Is everything you know about 2nd Coming wrong?
Filmmaker, evangelist and renowned bible prophecy teacher Joel Richardson says it is a time of change for the church, especially when it comes to teachings about the End Times and the rapture. The author of the New York Times bestseller The Islamic Antichrist recently appeared with Joe Schimmel on Rick Wiless TruNews radio program to discuss the what he believes is the false doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture.Wiles himself supports the post-tribulation position, stating, I personally do not believe that by the year 2020, any credible person will be teaching the secret pre-trib rapture doctrine. I think the events that are coming in the next five years will utterly destroy the doctrine.The pre-tribulation school of thought has been an important force in American Christianity for decades, with proponents such as Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice. This school holds believers will be raptured before the great tribulation during the End Times, thus avoiding it. In contrast, Richardson believes the rapture will not occur until during the tribulation period. Thus, believing Christians will not be spared the persecution and calamities of the End Times.Richardson is featured on a DVD exploring the issue entitled Left Behind or Led Astray? During the film, Richardson explains what he sees as the crucial importance of the issue.Its one of the premiere pastoral issues of our day. If youre a pastor thats not preparing your people to face potentially the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation, in this hour, simply because your denomination teaches it or whatever, personally I think youre failing in your role as a shepherd and a pastor.Richardson believes the bulk of American Christians are moving in his direction.There are some powerful winds of change presently sweeping through the church, especially as it relates to the subject of end times theology and the rapture. In fact, although these winds have been quietly bringing change for quite some time, their effects are now beginning to become far more apparent. There are ample signs that there is a mass exodus of believers who are leaving the doctrine of the pre-tribulational rapture behind.These teachers, pastors, and students of Scripture are coming to believe that the rapture will take place after the tribulation, but before the wrath of God is poured out. In my own experience, I continually meet new pastors and leaders who have come to reject the doctrine of the pre-trib rapture. Many of these are members of denominations that require one to believe in the pre-trib rapture yet they inform me that many within their denomination have stopped believing in a pre-trib rapture.See the full selection of Joel Richardsons books in the WND Superstore! When a Jew Rules the World, The Islamic Antichrist and more!Champions of the two doctrines will meet face to face next month when Dr. Thomas Ice of the Pre-Trib Research Center meets Alan Kurschner for a public debate on whether the church will face the Antichrist before the rapture. Richardson sees it as a further sign the public is moving to support his position.For the past twenty five years, Dr. Ice has served as the president of the Pre-Tribulational Research Center, and led an annual conference which gathers together a range of leading voices and academics to discuss, strengthen, and defend the case for pre-tribulational dispensationalism.Now, because the mass exodus to pre-wrath is being felt by the pre-trib camp, Dr. Ice has agreed to debate Kurschner. This is the first time Ice has ever defended his view against a leading proponent of the pre-wrath perspective.Kurschner, author of Antichrist Before the Day of the Lord: What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Return of Christ, also believes the momentum is on his side.I am encouraged to see that in recent years there has been a growing number of believers and pastors who are rethinking their traditional pre-tribulational rapture view. Even some denominations who have traditionally been very staunch on pre-tribulationism are allowing their people to have more freedom to affirm other views, particularly the pre-wrath and pos-tribulational rapture views.Regardless of the specific beliefs of Christians, Kurschner argues it is important for believers to discuss and debate their differences and still pursue a spirit of unity. He said: I do not believe that conformity to a particular view or silence by ignoring the issue fosters genuine unity in the church. That creates disunity. Unity can happen if there is meaningful interaction on this issue. Even if at the end of the day there is still disagreement, there can still be a spirit of unity.Read more at http://mobile.wnd.com/2015/08/is-everything-you-know-about-second-coming-wrong/#8dTWZH02Sdi1Q1Yo.99
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Jesus Christ, if he existed at all, has long ago turned to dust. He is not coming back because he died 2000 years ago. He's dead. Deal.
Clearly Christs ideals are very much alive today to greater or lesser extents depending ...
Dust.
Let me treat this thread with the respect it deserves -
BOOK OF REVELATION INTRODUCTION
In A Nutshell
What was that guy smoking?
Oh, sorry, we were just trying to guess what you'll be thinking after you finish reading the Book of Revelation . Come on. A story about a guy who claims to receive a message from God about the end of the world? A message that includes visions of angels of destruction, seven headed beasts, and rivers of blood? You're not the only one who suspects there's something a little trippy about the last book of the Bible.
