Merlin Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 The end of the world is near... So now it is time to stockpile food, guns, and survival supplies because the Anti-Christ and his evil army of humanists will soon overrun the entire planet with the sole purpose of killing off anyone who does not accept the mark of the beast, 666. In fact, he is so evil that he manages to unite all of humanity in peace. This cannot be allowed to take place under any circumstance because only Jesus can unite the world in peace. Does this scenario sound familiar to you? If this one doesn't sound familiar, maybe the next one will. The end of the world is near... Soon the Lord is going to return to earth to take all of his followers up to Heaven in a glorious rapture where there will be years of feasting, singing, and celebrating. While the believers are safe in Heaven, the rest of humanity will suffer some of the most cruel and inhumane punishments that have ever been imagined. The sun will darken and the moon will become like blood. The stars will fall from the sky, and the waters will be poisoned. Horrible half scorpion flying horse creatures will rise out of the bottomless pit to punish the unbelievers. Most of the world will be destroyed by fire and famine, and it will all come to a horrifying end with the ultimate world war also known as Armageddon. As if this tribulation isn't enough, anyone who manages to come to know the Lord during the dreaded time of tribulation will have to pay for his or her salvation by being beheaded. Those unfortunate souls didn't come to the knowledge of the truth soon enough, and they will be required to pay the price. Both of these lovely scenarios end with Jesus returning to planet Earth to bring Armageddon to a bloody end. Jesus arrives with his saints and destroys all the armies with the cruel sword of his mouth. The Bible says that there will be so much blood in the valley in which the war takes place that it will come up to the necks of the horses. Jesus will then lock the Devil up for awhile. After all of this is done, peace will be allowed to return to the world for at least a thousand years. The lion will lay down with the lamb, and everyone will be happy. Of course, one tribulation isn't enough. There will be one last great purging. According to the last book in the collection known as the Bible, Jesus will let the Devil loose one last time in order to deceive the world again... Fear not! When all of this is said and done, everyone can finally breathe a sigh of relief. A new world complete with a new Heaven will be created, and the old world will pass away forever. Just imagine how awesome it all will be - a new world completely populated with Christians. This story may sound crazy, but believe it or not, it is a story that many evangelical Christians hold close to their hearts. It is their great hope. It is the reason that I first became a Christian. I was just a young child of eight years old when I had the extreme displeasure of watching a series of rapture movies. They scared me so badly that I couldn't sleep at night due to the subsequent nightmares I would have. The only thing my mother could do to calm my fears was lead me to the Lord. She prayed with me and told me that I didn't have to worry anymore because I would go to Heaven when the rapture happened. I gave her a big hug and slept soundly again. Many years later, I began to see the real poison of this crazy doctrine. I was sitting with a good friend of mine that I had attended private school with. We were talking about current events when I proposed a set of real-world solutions that I thought might help humanity. He didn't even listen to me. He looked straight into my eyes with full seriousness and proceeded to say these words, "It doesn't matter. It is all gonna burn." I was taken back for a second or two. Our discussion came to an abrupt close. However, I would soon learn that this would not be an isolated incident. Throughout the following years I witnessed this defeatist attitude proudly displayed in a countless number of ways. Well meaning adults and church elders would dismiss any notion that there was any hope in making the world a better place. They would quietly say that of the bad things in the world were just 'signs of the times'. Discussions ranging from global warming, terrorism, war, mass starvation, AIDS, and every other kind of global atrocity would be quietly dismissed by supposedly well-meaning people who would say that nothing could be done to fix the problems because they were Biblical. Because the Bible predicted that the world would become an evil place in the last days, nothing could be done to stop the prophecies from coming to pass. Basically, any suggestions that were made by people like myself to make the world a better place to live were looked upon as futile. At the end of these discussions with the older and wiser Christians I was raised around, I would be told that the best thing I could do during these dark times would be to win more souls for Jesus. In a very real sense, I spent many years completely overcome with rapture (pun intended). However, these days, I'm walking to the beat of a different drummer. I now believe that something needs to be done to cure people of this insanity. It not only keeps social progress from taking place by convincing believers that attempts at global peace are somehow connected with the Anti-Christ's evil schemes, but it also keeps well-meaning people from doing anything to change the world for the better. Please tell me I'm not alone in feeling this way? