“This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way you have seen him going into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) The angels declare to those who witnessed Jesus’ ascension that his return would be similar, i.e. visible. Interesting thing is they do not mention two returns. Why do I bring this up, this notion of two returns? Just ten days ago we experienced a false prophet who made false declarations of future events. Harold Camping founder of Family Radio predicted the date of the Rapture as May 21, 2011 and then the end of the world as we know it on Oct. 21, 2011. Camping is quoted as saying that his calculations are “beyond the shadow of a doubt” (c.f. “End of Days in May, Believers enter Final Stretch. Associated Press, citied at MSNBC, Jan. 23, 2011, retrieved May 31, 2011). First off, Harold Camping is a false prophet, he predicted the end of the world back in the nineties, again now, and finally he has adjusted the date again. Since Camping uses the bible alone to deduce his predictions, what does the bible say about false prophets?
But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.' "If you say to yourselves, 'How can we recognize an oracle which the LORD has spoken?', know that, even though a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if his oracle is not fulfilled or verified, it is an oracle which the LORD did not speak. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously, and you shall have no fear of him. (Duet. 18:20-22, NAB)
Camping has lost all credibility. Maybe I am being too harsh on Camping; maybe his intentions were good, but definitely misguided. This is the same man who claims one does not need a Church or any sacraments. You can see how dangerous someone can be when it comes to interpreting Scripture.
Camping’s false prophecy should not deter us from desiring the Lord’s return. As Christians we should be waiting in eager expectation for the Lord’s return. The angels promised it to the disciples, the Lord himself promised it. Yet, there seems to be confusion, i.e. what is the Rapture, do we Catholics believe in the Rapture?
No we do not believe in the Rapture as biblical fundamentalists teach it. Basically, biblical fundamentalists believe that Jesus will come and snatch away true believers (bible fundamentalists, born-agains) first, then there will be a tribulation period of seven years, then Jesus will restore order for a thousand years, and finally after the thousand years the end as we know it will occur.
The bible passage fundamentalist’s use as the basic premise for their rapture theology is 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, which says,
“Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thess 4:15-17, NAB)
There are other supporting passages, and a great play with numbers and dates. They believe in a literal 7 day creation, that the world is 7000 years old and with the interpretation of Scripture and numbers they come up with dispensations, time frames of history that point to a final culmination of time. Let me be clear, they are mistaken.
We Catholics believe that Jesus will return, that there will be “pains” that the earth experiences beforehand, but there will only be one return, and those who are alive at that one return will be taken alive into the air as 1 Thessalonians describes, but that is one event, not two separate events.
Jesus also warns us that no one knows the exact day or the exact hour, not even the angels, (c.f. Mt. 24:36). We will not know the exact time, but Jesus will also not leave us completely in the dark. Just as a woman begins to go into labor pains we know that a child is coming soon, though we cannot predict the exact hour or minute, so too with the end of times, we will know it’s coming, but not the exact day or hour, c.f. Mt. 24:8)
Since there is great confusion on the subject of “the return of Christ” I was compelled to speak to you about this topic and also since we are celebrating that Jesus returned to his Father in a very visible way, he will also return to us in a very visible way. We will not only see by faith when he returns but we will actually see him as he is. How can one not long for such a thing? The danger for us Catholics is that we sometimes move in the other extreme and reduce Jesus’ Second Coming down to symbolism or we forget about it. That extreme must be avoided. The early disciples longed for Jesus’ return, they already experienced the peace of the kingdom in many ways, and they wanted nothing more than to experience it again. If one does not desire the Lord’s return than something here of this world is preoccupying us and it should not.
My prayer for all of us is that Jesus returns and when he does that we will all be a part of that glorious kingdom where there will no longer be any more tears, pains, or sorrows, but only peace, joy, and happiness, God bless you.
Fr. John
No comments:
Post a Comment