Glocal Christianity

How apocalyptic are you?

After watching Terminator Salvation last night, I turned to John Morehead's article on Apocalypse and the Postmodern Imagination tonight. Have a read yourself. I think it raises some interesting questions.

And I want to ask you some questions too. What is your understanding of apocalypse? Do you think the dispensationalists should have the last word on Revelation? Where do you see the apocalyptic imagination making itself felt in popular culture? What about yourself?

I'll be honest, I think my understanding of Christianity is deeply apocalyptic, just not in the way dispensationalists or gnostics would recognize. Unlike them, it does not involve any myth of redemptive violence. For me apocalyptic imagination is very much interwoven with the New Testament themes of hope and the dreaming of a world without tears.

Understanding Revelation

Since a lot of people shy away from the book of Revelaion I thought I should do what I can to make it a little more understandable.

One of the big problems, as I see it, is that many people miss the parallelism. They read the visions, and like good rationalist Westerners, assume they're to be read in series, that the visions make up one loooong and elaborate prophecy.

But that's not the case at all, its actually much simpler, its the same prophecy, repeated over and over again from different angles, ramping up with each repetition. That's how dreams and visions work. Think of it like a stack of transparencies that, when layed on top of one another, each add up to a fuller picture. No, don't just think about it, click on this graph I've put together and read up the various references. See the parallelism for yourself. This graph highlights how common visionary elements keep reoccuring across each vision. I've added in some visions from other New and Old Testament books too just for reference. Revelation is actually not so different from the mini apocalypses you find elsewhere in the bible once the parallelism is recognized. It makes the dispensationalist nonsense totally superfluous.

Still not convinced? Here's just one more visionary thread:

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. (Revelation 8:5)

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. (Revelation 11:19)

And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. (Revelation 14:2)

Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. (Revelation 16:18)

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. (Revelation 19:6)

Look closer at the book of Revelation and you'll see more.

So, look for the repetitions, look for the repititions.

Rapture Ready? Questioning the Celestial Panic Room

The rapture came up in conversation the other day and it got me wondering, how many of you reckon rapture prophecies can be squared with missional Christianity?

For those of you not familiar with the jargon, the rapture is not the same as the second coming of Jesus which we all look forward to. Instead, the rapture is said to be a precursor to it, sort of a factional coming between the first and second coming of Jesus from what I can gather (which I suppose makes it the one and a halfth coming). It is said that, to protect his people during the last days, Jesus will come and snatch them away to keep them safe before he returns. It is a prominant feature of the premillenial dispensationalism to be found in books like Tim LaHay's "Left Behind".

To me rapture doctrine seems rather forced and shaky, both unnecessarily elaborate and scripturally weak. I ignore it for the most part (which is easy in Australia where the interpretation is much less popular than in America). But since I interact with all sorts of people online I suppose I have to say something every now and again. Basically, I don't see God promising us protection from persecution in the last days or any days. Instead, I see him calling us to carry our cross as a witness to God's power and wisdom till his return.

As for the Kingdom of God, I understand it much more in terms of "the future breaking into the present" and "heaven coming to rest on earth" than this unearthly "panic room" suggested by rapture teaching. The world is not to be "left behind" but to be transformed by God's presence. To put it another way, I envisage a cosmic exorcism, a cosmic resurrection, not a cosmic escape. In the end though, I don't want to make too much of this because what is important is our common hope in Christ.

Warning Signs of Dispen(sen)sationalism

Here's a list I found rather timely:

Top Ten Signs That You Are OBSESSED With Bible Prophecy

10. You use the Left Behind books as devotional reading.

9. You get goose bumps when you hear a trumpet.

8. You believe the term "Church Fathers" refers to Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye.

7. You believe there is an original Greek and Hebrew text with Scofield's notes.

6. You can name more signs of the times than Commandments.

5. You refuse a tax refund check because the amount comes to $666.

4. Barcode scanners make you nervous.

3. You talk your church into adapting the '60s pop song, "Up, Up, and Away" as a Christian hymn.

2. You never buy green bananas.

1. You always leave the top down on your convertible (or your sunroof open) in case the rapture happens.

Personally I would have added, "Daily newspapers are amongst your favourite exegetal reference tools" and "You have identified one or more public figures as the anti-Christ through numerological substitution," as worthy contenders for the list.

But speaking of tabloid based eschatology, I wonder how the Rapture Index is doing now Hezbollah and Israel are standing off. Maybe I should sell a red heifer on eBay and see what I can get for it.

PS. Don'y ya just luv the photo?