The Second Coming: Many Perspectives

While early Christian creeds agreed that the risen Christ would one day return to judge the living and the dead, there is not much more detail given to that belief. Partly that is because of the sheer brevity of the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed - nothing gets much elaboration. But, another reason for the lack of specificity - I would guess - is because the Scriptures themselves give many perspectives on what the Second Coming would look like. It is somewhat complex and somewhat simple. Let's look at a few of the complexities.

First, the phrase "Second Coming" itself does not appear in the Scriptures or the creeds. It is a kind of collective phrase that indicates when Christ will establish the Reign of God (called the "kingdom of God" in Mark and Luke; "kingdom of heaven" in Matthew) in all of its fullness.

Second, there are Scriptures that imply that the Reign of God is already here (Luke 17:21) and some that imply that the Reign of God is yet in the future (Luke 13:29). That is why many folks use the phrase "Yet, but not yet" to describe the Reign of God. It means that the Reign of God is here, but it is not yet here in all of its fullness.

Third, most of the writers of the New Testament were expecting the Reign of God to come in all of its fullness very, very soon. And, as time went on and the Second Coming had not yet taken place, it caused many questions. New Testament scholars call this "the problem of the delay of the Parousia." (Psst. 'Parousia' means 'coming', but now that I have told you that I'll have to kill you. Sorry.)

Look, for example at the difference between I and II Peter. I Peter 4:7 says, "The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers." But, by the time II Peter is written, there seems to be some skepticism creeping in about the nearness of 'the end of all things.' So, II Peter 3:8,9 says, "But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance."

I kind of think the writer of II Peter is using a bit of a sleight of hand here. After all, it was the first letter that set the expectation that 'near' meant 'near,' and not 'thousands of years.' However, the writer is dealing with the same 'delay of the Parousia' that all of the New Testament writers were dealing with.

One question that faces us is: Where do these differing perspectives of the Second Coming leave us today?

Let's 'bookmark' that question as we keep looking at the Second Coming for a while.

"Rapture" v. "Second Coming"

Let's try to clarify some muddy waters. The Christian Church has historically believed in the Second Coming of Christ, but the idea of the "Rapture" is a fairly new innovation in Christian theology. The earlier creeds of the church - the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed - both embrace the belief in the Second Coming explicitly.



The Apostles' Creed concludes a litany of beliefs regarding Jesus with these words: "... the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick [living] and the dead."


The Nicene Creed also connects the Second Coming with the resurrection and ascension of Christ: "On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end."

I like to think of creeds as snapshots of the ongoing and ever-moving life of the church. These two creed are among the earliest post-biblical creeds that we have and have been generally accepted as reliable expositions of the Scriptures by most of the church throughout its history. What they envision is that - without being specific regarding when or how - Christ will come again as the judge of humankind, both living and dead. What is important in these creeds is that the Second Coming is of one cloth with the incarnation, life, teachings, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus' First Coming. It is the "consummation" of the story of salvation.

There is no mention of a "rapture" in these creeds. Some of the folks who embrace the doctrine of the "rapture" will tell you that it is because in the latter days God has given us insight into the Scriptures that our forebears did not have. I would argue that there is no mention of the "rapture" because a belief in the "rapture" is not a constitutive Christian belief. I'm not saying that those who believe in the "rapture" are not Christians. I am saying that one who is a Christian does not necessarily believe in the "rapture."

While they are intended to be related, the "rapture" and the Second Coming are different things. This week, I'll take a break from the "Harold Camping Watch" and talk about the differences between the "Rapture" and the Second Coming for a bit. It won't be as entertaining, but I would greatly welcome your input as we all strive to be faithful together.

What to do?

Well, the long awaited date is here. The "rapture" will not occur at 6:00pm tonight. The "Day of Judgment" has already come and we all have been found both guilty and pardoned. And the "end of the world" is not taking place on October 21st. The date-setting is part of each generation's arrogance, imagining that our catastrophes are the "worst ever" that our expressions of sin are the final expressions of sin, and that our interpretations of both the signs and the Scriptures are the same thing as truth itself.

The question lies before us: When 6:00pm arrives and the rapture does not come, what shall we do? Here are a few of my thoughts.

