The Fig Tree's the Clue

self ^ | 03/26/11 | STD

[topcat54]

28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
29 Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. (Luke 21)

It's a metaphor. Not eveything about figs and their production can be taken literally and applied to the metaphor.

[The Theophilus]

I would appreciate knowing your thoughts on this FReepers. Agape

The first thought that came to mind was "total blasphemy". I can go on for pages concerning the myriad of objections to each and every point, but when searching for a place to start the only real questions was: Is that all the Bible is to you, a ginormous puzzle book where the sole purpose of the work is for you to derive a date a week and a half from now that will just mark you off as yet another false prophet in a long line of hacks that also came up with Rube Goldberg tributes in date setting?

The cursed and withered fig tree is now your symbol of rapture? The group that is allegedly to be "raptured" is not practicing Jews, but is to be world-wide, and include only self-made "ready" Christians. So why use a Jewish Calendar? Do you have something against those using the Gregorian, Chinese or Islamic? Since the feasts belong to the Jews and not for Christians; how do you respond to Paul here in Galatians 4:8-11?

"But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.

It seems to me that you are a disappointment to Paul.

The "as the morning" riff is also puzzling. "As" is not a synonym for "In", so why use it that way? Or are you relying heavily on the Futurist Hermeneutic of "Gratuitous Use of False Equivocation" where words that sound alike or have the same number of letters, or whatever rule allows you to freely substitute one word or thought for another? Most people do not see daybreak as a akin to flipping on the electric lights or cooking off a flash-bang, rather God has graciously given us the miracle of twilight so that we aren't startled each morning from total darkness to full-on sunshine. Unless you were born blind or raised in a prison or underground bunker, I would think that this understanding of "as the morning" would come naturally to you.

As far as multiple raptures, you are breaking new ground here as the Futurists usually claim that the 2nd chance comes with the beat-down of the Great Tribulation, which is then followed by the Parousia. Watch out, some young up and comer might soon propose a third or fourth rapture to edge you out.

I must admit, never in my long years in the service of our LORD have I seen anyone use the Song of Solomon as a tool for piecing together a bogus rapture theory. There must be an achievement award given by your fellow Premillennial Dysfunctionalists for this kind of gnostic creativity. To add some production value to it, I recommend that you claim this revelation came to you either in a "vision", or if you have the gall to go for it, claim that you were taken up into heaven and received this "truth" that somehow escaped millennia of Christendom.

You Futurists make for some of the lousiest Christians with a worthless work ethic that would make a government school teacher blush in its laziness. Here our LORD says to go "feed my sheep", "fish for men", "harvest the fields" and like union thugs, all you folks do is spend none of your time in training or skills enhancement, lie around bitch and complain about how crappy your fellow employees are, how rotten the clients are, how oppressive the work environment your employer made for you; demand and expect perk after benefit after entitlement way above the pay you were promised, and then spend all of your time conjuring up ways for your employer to let you get off work early and go party - on His tab.

(sigh)