The Israel/United States War With Iran

        Recently, during the current Middle East conflict of the United States and Israel (and now, a growing list of other countries) against the Islamic Revolutionary State of Iran, I have seen numerous people online who believe that this is the beginning of World War Three and that the End Times have begun. One commenter flatly stated that the Rapture would occur in the next few days.

        Christians!!!! Listen to the Bible! Base what you believe on what the Bible says. Read Matthew 24:1-36, Mark 13:33-37, and Acts 1:7. The Rapture may occur in the next few days and it may not. We should not worry and fret about it. What we should do is always be ready, not just during worrisome times.

        There are numerous Christian eschatological (End Times) positions ranging from preterism, amillenialism, premillenialism, to postmillenialism, with all sorts of gradations and combinations of the different interpretations. These various interpretations exist because the Bible does not explicitly spell out what will happen during the End Times.

        Questions for which we will have to wait for answers: When will the rapture occur? Will Jesus return during our lifetimes? Who is the Antichrist? Are any modern countries mentioned in the Bible? Is the Antichrist already alive and active? Which of the Christian eschatological interpretations is correct? Are any of them correct?

        If events do not play out as you have believed that they will, do not reject the faith. Perhaps you, perhaps I, perhaps all the scholars and theologians, have misunderstood what the Bible has said about the End Times. We all start with our own underlying worldviews and, inevitably, our understandings are colored and influenced by those worldviews. Justin Martyr (2nd century) expressed premillenial views but also said "...many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and who are true Christians, think otherwise."

         We really do not know when the End Times will play out, but we do know that to attempt to establish elaborate and highly specific future timelines is forbidden. Jesus told us that.

Eschatology Series, Post #3: Christian Eschatology

Prior posts in this series:
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2015/01/film-comment-left-behind.html
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2015/01/eschatology-series-post-2-eschatologies.html

Christian eschatology is the study of the end times of the world as related to Christian doctrine. This is far less settled than many people think. Some Christians see eschatology as the major emphasis of their ministry activities while other Christians seem to be totally uninterested. Others merely point out that Christians are clearly instructed in the Scriptures to be ready for the end times but to not set dates. We are instructed to watch the signs and to stay aware. Much of the discussion centers on the book of Revelation.

There are numerous concepts in Christian eschatology which have engendered much discussion (and sometimes heated arguments leading to church splits) among the Saints. There seem to be as many opinions on this subject as there are Christians. Below is a short listing of some of the terms involved in the discussion.

ANTICHRIST: The Antichrist is a world religious and political figure in Christian Eschatology who represents everything opposed to God and Jesus. He is called the Beast and the Man of Perdition who will declare himself to be God. Some believe that he will be a human son of Satan. Others believe that he will be Satan himself. Some see the Antichrist as not a person but a political system or a false church system. Others say that he is in some way merely a symbolic figure representing the world system which opposes the teachings of Jesus Christ. Various persons throughout history have been suspected by some of being the Antichrist: The Roman Emperor Nero, Oliver Cromwell, the Pope, and even United States President Barack Obama. There is a number associated with the Antichrist, 666, which we are told is the number of a man. Intense numerological speculation has occurred with it being demonstrated, for example, that the Emperor Nero's name totals to the number 666. My view is that when the true Antichrist appears it will be readily obvious to members of the Body of Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 1 John 2:18, 2:22, 4:3, 2 John 1:7, Daniel 7:24-25, Revelation 13:5-8, 15:2

FALSE PROPHET: The False Prophet is a person who uses seemingly magical powers to convince people to worship the Antichrist as God. Some believe that he will be of Jewish origin, others that he will be a Gentile. Revelation 13:11-15, 16:13, 19:20, 20:10, Matthew 7:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:9

MARK OF THE BEAST: The Mark of the Beast is some sort of marking placed upon those persons who accept the divinity of the Beast/Antichrist. Without the mark, a person will be unable to buy, sell, or hold a job. Speculation as to the nature of the mark includes that it might be a tattoo, an actual branding, a bio-chip, or just the internal mark of having chosen allegiance to the Antichrist. Revelation 13:16-18, 14:9-10.

THE GREAT TRIBULATION: A time period ruled by the Beast during which Christians will be intensely persecuted and martyred. Revelation 6, Daniel 9:24-27, 12:1, 14:1-5, Matthew 24:21, Jeremiah 30:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:2, 9, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, Isaiah 2:2, 13:6-9, Joel 1:15, 2:1-31, 3:14, Deuteronomy 4:30, Zephaniah 1:1

THE MILLENIUM: A one thousand year time period during which Jesus Christ literally rules the entire Earth from His throne in Jerusalem. There are numerous comments and interpretations about this period: they include:
  1. Some insist that it is first mentioned in the Persian Zoroastrian religion and was copied by Christianity.
  2. The word merely means "a long time."
  3. The millenium is merely symbolic.
  4. We are in the millenium now and the world will progressively become better until the Kingdom of Heaven is finally achieved.
Matthew 24, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Revelation

ARMEGEDDON: A terrible world-wide war provoked by the Antichrist in which the majority of the Earth's population will die. Daniel 9, Matthew 24, Revelation 4:19.

THE RAPTURE: The Rapture is the event when Jesus returns to take believers into the air with Him, leaving the Earth populated only by unbelievers. Exactly when, or even if, this occurs is disputed among Christian believers. There are many conflicting interpretations of this doctrine. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Matthew 24:29-31, Mark 13:24-27, Luke 21:25-27, 1 Corinthians 15:52, Isaiah 27:13.

