They Left The EU, Now It's Time For You To Leave The 'Left Behind' Mindset Once And For All
When I woke up this morning after staying up late to watch the LIVE "Brexit"/"Bremain" European Union (EU) Referendum results on Sky News, I immediately sent out this as my first tweet of the day...
That's because "Eschatology" (a fancy-schmancy word for "The Study of End Times Bible Prophecy") was a MAJOR part of my life when I first became a Christian.
I would even go so far as to say that I regularly focused on the subjective and the uncertain as opposed to the objective and the certain.
Worse was when I was taught how to connect breaking news headlines from around the world to some obscure (if not also cherry-picked) Bible verse in an attempt to justify whatever belief, teaching, and confession was being sold to the masses as a clear "sign of the times" that the history of mankind was unfolding "precisely" like we all thought it was supposed to.
Looking back, I can't believe how gullible and trusting I was, but then I remember how I was also extremely passionate about my new faith, and how I also thought I needed to fall in line and "prove" my passion for the Lord by distributing these twisted half-truths to others in order to "help God" convert them.
Lord, have mercy!
You can read the rest of the story below. The point of this post today is to take an opportunity that has been served up on a silver platter to try and help my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to prayerfully reconsider their entrenched views on this topic.
I'm glad The Babylon Bee chimed in too along these same lines today. So, here's what I just wrote and published on my Facebook page, which I'm sure will hit a nerve with more than a few people I know...
To reiterate, I was a H-U-G-E proponent of the typical end times beliefs and scenarios!
However, rather than reinvent the wheel, here's what I wrote about this important subject including a detailed description of my own personal transition from a "Left Behind" type of Christian to a more Biblical and orthodox Christian (I'm sorry, but I am now CONVINCED that the so-called "Amillennial" perspective is much more faithful than any other that's related to a study of End Times/Last Days doctrine and theology).
This is most certainly true.
To paraphrase what I've heard Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller once say, "Jesus can come back at any time! He's not waiting for a Nuclear Power Plant to melt down! The thing that's holding Him back is His patience and love. There are no events that need to occur before Jesus comes back. So, seeing all the events around us and saying, 'Hey! Hey! That means Jesus is coming back!' the answer is 'No! No! That's a wrong way of looking at it!' Jesus can come at any moment."
My sincere prayer is that those Brits who voted to leave the EU will help to cause some Christians to finally leave the popular though un-Biblical views about End Times/Last Days doctrine and theology.
In a Lutheran layman's terms, they left the EU, now it's time for you to leave the "Left Behind" mindset once and for all.
NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just a regular Christian, Corporate Recruiter, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. As another Christian Blogger once wrote, "Please do not see this blog as me attempting to 'publicly teach' the faith, but view it as an informal Public Journal of sorts about my own experiences and journey, and if any of my notes here help you in any way at all, then I say, 'Praise the Lord!' but please do double check them against the Word of God and with your own Pastor." To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm a relatively new convert to Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism a little more than 3 years ago now. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Also, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier/older pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category (and they don't have a disclaimer like this) since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because I now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse footnotes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained under-shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!
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Would love to hear from all my old colleagues today who think the EU is the "prophesied" One World Govt that will give us the #Antichrist.— LutheranLayman (@LutheranLayman) June 24, 2016
That's because "Eschatology" (a fancy-schmancy word for "The Study of End Times Bible Prophecy") was a MAJOR part of my life when I first became a Christian.
I would even go so far as to say that I regularly focused on the subjective and the uncertain as opposed to the objective and the certain.
Worse was when I was taught how to connect breaking news headlines from around the world to some obscure (if not also cherry-picked) Bible verse in an attempt to justify whatever belief, teaching, and confession was being sold to the masses as a clear "sign of the times" that the history of mankind was unfolding "precisely" like we all thought it was supposed to.
Looking back, I can't believe how gullible and trusting I was, but then I remember how I was also extremely passionate about my new faith, and how I also thought I needed to fall in line and "prove" my passion for the Lord by distributing these twisted half-truths to others in order to "help God" convert them.
Lord, have mercy!
You can read the rest of the story below. The point of this post today is to take an opportunity that has been served up on a silver platter to try and help my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to prayerfully reconsider their entrenched views on this topic.
I'm glad The Babylon Bee chimed in too along these same lines today. So, here's what I just wrote and published on my Facebook page, which I'm sure will hit a nerve with more than a few people I know...
Would love to hear from all my old colleagues today who still think the EU is the "prophesied" One World Government that will also give us a One World Currency and a One World Military as well as the Antichrist.
