How silly faith would be if it was reduced to nothing more than trusting in predictions. As you may have heard, Evangelist Harold Camping from the United States has used the number seven in a number of calculations to predict when the church is to be raptured (taken up: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). According to Camping that will happen 7,000 years after the great flood of Noah's day (Genesis 6 & 7); which again according to Camping is May 21, 2011.
This is purely a manmade prediction, and should not be taken seriously. If God wanted us to know the time of Jesus' eminent return He would have made it clear to us in the Bible. Instead, He makes it clear that only He knows the time and hour when that will happen. As a matter of fact, I think God goes out of His way to imply that He doesn't want us to know. He simply wants us to be obedient to be His church to a lost and dying world.
In my seminary years we studied eschatology (the theories of future events and things). I remember the professor stating quite clearly that up until around 150 year ago the theory of the rapture of the church taking place before the 7 years of tribulations (pre-trib mill), and then the end of the world would come, is about a 150 year old theory. But for most of the 2,000 years of the history of the church, it believed that the rapture would happen after the 7 year tribulation period (post-trib mill).
Of course this is still a hotly debated argument. However the point is really not about when the rapture will happen. Each is to be respected for their own beliefs. The real point of the matter has to do with predictions based on theories; because most of eschatology in terms of when the rapture will happen is based on theory; exact times for the events are not clearly laid out in the Bible. I truely believe that God does not want us to know, He simply wants us to trust in Him.
What benefit would it be for us to know. Some of the New Testament Epistles address this very problem. Early Church Christians believed that Jesus would return in their lifetime so they stopped working for a living and simply sat back and waited. Nothing mattered anymore to them; except the rapture and the coming of Jesus.
The rapture of the Church will happen at the exact moment the voice of God commands it, and not a moment before. He simply wants us to know that it will happen, as a promise for His eminent return. In the meantime, get to work! God's work is never finished until "He" calls it a day; not Harold Camping.
Blessings,
-Leo
No comments:
Post a Comment