I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea. Zephaniah 1:2-3
(You might not be able to tell just from reading it, but this passage shows God's concern for the environment and his attitude toward poverty and justice. That's why it is highlighted in both the Green Bible and the Poverty and Justice Bible.)
God is going to burn to death every living thing on earth, as he explains in Zephaniah 3:8 (which is also highlighted in the P&J Bible).
All the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
Christians aren't bothered by this, though, since it won't happen until after the Rapture. They'll be in heaven, while everyone and everything else is "devoured with the fire of [God's] jealousy."
So it all works out fine in the end. God's justice, concern for the environment, and his love for humanity will be clearly shown when he burns everyone and everything on earth (except the Bible-believers, of course).
That is why believers have been saying for nearly 2000 years, and still say today, "Come Lord Jesus!" They are looking forward to the day and the hour that Harold Camping tried to predict.
(Mr. Camping has a new date, by the way -- October 21, 2011.)
10 comments:
Sounds alot like when paul was writing. He was sure jesus was coming back really "soon" and the "time is a hand" then he had to change his tune and cover his butt with "that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
Because he sadly realized that jesus was a false prophet and he was wrong but rather than admit to it he just makes up another lie. Classic :(
Mr. Camping was sure in his prediction before the fail "apocalypse", so sure enough to spend his alot of his money and time preaching his BS beforehand. Now he has to change his tune too! LOL Believers are so funny with their pseudo-science, I feel kinda bad for the ppl who got duped.
Raptor Jesus,
What a stunningly accurate and thorough interpretation that isn't.
Perhaps you should read Revelation 7:9-10, 14 where it plainly states that the chosen ones came out of the tribulation.
The word rapture appears nowhere in the Bible. People who believe in the rapture believe the body ascends to heaven, but 1 Corinthians 15:35-36, 44, 50 clearly states this is impossible.
Zephaniah 1:2-3 refers to the early part of King Josiah's reign which began in 659 B.C.E. in Judah, the capital city of Jerusalem. It was a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 607 B.C.E. See verses 4-6.
The prophecy had some effect upon Josiah, who purged the land of false religion and became known for acts of kindness. (2 Chronicles 34:3, 14, 19, 33; 35:26) This brought a temporary restraint, but the sins of Josiah's grandfather, King Manasseh, who had filled Jerusalem with the blood of the innocent, was not forgiven by Jehovah and the destruction came. (2 Kings 24:3-4)
How you equate this with the rapture and future events in a literal burning of the trees is beyond me.
You're right, Daystar. The word "rapture" doesn't appear in the Bible. But the idea does.
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." -- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
(This is also the verse that you and the JWs use to "prove" that Jesus and the Archangel Michael are the same person.)
As for your statement, "How you equate this with the rapture and future events in a literal burning of the trees is beyond me." Well, maybe you haven't read the verses. Here is Zephaniah 1:2-3.
"I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea."
God says he's going to kill everything on land, in the air, and in the sea. And then in Zephaniah 3:8 he says that the entire earth will be burned with the fire of his jealousy. That sounds like complete destruction to me.
A guy who believes that Jesus (who is really the Archangel Michael) returned in 1914 should be able to see how Bible believers could believe that Zephaniah 1:2-3 refers to the destruction of the world after the rapture.
Keep in mind who Paul was addressing at 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. He wasn’t suggesting that we all die when we go to heaven. The meek shall inherit the earth and live forever upon it. Not heaven. God made the earth for man to inhabit, not heaven. Only a few, 144,000 - as the Jehovah’s Witnesses rightly point out - go to heaven. Those are who Paul is speaking of.
Daystar,
Why is my comment wrong, is the info not true? You give no counter argument to it at all, just rolled your eyes and called it dumb pretty much.
Paul (or the real author of 2nd Peter) went back on his word and so did Mr. Camping when they both realized they where wrong. 2nd Peter 3:4-5 is where you can find the "one day with the Lord is as a thousand years." where the writer Paul (or whoever) changed his mind.
There is a lot of evidence to say that 2nd peter is a forgery and shouldn't even be be in the bible, meaning that the other gospels who said "I will not tray", "The time is at hand", 'Surely I am coming soon'. All must be false then, because 2,000 years is not "quick" by any definition. Plus don't you think the guys (jesus and god) who invented night and day would know how long a days, weeks or a years time in relation to human's life spans? They are almighty and all knowing, right?
The predictions of jesus' return should have happened long ago in the 1 century, but he failed to do so just like all other dooms-day predictions.
In other words jesus is just another false prophet, similar to our dear Mr. Camping in all his failing glory.
Like I said before "Believers are so funny with their pseudo-science"
Oh, so the JWs are right again, eh Daystar! (It's amazing how many bizarre and diagnostic doctrines you share with them -- since you're not one of them, that is.)
Paul wasn't talking to or about regular Christians in 1 Th.4:17 when he said, "we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." The "we" he was referring to is the 144,000 Jewish, male virgins of Rev.7:4 and 14:4.
Thanks for pointing that out.
Raptor,
The apostles and disciples of Jesus didn't think that Jesus was coming back really soon, other than three days later when he actually did come back. So Paul wouldn't have had to cover his ass.
Peter wrote 2 Peter, just as 2 Peter 1:1 plainly states. Now, critics have two alleged reasons for disputing the authenticity of 2 Peter.
1. They say the style is different than the first letter.
2. They say it was “poorly attested in the Fathers.”
The variation in style may be due to the fact that the first letter was written through Silvanus (1 Peter 5:12) whereas the second was not.
As for canonicity the letter was a part of the Bible catalogue by numerous authorities before the Third Council of Carthage. Irenaeus, Cyril, Athanasius, Epiphanius, Gregory, Philaster, Augustine ant then the Council itself.
Talk about pseudo-science . . . Just because your poor interpretation of the Bible leads you to believe that its writers thought of Jesus as coming back in their lifetime doesn’t make it true. See The Pathway Machine response to The Skeptics Annotated Bible, What The Bible Says About The End Of The World.
Daystar,
I love your rants.
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