It is the end of May 2024 and as I sit here at my desk, I once again ponder the foolishness of American Evangelical Christianity. This is because we have had so far this year, three failed Rapture dates. There was one in March and there have been two in April, which is two more than we get most years.
As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, mainstream Christianity does not recognise or teach the concept of the Rapture. It is considered by many to be rather fringe and not worthy of any serious theological examination. This doesn’t stop the usual crazies and whacko nut jobs found on-line from posting their supposed predictions.
‘For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.’ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 Legacy Standard Bible
At the time of writing the rabid proponents of this event, as well as our usual Internet clowns, are busy recalculating their equations and preparing to present to us a series of revised dates. They appear to have no sense of shame, embarrassment or even an awareness of how ridiculous they appear to the rest of us. Rather for them, this is merely a sign of their sufferance for God. They stand proud of their beliefs and meekly accept the derision of mainstream society. Perhaps they regard it as being some form of peculiar penance.
This fortitude would be laudable, if it was not the idiocy of the concept or their irresponsible behaviour. There is an element of hard-headed and determined stupidity apparent to us all. Despite this, I suggest that we introduce an element of caution in our thinking. Putting aside the deserved contempt, we can observe the dangers of their beliefs. There is no sense that we should conserve resources, no concern regarding Global Warming, pollution or over population. Rather there is this fanciful belief that Christ will return and magically reset the Earth.
Descending from Heaven on high and with a wave of his divine hands, it is expected that Christ will return our planet to a pristine state reminiscent of Eden. It is this denial of the economic and ecological spoil of our modern society, which should now concern us. There will be little benefit in waiting for any supposed second coming or a return to paradise; if we are all long dead before then and we have created our own Hell on Earth.