Something a bit special...

Rapture Ready?

For the past few months I have been thinking about the issue of 'end times' and the theology that goes along with it. In some senses it is the first time I've engaged with these issues since I began (and gave up) reading the Left Behind series when I was a teenager. In the past I've shied away from this area because it is so intimidating intellectually, because of the unnecessary division it causes and because by nature I am much more of a 'here and now' kind of a guy rather than someone who spends lots of time thinking about what may or may not happen in the future.

However a combination of our trip to Israel and various conversations in its aftermath, my theology course and a request from Student Cell to study Revelation has piqued my interest and I have tentatively begun dipping my toe in this controversial water. At this point I would like to say I am still learning, I don't want to come across as dogmatic, and I certainly don't have all the answers, but there are some aspects of the way people deal with this subject that I find difficult to say the least.

Most of all I struggle with an obsessive focus on the 'rapture' and people trying to figure out when Jesus will return by reading contemporary events into the apocalypic predictions of Revelation. Let me qualify both those statements by explaining what I mean. One of the most popular strains of Christian thought in the US at the moment (prompted and strengthened by the ubiquitous Left Behind series) is that of the rapture, a moment when Jesus returns in secret and all the believers disappear, leaving behind crashed planes, motorway pileups and a momentarily baffled global population. What is supposed to happen next is 7 years of persecution for the church, known as the tribulation, and the rise of the anti-Christ before Jesus returns visibly and reigns on earth for 1000 years. In other words Jesus will return invisibly for his saints and then visibly with his saints.

For me the problem with this is, I see nothing in Scripture about a silent return of Jesus, and yet so many people believe it because of what they have read in the tomes of LaHaye and Jenkins. If you type the word 'rapture' into bible gateway you will find it does not appear in the TNIV, NIV, NKJV or ASV. I realise this is not a full-proof argument against the idea of a Left Behind style rapture, as the word Trinity isn't mentioned in the Bible either, and yet all Christians hold to the truth of that doctrine. However, it is something I think will surprise a lot of people, and means the evidence for a secret return of Jesus and rapture has to be explicit in other ways. I cannot see that it is.

The passage most frequently used to justify a two-stage rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

"¹⁵According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

Nowhere in that passage do I see a two-stage return of Jesus. The Lord comes down, the dead rise first, and then all other believers join Him too, and we shall be with Him forever. Job done. In one stage. If this really is the best evidence for a 2 stage rapture then it is pretty weak. The strongest argument against this theory are the words of Jesus himself, in Matthew 24:30-31

^"30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

What I do see written about in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testament, is a triumphant return of Jesus that everyone will see and everyone will understand immediately. The reason all of this matters is because a two-stage rapture leads to much bad theology. Stephen Sizer sums it up well in his book Zion's Christian Soldiers, when he says "It is the reason many Christians don't seem to care about climate change or preserving diminishing supplies of natural resources. They are similarly not worried about the nation debt, nuclear war, or world poverty because they hope to be raptured to heaven and avoid suffering the consequences of a coming global holocaust. Like a sinking ship, the world is doomed. Therefore there is no point in preserving the world or getting involved in humanitarian work."Scary as it sounds I have come across this attitude in Christians in Swansea, and it upsets me. It is so diametrically opposed to the commandment 'love your neighbour' that I fail to see how anyone claiming to be a follower of Jesus can, in all conscience, adopt it as their own attitude.

Sadly the craziness doesn't stop there. Whilst looking into all of this I came across a worryingly popular website called Rapture Ready and when I looked it up my jaw hit the floor. It's main purpose is to calculate how close we are to the rapture using 'the rapture index' which takes over 40 signs from scripture, puts them into 4 overall headings and then gives them a score based on frequency, intensity or significance at any given moment. It then totals them up and tells you how likely the rapture is (FYI anything over 150 means 'fasten your seatbelts'!)

The biggest problem with this kind of theology/crystal ball gazing is that it goes directly against the teaching of Jesus and the apostles in the Bible. In Matthew 24: 36, 42-44

³⁶"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father... ⁴²"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. "

That seems pretty clear- no one knows, so stay alert and keep serving Jesus because he could be back at any time. Also check out 2 Peter 3:4,10 for further confirmation of this.

