My Problem With Armegeddon

[abe3]

When people believe in a Final War, then they must always keep fighting. Iraq wasn't the end, so another war is inivitable. This belief means peace is not possible which I don't think God would agree. Not trying to go John Lennon on you, but this is my opinion.

[Jedidiah]

Nations don't fight, any more than individuals to, because they believe in a future final war. They fight because they are steeped in selfishness.

[elysian]

Part of the problem with the entire "apocalypse meme" as it were is that it's easy to focus so much on the future that one fails to concern oneself with today. If one believes the world is going to end in the very near future then why care about resources or how we treat each other? Apocalypse thinking generally makes people very short-sighted and selfish. Our modern-day Millerites are so preoccupied with the End of Days that they neglect what Jesus told us to do and be today- to follow Him, and to be His emissaries on this troubled earth until He returns to restore and repair both it- and us.

I know that Jesus said that there will be wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24) and I believe our warring tendencies go back to the simple truth of the depravity of man. (No, I am not a Calvinist- Molinist is more like it- but I agree with Calvin 100% on the depravity of man.) Until He returns and the world is changed we humans will go right on fighting because our innate depravity is still there. That doesn't mean to stop striving for peace- but peace has to "begin with me." The irony in that is that if you desire to be an instrument of peace you have to trust in the Prince of Peace to work it in and through you.

The End of Days- or as I prefer to view it- when the Lord comes again to establish His Kingdom, can happen anytime. Jesus told us to be ready. He told us there would be wars and famine and upheaval, but He also told us we aren't going to know when or how. So we should be prepared whether the End of Days is tomorrow or 1000 years from now. In other words, don't sell all your stuff and hole up in a cave somewhere waiting for the end to come. I saw a good bumper sticker to that effect: Jesus is Coming. Look Busy. Let Him find you following Him and doing His will no matter what everyone else is doing.

[The Remonstrant]

When people believe in a Final War, then they must always keep fighting. Iraq wasn't the end, so another war is inivitable. This belief means peace is not possible which I don't think God would agree. Not trying to go John Lennon on you, but this is my opinion.

I believe elysian made some very good points. I am quite wary of the "over the top" Christian movements whose adherents seem to have an unhealthy obsession with imminent apocalyptic events, end-time schemes, detailed prophetic charts and the like. The NT emphasis is on being prepared for Christ's coming, as we don't know when that time will be. Furthermore, we don't know the the date of our death (which may well precede Christ's second coming). In that sense, none of us has a very long period of time to prepare before our fate is sealed -- at Christ's return or our expiration -- whether it turns out one has two weeks of life left, or another sixty years.

Furthermore, Christ's followers are to be peacemakers. Non-violent resistance is pervasive throughout the NT, so nationalistic pride ought to be tempered with that notion. Christians shouldn't be eager to slay their enemies by the sword (though legitimate defense is not prohibited). Spiritual warfare ought much more be our concern than the former.

[AlphaBravo]

When people believe in a Final War, then they must always keep fighting. Iraq wasn't the end, so another war is inivitable. This belief means peace is not possible which I don't think God would agree. Not trying to go John Lennon on you, but this is my opinion.

The premillenial view of armageddon results in the ambivalent mentality that peace is impossible. Who hasn't heard "those people have always been fighting, they will always be fighting until the end of the planet, cause God says said so and it is prophesied so they cannot help it, it will all end in slaughter, yada yada yada".

So the premils don't bother their conscience with contemplating peace. it is impossible. it is a waste of time. and truth be told, premils believe that the sooner the dome of the rock is scraped off the temple mount, no matter what the cost, then the sooner the temple can be built and JC can return and we can get it on. and so they are willingly complicit or ambivalent to the escalation violence by their misguided drive to see the kingdom established. and i'm not a card carrying John Lennon pacifist either.

This opinion also I think results in an ambivalent attitude toward the value and potential of evangelism. there will always be few that enter in, the strait gate, narrow way line of reasoning. evangelism is doomed from the start and so on. just put a sign on the door advertising services and let the world go down the tubes. The premils have convinced themselves that only a tiny percentage of the 2 billion professing Christians in the world are true believers and that the rest are deceived or hypocrites because Matthew 7 says that it must be so and that we are still in the days of Noah, etc, etc.

This is partly why a preterist flavored, post millenial view appeals to me more and more. It is more optimistic and maintains that the Gospel of Christ has the power to conquer the world. it recognizes the possibility and the actuality of the growth of the knowledge of Christ in the world.

ok, rambling rant mode off

peace