{"id":13875,"date":"2023-08-16T07:48:35","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T11:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=13875"},"modified":"2023-08-18T11:02:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T15:02:00","slug":"the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=13875","title":{"rendered":"the end of the world as we know it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[Note: this is part of our annual Guest Writer Series. Meet guest writer #9.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a Christian.\u00a0 But for those of you who consider yourselves to be non-Christians \u2013 and this might sound odd \u2013 much of the church actually owes you a bit of an apology. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See, much of the missionary work that churches endeavor to accomplish is derived from the Christian belief that Jesus Christ has sent them on a lifelong Great Commission to convert as many people to the faith as possible before He returns to judge earth\u2019s rebellious inhabitants with such wrath that it will result in the obliteration of everything we see before us. The \u201cend of the world,\u201d therefore, plays an inherently bigger part in the Christian message than most people realize because most Believers have been taught that Jesus promised to come back at any moment (\u201clike a thief\u201d). Naturally, this increases the urgency in evangelizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, to enhance this resolve, the American church has invented a terrifying narrative of \u201cend-times\u201d (eschatological) theories to propel the corporeal fear associated with being the object of God\u2019s wrath when Jesus returns. For example, ever hear of the famous number sequence, \u201c666\u201d or the \u201cmark of the beast?\u201d (Revelation 13) Sure, you have. Movies, songs, games, and countless societal elements have incorporated this biblical reference into its superstitions.  Many popular, evangelical pastors teach this future mark will be administered through some form of digital technology that will be implanted into the human body as a control mechanism, authorizing one\u2019s status as a public consumer; without it, one cannot buy or sell anything in the marketplace. And, they say, anyone<\/em> who takes it will be eternally condemned (Rev. 14:10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So great is the fear surrounding this mark that three years ago, a group of young men committed suicide after they became convinced that it had arrived in the form of the COVID PCR test. They chose to kill themselves rather than face the risk of everlasting condemnation from inadvertently receiving \u201cthe mark\u201d (They planned to ‘ride out the end of the world.’ They wound up lost at sea | CNN<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider also the message coming from the pulpit at Grace Community Church, pastored by eminent evangelical minister, John MacArthur. In his fierce opposition to the perceived hysteria of climate change activism, he has unashamedly taught that, because of man\u2019s sin and immorality, God has \u201ccursed\u201d this \u201cdisposable planet\u201d and that if what humans presently see before them worries them, they should know that \u201cthis is nothing like what\u2019s going to happen next time\u201d when \u201cHe will destroy [it] in an instant.\u201d This is one of the most famous evangelical ministers in the United States teaching that God has deemed this planet \u2013 a throwaway item.  All because Eve ate the apple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with evangelical teaching that convinces congregants of the universe\u2019s eventual destruction, is it a wonder that, in the last decade, white evangelical protestants are the most \u201cunconcerned\u201d religious group regarding climate change? (Why conservative Christians don\u2019t believe in climate change – Bernard Daley Zaleha, Andrew Szasz, 2015 (sagepub.com)<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many doomsday pastors have had their time in the spotlight because of their predictions about Jesus\u2019 Second Coming? Harold Camping, made popular by his brazen, repeated predictions about the world\u2019s end, prophesied that God\u2019s final judgment day would arrive on May 21, 2011. His unwavering confidence in this revelation jumpstarted a public campaign into which he invested tens of millions of dollars and dispatched numerous followers around the country to spread the message, some of whom had \u201cquit their jobs and sold all their possessions\u201d to support the cause. One man reportedly spent more than $140,000 of his personal savings on advertisements to bolster the efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, it\u2019s 2023 \u2013 and here we are. Never mind that there are people in debilitating need; he thought that funds were far better spent on forecasting an event that the Bible says is impossible<\/em> to predict (Matthew 24:36). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about a future \u201cAntichrist?\u201d Surely, secular media (film, books, etc.) has so entrenched this term \u2013 which represents some future person who will embody all evil \u2013 that the average non-Christian cannot claim ignorance of a character with this distressing identification. Believe it or not, evangelical opinions about the Antichrist impact how some Christians vote in elections. Did you know that Franklin D. Roosevelt received 666 votes at his 1932 Democratic Convention presidential primary? That occurrence was sufficient for many contemporary evangelical leaders to convince their congregants that a vote for FDR was a vote for the Antichrist. Even Republican legend Ronald Reagan was not immune to such an accusation \u2013 Ronald (6) Wilson (6) Reagan (6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1932, two prominent American missionaries, Ralph and Edith Norton, toured Europe to assess the religious state of several of its countries. They eventually arrived in Italy where they had the unique opportunity to interview prime minister Benito Mussolini. In their evangelical religious studies, the Nortons had come to believe that the Bible taught of a future Antichrist who would come to power through a resurrected Roman Empire (Dan. 2:31-35, 7:7-8, Rev. 13:1-2). Consequently, they asked Mussolini, \u201cDo you intend to reconstitute the Roman Empire?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they proceeded to explain their understanding of biblical prophecy, Mussolini displayed surprise at their insinuation, inquiring as to where the Bible made such a prediction. And \u201cin one of the great ironies of fundamentalist history, by the time the Nortons had finished with Mussolini, he apparently believed \u2013 and maybe even hoped \u2013 that he was the long-awaited world dictator, the antichrist, prophesied in the book of Daniel.\u201d What long-term effects did this have on the prime minister? We do not know. What we do know is that within a decade, he allied Italy with a political entity that would become responsible for the largest Jewish genocide in world history \u2013 Hitler\u2019s Nazis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about David Koresh and the 1993 Waco, Texas compound massacre? That cult was borne out of a one man\u2019s obsession with what he believed to be a future narrative in the book of Revelation, into which he placed himself and convinced his followers that the \u201cend of days\u201d was upon them. Eighty-two people were killed in a standoff with law enforcement. All because people do whatever they want with the Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what am I doing with all this? These examples comprise the tip of the iceberg regarding the absolute devastation that some of the church\u2019s \u201cend-times\u201d teachings have produced on society and culture. Manipulation, defeatism, demonization \u2013 death. I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And all of it predicated upon one foundational concept: that Jesus is coming back very soon to judge mankind while God the Father destroys everything around you. So, they say, \u201cyou better hurry and ask Him into your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, there is biblical resolution to stopping all these false concepts. Are you ready?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe Jesus Christ already came back. It\u2019s been accomplished. I\u2019m serious.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if He has already returned, then all of this \u201cend-times\u201d nonsense goes away and instead of Christians yearning desperately to leave this world behind, they can begin to truly live as He lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ZDB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Note: this is part of our annual Guest Writer Series. Meet guest writer #9.] I am a Christian.\u00a0 But for those of you who consider yourselves to be non-Christians \u2013 and this might sound odd \u2013 much of the church actually owes you a bit of an apology. \u00a0 See, much of the missionary work … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “the end of the world as we know it”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13875"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13878,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13875\/revisions\/13878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}