A lesser problem is that it makes the church (and by association Jesus) look silly when people make wild 'definite' predictions about the end of the world that do not come true. For example in his 1970 book The Late Great Planet Earth (which sold millions of copies) Hal Lindsey claims that Russia was the power destined to bring about Armageddon by attacking Israel. Seems possible in the midst of the Cold War, but by the time he writes The Oracle Commentaries in 2006 the Soviet Union had collapsed and his force for Armageddon conveniently morphs into a Russian-Syrian-Iranian Axis. It is clearly nonsense and we should not engage with this kind of self-serving prediction, that depends entirely on who the US is most aggravated with at any given time. Worst of all this kind of thing diverts our attention away from serving God into endlessly speculating about something the Bible makes clear we can never know.

The lessons I've taken away from this are twofold, firstly when faced with any kind of Christian teaching, however popular, investigate what the Bible has to say about it for yourself, rather than just assuming what you have been told is correct. Secondly live every day 100% for Jesus, every moment as if He were about to return and don't miss out on living for Him here and now because you are so concerned about when he might return.

Oscars 2009

2008/09 was a great year for films, and the Oscars this year seemed to be spot on too! Sometimes they seem a bit snobby and elitist in thier choices, often steering away from box-office successes even when they have been critically well-recieved. Thankfully there was none of this in 2009, as Slumdog Millionaire swept all others before it and took home 8 golden statues.

I saw Slumdog the day after it came out, and absolutely loved it! It definitely wasn't the feel-good movie the press were making it to be, but infact it was all the better for that. The darker side of the story gave it so much depth and emotional power, which elevated it above the simple rags to riches story that it could've been. Danny Boyle also won Best Director, and its easy to see why. It is stylish, original and really takes you on a journey with Jamal, Latika and the rest. I reckon he also deserves the Oscar for his past body of work which includes the seminal Trainspotting, Sunshine and 28 Days. His movies always have unique touches and are never dull! Its hard to imagine in the wake of all its sucess Slumdog was nearly lost to straight to dvd movie hell!

In another populist choice Pixar's latest offering Wall:E won Best Animated Feature. I loved this so much and have it on DVD, so am feeling good about it's Oscar as I took a bit of stick for owning it! Unlike Slumdog, Wall:E really is genuinely feel good, and although its beats you abourt the head with it's 'green' message, the story telling and stunning animation more than makes up for it! How the animators got so much character out of two robots who can't speak more than 5 words each is amazing!

In all the fuss about Slumdog it seemed to slip by unnoticed that Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor posthumously for his portrayal of the Joker in the Dark Knight. For me, this was well deserved based on the performance, even before you take into consideration the tragedy of his death. His Joker was dangerous, menancing, creepy and full of tics and nuances that made him seem so unhinged (and no doubt contributed to much of the press speculation around his death). I have always been a huge fan of Jack Nicholson's Joker in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, but I think Ledger's turn surpasses it, and will probably prove to be the definitive word on the character.

There were lots of other interesting choices, Sean Penn for Milk instead of the favourite Mickey Rourke, Kate Winslett finally getting her Oscar (and making a surperbly ridiculous speech about shampoo) and the snubbing of Brad Pitt vehicle Benjamin Button. In short it was a vintage year for the awards, and I'm hoping for more of the same in 2010!

Robbie William vs Martin O'Neill

I was reminded of this moment of genuis from Martin O'Neill whilst reading 442 magazine in hospital this week. Way to put Robbie in his place... Enjoy!

A short update...

So I am back home again. still not had the op done. After sitting for 10 days in a hospital bed I was told yesterday that the consultants in Birmingham will take another 5-6 days to study my scans, write up their notes and then come up with a pan. Needless to say I will be spending some of today writing an official letter of complaint....

Arm update!

Its now been a week since I last wrote an update on my arm, and as I'm sat at home on day-release, it seemed like a good idea to get some info out there!

On Monday (as you can see below) I got my bone scan and MRI, which my consultant Miss Topliss, said revealed the fracture was clean, and the cyst wasn't anything to worry about. I was told to come back to the fracture clinic the following day, and they would attempt to find me a bed and get the op done- so far, so good... They wanted to scrape out the cyst, do a bone graft and the put a plate over the fracture- a simple procedure we were assured, and once done I could be out in a couple of days.

