Bishops warn Catholics about 'Left Behind' books ( Sunday Rapture Thread )

Chicago Sun-times ^ | June 6, 2003 | CATHLEEN FALSANI Religion Reporter

[TaxRelief]

Will the rapture come after the tribulation or before the tribulation?

Until the mid-18th century, Christians, almost universally believed that the second-coming of the Messiah would happen after a period of Great Tribulation. In 1745(?)while in seminary, Morgan Edwards, a Baptist minister, wrote a paper that presented the hypothesis that the rapture of the devout would occur before the terrible period of tribulation.

Since then, a large percentage of Christians have embraced this much more comfortable theory. Strict traditionalists generally reject this idea that contradicts the long held view of "martyrdom in the final days".

Indeed, if we look at Mark's version of the Olivet events, we see an interesting addition:

¹² "Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. "And you will be hated by all men for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

How close are we to the end times?

[verity]

How close are we to the end times?

I refuse to divulge that information.

[TaxRelief]

Here is the start of the Rapture Thread. I'll give y'all time to absorb it! LOL.

Please do add anything that you think applies!

Notice, I didn't even bring up Isiah, Daniel or Revelations yet. We also need some posts of- or links to- recent weird happenings.

[chicagolady]

Funny, The Catholic Church has A LOT BIGGER problems than when the rapture is gonna be!

How about molesters, somehow I just think that subject should be addressed first.

[LS]

I have found---and I'm sure this isn't complete---twenty-six Old and New Testament "escapes" by people of God. Based on this overwhelming (IMHO) evidence, God never allows his people to suffer through any "tribulation." He kept the Israelites safe from the plagues in Egypt; saved Noah; saved even Rahab the harlot who sided with the Jews.

[chance33_98]

Weather report: Hell Freezes Over - Microsoft researchers endorse Linux clusters

Some news of interest

"Dispel Mark of Beast Phobia", replace cards with biometrics, 100 million users, pilot launched
Number of Visa smart cards to reach 100 million worldwide by June 2003
Global push for biometric standard
UN aviation agency adopts biometric identification to improve travel clearance
Blunkett presses ahead with national biometric ID card plan (UK)

[ZinGirl]

How close are we to the end times?

let's see....moving to a cashless society....talk of inserting chips into forehead or hand....hmmmm....I'd say go ahead and max out that credit card.

;) gotta keep that sense of humor....

[ZinGirl]

I refuse to divulge that information.

not even to us fellow FReepers? c'mon....it would really help with summer vacation planning.

[Mr.Clark]

Even if you ignore the wacky messages inside these books, you still cannot ignore the crummy writing. I read the first one, I've read better literary works from 12th graders.

[chance33_98]

The Prospect of Domestic Bioterrorism (From CDC and CFR): The Likeliest Perpetrators

A small but growing number of domestic terrorists could attempt to use biological weapons in the belief that doing so would advance their goals. The most likely are religious and extreme right-wing groups and groups seeking revenge who view secular rulers and the law they uphold as illegitimate. They are unconstrained by fear of government or public backlash, since their actions are carried out to please God and themselves, not to impress a secular constituency. Frequently, they do not claim credit for their attacks since their ultimate objective is to create so much fear and chaos that the government's legitimacy is destroyed. Their victims are often viewed as subhuman since they are outside the group's religion or race. < end snip - more at link >

[chance33_98]

oops forgot this part:

"Identity (and some other millenarian sects), however, expect to be present during the apocalypse.24 Because of this belief, some followers of Christian Identity believe they need to be prepared with every available weapon to ensure their survival. "

[Tijeras_Slim]

How close are we to the end times?

I have no idea, but I do own the soundtrack.

[chance33_98]

She looks hungry.

[Domestic Church]

Just a quick post before heading out to Church...noticed there is a thread on this as well:

Alleged Islamic terrorists threaten to kill Pope in Croatia

[nmh]

"The bishops' main worry is, if they don't say anything, there could be Catholics of good will reading this stuff, and it sounds biblical and sounds like it's based on Scripture, and they may start believing it," Wichmann said."

The Bible is problematic to Catholics since their teaching does not align with the Bible and God forbide we can't have them reading the Bible!

As for the Left Behind series, it doesn't have my approval but for different reasons. Trying to dramatize Biblical teachings isn't what I think Christ had in mind to become a Christian. Something is not sitting well with me in that approach.

[nmh]

"Based on this overwhelming (IMHO) evidence, God never allows his people to suffer through any "tribulation." He kept the Israelites safe from the plagues in Egypt; saved Noah; saved even Rahab the harlot who sided with the Jews."

Yup! Saved Christians won't be here when all hell breaks lose. God is CONSISTENT in not subjecting His own to His wrath. The Bible is actually quite clear on this, IMHO.

My guess is that since the Catholic church isn't big on teaching from the Bible, their teachings don't match and they don't want to lose more credibility.

[John W]

How does Catholic teaching not align with The Bible?

[chance33_98]

I am reminded of the jews and babylon. An apostate church may well go through tribulation, I have a feeling if it is a pre-trib event there will still be many here....Heck, for all we know it already happend ;)

[TaxRelief]

The mark of the beast is supposed to be "666". Suppose we were embedded with a "Personal Identification Code" that consisted of three sections of 6 digits each?

[TaxRelief]

What biblical reference do you rely on to support the theory that God will spare his chosen ones from the Tribulation?