Prophetic Distraction

As the Lord Jesus was ascending to Heaven after the end of His earthly ministry, the Apostles were standing there watching Him disappear into the clouds for long moments after it actually happened. Suddenly an angel appeared to them and spoke these words:

“You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky, will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the sky.” (Acts 1:11)

This is not the first promise that we are given that there will be a Second Coming. In Saint John’s Gospel in the first few verses of Chapter 14 we read:

“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.” (John 14:1-3)

In the last century and a half Evangelical Christians (and some Catholics) have become obsessed with the promise and several authors have made a lot of money speculating on the subject. In 1970 Hal Lindsey published his landmark book, “The Late, Great Planet Earth” which predicted the Second Coming would happen in 1988… and later 2001 and more recently a few years from now. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins’ “Left Behind” series, which to date has sold nearly 63 million copies worldwide, is the most popular work of “fiction” in the genre (although given his accuracy rate I’d put Lindsey’s works in the fiction category as well). In addition, it seems that every well- known Evangelical Christian preacher, teacher or televangelist has written a book speculating either on the date of the “Rapture” or the events that will lead to it. What is the “Rapture”?

Some Views of the End Times

Down through the ages various theologians have generated eschatological theories concerning the sequence of events leading up to the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise. Eschatology basically means “study of the last things”. Some think that there will be a literal 1,000 years reign of Christ on the Earth following the Great Tribulation period. These are called “Pre-millennialists” and the majority of authors fall into this camp. Within this group the proponents are broken down into 3 main sets of beliefs. The division basically occurs based on the timing of “the Rapture… Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib and Post-Trib for short. Again, the majority of the preachers and authors are Pre Tribulation proponents.

“The Rapture” means that all “true believers” (you can generally substitute the word “Protestants” here) will be removed from the Earth prior to God’s wrath being poured out during the Tribulation. By the way, the Tribulation may be either 3 ½ years or 7 years depending on the reading of various prophetic verses… generally, however, seven years.

Essential Versus Non-Essential

One of the flaws of the Sola Scriptura doctrine is that it generates multiple views of the same event depending on the theological bent of the preacher/teacher/author. With no other authority but the writer’s “feeling led by the Spirit” there is no one to say they are wrong. Some of the resulting division I have reflected in the paragraph above.

To attempt to excuse this division with a “It really doesn’t matter” the Protestants have adopted a phrase: “In essentials: unity, in non-essentials: liberty and in all things charity” which they mistakenly attribute to Saint Augustine. It’s interesting that, according to many Protestants, the Church was corrupt and untrustworthy from the death of Saint John until Martin Luther… yet they love to attribute sayings such as this to saints of the Church. In another article I’ll deal with some of the false sayings they do this with. This saying did not originate with any Catholic theologian but is of post Rebellion Protestant origin.

What they define as “non-essential” is any time they disagree about their private interpretation… in short, what doesn’t have a direct bearing on “salvation” as defined within Protestant circles. The Catholic, of course, asks the question “What part of God’s revealed Word to mankind (Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the teaching of the Magisterium throughout history) is ‘non-essential’ and who makes that decision?” What hubris on men’s part!!

The End Result

The end result of a fixation upon the Second Coming is that it has damaged the credibility of preachers/teacher/authors who make their living from it… and indirectly the cause of Christ in the eyes of the world. Think about how many times men such as the late Harold Camping predicted a date for the Second Coming… dates which ALWAYS came and went without event. But it never stops them. They merely set a new date and their adherents go merrily along. Hal Lindsey, who I mention above, has pretty much the same record as Camping. Of course, they were hardly the first and I’m sure they won’t be the last. Many cults got their start that way… such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Another hobby of the Evangelical Christian prophecy fanatic is playing what I call “Pin the Tail On the Anti-Christ”. Part of the doctrine of the Tribulation is that a one world leader will emerge that will unite mankind first as its savior and finally as the demon possessed dictator called “The Beast”. This person will require everyone to receive his mark, which Revelation says is “666”, in whatever form it takes. Without this mark the person will not be able to buy or sell. This has led to everything from credit cards to bar codes to microchip implants being identified as the possible “mark of the beast”.

And, of course, what would “the mark of the Beast” be without “The Beast”. In my lifetime alone many world leaders have been identified by one group or another as “The Anti-Christ”. Adolf Hitler was before my time, but since then Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and, of course, various popes have all had their turn as “The Anti-Christ… not to mention the Ayatollah, Muammar Gaddafi, Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein making the candidate list.

Not What the Lord Commanded

The Lord Jesus Christ never intended for believers to get distracted by this sort of thing. When the Apostles fell prey to this He always brought them back to reality and the mission…or Commission. In Saint Matthew Chapters 24 and 25 He spends as much time telling them to “occupy until I come” (as He says in Saint Luke’s Gospel) as He does about events. Even after His resurrection their focus was on His restoring the kingdom to Israel. His response to them speaks to us as well today.

“And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Act 1:7-8)

Note one thing He said here. Many today resist the urge to set exact dates but counter with, “We can’t know the date but we can know the times and seasons.”. Really?? Did the Lord say that here? Is that the most important focus of the believers? Absolutely not! Our focus should be what the Lord commanded here and in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. We should have one eye on the cross and one eye on our fellow men and women. Let “the eastern sky” take care of itself and don’t be distracted from our real job.