifty years ago, he would have to resign from his organization. But it happened on a Monday or something and by Friday it was considered dismissed. It just shows you how callous morally our society has become..
DOOR: What's the danger in attending a church that's supercalifragilisticexpealidocious?
STRANDBERG: There are a lot of churches that build up things that really should not be there by taking man's tradition and replacing it with what should be wholesome Christian living. I think the Gospel message should be rather plain. It shouldn't be having all these trappings of tradition and rituals like having saints, paying for indulgence, or even worship of buildings and certain titles.
DOOR: Are there any odds that any of the devout Catholics, Jews, or Muslims will be included in the rapture?
STRANDBERG: There is obviously a complexity there because Catholics are very much into tradition, and they're also not very open to the end-times message. There have been some inroads, especially through the Left Behind book series. Since it's a fictional novel, it just seems to get into more hands than non-fiction Bible prophecy books. There are some problems there but I think they can be reached.
DOOR: Wait a minute you're saying Catholics aren't Christians?
STRANDBERG: One thing you have to do is you accept Christ, so it's really on that person getting past his or her own predisposed views to accepting Christ. If they say, "Well I'm Catholic" or "I don't worship that way," then there is a block right there.
DOOR: So, your God is better than their God, that kind of thing-y.
STRANDBERG: -----
DOOR: Moving on. Now, would you say the members from churches that don't preach on the Book of Revelation would not be taken up in the rapture?
STRANDBERG: It's certainly a possibility. The Book of Revelation is a warning. That's why it's in the Bible. And if you're not adhering to a warning, then obviously you're going to be predisposed to not be ready.
DOOR: Now, a lot of different groups have predicted the date of the end-times, and the date comes, nothing happens and so the group disbands. How would you caution people against falling into that trap of figuring out when the event is going to occur?
STRANDBERG: I strongly disapprove of date setting. It says in the Bible that we will know the general time frame, but like when Christ gave the example of knowing the weather, when you see it turn gray you know it's going to rain or when the sky is clear you know it's going to be warm. And that's how we can tell the end-times. We can't know when these weather events are going to happen but you know that they are going to happen soon.
DOOR: Could you elaborate on some of the disasters that will happen on earth during the rapture?
STRANDBERG: The rapture will be everywhere. Most likely, there will be nuclear war and various plagues like hundred pound hail stones falling out of the sky. A lot of the plagues will be man-induced, and then later in the tribulation hour a lot of these will be just massive earthquakes all around the whole world, floods, fire and plagues of every variety. Also, there will be cars going out of control and people missing, and the economic destruction will be on a massive scale.
DOOR: How fast will all this happen?
STRANDBERG: It says in the twinkling of an eye that the dead will rise and the believers will be changed. So it will just be instantaneous; they will just disappear. There are some pictorial drawings that show Christians floating up into the air but really it will take place in the blink of an eye.
DOOR: Is the media playing any role in bringing about the rapture or are they just being the spokesperson for what may happen?
STRANDBERG: I think the media is mostly just there to relate what has happened. They will obviously react in a major way when the rapture takes place. It will probably be a hundred times more than what 9/11 was because it will for a short period of time jolt the whole world and get their attention. People will be looking for information, and what our society is geared toward is with two billion people having access to the Internet when the rapture takes place I would imagine on that day that at least a couple hundred million people would come through the site www.raptureready.com.
DOOR: Why do you think the US and Canada will have the highest percentage of people taken up in the rapture?
STRANDBERG: Probably because they have the highest percentage of Bible believing Christians.
DOOR: What do you think will happen to the children during the time of the rapture?
STRANDBERG: There is a lot of debate on that question. I look at it as the children of believers will be raptured up and the children of non-believers probably not but most Christians say that all children will be taken. I look in the Bible and I see examples of like in Sodom, and there is no indication that the children of the Sodomites were removed from that situation before God rained fire down from heaven blotting out those two cities. And during the flood, the only children saved were the children of Noah.
DOOR: How would you respond to people that are suffering from what you call "prophecy denialitus?"
STRANDBERG: Wake up and realize what's going on in the world. We see Europe coming together; you see this ongoing drive to come up with a final peace agreement with Israel. You've just got to look at the end-time warnings, and adhere to them.
DOOR: In your book, you mention a symptom called "Antichristohobia" in which people believe that a host of individuals ranging from FDR, Adolph Hitler, Ronald Reagan, and even Barney the dinosaur are the Antichrist.
STRANDBERG: We shouldn't be looking for the Antichrist; we should be looking for the Christ. We won't know until the tribulations start, and there has been so much erroneous predictions because obviously a lot of these people are no longer on the scene or they're demised. So it's been a waste of time on a lot of people's part.
DOOR: A number of people have said the Antichrist has already come in the form of Hitler and these people. Lord, knows we thought it was the end of the world when Barney started singing.
STRANDBERG: Hitler wasn't the Antichrist because he didn't do the things the Bible says the Antichrist will do. He ended up shooting himself in the head. He was a type of Antichrist and there are precursors to this great demonic being that will take over someday.
DOOR: What role will the Antichrist be playing during the seven-year period? It sounds like it's not going to be this devil with horns but rather something more deceptive.
STRANDBERG: At first he will appear to be a very righteous man. He'll solve the conflict that's been going on between Israel and the Arabs and seem a friend to Israel. But in the end he'll turn against them, he'll declare himself to be God, rebuild temple in Jerusalem, and there will be a rebellion that he will have to fight, not only the Israelis but also China will turn against him.
DOOR: Will it be a political leader then who will be the Antichrist?
STRANDBERG: Yes, he will head the European union.
DOOR: You mean Dubya ain't the Antichrist?
