Sabbath Rapture Sunday Tribulation

Rapture this Evening? Tribulation Tomorrow?

For those who are on the right side The Revelation to John is an assuring not scary apocalyptic written by someone named John on the Isle of Patmos at the end of the first century or early second century. With resistance from some, it seems to have been included in the New Testament canon late in the Fourth Century because, seeing the name John (Rev. 1:1, 4), early fathers of the Church attributed it either to John ben Zebedee the disciple and apostle, one of the Twelve; and/or to the Evangelist who wrote the Fourth Gospel called John, (see John 20:2 and 21:24) whom tradition holds to be the “beloved disciple.” Some scholars say all the Johns are one and the same; some scholars say that John ben Zebedee, Gospel John, and Patmos John were three different people. 

The book is classical apocalyptic, written in a time of extreme trouble or anticipated trouble for its intended audience, or perhaps even reflecting back on that trouble.  That trouble would have been the cruel Roman persecution of Christians. The author's agenda is to encourage those who are faithful to Christ and the Church through the trouble, with promising assurance that they will be saved when it’s all over victoriously; and to threaten condemnation and horrific punishment for those who yield to Rome and abandon Christ and the Church. 

Revelation, or The Apocalypse, is a great read and makes for fascinating Bible study. The rapture is the name commonly given for the time in the story when Christ The Lamb Who Was Slain returns to earth to gather the faithful to himself. The tribulation is the name commonly given to the time in the story of terrible suffering for those who were on the wrong side during the struggle and therefore were not saved during the rapture. 

One view of Revelation is that it’s a prophecy for the future. From time to time self-acclaimed prophets such as Harold Camping claim to have computed the date day hour of the rapture, the Second Coming of Christ. Followers  have gathered on mountaintops and in other places to await the great event. So far their prophecies have proved false. What about today, Camping’s prophecy for six o’clock this evening? For myself, I’m going to wait it out and then go help myself to a brand new red Corvette convertible tomorrow after everyone’s gone. If there’s a red one with a white top and white leather seats at Cramer GM and the door isn’t locked and the keys are in it I’ll drive it to church in the morning.

Ten or eleven years ago Time magazine had a cover story about The End. What would it be like? That issue is upstairs in my office somewhere but I didn’t dig it out this morning. Scientific in outlook, it says that the universe will end in a trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion years with the end of its expansion after the Big Bang, when all fiery energy will die and the universe will freeze to Absolute Zero at which nothing material can exist, and there will be nothing. That's scary.

I’m counting on Harold Camping for the Corvette.

Meanwhile, Sabbath: right shoe first and praise God.

TW+