Posted by Jaypeeto on March 21, 1999 at 12:17:39 {MWfZlKV6ncg82}:
In Reply to: **Revised Biblical Chronology posted by Kriss on March 20, 1999 at 22:46:25:
More sensationalism again.
All of these cults seem to be based on
escapism and a breathless belief that Jesus
is necessarily going to come and get everybody else out of their way, so that they can
then take possession of
their Eternal Orchard filled with Golden Apples and not have to deal with the presence of (ugh) all of us sinners still trying to be gradually sanctified!
I'm not trying to be facetious here, I'm serious.
Christ taught us to EMBRACE the "cross", take it up, and carry it on our backs. That is selfless and sometimes quite painful. It is a call to ENGAGE ourselves with the needs of our fellow human beings WITHOUT imbibing the SPIRIT of the "world" (materialistic grasping, etc.).
This is a far cry from the burning desire so many of these groups have, to see Jesus come swooping down out of the sky and get rid of everybody else so that THEY can breathe easy and eat their
delicious grapes. They
want "the resurrection", but they don't want "the cross" that comes before it.
It's all the same for these new cults:
a sensationalistic desire to divine the Date
of the Lord's return (which coincidentally, just happens to always
MUST BE GONNA HAPPEN in the particular cult's lifetime). Joe Smith, Judge Rutherford, Ellen G. White, it's all the same.
Same sensationalism, different false prophet.
Jaypeeto