Why The Rapture is a Bad idea - Greg Boyd

and the rapture as I mentioned last week is is this belief that when Jesus returns Christians are literally going to be suctioned up into the clouds and they're going to go away someplace else and then all the nasty stuff found in the Book of Revelations are going to take place that's when Jesus comes back and slaughters a lot of people and the beast and the Antichrist and all those earthquakes and all that stuff so but the Christians will be away we're gonna be safe all this world is going to kind of go to hell in a handbasket I say more about this belief in the sixth week of this series but right now I just want to share a few threes ins why I think that interpretation of these verses is mistaken whether you believe in the rapture or not I don't think even find it in this passage for the first thing is this we have to understand the passage of the way that the first century audience would have understood it and when the voice says that trumpet voice says to John come up here I want to show you some things maybe I'm wrong but I'm thinking that probably they would have understood the voice to be saying to John come up here I want to show you some things that's all the verse says you don't find a hint of a church in that verse I let it on a church at the end of history in that verse he's talking to John and they chose John what do you want to show them it's just bad biblical interpretation to read into a verse something that's not there and that's not even hinted at so that's the first problem with this this interpretation second thing is that this theology which I call and it's escapist theology because the hope is that we're gonna escape and the world is going to be in also strong but we get to escape that is I believe unbiblical and has some very negative ramifications it's unbiblical I think in the sense that the entire knew the thrust of the New Testament the hope that we're given is not about us escaping the earth or escaping tribulation we promise that we're going to go through tribulation the hope isn't to escape the earth to go to heaven rather the call all throughout the New Testament is to bring heaven down to earth God loves this earth he doesn't give up on his real estate he wants to recover redeem restore renew this earth and he wants to use his people to do it and so Jesus says that when we pray we should pray father in heaven hallowed be your name let your kingdom come that's just the rule of God that your rule come which means that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven we're to live in a way we're to pray in a way where we're bringing heaven down to earth so the world can see in the church a preview of of heaven as much of heaven as possible what the final state of things will be but it's not to abandon this earth to destruction no we're to be restores of the earth keepers of the earth the original Commission was to be landlords of this earth so I think just gets that that that the the hope of the New Testament wrong it also many who hold this view I wouldn't say all of them but but many folks have hold this view it can lead to a mistaken view of the earth the earth becomes just sort of like a waiting station for heaven it's like a temporary prop to get us through the real thing and and once it's done wants to serve this purpose we can just kind of just dispose of it like we would a used tissue and see if you have that view that this whole earth the physical realm is is is just set for destruction and God's not really interested in it well then you're not going to be real passionate about taking care of the place or worrying about how animals are treated or things like that no it's like that be like washing the windows of the Titanic as a sinking and in fact I can tell you from personal experience that if you start preaching that God is passionate about the earth and the animal kingdom and wants people to be passionate about the earth the animal kingdom you some groups will label you a liberal you're a liberal you're a liberal tree-huggin animal loving veggie loving you know poopyface it's just it's it's just it was were they throw out you don't like you liberal which is crazy because our first mandate in Genesis 1 the very first thing we're told is take care of the earth in animal kingdom we're to extend God's living Dominion to the earth in the animal kingdom that's our Magna Carta that's our Charter that's our job description and and it didn't go away we're still responsible for that we're to be the caretakers of God's garden and of God's pets and I can show you hundreds of verses throughout the Bible where God expresses a passion for the earthly animal kingdom and calls on people to care about the earthly animal kingdom and I can show you many many verses where God gives a struggle warning to those who don't care about the earth in the animal kingdom in fact in Revelation far from finding the earth being destroyed we read this the time has come to judge the dead and for destroying those who destroy the earth don't tell me God isn't passionate about the earth and the animal kingdom you know the talking about the earth the animal kingdom for Kingdom people this isn't a liberal thing a tree-hugging thing a left-wing thing it's a biblical thing it's a foundational biblical thing it's it's it's our call and the ones who should be worried are those who don't care about the earth of the animal kingdom the ones we just use it and throw away like a used tissue because that verse soon as many others just like it gives a strong warning about that no folks we as kingdom people we should be concerned about the imprint we leave on the earth and whatever suffering we put animals through that it's our responsibility to be thinking about that and to be adjusting our life accordingly so I worry about that escapist mindset it gives the wrong view of the earth it doesn't motivate folks to to be doing their the original job description that we're given the third problem with it is this if Jesus shows up at the end of time and sliders everybody we got a different Jesus on our hands [Music]

Channel: ReKnewOrg

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Keywords: Greg Boyd, reknew, reknew.org, woodland hills, church, theologian, theology, minnesota, st. paul, minneapolis, letters from a skeptic, myth of a christian nation, politics, pastor, clergy, evangelism, evangelical, christianity, religion, christian, God, Jesus, Christ, Book Of Revelation (Book), bible, rapture, end times, Gregory A. Boyd, Church (Type Of Place Of Worship)

Id: qg_HOUEjCxI

Length: 5min 44sec (344 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 19 2014