Pastors Rant
It’s time, once again, for “apocalyptic fun.” This new year—2012—reminds some of a Mayan prophecy that the “end” will occur during this calendar year (some pinpoint the date of the end as Dec. 21, 2012).
As a pastor of an apocalyptic movement whose beginnings are traced to a failed prediction of Christ’s return (see William Miller, Millerites, October 22, 1844), I am sensitive to these types of things. I’m also sensitive to how a skeptical public views apocalyptic forecasts.
There is a certain type of personality that is drawn to apocalypticism—especially to time-setting. I am not that type of person, and those who are attracted to the Tierrasanta Adventist Church are typically not that type of person.
To believe that we can pinpoint a date for the end-of-the-world is to believe two things: 1) that God WANTS us to know the date, and 2) that God has revealed the date to somebody. To embrace either position is to fail to understand the teaching of Jesus on the subject, as well as the clear words of the authors of the New Testament documents.
Jesus said that “no man knows the day or the hour” of his coming (Matt. 24:36). He goes on to say that “the Son of Man will come at an hour WHEN YOU DO NOT EXPECT HIM” (Matt. 24:44). He then tells a little parable, illustrating the importance of being a “faithful and wise servant,” no matter how long the Lord delays his coming (Matt. 24:45-51).
The New Testament writers, to a man, believe that they are living in “the last days.” Yet not one is so bold as to suggest that he knows exactly WHEN Jesus is going to return. And their “signs” of the nearness of the “end” are so general that they can apply to any age.
2012 promises to be a most interesting year, what with a presidential election, a global recession, and the Arab “spring” fading into memory. As Christians, we are asked by our Lord—no matter what happens—to be faithful in our “service” to others. May this be our reality as the year unfolds.
Book Review
Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, by John Shelby Spong. 2011 Harper Collins.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the world is less “religious” than it used to be—especially here in the United States. By “religious” I mean the practice of Bible-reading and church-going. Organized religion has taken a big hit over the past 4 decades, and how the Bible has been taught is a primary reason.
John Shelby Spong strives to reintroduce the Bible to a skeptical public with the publication in 2011 of this most interesting book. It is a noble and ambitious attempt. His premise is that the Bible is more than the average preacher claims it to be.
The average seminary graduate learns for 2-4 years all about the fascinating book that is The Holy Bible, then goes into the local church and pretends that it is something else—a stale, fixed canon of dogma. Pastors do this for an understandable reason—they are afraid of their congregation, afraid of bucking tradition, and therefore afraid of telling the truth.
If you would like to know what many pastors are afraid to tell you, I suggest buying Spong’s book and keeping it on your nightstand, for occasional reading. Prior to his retirement in 2000, Spong was the Episcopal Bishop of Newark, New Jersey.
Related posts:
