Perhaps it is proof of the supernatural truth of Christianity that heresy tends to snowball into things that have vast consequences.

I believe in God the Father Almighty,Maker of heaven and earth:And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the Communion of Saints; the Forgiveness of sins; the Resurrection of the body, and the Life everlasting. Amen.

Look at what happened when people began denying the one communion of saints. Finding that the Church was not named by name in the Hebrew Bible, some folks imagined that the Jews might have some kind of eschatological fate separate from the Church.

This break in the unity of the communion of saints led to further breaches in unity. No more single Second Coming; the Church gets a separate second coming and the Jews get a third coming. No more single Last Judgment; they too come in a series of multiple judgments. The Bible is shattered, treated like a jigsaw puzzle that believers must piece together.

Eventually this heresy led to a floridly psychotic interpretation of history. Omens of the End Times were seen in current events. The foundation of the Jewish state in Palestine was invested with cosmic significance. Because we have been blessed through Israel, the heretics transfer this blessing to the current Israeli government and all its oppressive works, which, though not the worst that's ever been, are nothing we should smile on. Because war is found in prophecy, the heretics turned their back on Jesus blessing the peacemakers. Instead, they teach us to look forward to wars, especially Middle Eastern wars, for they are omens that Christ's return is imminent. Peace is the language of the Antichrist, according to the heretics. The Antichrist is a single person, a satanic Messiah, and he might be the talking head on the TV, or the King of Spain, or the prime minister of Vanuatu, or your next door neighbor.

When Jesus does return, these people will appear before Him and say, "Look at what we brought you! War, tyranny, and paranoia! Aren't You proud of us?"

Astounding that such a small matter of apparently arcane theology started a snowball rolling that led to the construction of an entire belief system that Christians ought to regard with disgust and dismay and that it has deceived many believers.

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laika   |2010-08-30 18:21:18 SteveGus wrote: Eventually this heresy led to a floridly psychotic interpretation of history. Omens of the End Times were seen in current events. i have now lived long enough to see the interpretation of "omens" change emphasis on characters and locations. the End Time harbingers are now not who or where they were in my youth. despite getting it wrong in every generation for two thousand years, the fixation abides. SteveGus wrote: Because war is found in prophecy, the heretics turned their back on Jesus blessing the peacemakers. Instead, they teach us to look forward to wars, especially Middle Eastern wars, for they are omens that Christ's return is imminent. used to think the End Times mentality was pretty harmless, but all manner of belligerence in high places is excused as inevitable or even desirable.

SteveGus   |2010-08-31 12:45:44 I remember reading Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth back in the 1970s. Hippies were an omen of the End Times. The Soviet Union was also a key player. In the original formula, the USA was nowhere mentioned in the End Times scenario. The USA was doomed to be destroyed by nuclear war prior to the official "Tribulation". This is why the prophets never mentioned it. When political Christianity began to take off a few years later, this prophecy required revision.   Nineveh repented, at least a little, and at least for a time; it was not destroyed. The purpose of prophecy is something other than the revelation of inevitable fate.

laika   |2010-08-31 19:43:02 SteveGus wrote: I remember reading Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth back in the 1970s. exactly! and it didn't take long for that trusty guidebook to the End Times to become obsolete. what, maybe 15 or 20 years and the playing field and cast completely changed? SteveGus wrote: The purpose of prophecy is something other than the revelation of inevitable fate. Hal Lindsey seems to have missed that point. who is profiting most from missing that point these days?

SteveGus  - re:   |2010-09-01 23:54:52 laika wrote: [quote=SteveGus]I remember reading Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth back in the 1970s. exactly! and it didn't take long for that trusty guidebook to the End Times to become obsolete. what, maybe 15 or 20 years and the playing field and cast completely changed?[/quote] I was around for the 80s. I slept through the Countdown to Armageddon, it seems. Has the Antichrist become king of the European Common Market yet? Or is he scheduled to become emperor of the United Nations? I forget which was supposed to happen.  Should have had the data added to my barcode tattoo.

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