COME, LORD JESUS!

What a statement. The last three words of the Bible, and said with such enthusiasm! We know why John said these words (at least I hope we do), but I think maybe some have hijacked his passion. "Whatever do you mean, Skeeter?" Oh, I think you know what I mean. I am talking about the Rapture: that wonderful little idea where Jesus comes riding down on a cloud to take away believers. While that sounds fluffy and divine, is it true? My concern with this idea (notice I did not "truth") is that I do not believe for one second that it is Biblical. If my dad, Wayne, were able to read this he would have just had a stroke.

"No Rapture! Skeeter, how could you say such things? You better get right before you get left!" Well, do not worry about me. I will be fine. And if you cannot read with an open mind, stop now, but if you wish to read for the sole purpose of arguing later on, well then I am certainly up for that. I hope, though, we can engage, rather, in a healthy debate and not an arguement. Anyway, One of the reasons I disagree with the Rapture is based on the "interpretation" some have of Matthew 24:1-31. That is where Jesus talks about "Signs of the End of the Age". "Wars and rumors of wars...birth pains." They are here! Wars and rumors of wars! Hallelujah, Jesus is coming! Tim LaHaye certainly thinks so, and so does John Hagee. But are they right? No, I do not think so. Here is one of the reasons why: one of Jesus' favorite words in this section is "you". In thirty-one verses he used that word 14 times. One specific word appears in almost half of a very important section. Why is that important? Well, it is important because it is a personal pronoun. Jesus ALWAYS chose His words carefully. If anyone honestly assesses those verses he will clearly see that He is speaking to a specific group of people. He is talking to the disciples, not Tim LaHaye.

The Bible was written FOR us not TO us. WOW! What a bold statement. That is because it is true. Take Paul for instance: his letter to the Corinthians is adressed to the Corinthians not South Carolinians. The issues he writes about are specific to that city. While the lessons taught from that book can be very applicable to us today, Paul did not write with the intention of making sure that people 2,000 years from his time knew what to do in similar situations. If he did, he would have said so! Paul was always specific in his letters, never vague. The point is that it is completely wrong and unfair to assume that Jesus was saying those things in Matthew to us. What in the world did Peter or John care about people 2,000 years from their time? If LaHaye and Hagee insist on taking every word of the Bible literally maybe they ought to actually begin by doing just that. Not doing so is the height of hypocrisy. It is such a shame that men like LaHaye will call dissenters crazy. I think he does that because he knows that if a dissenting voice gains ground then his Left Behind empire could be brought down. That may sound harsh, but insulting people who disagree with you is no worse than the political mudslinging that we see in the secular society.

I do have more thoughts using the scriptures to add so we can continue this debate later on. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts.