I thought you might re-enjoy this Drew classic:
The Apocalypse,or The Book of Revelation,was originally meant to be a book of hope.It was originally written,probably by St.John(or one of his disciples),in a time of strong prosecution of Christians by the Roman empire(circa. 100 A.D.).The followers of Christ were being burnt alive at the stake,crucified,put inside cast iron images of bulls and roasted,feed to the lions,etc...well,you get the idea.
Suffice it to say,it was allot harder being a Christian back then.And hope was waning.Many followers were questioning what good did it do following the Lord.
The book gave many hopeful answers.It foretold of those persecuted as attaining heaven and becoming warriors of Jesus.It told that in the future all the suffering would be rewarded by the ultimate victory of Christ over the evil of the world.
Imagine how comforting that had to be to people who were suffering death of loved ones for Christ.Could a greater hope been asked for?Hardly.
But recent interpretations of the book have mostly been centered on the symbolic language of the book.People are now using it as prophetic 'End Of The world' literature.
And it well may be.But the trouble with prophecy is that it can only be proven true after the fact.I hear good solid Christians calling the Catholic Church,'The Great Mother Whore Of Rome'.This is probably,not so much because they are convinced that the Catholic Church is evil,but more probably because they can not think what else this prophecy could mean?
Then they twist the rest of the book to fit into this too simple theory.
This really gets my goat.I tell these people that while they very well maybe right,that there is a danger in interpreting The Book of Revelations this way.I tell them that I could give them an interpretation of the book that fits all of their criteria and at the end they will go to me,"No Way."
So,the game begins.
I ask,'What is the number one thing that most people associate with the anti-Christ?'Some say that he will be the head of Rome.'Well,then,'I say,'It can't be the Catholic church.It is not in Rome.Vatican City is it's own private country.Officially,then,it can not be part of Rome.'They say,'Aaah,you are nit-picking.Rome is symbolic.'I say,'Very good,then,we can agree that the book deals in relatively symbolic terms?'They usually then have to say,'Yes,that there is really no other way to decipher the book.'So,I then reply,'So Rome can be seen as the world power of it's day?'They say,'Yes.' 'So when we are talking of Rome,Rome could mean that the anti-Christ will come from the world power of the day?'They say,'Of Course.'I ask,'Who is the world power of today?Whose culture does the rest of the world try to emulate?'They usually shake their heads,not wanting to understand.'Let me put in another way.In how many countries are there McDonald's?In how many countries do people watch M-Tv?Dress in blue jeans and watch Hollywood movies?Well,the whole world.'
But still not getting my point,it usually comes down to the numbers 666.I then ask what the numbers stands for.They say a name.I ask,'Whose name?'They usually don't know.I go[holding up one finger at a time],'Ronald Wilson Reagan.'
This is when they first go,'No way.' But I push on,'Not only does his name add up to 666,but so did his California address.That was until he chanced the last number to an eight .Before then he lived at 666 St. Cloud Road.'
'No way,'they gasp.Then I say how the anti-Christ was supposed to die and come back to life.That happened to president Reagan.On national Tv,Dan Rather pronounced Reagan as dead,only to recant it moments later.
I then go on to say that one head will die off only for another to appear....George Bush[losing re-election],and George Walker Bush.
The people are really going ,'No,no,no,' now.They say that I got all the facts wrong,and refuse to believe me.For a caper,I claim,'And who could the symbol of the dragon be,but China?'
By this time,I have made my point.They don't believe.They say it is just too preposterous to believe.
I go,'Why?Because it is our country?'And they go,'Yes.'Then I say that Christ said that even the true followers would be deceived if it were possible.Why couldn't it be America?
By this time,they are almost ready to fight me.Then I say,'See,I told you that you would say it wasn't possible even tough all the signs are right there.That is the danger in putting too much credit in the 'prophecies' in The Book Of Revelations. Our lives should be based on the love and mercy and teachings of our Lord Jesus,not on a book that was originally meant as a book of hope,but is now being used perhaps wrongly to spread fear.
I truly believe that I don't do much more then rough a few feathers,but perhaps I have also planted a few seeds of love,forgiveness and compassion along the way.
Now,if only I could erase that nagging doubt that I have planted along the way in my own brain about my own country....
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