Heaven is an interesting topic to think and talk about. Sherry and I have been going to a young married folks Sunday school class in recent days. We've enjoyed it since we've never really been able to be in a class like it before. We got in on the last few studies of a book that they had been going through and so I don't have a huge grasp on what it has been about. This Sunday we talked about heaven the whole time. If you stop to think about it, how often do we really talk about heaven? I can't think of that many times I have really sat down and discussed it. At first we talked about fluffy stuff that we think about it, but eventually we got into a deep conversation about our real feelings on the issue. I was shocked to discover just how fearful people can be about it all. I was really taken back to hear people bring up feelings of fear and distaste for the topic of heaven. I had feelings and suspicions why this was so, but soon enough the root of the issue came out: The dangerous, ridiculous, and hurtful beliefs of rapture theology. I was hearing people say things like, "I don't want Jesus to come back, because I want my kids to be able to have kids," and "it makes me mad that I don't think new life can come in heaven because I want my family line to go on" and "i don't want to have to sing to God for eternity." While the thought of singing hymns and chorus for eternity doesn't really bring me much excitement, I think rapture thought has ruined a whole lot of truth and goodness in God and His nature.
I hate rapture theology, everything about it. It was created out of thin air through a young girl's vision in 1830 Scotland and adapted by a British evangelical preacher named John Nelson Darby. It really took off with a few movies such as A Thief in the Night, Apocalypse, Revelation, and Tribulation. Books like Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth and of course the great works of our generation, Tim LaHay & Jerry Jenkin's Left Befind series have all somehow created this cloud of fear and confusion, and in some baffling way become common thought among most Christians. I could go on and on about my distaste and outright hatred for rapture theology, but it wouldn't really accomplish much. If you want to really read a good work on the issue that is straightforward and outright brilliant, read The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation by Barbara R. Rossing. It is truly incredible and has really helped me sort of the issue. I think it should be required for every person to read this book. The information above in this paragraph is from Rossing's book.
Back to the topic of heaven. Everything that I read in the scriptures talks of the end of all things as being the final coming together of everything in the most beautiful way possible. Reconciliation, peace, no more divisons, not more wars. Read Isaiah, read Revelation... God never lays out a plan for how it will end, He only offers hope in the midst of the likely case of things getting tough on His people. Suffering is inevitable. It's coming. It's here. It's been here for years and years. I wonder if rapture thought is big in places like the Middle East and Africa amongst Christians enduring unbelievable "tribulation" every day and it has been going for a whole lot longer than 7 years. We're in it for the long haul, good or bad. We're the ones called upon to be the bringers of hope. We're called to be salt & light. I don't consider myself an expert on the issue, but I do believe we have reason to hope, and I find that reading the very scriptures that people like Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHay have warped into anything but hope. The futue is open ended, and we have the task of bringing reconciliation into the chaos, not standing back while things get bad feeling confident that we're going to get whisked away right before it really goes to hell. We need to read the Bible in it's proper context: A message of hope given to people for specific reasons in specific times. We've messed up enough in the church these days and in the past, I hope that we can bring a bit of reason and hope to the most distorted of things in theology.
These quick thoughts are just the tip of the iceberg. It was mainly a way for me to vent about last Sunday's unbelievable conversation. One last thought on the issue though: I need to be more understanding and less judgemental towards people who believe this stuff. It is so widespread that most don't even know that it's not Biblical, but have just been fed it their whole lives. In the context of rapture thought, I taught my teens and others to focus on Jesus and living in His image, living in love according to His message and not making the end times the big order of the day. But, I get so caught up in trying to show people how dangerous rapture is and forget the bigger message of living in Christ's image and love. This Sunday and following few days have been good for me. Challenging, frustrating, but good.
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