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeCycle Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Absolutely!!!! Great post! I for one can tell you that this mentality affected my ability to plan ahead during my high-school and what should have been my collegiate years. After all, why would it matter? I was so indoctrinated (brainwashed) to believe it was all going to happen so soon that planning a career or planning for the distant future seemed meaningless. Around here, everyone thinks it's the end of the world and I know for a fact that this is not a healthy mentality to raise children around. The way it controlled me and manipulated me to kind of just exist and ride this thing out until it's over is so tragic. I sincerely feel there's so much more I could have accomplished, so much more I could have contributed and so much more confidence I'd have in myself if it weren't for the rapture mentality that has a great way of stealing ones desire to strive to do great things not only for ourselves but for each other. Anyway, again, great post! This subject really hits home with me. Ahh the stories I could tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Stockpiling for the Rapture is so 1987. Edit: Oops. I meant "Stockpiling for the Great Tribulation is so 1987". My Pastor figured that being raptured out before the Tribulation would be too easy so we all had to be ready for seven years of the worst case Christian propaganda could imagine. And that is mighty strange considering that he is still a pastor all these years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 On the contrary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 When you were coming up with solutions to help the world improve, and your friend knocked you down with, "It doesn't matter. It is all gonna burn," you made a choice. Good for you! You made a postive choice because you knew that xianity is nothing but a defeatist attitude towards this life with imaginary promises of glory after death. If xians don't want to figure out solutions, or put hard work into world problems, then too bad. I'm glad there are people who do work hard to find cures for diseases, and do other work to make our actual, real lives here better. And yes, I used to hear those kinds of attitudes a lot when I went to church. What a waste of time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfuddled Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I was raised Christian, and I have never understood the whole rapture/Revelation thing. I purposely avoided discussions about it because the whole thing sounds so weird to me. Revelations sounds like a comic book. I just always hoped that I'd die before it happened so that I wouldn't have to deal with any of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gall Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 The end of the world is near... So now it is time to stockpile food, guns, and survival supplies because the Anti-Christ and his evil army of humanists will soon overrun the entire planet with the sole purpose of killing off anyone who does not accept the mark of the beast, 666. In fact, he is so evil that he manages to unite all of humanity in peace. This cannot be allowed to take place under any circumstance because only Jesus can unite the world in peace. Does this scenario sound familiar to you? If this one doesn't sound familiar, maybe the next one will. The end of the world is near... Soon the Lord is going to return to earth to take all of his followers up to Heaven in a glorious rapture where there will be years of feasting, singing, and celebrating. While the believers are safe in Heaven, the rest of humanity will suffer some of the most cruel and inhumane punishments that have ever been imagined. The sun will darken and the moon will become like blood. The stars will fall from the sky, and the waters will be poisoned. Horrible half scorpion flying horse creatures will rise out of the bottomless pit to punish the unbelievers. Most of the world will be destroyed by fire and famine, and it will all come to a horrifying end with the ultimate world war also known as Armageddon. As if this tribulation isn't enough, anyone who manages to come to know the Lord during the dreaded time of tribulation will have to pay for his or her salvation by being beheaded. Those unfortunate souls didn't come to the knowledge of the truth soon enough, and they will be required to pay the price. Both of these lovely scenarios end with Jesus returning to planet Earth to bring Armageddon to a bloody end. Jesus arrives with his saints and destroys all the armies with the cruel sword of his mouth. The Bible says that there will be so much blood in the valley in which the war takes place that it will come up to the necks of the horses. Jesus will then lock the Devil up for awhile. After all of this is done, peace will be allowed to return to the world for at least a thousand years. The lion will lay down with the lamb, and everyone will be happy. Of course, one tribulation isn't enough. There will be one last great purging. According to the last book in the collection known as the Bible, Jesus will let the Devil loose one last time in order to deceive the world again... Fear not! When all of this is said and done, everyone can finally breathe a sigh of relief. A new world complete