Even some of the early bishops didn't like Revelation ( they thought it was too hard to understand um, yep). Martin Luther said that it was " neither apostolic or prophetic ," which was a pretty big burn back in the 16th century. Thomas Jefferson thought Revelation was so weird that he didn't even bother to include it in his reedited version of the Bible (which probably earned him some side eyes from those angels of destruction). And George Bernard Shaw called it " a peculiar record of the visions of a drug addict. " Hmmm.
But before we stage an intervention, let's figure out just what Revelation's deal is. Probably more than any book in the Bible, Revelation requires oodles of historical and theological know-how. See, the author was banished for being a Christian (which was illegal back in the good old days of the Roman Empire). So he's not only got a bone to pick with Rome, but he also wants to encourage and uplift other Christians who might be facing the same thing.
Trouble is, he's got to be crafty about how he criticizes the Roman Empire. He can't just go around calling the Emperor a demon beast from the pits of hell or throwing "Romans, go home" graffiti on every wall he sees. So he writes a message in code. A code you can only crack if you've got the right skills.
Don't worry, you don't have to spend tons of time and money studying early Christian literature and painstakingly learning how to translate Koine Greek on your own. Just take a stroll with your old friend, Shmoop. (Sorry, shameless plug. We just can't help ourselves.) We promise by the time you're done, this whole thing will make a lot more sense.
And if it doesn't, just remember: always say no to drugs.
WHY SHOULD I CARE?
Being uncool got you down? Do you find yourself with nothing to do on a Friday night (or a Saturday night)? Does no one truly appreciate the awesomeness of your Star Wars fan blog ? You're not alone.
In the first century, Christians were really unpopular, too. We're talking sitting-by-themselves-at-lunch, spit-balls-in-their-hair, no-one-will-go-to-prom-with-them unpopular. And like many freaks and geeks throughout the ages, their bullies only made things worse. Unfortunately for them, their bullies just happened to be the Roman Empire. These guys didn't just push nerds into lockers or dole out wedgies in the hallway. They beheaded people. Yep. And you thought preps and jocks could be brutal.
That's where the Book of Revelation comes in. The whole thing is kind of one big "It Gets Better" video. It's a message for these geeky Christians: Hey, guys, don't worry. We've actually got the coolest deity around (Jesus!) and he's going to sort this whole mess out soon. When this world is over we're all going to go on to bigger and better things. Those bigger and better things included an eternity living in a sparkling city in Heaven with God. So, yeah, they were really looking forward to graduation.
As for the bullies? Revelation predicted that they were going to end up in God's burn book. Literally. Because if you get on God's bad side, you end up burning. For all eternity. In a Lake of Fire. Hope those meanies like screaming and writhing in pain, because that's their new after-school activity.
So, if you've ever been left out, or picked on, or made fun of, the Book of Revelation might just be for you. And the next time those jerks come after you for wearing your "Han Shot First" shirt in gym class, just think of Revelation. Sure, the armies of Heaven probably aren't going fly down and smite them, but don't worry. Revenge is a dish best served with a side of irony .
The book opens with our narrator, John. He's just a mild-mannered Christian guy living in exile whenpow!God hits him with a doozy of a revelation (hey, that's not a bad idea for a title). John is told to write down everything God shows him, and boy is God going to show him some strange things.
First, John sees a vision of Heaven. There he meets God and Jesus and all sorts of other angels, elders, and weird six-winged creatures that inhabit the heavenly realms. After a brief how-do-you-do, John sees Jesus come forward (in the form of a seven-eyed lamb) and open seven seals. Each of the seals lets loose God's fury on the Earth. We're talking rivers of blood, plagues of locusts, giant hailstones, twenty more seasons of Jersey Shore. The last seal unleashes seven angelic trumpeters, which in turn unleashes seven bowls of God's judgment. Yep, God really has a thing for sevens and pouring down his wrath on non-believers.
Rivers of blood not freaking you out enough? While all this is happening, John sees some pretty hideous creatures lurking around. A giant red dragon, a beast with seven heads, and another beast who also happens to love the number 666. John is told that these baddies have been busy convincing the people of Earth to worship them instead of God. They also like to kill Christians and just generally be evil. Things are not going to go well for them.
After God sends all the plagues to Earth and loads of people die (eek!), he has the armies of Heaven wipe the dragon and the two beasts off the face of the Earth. Literally. They get thrown in the Lake of Fire along with all their followers who refuse to worship God.
As for all the faithful Christians who stayed strong and kept faith in Jesus, they get to go to a splendid city in the sky where the streets are paved with gold and diamonds and nothing bad ever happens to anyone ever again. It's all sunshine and lollipops and the eternal light of God.