We've seen enormous wastes of time and energy on Harold Camping's mistaken and presumptuous prediction. I've skewered it mercilessly because I think phenomena like this make all of Christianity look like a collaboration of fools. And, perhaps I've spent too much time and energy countering this ridiculous notion as well. My real argument is this: The "end of the world" is not a static concept that is marked by a divine hourglass. It is a way of protesting the presumption that "this is how it is and things will never change." That certainly was what John of Patmos was arguing when he wrote the book of Revelation in protest of Rome's presumptive power. That is what biblical eschatology is - a way of seeing the end (as in 'end goal') of the world as being fulfilled in Christ.

So, what to do now? Now, we live as though the narrative that the world will never change is wrong. It is wrong to say that might makes right. It is wrong to say that human communities will ever be battling one another in war. It is wrong to say that the strongest survive, the weakest relent. And theologically, it is wrong to conscript God into this mess, by saying that God is on the side of the rich, the powerful, and the aggressive. That is the narrative of the world that eschatology protests.

What eschatology says is that the conquering "Lion" is the slaughtered "Lamb." When we look to see what the conquering Lion looks like, we see the slaughtered Lamb. God's power is made known in human weakness, God's "dominion" is made known through human service, and God's glory is made known in humility. Eschatology is the counter-narrative that what was revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is true. Any eschatology that poses the Hollywood movie script as Jesus' way of conquering is false. The incarnation was not a 33 year experiment that failed. It is God's way of salvation. THAT is what biblical eschatology is all about.

So, today, tomorrow, and the next day are the "Day of Judgment," where human arrogance is judged and found wanting. But eschatology is ultimately a way of seeing salvation, not judgment. And God's way of salvation is still the way of service, of offering a cup of water to the thirsting, food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless. Do this, and we will be serving the risen Christ himself.

Results from Friday

Well, it is as I assumed it would be. If Harold Camping showed up at our houses tomorrow wanting coffee grounds, we'd welcome him in. And while it would be easy to taunt him, most of us would treat him gently, offering him the coffee and some food to go with it. Most of us would talk to him, or listen to him, and some of us would even offer a fairly sympathetic ear, if he were to tell his story.

Every entry was wonderful - some more lighthearted some more serious. What thrills me is that blog readers and Facebook friends - through public posts or private correspondence - have demonstrated that we captivated by the wisdom of the Scriptures. If love overcomes hate; if turning the other cheek overcomes violence; if good overcomes evil; then the best response to a man whose arrogance has brought him public humiliation, is sympathy and compassion.

I'm going to give the winner's gift this week to Kathryn, because she expressed her answer using the song method from Thursday's contest. I like the idea of Harold showing up to borrow some coffee and receiving a song instead.

Well, this has been fun. So here's our week's benediction:

As you go out into the world, where millions have not been suddenly taken away,
As you go out into the world that continues to belong to God,
As you go out in faith, not in fear or longing for escape,
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the companionship of God's own Spirit,
be with each of you,
this day ... and forever more.

Friday's Contest: Well, hello Mr. Camping

For my 18th Birthday, I received a lovely gift. It was a box of nothing. A cigar box, with its title "NOTHING" on the top; and the weight, contents, and usual disclaimers on the sides. The gift was from Nowhere and inside there was a single, small slip of paper that read, "Inspected by nobody." For some reason, that gift seems strangely appropriate for what many people will experience tomorrow.

Imagine that it is Sunday morning, May 22nd. Your neighbor, Harold Camping, spent the day yesterday dressed in a white robe, sitting underneath his "rapture hatch" (see below). The robe was a fall back, you know, just in case we don't really leave out clothes behind when we are raptured. Then, he would have a step up on all the rest of the saints, showing up in their shirts and britches. (He could almost hear St. Peter say, "Well, Mr. Camping, how wonderful that you are already robed. You may skip the robe line and come straight to the head of our table!") On the other hand, if it is the case that we leave our clothes behind, the robe would slip off quite easily. (We will not conjecture whether it ever crossed his mind during the day that he actually likes wearing dresses.) But, alas, Mr. Camping's expectation is not met, the "rapture" does not occur, Mr. Camping's math, or interpretive skills, or theology, or something is decidedly wrong, and here we are on Sunday, May 22nd, and Mr. Camping's vaunted "Day of Judgment" has proven to be a dud.

So, it is Sunday morning, May 22nd, and your neighbor Harold Camping knocks meekly on your door with a simple request. "Good morning neighbor. Say, would you happen to have a cup of coffee grounds that I might borrow? I ... er ... didn't go grocery shopping last week and ... well, um ... I'd sure love to brew a pot of coffee to get my day started. Fortunately, I took the day off at work, so I can go shopping this morning."

Friday's contest: What would YOU say to your neighbor at this moment.

(Here's the "rapture hatch," sent in by an alert reader.)