with a new Heaven will be created, and the old world will pass away forever. Just imagine how awesome it all will be - a new world completely populated with Christians. This story may sound crazy, but believe it or not, it is a story that many evangelical Christians hold close to their hearts. It is their great hope. It is the reason that I first became a Christian. I was just a young child of eight years old when I had the extreme displeasure of watching a series of rapture movies. They scared me so badly that I couldn't sleep at night due to the subsequent nightmares I would have. The only thing my mother could do to calm my fears was lead me to the Lord. She prayed with me and told me that I didn't have to worry anymore because I would go to Heaven when the rapture happened. I gave her a big hug and slept soundly again. Many years later, I began to see the real poison of this crazy doctrine. I was sitting with a good friend of mine that I had attended private school with. We were talking about current events when I proposed a set of real-world solutions that I thought might help humanity. He didn't even listen to me. He looked straight into my eyes with full seriousness and proceeded to say these words, "It doesn't matter. It is all gonna burn." I was taken back for a second or two. Our discussion came to an abrupt close. However, I would soon learn that this would not be an isolated incident. Throughout the following years I witnessed this defeatist attitude proudly displayed in a countless number of ways. Well meaning adults and church elders would dismiss any notion that there was any hope in making the world a better place. They would quietly say that of the bad things in the world were just 'signs of the times'. Discussions ranging from global warming, terrorism, war, mass starvation, AIDS, and every other kind of global atrocity would be quietly dismissed by supposedly well-meaning people who would say that nothing could be done to fix the problems because they were Biblical. Because the Bible predicted that the world would become an evil place in the last days, nothing could be done to stop the prophecies from coming to pass. Basically, any suggestions that were made by people like myself to make the world a better place to live were looked upon as futile. At the end of these discussions with the older and wiser Christians I was raised around, I would be told that the best thing I could do during these dark times would be to win more souls for Jesus. In a very real sense, I spent many years completely overcome with rapture (pun intended). However, these days, I'm walking to the beat of a different drummer. I now believe that something needs to be done to cure people of this insanity. It not only keeps social progress from taking place by convincing believers that attempts at global peace are somehow connected with the Anti-Christ's evil schemes, but it also keeps well-meaning people from doing anything to change the world for the better. Please tell me I'm not alone in feeling this way? The only way the change you want will come to pass is over time as people come to realize these things on their own. Forcing people what to believe is exactly what they are trying or would like to do to you. There are plenty of people out here trying to change the world for the better I am one and I am not alone. These groups won't stop me or them from trying and all one can do is try. Their "insanity" will only be cured by time and trouble, the trouble it takes the rest of us to suffer them until the world changes a bit more. It is changing even if not as fast as you (or I) would like. It seems grand to force them but in the end all you would do is start a holy war. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gall Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I was raised Christian, and I have never understood the whole rapture/Revelation thing. I purposely avoided discussions about it because the whole thing sounds so weird to me. Revelations sounds like a comic book. I just always hoped that I'd die before it happened so that I wouldn't have to deal with any of it. A crappy comic book with cheese dick characters and a lame ending. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francesco Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 christians rapture: the end is so near yet it's so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 christians rapture: the end is so near yet it's so far Francesco, you hit the nail right on the head. I don't think I could have said it better myself. I was raised Christian, and I have never understood the whole rapture/Revelation thing. I purposely avoided discussions about it because the whole thing sounds so weird to me. Revelations sounds like a comic book. I just always hoped that I'd die before it happened so that I wouldn't have to deal with any of it. A crappy comic book with cheese dick characters and a lame ending. You may not realize it, but I believe that even some of the early church leaders had big problems with the book of Revelations. I would have to check my sources to give you an accurate account, but I believe that the book of Revelations almost didn't make the final cut for the edition of the Bible that people now use... You might look into it. The only way the change you want will come to pass is over time as people come to realize these things on their own. Forcing people what to believe is exactly what they are trying or