The Last Ride
by Sandy Simpson
I
was listening to a song the other day and began to see a correlation between
that song, which is about ending a man/woman relationship, to what the Bible
tells us happened between God and Israel (Jeremiah 3:8) and will also happen in
the end times between God and those who profess to be Christians but are fallen
away (Revelation 3:16). The only
difference is that God took the children of Israel back (Psalm 14:7) and did
not permanently divorce them, since God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). But in the end the apostate churches will be
spit out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16).
This
song by Todd Rundgren brings tears to my eyes. There is a really fine live version of this
song on YouTube by Daryl Hall and Todd Rundgren on
Hall’s program “Live from Daryl’s House”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDhF-OF7zQ0).
The Last Ride
It's the last ride
Our little game is over
It's the last ride
It's time to take you home
And we can't cry 'cause we seen it coming
No use running, take it slower
It's a dangerous drive
I'm afraid to arrive
But I strive to survive
More a fool than alive
I thought I knew just everything
I had it made and I could coast
But I turned away love when I needed it most
It's the last ride
My little game is over
It's the last ride
It's time to take me home
And I can't cry 'cause I seen it coming
No use running, take it slower
And the road rolls around
And turns through the town
The depression drips down
And glazes the ground
Horizons east and skylines west
The moon, the sun, and all the rest
The loving son, the faithful wife
The burnt out wreck of a poor man's life
The father, son, and holy ghost
They all turned away love when they needed it most
It's the last ride
Their little game is over
It's the last ride
It's time to take them home
And they can't cry 'cause they seen it coming
No use running, take it slower
Songwriters:
Todd Rundgren
The Last Ride
lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Make
no mistake. This article is not an
endorsement of all the lyrics of this song.
The sad thing is that Todd apparently lumps human lost love with the
Triune God losing His love also. What he
does not know is that as long as we live we can come to a saving knowledge of
Jesus Christ through the preaching of the Gospel and the convicting of the Holy
Spirit through the blood of Christ and receive His eternal love. The very concept of love comes from the
relationship in the Godhead. But there
will come a time when the grace of God runs out. All of us, at one point, were on our “last
ride” but after being born again we started a new first ride that will continue
for eternity.
But
this song brings up the emotions of being left behind by the Lord when we
remain in unbelief and unrepentance. This is why Paul tells us to test ourselves
to see if we are in the Faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). We know that the Laodicean
church, the one that the end times churches most closely emulate, had become
proud in their material and assumed spiritual riches and thought they needed nothing
more, when in fact God saw them as being wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and
naked (Revelation 3:17). God had
divorced Israel because she had played the harlot with other gods (Ezekiel
16:15). When God divorces, since God
hates divorce, it is a very serious thing.
God hardened the heart of Pharaoh after he had repeatedly hardened it
himself (Exodus 9:12). God allowed Saul
to be possessed by a demon because he continued to try to kill God’s servant
David (1 Samuel 19:9). We know that if a
person continues to test God and reject His authority there comes a time when
the grace of God no longer extends to that person (Hebrews 10:29). This also goes for whole churches, missions
and Christian organizations. There can
come a time when their “lampstand” is removed from
God’ presence, meaning they no longer are participants in the regenerating work
of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel. It is truly a day
without light when the Spirit is no longer ministering through a church
(Revelation 2:5) but I have seen many evidences of that. The Holy Spirit is being removed from many
churches and organizations today, but they are too brainwashed by the world,
the flesh and the devil to even realize it is happening. They have become the proverbial “frog in a
pot”, which when put into cold water doesn’t jump out of the pot when it is in
danger of burning to death because it cannot feel the change in temperature
till it is too late. The question is …
can we?
The
apostate churches and groups today are on their “last ride”. They have “turned away love when they needed
it most” (Ezekiel 6:9). There truly is
“no use running” and only repentance and a return to obedience in the Lord will
save them. They have scoffed and derided
those who prophetically warned them to turn away from evil and turn back to the
Lord.
2 Chronicles
36:16 but they continually mocked
the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His
prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people,
until there was no remedy.
They
have become increasingly cynical to the point where their hatred toward those
with Godly discernment causes them to pray for and wish discerning Christians
to die.
Further
evidence can be found that many are on their “last ride” with Jesus Christ in
surveys done of believers and unbelievers alike. One survey found that Millennials
are turning to witchcraft and astrology away from religion (“Why Millennials Are Ditching Religion for Witchcraft and
Astrology” by
Kari Paul, Marketwatch, 10/26/17). Another found that
93% of Americans own a Bible but less than half who are Christians have read it
cover to cover and most Americans admit to never having opened it at all (Why Have
Americans Stopped Reading the Bible? at Understand the Times, 10/29/17). Only
11 out of 100 Evangelical church members believe that Jesus is the only way to
eternal life (Apostasy Gaining
Speed by Randall J. Sortino,
Evergreen Freedom Foundation, 6/24/08).
Today there are approximately 100 million American church members who
have very little to no understanding of Bible prophecy. These church members
are from replacement theology churches that don't teach Bible prophecy and who
look at prophetic scriptures as allegorical and not literal. Consequently, they
do not understand the importance of Israel to the God of Israel or God's
redemptive plan for Israel and the nations. (Approximately
100 Million American Church Members Have Very Little to No Understanding of
Bible Prophecy by
Bill Koenig, World Watch Daily, 3/27/10).
An online quiz started a year
ago that examines how consistently Christians are living out the teachings of
Jesus Christ has found an increase in the number of believers who are
"Christians in name only” (Survey Reveals
Increase in Number of 'Worldly Christians' at Understanding the Times, 6/9/12). The American Bible Society's annual
"State of the Bible" study shows most Americans believe society needs
the Bible, but few are finding time to read it. A majority of people in
the United States believe the Bible contains the best advice for a meaningful
life, but they also don't want to take it, and are too busy to read the
scriptures (America's Bible
Hypocrisy: Study Shows Disconnect Between Beliefs and Behavior at
Understand the Times, 9/10/13). Despite more than nine out of 10 Americans
agreeing Jesus was a historical figure, what they believe about Him diverges
widely, according to a newly released survey from the Barna
Research Group (Most Americans
now say Jesus actually a sinner at
Understand the Times, 4/8/15). Another
survey reflects the reality of the day. The younger generation is no longer
biblically literate. The same is true of the adult population and even those
who attend church in most places. There is a famine in the land. Those who are
still following the Lord are calling out for men and women to be raised up to
form a remnant. A recent nationwide study revealed on Friday 10 major
findings about the influence of the Bible on American teens and their
interaction with God’s Word -
including the fact that just 3 percent of teens read the Bible every day. According
to the 2016 Teen State of the Bible research, a majority of teenagers in the
United still have a reverence for the Bible, but their views about what it
actually means to them has evidently been influenced by many of today’s secular
influences that they have been subjected to via the public schools, the media
and the entertainment industry (Only 3
percent of teens read Bible daily at Understand the Times, 9/9/16).
There
are many more evidences of the Apostasy that I could document and have on my
Apologetics Coordination Team web site at
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com.
Many thousands of articles on the “falling away” are linked there on
many issues in our modern churches and society.
When you read how many Christians have lost their salt and hidden their
light it can bring tears to your eyes just as the song “The Last Ride”
does. Oh, that those who profess to
belong to Christ would return to their first love.
Revelation
2:4 But I have this against
you, that you have left your first love.
Jesus
calls out to the Remnant to draw near to Him, to obey Him, to love Him
alone. The world, the flesh and the
devil have become overwhelming influences in the lives of many. Let’s not forget just how close to the end we
are. Jesus is indeed “calling to
those who pass by, who are making their paths straight …” (Proverbs 9:15). May we continue to ride with Him down the
“narrow way”.
Matthew
7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction,
and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that
leads to life, and there are few who find it.”