Results from Thursday

Well, we have quite the musical talent amongst our Left Behind and Loving It readership. Well done all around in Thursday's 'new song' contest.

The winning entry was "God's Own" sung to the tune of "The Flintstones"
Still here, we are still here
And the grace of God is still with us.
Next time, Maybe next time
Harold Camping’s word’s won’t be a bust.
Let’s pray for God’s kingdom here on earth
That’s what Jesus showed us with his birth.
When you’re one of God’s own
You’ll have grace and love for always
And God means always
You’ll have His love always

Congratulations Janice! You'll be receiving a copy of Left Behind and Loving It later this year.

Other creative entries included

"I Left Behind My Heart, but My Body Went to Heaven" by Denise

"Roll Out the Chalice" by Bill (To the tune of "Roll Out the Barrel") 
Roll out the chalice, fill it with red Merlot wine;
Roll the paten, with joy and with bread we will dine.
To Jesus Messiah , ring out a hymn of good cheer.
The Spirit is faithful among us, and the gang’s still here!

"Right Here, Right Now" by Catherine
Not coming tomorrow or maybe someday.
Here right beside us as we walk in the Way.
In the eyes of the stranger, in the smile of a friend.
We don't have to wait til the end.

"Up, Up, and Away" by Kathryn (To the tune of the same name)
Would you like to be - where we got dropped on the moon?
Joyful folk below - say our absence is a boon.
We could sit among the stars together, you and I
But we can't fly!
Up, up and alone in the cold, deserted, heir less, (darn it!) moon!

"Jesus Loves Me" by Sharon
Jesus loves me this I know,
For the Bible tells me so,
Did not give his glorious birth, 
so we'd leave the 21st.

Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Just in case, Am ready to go.

• 
  

Thursday's Contest: A New Song

As some of you know, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is currently compiling a new hymnal to replace or supplement the former new hymnal, which - I guess - will now become the "old new hymnal." At any rate, t'would be nice for this new hymnal to contain some songs that have been written in honor of the fact that God is still good, we are all still here, and the Reign of God still makes a difference to life on earth.



So, Thursday's contest is for you to come up with the title of a new song to be included in the newest of the new hymnals. You only need a title, but you can offer much more! If you want, you can include a few lines, a refrain, even a suggested tune! (Remember the tune to "Gilligan's Island" goes with virtually anything!)

Here's an example:
"Without a Trace" (sung to the tune of "Amazing Grace" or "Gilligan's Island")
'Without a trace,' they said they'd go;
And leave the rest behind;
But here they are, still left below;
Back to the daily grind.

Okay, I didn't say it was a good example. But, it's an example nonetheless. So, now that you've seen an awful example, you are free to make your entries by midnight tonight! The winner has to receive my book, but I'm sure you can trade it for an older new hymnal somewhere.

Results from Wednesday

What's not to love about bumper stickers? More permanent than tweets; less permanent than tattoos; and irritatingly un-ignorable to the captive audience behind you in heavy traffic. The only thing better is a contest to come up with a bumper sticker - if we were the kind of persons who might actually put something like this on an otherwise fine vehicle.

We had great entries for Wednesday's contest, including Wednesday's winner, Elysa, not only addressing Harold Camping's recent prediction, but including his former one and anticipating his next one: "Third Time's the Charm" - Harold Camping. Congratulations, Elysa! There will be a copy of Left Behind and Loving It coming your way when it is published later this year.

Other great entries included:
"Acrockalypse now!" by Bill
"Wrong Again" (another reference to Camping's previous missed call)
"Camping Out" (you know, just in case he's right)
and "May 22 is the first day of the rest of your life" - all three by Catherine
"We're all still here, so you can kiss my 'left behind'" by - well, she was embarrassed, so let me say it was by a lovely person who doesn't usually talk that way out loud.
"Making up for lost time"
"Recalculating" (which will happen, I'm afraid, so these ideas will be useful again some day)
and the obscure Steinbeck reference: "What happened to Preacher Casy?" - these three by the other Bill

Thank you one and all!

Wednesday's Contest: Bumper Stickers

Remember the scene from Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life" when 'Death' comes to take away every member of a dinner party and they decide to drive their cars to the afterlife? Well, that scene and Sue Rutford's suggestion lie behind Wednesday's contest.



Our goals is to make a bumper sticker for AFTER May 21. What should your bumper sticker say?
Here's an example: "You think YOU'RE disappointed: I wanted your car!"