It was at this point that my NHS adventure really began. I came back on Tuesday, and then sat around in fracture clinic till 1, when I found out there was one bed available in the whole hospital, and I was one of six people going for it. At this point I began to feel quite despondent, assuming at least one of those people would be old, infirm and more worthy of a bed than me!Thankfully though Dr Topliss must've fought a good fight on by behalf and I was the lucky one! So without a twinge of guilt for those I displaced I headed for my bed.

5 days later I am sat at home on day release, with nothing happening, no operation and a still broken arm. Classic NHS. On Tuesday I was all psyched up for the op, only for the consultant to tell me at the last minute they couldn't go ahead because they found a hole in the packaging of the plate kit they were gonna put into my arm, and it was therefore not sterile and couldn't be used- but I was assured it would all go ahead the next day.

Wednesday rolled round, I met with the anaesthesiologist first thing in the morning, got ready to go, only to be turned back again, this time as Wednesday's surgery team bottled it because of the cyst and wanted a specialist second opinion from a bone unit in Birmingham before going ahead. I've since been told this is fairly standard with unusual injuries, not because the surgeons are unable or unconfidant, but because of the pressure of potential law suits, and the safety net a second opinion provides for them. My scans were packaged up, and couriered to Birmingham, where ever since they have sat on a consultants desk being ignored, whilst I've sat in Morriston on a hospital bed, having much the same experience.

This is where we are, still waiting. I desperately hope that Birmingham get back to Dr Topliss tomorrow and we can get on with the op ASAP. I've enjoyed having time to chill out, unwind and read lots in my hospital bed, but it's beginning to get frustrating, and I just want things to start moving forward so I can begin to move forward and recover properly, instead of waiting in limbo with nothing being done.

X-Ray and Bone Scan

My x-ray and bone scan! Weird!

The latest news....

As some of you might have heard I've had an interesting couple of days and I thought it was about time I wrote a blog post to tell you all about it, and hopefully explain why this might be my last entry for a few weeks.

As I was walking home from church on Thursday I slipped on some snow and threw out my left arm to keep my balance- it worked and i didn't fall, but it also hurt- a lot. I got a huge amount of pain shooting through the top half of my arm and had to sit on a nearby wall for 5 minutes to gather myself. Next I phoned Pete, our minister, who I had just been in a meeting with, and he came to get me with the intention of going to A&E. Turned out though that i couldn't bend my arm enough to get into the car, so we called an ambulance. At that point i was thinking that my dodgy elbow had finally given up entirely, but had no way of knowing.

When that arrived i was given huge amounts of morphine and then taken to Morriston. After a bit of sitting around Cat arrived and I had some x-rays and got put in a half-cast- before being put on a trolley and taken to the Surgical Decision Making Unit where I ended up staying the next couple of days. It turns out I had basically snapped my humorous bone in half near the bottom end.The X-Rays revealed I had a cyst in said bone which makes it very weak and explains why such an innocous action led to such an extreme reaction.

At ths point the consultant told me the 3 options i faced to get my arm fixed. The first, and best case scenario was to scrape out the cyst and then do a bone graft from my hip into the hole and then it should just heal in a cast. The next option would be to put a plate over the cyst and pin the bone back together, and the last option was to send me to a specialist in Birmingham and leave to them.

However for any of this to happen they needed to find out more about the cyst, and that required an MRI scan. Annoyingly the machine was so busy, that after a day and a half of waiting they sent me home, and requested I come back on Monday to the fracture clinic.

So right now I am sat at home, drugged up to eyeballs, hoping that tomorrow I get my scan and we can start making some progress. I'll try to keep updating on here when I can, but in the mean time thanks to everyone who has sent messages of support, visited me, been praying and all the rest-I really do appreciate it!

Wordle- In the Room

Spotted wordle on Sammy's blog and thought it was really cool.
It takes the text from your blog and creates a word cloud that shows you what you really blog about!

Robbie Keane- what a waste,,,,

Cost £20.5 million summer 2008
Great signing, great player
Just what the reds need to back up Torres
Might actually score some goals unlike Kuyt
Sidelined
Marginalised
Sold £12 million Febuary 2009
Robbie Keane