would like to do to you. There are plenty of people out here trying to change the world for the better I am one and I am not alone. These groups won't stop me or them from trying and all one can do is try. Their "insanity" will only be cured by time and trouble, the trouble it takes the rest of us to suffer them until the world changes a bit more. It is changing even if not as fast as you (or I) would like. It seems grand to force them but in the end all you would do is start a holy war. Unfortunately, you are one hundred percent correct. The only thing that is worse than unfulfilled Bible prophecy is the self-fulfilling prophecy that it can eventually become because so many people are not willing to let it go. I was raised Christian, and I have never understood the whole rapture/Revelation thing. I purposely avoided discussions about it because the whole thing sounds so weird to me. Revelations sounds like a comic book. I just always hoped that I'd die before it happened so that I wouldn't have to deal with any of it. Hey Bfuddled, you are definitely not alone in feeling that way. The end times prophecies are skeletons in the closet of Christianity that many people in the faith choose to ignore for lack of a better way of coming to grips with their grim realities. Unfortunately, the more 'hard-core' believers rally around the prophecies and use them as a tool of fear to further propagate their beliefs to the masses. When you were coming up with solutions to help the world improve, and your friend knocked you down with, "It doesn't matter. It is all gonna burn," you made a choice. Good for you! You made a postive choice because you knew that xianity is nothing but a defeatist attitude towards this life with imaginary promises of glory after death. If xians don't want to figure out solutions, or put hard work into world problems, then too bad. I'm glad there are people who do work hard to find cures for diseases, and do other work to make our actual, real lives here better. And yes, I used to hear those kinds of attitudes a lot when I went to church. What a waste of time! Amateur, I agree with you. It is a wonderful thing that there are still people who are willing to work hard to make the world a better place to live despite all of the fear-mongering that goes on around them. The people of this world who manage to overcome the different types of mass hysteria that seem to plague our modern age are the same people who will make the biggest difference. Future generations will be thankful that there were individuals who continued working to cure diseases, further social progress, etc. The biggest problem with end of the world prophecy is that it generally renders the individuals who believe in it completely useless as it concerns actually having a productive and beneficial existence in this world. On the contrary LOL! Thanks for the clip Sparky. Stockpiling for the Rapture is so 1987. Edit: Oops. I meant "Stockpiling for the Great Tribulation is so 1987". My Pastor figured that being raptured out before the Tribulation would be too easy so we all had to be ready for seven years of the worst case Christian propaganda could imagine. And that is mighty strange considering that he is still a pastor all these years later. Hey Mymistake, I'm not surprised at all. A couple of years ago, I actually saw the infamous Jim Baker on t.v. preaching. I couldn't believe it! He was selling flashlights with a Bible verse printed on the side of them. He was telling his audience that they needed to prepared to have a source of light for the dark days that the 'end times' would bring to them. I about fell out of my chair. And I promise you that I'm not making any of this up! lol Absolutely!!!! Great post! I for one can tell you that this mentality affected my ability to plan ahead during my high-school and what should have been my collegiate years. After all, why would it matter? I was so indoctrinated (brainwashed) to believe it was all going to happen so soon that planning a career or planning for the distant future seemed meaningless. Around here, everyone thinks it's the end of the world and I know for a fact that this is not a healthy mentality to raise children around. The way it controlled me and manipulated me to kind of just exist and ride this thing out until it's over is so tragic. I sincerely feel there's so much more I could have accomplished, so much more I could have contributed and so much more confidence I'd have in myself if it weren't for the rapture mentality that has a great way of stealing ones desire to strive to do great things not only for ourselves but for each other. Anyway, again, great post! This subject really hits home with me. Ahh the stories I could tell. I'm glad you enjoyed the post LifeCycle. I felt like I needed to tell my story because I know in my heart that there are other people who are experiencing the same thing. Unfortunately, here in the Midwest, 'end of the world' hysteria is still as strong as it ever was... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francesco Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 rapture is another scare tactic because it speaks about the end of the world. However, instead of hell, you are threatened by being the left behind. Especially the seats are limited to only 144,000 (rev 7 and 14). Get your ticket now or you'll be left behind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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