Do any of you remember that DC Talk cover of the Larry Norman song "I wish we'd all been ready"? I've been thinking about it all week, of course, because of the furor surrounding the group who's been spreading the word that the rapture will happen May 21, 2011. "And there's no time to change your mind. The Son has come and you've been left behind." Wow, that song used to scare me! Not only did it all seem like some crazy sci-fi horror movie, but I've never been one of those people convinced that I would be one of those chosen few. Yeah, chronic feelings of inadequacy left little Christian me unsure that I wouldn't be left behind. Looking back on it all, that seems like a pretty heavy burden for an eight-year-old to carry around. I was a scared little kid.
I do wonder what it would be like to believe that I knew the exact date and time of the rapture. I'm not even sure I really get the rapture, but that aside, wouldn't it be crazy and exciting and terrifying to be sure that you knew when it would all go down? Wow. Still, I think the Bible is pretty clear we'll never know this mysterious date. No one can calculate it.
So why the obsession with trying to figure it out? I mean, this has been going on for two thousand years. Why do people keep trying to pinpoint the date and time? They keep failing and looking really, really foolish. Maybe some people feel more safe and secure because the 'know'? But they were following this man who had been wrong before. Didn't any of them feel even a twinge of doubt knowing this? How do you pick yourself up after being disappointed on that level? As misguided as I think those people were/are, I feel bad for them knowing they have to put their lives back together starting today.
And on my end, it looks like I still have to take my rescheduled comps on Monday, since I didn't get raptured. Bummer.
Weird for sure. I actually LIKED Book 1 in the left behind series and how they portrayed it. I don't feel bad when stupid people follow stupid ideas. We all have brains. Use em. The Bible is CLEAR that we won't know when. If this guy claims to know he is NOT of God so yah... foolishness. I miss you.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't actually think the rapture is going to happen in any way that people believe. Because the Bible is pretty clear that it is all about new heaven and new earth, which pretty much means the earth won't be destroyed. People take Revelation WAY too literally. On another note, I think people want to know the day and time because they believe God is coming back and they think he's taking too long. Also, people are really afraid of death and probably want to get out of it. But I just think of all the children of all the people who believed this. Imagine what those children are feeling today...like every adult in their lives lied to them. That is scary.
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