If you are reading this, I am sorry to say that you have not been raptured. In fact, it looks like no one got to enjoy the elevating experience of meeting Jesus as he descended to Earth this week.
Over the weekend, the internet was abuzz about the second coming of Jesus, thanks to the ravings of a pastor who posted his claims on America’s most trusted news source, TikTok. He convinced countless people that the Rapture would occur during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, on September 24th. As I am sure you know, the day came and went without so much as a hint of global apocalypse, and our world made it through yet another predicted end of days.
This
will not be the last time someone attempts to prophecy when Jesus is coming
back. For 200 years people have told one another to get ready for the Rapture,
when Jesus comes to take away all the good Christians and leave the heathens
behind. To prepare for the next prediction, here are two brief pieces of
advice:
1)
Ignore the predictions. Even Jesus said in Matthew 24 that he doesn’t know when
he will return. It’s probably best to not trust anyone who thinks they know
more than the Son of God.
2)
Remind yourself that the Rapture isn’t real. There is no scriptural basis for
the idea that Jesus might return halfway, zap up a few billion Christians to
meet him in the sky, and leave again for another 1,000 years. Much like the
Left Behind book series about the Rapture, it is all a work of fiction. An
Irish minister named John Nelson Darby came up with the idea in the 1830s by
plucking a few misunderstood verses out of context and cobbling them together.
Darby’s methods have been rejected by most critical scholars, and I struggle to
understand how a person who reads the bible literally could accept his
cherry-picked conclusions.
The
second coming of Jesus will be a wondrous moment for all of creation, but
remember that Christ is already in our midst. You don’t have to look far to see
signs of the one who suffered, died, and rose again so that we might live.
Christ is present in the people you love, and with those who you cannot stand
to be around. Christ is with the hungry, and with those who have nowhere to
call home. Christ is in that hospital room, and in that empty house full of
memories and grief. Christ is with children doing lockdown drills in their
schools, and those who have lived through the real thing. Christ is among the
rubble of Gaza, and with hostages, prisoners, and those who will never know
peace again in this life. Christ is present in every person you encounter, and
Christ is present in you.
In
Matthew 6, Jesus reminds us that today’s troubles are enough for today. But if
the Rapture still has you worried, here is one last piece of advice, sometimes
attributed to Martin Luther: If you think the world will fall to pieces
tomorrow, plant a tree today.
Peace,
Pastor Chad McKenna
