To be honest I don’t know any Christian that goes on about the end times. Most just struggle with the here and now...like everyone else.
Sigh.
Looooooooot of errors in this article.
“And, I might add, the early church Fathers knew nothing of the “rapture.”
I suppose it’s because the failed to read the Scriptures.
“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
Inconvenient as some may find them, the Scriptures do have a way of busting up creaky traditions.
As long as they have beer and good music in hell, I have no problems.
I had a non-Catholic great-grand father who was preaching about the End of Times 60-70 years ago and from what I can tell we are still here.
As for me, I sat in Catholic Church and went to Catholic School and never one heard a priest predicting that the End of Times were upon us.
And from what I can tell, the only person today who is predicting the end of times in Al Gore.
I am beginning to realize two of the main benefits of not resisting the Holy Spirit and accepting and knowing the truth about the end time events which are rapidly unfolding before us.
As we approach what is going to happen very soon now, all we will have left is the moment we are in and the only rock we can stand on is faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Any other interpretation is about denial or self reliance or some other such nonsense and it is doomed to fail.
Has it not always been God’s desire that we live in the now only by trusting in him?
ping
I’m not a scholar, but from what I understand of Catholic doctrine, we (humans) don’t know when end of times will be. Only God knows that, and anyone who claims otherwise, is not credible (my interpretation).
With God’s mercy, many will be saved, and again only God knows who they will be.
We are told to pray continuously for the world (Divine Mercy), the souls who have died, and Jesus’ return.
The only thing we do know with certainty about end times is who wins the final battle. Christ came once as God’s servant to die for our sins, this time “He will come again in glory”.
http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/mercy/coming.htm
Of course Catholics believe that time will end and Christ will return.
We say it every week at Mass, “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.”
What we don’t believe is Millenarianism heresy.
Frankly, you can die in the next minute and face your doom so wondering about that which is hidden in Revelation, Daniel and the rest is interesting and complex and not something we delve into daily.
I think Apocalypse is often used to throw people into fear of conversion rather than love in conversion. That’s why it is used and why self-styled “prophets” spout stream-of-conscience thoughts as prophecy.
IMHO.
OF course it does...That's why God commands us to study the scriptures and tell us to search the scriptures to know whether we have eternal life...
This guy instead, studies his religion's catechism which is no more than his religion's commentary on some of the scripture...
Is it any wonder Revelation is foolish to him???
This guy's religion doesn't believe in prophecy...His religion doesn't believe in the OT miracles...
This group is going to figure out what God says and means using their superior intellect instead of using scripture...They have to...
That cryptic book of Revelation has 7 churches named and what each has as their doctrine. And when Christ said 'Feed my Sheep' He was NOT commanding 'soup kitchens' to be government establishments.
and On Judgment Day at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil which, like the wheat and the tares, have grown up together in the course of history.
Christ instructed us to discern the difference from their fruits.
and When he comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works, and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace.
End of what 'time'? What does refusal of 'grace' mean?
Ping for later
I liked the article but it neglected one important command. Christ said to watch. Christ condemned the religious leaders of His day because they weren’t aware that it was the right time for the visitation. The wise men from the east knew that the hour had come and journeyed to see Him. They were watching for the sign of His coming. Likewise so should we be watching because He will come as a thief in the night. If Christ didn’t want us to know the signs to watch for, He never would have given them in the first place. Many Catholics are wonderful people but they need to pay attention to all of the words of Christ and not just the ones they choose to chant.
When we near that time and The Lord does come, really is he going to ask who is a Catholic, Methodist or Baptist. I believe He is the Son of Man and that He died for our Sins. When my time is near I want the Lord, to take me by the hand and we will walk to heaven. I say this as a Catholic.