“To me, I’m a believer in Jesus Christ, as I look at the End Times scripture, these are the times to rejoice. Maranatha Come Lord Jesus. His day is at hand,” Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., recently said this and more after falsely accusing President Obama of giving arms to Al Qaeda. Obviously some self proclaimed believers are sinful prevaricators, extortionists and wasteful spenders.
Bachmann basically said the second coming of Christ, also called the Rapture, is just a tick of the clock away. Now kids all over the country are asking why they have to mow the lawn and do their homework. You can’t blame them. If Bachman can use the Rapture as an excuse for neglecting the needs of the poor, surely junior can use it as an excuse for ignoring yard work and writing a book report on Moby Dick.
One of the very first memories I have is of my mother predicting on the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor that Christ was coming within a week. Mothers can be wrong.
When the Communists scared the willies out of us during the 50s,and backyard bomb shelters became as common as swing sets, many said it was a sign the Rapture was just around the corner. We heard the same thing during the Cuban missile crisis. But never have I heard the prediction that Christ’s return to earth is eminent more often than I have since Barack Obama was elected president. A black man being elected president sent many white “believers” over the edge.
“We want our country back,” they shouted.
“The second coming must be at hand,” they said.
Whenever there’s a man caused crisis, or a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, tornado, Tsunami, hurricane, drought, famine, fire or flood, people say it is a sign that Christ return is near. The happenings in Syria have evidently pushed Backmann’s buttons to the point where she believes Christ is coming any minute now surely before Thanksgiving.
I’ve always wondered why God was building us another paradise. He left us one here on earth, which we have managed to nearly destroy with our rivers of blood, concrete, automobiles, and senseless destruction. Whose to say we won’t do it again? I think some in the U.S. Congress actually ignore environmental concerns because they think we aren’t long to be on earth before Christ will take us away. “Global warming? What global warming? Christ will be here before that’s ever a problem.” He had better get a move on.
How will the people around the world all be able to see Christ coming down from heaven at the same time? The world is still round! Much of the Bible was written by folks who thought the world was flat. That explains why the Rapture is so depicted. The Lord most surely knows the world is round, the Bible says he created it; therefore some of those quoted in the Bible weren’t in touch with God at all. That has serious ramifications.
That puts the kibosh on declarations like “Being Gay is a sin because it says so in the Bible.” That doesn’t mean God thinks it’s a sin. Maybe the fellow who supposedly wrote that in the Bible was homophobic. Maybe he lost touch with the Almighty. I reckon the Rapture will be different than we expect, unless we have flattened the earth by then.
The Bible says no one knows the time, day, year, decade, century, or millennium in which the Rapture will occur. But, Bachmann knows. Either the Bible or Bachmann is wrong. If the Bible is wrong about that, it could be wrong about there being a Rapture. That’s just too depressing. I’ve looked forward to it my whole life. It’s going be something to behold. I believe it. I always have.
I’ll assume Bachmann must be wrong. That ain’t hard. Junior should mow the lawn and do his homework. Bachmann must not neglect the needy just because she thinks Christ is coming forthwith. Christ has blessed us with a heart and soul. We should all have compassion for the less fortunate. She may be personally generous; She can afford it. Most can’t. It’s why we want more of the money we pay in taxes to go to assisting the downtrodden instead of wasting $24 billion on that crazy government shutdown she supported.
It appears some self-proclaimed believers have lost their heart and soul. Along with prevaricators and extortionists, they’re gonna miss the rapture completely, whenever it might be ... like next Tuesday, maybe.
Glen McAdoo, a Churchill county resident can be reached at glynn@phonewave.net.