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.”