I needed this TODAY!! I have spent most of my life afraid of “the Rapture”!! I was indoctrinated in scare theology at a very young age…I am SO thankful to have come across this!!! I always felt in my heart that it couldn’t be…I will be following this journey with you…many thanks ♥️
Well written, Paul. Completely agree with your take on Revelation. Apocalypse: “to lift a veil” or “to reveal” is about the present (whenever that is) and the presence of the Lamb in the middle of the current Empire--whether it is Rome, Paris, Berlin, Washington, or Moscow.
One cannot look at Jesus revealed in the gospels and truly get an idea that the Jesus (Lion who is a Lamb) of Revelation is somehow different--transformed into a violent, bloodthirsty deity. The sword that “slays” is the word from his mouth. He defeats enemies by the words--the message of the good news.
I’ve been an American Evangelical for 70 years and this is the first time I’ve heard the idea of "THE RAPTURE “ as a “VIOLENT SCRIPT FOR IRAEL” or “SURVIVALISM.”This isn’t “THEOLOGY.” It’s part of a novel/fiction, not evangelical teaching (at least not the teaching I’ve been exposed to). On the other hand “THE RAPTURE PROCLAIMS ESCAPE,” has some validity. I Thessalonians 4:16&17 speaks of the “dead in Christ” rising first, then those still living on the earth being “caught up together with them in the clouds.”
“THE RAPTURE VOYEURISTICALLY GLORIFIES VIOLENCE AND WAR,” mystifies me. This picture of the rapture must have been taught somewhere, sometime-obviously much more than I was aware of, but because this picture of the rapture is wrong, doesn’t mean that there is no rapture. The church (essentially all the universal church) has accepted the letters to the Thessalonians as valid Scripture for over 1900 years. Either the entire church has been wrong or there will be a rapture. What happens after the rapture is not clear.
As to Revelation being an ongoing story rather than a futuristic timeline, the idea is new to me as it is presented, but I’m aware that many in the Chinese underground church during the Cultural Revolution thought that they were experiencing the events in Revelation. I’m sure that at least some of the 1st century Christians under Nero and some subsequent Caesars felt that it was all happening in their era. Maybe they were, and it is to be interpreted as an ongoing cycle, teaching us how to live under oppression.
It bothers me to hear Jesus portrayed as a lion as much as I hear it (mostly in modern Christian music). He is called the Lion of Judah once in the NT, more as a royal title, identifying him as worthy to open a scroll. Since the lion appears to have been the symbol of the Davidic dynasty, this is just emphasizing his earthly royal lineage.
I’ve always been skeptical of timelines. There is too much mystery involved in how God works.
I will be interested to read your subsequent posts on Revelation.
I needed this TODAY!! I have spent most of my life afraid of “the Rapture”!! I was indoctrinated in scare theology at a very young age…I am SO thankful to have come across this!!! I always felt in my heart that it couldn’t be…I will be following this journey with you…many thanks ♥️
Very well said!
Well written, Paul. Completely agree with your take on Revelation. Apocalypse: “to lift a veil” or “to reveal” is about the present (whenever that is) and the presence of the Lamb in the middle of the current Empire--whether it is Rome, Paris, Berlin, Washington, or Moscow.
One cannot look at Jesus revealed in the gospels and truly get an idea that the Jesus (Lion who is a Lamb) of Revelation is somehow different--transformed into a violent, bloodthirsty deity. The sword that “slays” is the word from his mouth. He defeats enemies by the words--the message of the good news.
I’ve been an American Evangelical for 70 years and this is the first time I’ve heard the idea of "THE RAPTURE “ as a “VIOLENT SCRIPT FOR IRAEL” or “SURVIVALISM.”This isn’t “THEOLOGY.” It’s part of a novel/fiction, not evangelical teaching (at least not the teaching I’ve been exposed to). On the other hand “THE RAPTURE PROCLAIMS ESCAPE,” has some validity. I Thessalonians 4:16&17 speaks of the “dead in Christ” rising first, then those still living on the earth being “caught up together with them in the clouds.”
“THE RAPTURE VOYEURISTICALLY GLORIFIES VIOLENCE AND WAR,” mystifies me. This picture of the rapture must have been taught somewhere, sometime-obviously much more than I was aware of, but because this picture of the rapture is wrong, doesn’t mean that there is no rapture. The church (essentially all the universal church) has accepted the letters to the Thessalonians as valid Scripture for over 1900 years. Either the entire church has been wrong or there will be a rapture. What happens after the rapture is not clear.
As to Revelation being an ongoing story rather than a futuristic timeline, the idea is new to me as it is presented, but I’m aware that many in the Chinese underground church during the Cultural Revolution thought that they were experiencing the events in Revelation. I’m sure that at least some of the 1st century Christians under Nero and some subsequent Caesars felt that it was all happening in their era. Maybe they were, and it is to be interpreted as an ongoing cycle, teaching us how to live under oppression.
It bothers me to hear Jesus portrayed as a lion as much as I hear it (mostly in modern Christian music). He is called the Lion of Judah once in the NT, more as a royal title, identifying him as worthy to open a scroll. Since the lion appears to have been the symbol of the Davidic dynasty, this is just emphasizing his earthly royal lineage.
I’ve always been skeptical of timelines. There is too much mystery involved in how God works.
I will be interested to read your subsequent posts on Revelation.
Loved this! I knew it all along!