STRANDBERG: No, it won't be George Bush because it has to be the revived Roman Empire. Ten leaders will elect him. Actually, he won't rule until three and a half years into the tribulation. Then he rules for forty-two months. He'll sign the peace agreement. So, he could be maybe a head of state in Europe but he will not be elected as the supreme leader until the mid point.
DOOR: Now, according to your book, when the actual end-time comes, a number of religious leaders are going to be left behind.
STRANDBERG: I think there will be a lot of well-known charlatans that will come on the scene and probably cause a lot of trouble for the true message. I've looked at www.thedoormagazine.com, some of your exposés on some of these televangelists. I think they're just crooks hiding behind the cross.
DOOR: So, we're in agreement here.
STRANDBERG: When the rapture takes place, they're going to be in a rather awkward position. I think they'll be looking for some sort of excuse or explanation that the secular world will be using and they'll probably propagate that message as best they can.
DOOR: Let's take Pat Robertson. Here's a dude that does a lot of end-time preaching and really puts forth the message of the unification of Israel. So, when the rapture comes is he in or out?
STRANDBERG: He's got a lot of errors in his end-time doctrine but that doesn't mean he won't be raptured. People aren't going to get raptured based on if they disagree with you on some point but it's their spiritual condition that's going to be the determining factor.
DOOR: Now, what are some of the fallacies that you see in Pat Robertson's doctrine?
STRANDBERG: He's a kingdom now person. He believes that the world is just going to get better and better. Christians are going to take over politically. That's why he ran for office but that's just not going to happen. The world is not getting better and better. Just look at the Supreme Court.
DOOR: Let's not and say we did.
STRANDBERG: Well, recently these justices struck down the Texas sodomy law. I think there are about fifteen different states that have on the books some of the laws against sodomy. Obviously, Pat Robertson has to be rather frustrated by that fact because he's looking for more regulation and here we're going in the wrong direction.
DOOR: As you know also, some people are coming up with a lot of different conspiracies about the end-times. I think you call this "conspirarrhea."
STRANDBERG: It's connected to diarrhea.
DOOR: Oh crap.
STRANDBERG: I'm very much into financial news, and I don't see any of these types of connections of these jokers, these men that rule the world behind the scene. Like when the stock market crashed in 1987, these guys all lost money like everyone else. So if they ruled the world and planned all economic events, why did they get wiped out like everyone else? That's one argument I use a lot. You can't convince these people because a lot of them are just people that are mad with society. They are looking to blame some entity for their own problems, so they heap their problems on this mysterious organization.
DOOR: Now, for those of us stuck on earth after the rapture, you say there's the gonna be seven years of holy hell. Any survival pointers here Bud?
STRANDBERG: Probably most believers will be martyred so it's unlikely you will survive it.
DOOR: Now, oh durn it. Now, if anyone dies under the persecution, will they immediately be taken up and rejoin those who were taken up with the rapture?
STRANDBERG: There is a part in the Bible where before the throne of God there was a huge number of people. It says that these had washed their robes clean during the tribulation, so people that died during the tribulation will go up to heaven.
DOOR: So, what is this financial mark we keep hearing about?
STRANDBERG: The Bible says it will be a mark that will be in the right hand or forehead. Now, it's going to be a financial system that will be implemented by the Antichrist. You cannot receive the financial mark. Once you receive that you are eternally damned.
DOOR: Will this mark be pretty clear to those of us left on earth?
STRANDBERG: I believe it will have to be rather clear because if it was something like a new national card that they send out in the mail, you open it and you're damned right away. No, it's going to be something that once you receive it you'll know. You can't be condemned for something trivial. So it will be a financial system that you will pretty much be swearing your allegiance to the Antichrist.
DOOR: We're also hearing of people that won't get social security cards, or even license plates because of their fear of this financial mark.
STRANDBERG: Now, if someone has problems with a license plate with 6, 6, 6 on it or a cash register rings up 6, 6, 6, they go buy a candy bar so it will be seven dollars, or something so they avoid that number, that's ridiculous.
DOOR: Some people feel that Christ could announce he's coming and then give us seven years to get our act together. Why do you feel that would not be the way to go?
STRANDBERG: In one way the tribulation is like a warning. Many phrases mention that "they repented not," so that's what the tribulation will all be about. It's not just God wanting to beat up on sinful men, it's him using the tribulation to convince them because during the tribulation there will be more people saved than any time in human history but it will be a very costly event.
DOOR: After the end of the seven years what will happen to those who are in heaven as well as those on earth?
STRANDBERG: The ones on earth that are saved will go into the millennium and repopulate the earth. Then unsaved will be killed or thrown into the hell. When Christ comes back he says he will separate the goats from the sheep. It's pretty much just a separating process to eliminate all vestige of sinful mankind.
DOOR: Sounds like a kegger at Joe Bob Briggs' doublewide.
STRANDBERG: -----
DOOR: Guess you had to be there. So when does the lion lay down with the lamb?
STRANDBERG: That will happen during the millennial rule after Christ comes back, knocks a few heads together, and sets up his thousand-year rule.
DOOR: Kinda like Charlton Heston back in the good 'ol days.
STRANDBERG: ---
DOOR: Nebermind. Now, what must one do in order to be rapture ready?
STRANDBERG: Confessed your sins, make sure your loved ones are saved and live the righteous life, which is defined as reading your Bible and following the Ten Commandments.
DOOR: What are you doing to make sure that you are staying rapture ready?
STRANDBERG: I stay productive by getting other people ready, praying, studying the Bible, adhering to its message, and avoiding pitfalls of false doctrine.
DOOR: Well, if it's OK with you bud, we'd rather devote our energies to say feeding the homeless, building affordable housing, you know, doing some of that Beatitudes type stuff here on earth.
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