Specifically, I'm wondering if you might finally be willing to concede that perhaps your "Premillennial Dispensationalist" interpretation and understanding of God's Word is *wrong* despite the fact that it continues to be wildly popular among many Christians today thanks to various books and movies rather than based off of the Word of God instead.
Truth is, yes, there was a time when I actually believed such things myself. In fact, I was one of the biggest proponents of these un-Biblical beliefs and teachings and even talked and wrote about the subject for several years to anyone and everyone who would listen. Sure, I meant well and I had very good intentions, but "the road to hell is paved with good intentions," and I was wrong about all of it. I know that now, and I can admit that, thanks be to God! I have since repented of those sins and done what I can to remove any trace of my previous work so that I don't cause anyone else to stumble into this false teaching due to their curiosity.
In any event, I'm so glad The Babylon Bee (Christian satire) wrote this one today, because it needed to be said. Again, I was once deceived and sinfully believed such false doctrine myself for so long, and I hope that others who still cling to such a sweet-sounding, but un-Biblical beliefs and teachings about the "End Times" and "Last Days" will take some time to prayerfully consider the real truth of the matter.
To reiterate, I was a H-U-G-E proponent of the typical end times beliefs and scenarios!
However, rather than reinvent the wheel, here's what I wrote about this important subject including a detailed description of my own personal transition from a "Left Behind" type of Christian to a more Biblical and orthodox Christian (I'm sorry, but I am now CONVINCED that the so-called "Amillennial" perspective is much more faithful than any other that's related to a study of End Times/Last Days doctrine and theology).
Why I Left Behind The 'Left Behind' Mindset (Amillennialism: The Lutheran Perspective On Bible Prophecy)
The End Times In Revelation
Great Reversal: Starting Over By Starting At The End
Why I No Longer Believe In A 'Rapture' (As It's Commonly Taught)
No, Jesus Is Not Waiting For Jordan's King Abdullah To Attack ISIS, Fulfill The 'Psalm 83 War Prophecy,' And Start World War 3 So The Antichrist Can Rise To Power Before He Returns!
A Lutheran Response To The 'Left Behind' Series
No, Pentecost Is Not About The Rapture!
This is most certainly true.
To paraphrase what I've heard Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller once say, "Jesus can come back at any time! He's not waiting for a Nuclear Power Plant to melt down! The thing that's holding Him back is His patience and love. There are no events that need to occur before Jesus comes back. So, seeing all the events around us and saying, 'Hey! Hey! That means Jesus is coming back!' the answer is 'No! No! That's a wrong way of looking at it!' Jesus can come at any moment."
My sincere prayer is that those Brits who voted to leave the EU will help to cause some Christians to finally leave the popular though un-Biblical views about End Times/Last Days doctrine and theology.
In a Lutheran layman's terms, they left the EU, now it's time for you to leave the "Left Behind" mindset once and for all.
NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just a regular Christian, Corporate Recruiter, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. As another Christian Blogger once wrote, "Please do not see this blog as me attempting to 'publicly teach' the faith, but view it as an informal Public Journal of sorts about my own experiences and journey, and if any of my notes here help you in any way at all, then I say, 'Praise the Lord!' but please do double check them against the Word of God and with your own Pastor." To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm a relatively new convert to Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism a little more than 3 years ago now. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Also, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier/older pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category (and they don't have a disclaimer like this) since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because I now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse footnotes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained under-shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!
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Thank you for visiting A Lutheran Layman! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question since we do not exercise censorship. We've seen a similar policy with other blogs and it's worth repeating: Please act as if you're a guest in my home, and we'll get along just fine. I think anyone would agree that the kind of back-and-forth that is characteristic of blogs/chat forums and social media is becoming tiresome for all of us. Still, we should confess, edify, and love (and contend and defend when needed). Bottom line? Search the Scriptures! Apply Acts 17:11 to anything and everything you find here and, if you do happen to disagree with something you find here (which is certainly ok), or think I'm "irresponsible" and "wrong" for writing it, then please refute my position by supporting yours with Scripture and/or the Confessions. I don't think that's an unreasonable request, especially for those who identify themselves as "Christians" here, right? Besides, Proverbs 27:17 tells us "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" and 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." If you have an opinion that's great, I welcome it, but try to support it using God's Word. I mean, if the goal here is to help us all arrive at the truth of God's Word (myself included), then it should be easy to follow through on this one simple request (I'm talking to all you "Anonymous" visitors out there). Grace and peace to you and yours!