Still here!

So, it's Monday morning, May 23, and the world is still standing. I had no doubt that it would, but there were a lot of people who were sure that the rapture was going to happen last Saturday.

I'm actually not all that clear  how the date May 21, 2011 was chosen to be the date of the rapture, but I know it had to do with a calculation that Harold Camping came up with from numbers in the Bible. I like to have my general facts straight when I write about something on my blog so that I can be at least mildly informed, but I have to admit that I didn't pay much attention to all of the hoopla over the rapture since I knew it wasn't going to amount to anything.

There've certainly been a lot of jokes about the rapture in the days leading up to May 21, and especially now that the 21^st has come and gone. I'm not the kind of person to poke fun at another religion/religious beliefs because I know I don't like it when people bash my religion, but I'm just wondering what Harold Camping and the rest of the people who were so sure the rapture was going to happen last Saturday is thinking now.

One of the many billboards saying that the rapture would occur on May 21, 2011

A different take on things.

I found this article about the rapture (that didn't happen) interesting.

All of this talk about the rapture makes for a good segue into a similar topic that I DO know a little* something about… the second coming of Jesus Christ. You might be thinking tomato-tomato, right? (Just for the record, the phrase, "tomato-tomato" sure doesn't have the same effect when you're writing/reading it, and not saying/hearing it!)

*I say I know a little because it's a really complex topic. However, I'm 100% positive that Jesus Christ will come again. The Bible speaks of the second coming over and over, so on one hand Harold Camping had the right idea, but he's just mistaken about many of the details!

I don't know when the second coming is going to happen, but I know that it will happen. Matthew 24:36 says that no man knows the day or the hour when the second coming is going to happen, so that's why I didn't put much stock in Harold Campings prediction. That being said, the Scriptures are full of signs of the second coming. Here's another thought. Anciently there were prophets that foretold the birth of Jesus Christ and there were many people who doubted it would happen… very similar to the way people in this day and age don't believe in the second coming. Anciently people had to have faith that the Messiah would be born, just like we need to have faith that Jesus will come again.

In this day and age when the world is so crazy and things are so busy, it's a bit mind-boggling to think about Jesus returning. Will I still be alive? I definitely don't have all the answers and I don't know how long we'll have to wait for it to happen, but I know it eventually will. And you can take that to the bank.