John ends the whole book by assuring us that everything he saw is totally and 100% true and that it's all going to happen for real very, very soon. The hour is at hand, so repent, y'all. Don't say that a seven-eyed lamb didn't warn you.
BOOK OF REVELATION SETTING
Where It All Goes Down
We travel far and wide in Revelation. From the depths of the bottomless pit in the center of the Earth to the tippy top of Mount Zion, the setting changes from moment to moment. So where is exactly is this whole thing happening?
The setting of Revelation is actually an intangible vision in John's head. Though he's geographically trapped on the island of Patmos, John uses his mind to take us with him on his journey through the outreaches of the universe.
Let's review the fantastic voyage.
The Good
First stop on the Divine Vision Express is the Heavenly Realms (4:1-8). Here God is on his throne and all is well. The place is gleaming and shining and beautiful. The Lord is there in all his majesty and glory along with a heavenly entourage of worshippers who think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Actually, they're pretty sure he's the reason there is sliced bread. If there was even sliced bread back then.
The book also ends with a description of the New Jerusalem, where all the faithful will live in harmony with God for ever and ever (21:1-27). The streets are paved with goldliterally. The walls are also encrusted with jewels. The place is made to some very specific and symbolic measurements, which make it the most holy and wonderful town in the universe. Trust us, God knows how to decorate.
The Bad
Compare that to the places the evil folks hang out.
For starters, there's the Bottomless Pit (9:1-3). When it's opened (the angels usually keep the thing locked up tight), smoke comes out and blocks the sun. Then terrifying locusts emerge. Then an evil angel. Finally, the Devil gets locked there for a thousand years (20:2-3). Yeah, it's not a nice place.
And don't forget the Lake of Fire (19:20). It's a place of ultimate punishment where the damned burn in a sea of boiling hot sulfur for all eternity. John calls it "the second death" (20:14) so you know it's going to fall a little short of a five-star rating. It's also the final restingor should we say unrestingplace of the two Beasts and the Dragon.
Not exactly our idea of a swell vacation getaway.
The When
Speaking of a thousand years, that's about how long it takes Revelation to fully play out. It's actually over a millennium when you add everything up. That's a lot of death and torture.
The only good news is that John probably doesn't mean all these time periods literally. When he says that locusts will torture people "for five months" (9:5) or Satan will be "bound [] for a thousand years" (20:2), it probably doesn't mean that these things will happen exactly within those time frames. God's clock might be a little off, after all. When he spouts off all these numbers, it's possible he just means these events will last for "a really long time." Ouch.
The Ugly
Another place you might want to avoid until this whole Apocalypse thing blows over is Earth. Specifically the parts of the Earth covered by the Roman Empire and its allies .
Overall, the world is not a pretty place to be during the Armageddon. There are mountains falling from the sky. Rivers of blood. Crazy plagues. Hideous creatures torturing everyone. And the whole place is covered in darkness. We demand a refund.
And why is this happening? Because God is ticked. If we're being exact, we'd say he's ticked that his people are being dissed. And by dissed we mean killed in brutal and terrifying ways.
Historically Speaking
Revelation was written around 95 CE ( source , p. 1187). That's towards the end of the reign of the Emperor Domitian . Like his predecessor, Nero , he also might not have taken too kindly to Christians and their unwillingness to submit completely and fully to the holy authority of the Empire.
There's some debate about just how much persecution was going on during the time Revelation was written. Scholars think that the Roman Empire was a pretty quiet place for Christians between the years 64 and 250 CE, when Diocletianreally started to turn up the heat by boiling people in oil ( source , p. 1187).
But even if no Empire-wide anti-Christian drives were going on, that didn't mean that local persecutions weren't happening. Because Christians refused to worship Roman gods or take part in traditional Roman life (like wearing fancy clothes, going to games and events, and using money) they kind of stuck out and made other people a little angry. After all, who doesn't like to watch gladiators fight to the death? Christians were seen as pretty anti-social ( source , p. 1288).
The Set Up
The role of the setting in Revelation feeds into all this. Christians should keep the faith because there's a big reward in it for themliving in the shining city in the sky, for one. However, if you want to go ahead and take the easy way, there's also an alternative home waiting for you for all eternity. We just hope you're not allergic to sulfur.
Although it is a somewhat dense topic for light reading, the various sections of this website
demonstrate quite clearly that the apocalyptic literature of the Bible, particularly the Book of Revelations, are not about "end times" that occur in 2015 or that vicinity. The terminology and symbolism in the biblical literature are referring to the 1st century and the Roman empire.
Imagine the millions of people who have down through the centuries believed the world was going to end in THEIR lifetimes. Weren't they special ! ?
I disagree...