Film Comment: Left Behind

It says that something is lacking about this 2014 remake of the 2000 film, Left Behind: The Movie, that the most controversial thing about the film has been discussion about whether or not the film's actors were Christians or were just working for a paycheck. More specifically, this question arose about Nicholas Cage, who has appeared in some rather “rough” movies such as Drive Angry (2011) where he portrays a criminal who escapes from Hell to pursue and kill the members of a religious cult which killed his daughter after they chose his infant granddaughter to be their human sacrifice.  Here is the trailer for Drive Angry.

Nothing about the current Left Behind feels particularly Christian or even “religious.” It plays out more as a disaster film which is not particularly well acted. I personally found the film to be rather boring.

The film is based on a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. This is one of the versions of Christian eschatology (the doctrine of “Last Things,”) and describes the period of time at the end of the world.  The Pre-Tribulation view is most commonly held by conservative evangelical Protestants.

In the Pre-Tribulation Rapture understanding of Christian eschatology, the Church, aka: the Bride of Christ, the ἐκκλησία, is suddenly removed from the world by Christ. Hundreds of millions of Christians are suddenly just gone from the Earth. This opens the way for the appearance of the Antichrist. Those who come to Christ during this period are the ones who have been "left beihind."

Some Christian traditions place little or no emphasis on eschatology so the entire premise of this Left Behind film may be confusing to them. In the next few weeks, I will try to explain the various understandings of Christian eschatology and to define some of the associated terminology; Antichrist, False Prophet, Rapture, Millenialism, Preterism, Amillenialism, Pre-Millenialism, and Post-Millenialism.

This is post #1 of the upcoming Eschatology Series.

Definition: Eschatology

In yesterday’s post the quotation mentioned eschatology, the “study of last things,” from the Greek words έσχατος (last or final) + logoς (word or study of). The word was first used in English about 1550 and refers to the “end times,” the final events of history.  The interpretations provided by the various forms of eschatology vary greatly, depending on whether the events described are viewed as literal, symbolic, allegorical, or mystical.  Each religious tradition has its own eschatology.

Christian eschatology is not universally agreed upon but often includes The Second Coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the rapture, a 1000 year millennial period, the last judgment, and the accomplishment of God’s purposes. 

What They Think of Us: Will Your Pet Be Cared For After the Rapture?

I believe that we must love and care for our animals.  I believe that the Bible teaches that the Church will one day (though we do not know when and are told not to speculate as to when) be taken up into the air to be with the Lord before the time of the Tribulation begins.  I had never before put these two ideas together. It appears that others have.  See the very partial list below of websites discussing this very idea.

http://www.aftertherapturepetcare.com/ 

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/18/atheists-offer-to-rescue-christians-pets-after-judgment-day/ 

http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/ 

http://gizmodo.com/5803629/crazy-people-drive-post-rapture-pet-pickup-boom 

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_08/b4167070046047.htm 

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/offbeat/atheists-offering-post-rapture-pet-care-dpgoha-20110518-fc_13255888 

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/19/business/la-fi-rapture-20110519 

http://www.postrapturepetcare.com/ 

Several companies have sprung up promising, for a fee, to care for the the animals left behind by Christians after the Rapture.  Some of the companies say they have been organized by Christians, others by atheists.  All say that the people who will care for the animals are animal lovers and confirmed atheists.  We “will still be here on Earth after you've received your reward”

Some Christians are using the services. The Eternal Earth Bound Pets company says that they have 259 subscribers who have paid $135.00 each for the service.

This sounds like a sarcastic swipe at Christians, but the people at the British company Post Rapture Pet Care say that "This is not a joke. We feel very strongly about pet care and want to offer the best possible services to British pet owners. Feel free to get in touch at pets@postrapturepetcare.com  for more info."

The fact that some atheists do take this to be a joke is evidenced by the statement of someone going by the name of Flange Wogskit Bardgeholly at the RawStory.com site.  "Dint yo momma tell you not to make fun of the cripples?"

If the atheists involved with these companies really are serious about this, I would have two things to say to them:
1. Be sure to honor your committment.
2. Realize that when this happens, you will know the truth and you will have a momentous decision to make.

Dating the End of the World Has Christological Implications

The recent controversy caused by the declaration that the end of the world would occur on 21 May 2011  caused me to think how what the bible clearly says about the timing of the end could be ignored.  I think I know, and it turns on a misunderstanding of who Jesus was..

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” 1 John 4:1-3

This passage addressed what was apparently one of the first, possibly the first, heretical interpretations of Christ to be introduced into the Christian community.  The heresy is that of Docetism, from dokein, a Greek verb meaning "to seem."  Though the heresy arose very early within the Church, the actual word "docetism" was first used in 1846. 

The Docetists insisted that since Jesus was God Almighty He could not have felt pain, He probably did not have an actual Human body, and He had no human limitations; therefore, He only seemed to be human.  An understanding similar to this is at the heart of the recent attempt to set a date for the Second Coming.  The “Son” ^@ in Matthew 24:36 is declared not to be Jesus, but the Devil.  Jesus must have known the date because He was God.

To insist that Jesus did know the day of the end of the world when He said He did not comes dangerously close to saying He was not really human, a sort of quasi-Docetism.  Jesus limited Himself, He “emptied” (ἐκένωσεν) Himself (Philippians 2:7) and became fully human.  We should believe that Jesus meant what He said.

Jesus is coming again, but He also is already here.  Those who love the Lord will be ready whenever He physically returns, if it is in the year 3411, next October 21, or two minutes from now.

^@(“Son” is not in the KJV translation but it is in the original Greek text.)