As usual, today's entries are due by midnight and today's winner will receive a complementary copy of Left Behind and Loving It when it is published later this year.

Results from Tuesday

Well, there are certainly plenty of literate readers of this blog! Rather than "words escape me," Left Behind and Loving It readers are responding to Harold Camping's May 21st "Day of Judgment" prediction with the reply, "words abound."

Tuesday's winning entry - and future recipient of the book Left Behind and Loving It when it is published by Wipf & Stock later this year - is Faux Horsemen, by Johnny. "Harold Camping, Tim LaHaye, Edgar Whisenant, and Hal Lindsey's apocalyptic supergroup."


Other wonderful entries were:
Apocacryptic, by Chris. "The secrets of the end time are only known to a select few."
Crapture, by Elysa. "The ridiculous concept that the end of days is taking place on May 21, 2011."
The Great Ribulation, by Catherine. "The time after the predicted rapture does not happen that the followers of Harold Camping are tortured by others' laughter and jokes."
Revelation, by Bill. "The act of reveling or taking great pleasure in something." E.g. "The people partying at Mark's house enjoyed great revelation in the fact that Harold Camping and his followers failed to disappear on May 21st."
Prophane, by Jeff. "To prophesy using analysis that demeans its source."

Nicely played, one and all. Thanks for your entries.

Tuesday's Contest: Make a New Word!

We'll, we're inching closer to the alleged date of the "rapture," which - for some reason - is now being labelled the "Day of Judgment." My guess is that if all of the billboards across the nation said "Day of Rapture," the results would be less striking than the reactions to the "Day of Judgment." First of all, people might start scouring their Bibles to find where the reference to the "rapture" is. What a puzzle it will be to find that it is not there! (I have a perfectly sound explanation to why the word "rapture" is not in the Bible in my book, Left Behind and Loving It, being published by Wipf & Stock later this summer.) The other reaction might be one of relief. The world might be a pleasanter place without the likes of Harold Camping and his followers. At least then we could get on with the work of doing justice and walking humbly before God, without the distractions of trying to detect the sounds of God's shuffling feet on the welcome mat of the earth's front door.

Ah well, on to today's contest!
Tuesday's contest is to define a new word that describes the May 21 "Judgment Day" phenomenon.

Here is my example: "Errogance"
er·ro·gance / aer er gəns / noun

the inverse relationship between being correct and being certain.

“The May 21^st prediction was errogance at its worst.” 

Okay, peeps, you can either post your entries here on the blog or as comments on my facebook page. And special thanks to Marc Hansen of the Des Moines Register for reading the blog and finding it mention-worthy!

Entries are due by Tuesday, May 17, at midnight (CST)

Results from Monday

And here is the winning entry from Monday's contest for a May 22 headline: 

Local Pastor Attempts to Return $17,000 Entertainment Center

Congratulations to Catherine Foote for winning a signed copy of Left Behind and Loving It when it is released in late summer! 



Runner up was Bill Lemosy with, Celestial GPS for the Faith Journey "Recalculating"


Monday's contest was to write a May 22 headline when the "Day of Judgment" had come and gone and the "rapture" had not occurred. Some of the entries were more focused on what the headlines would read if the "rapture" does occur. Ted Coppick wrote with either regret or relief, ENTIRE PRESBYTERYIAN CHURCH USA SPARED FROM "RAPTURE." while Catherine Foote had the gall to write, Local Pastor Mark Davis Rethinks Eschatological Theology After Millions Disappear. Apparently Catherine was forgetting that I get to sign her copy of Left Behind and Loving It. 


Tuesday's Contest is coming up!

Countdown Contest #1: Headline News

Okay folks, we're down to the last six days until the "Day of Judgment." So, let's get serious with a "Left Behind and Loving It Daily Contest"!

Today's contest is a Headline News contest:

WRITE A HEADLINE FOR MAY 22, WHEN THE "DAY OF JUDGMENT" 

HAS COME AND GONE AND NOTHING SIGNIFICANT HAPPENED*

(You may include a subtitle.) 

Here's an example:       "Oops! Millions Left Stranded as Nothing Happens"

Contest Headlines are due by midnight (CST) tonight, Monday, May 16. Each day's winners - from Monday through Friday - will receive a free copy of my book, "Left Behind and Loving It" when it is published later this summer.

* For those of you just joining us, Harold Camping and many of his followers are claiming that May 21 is the "Day of Judgment." Some folks have swallowed this tale, hook, line and sinker. Others, who don't believe or understand why May 21 would be 'the day,' are hedging their bets, just in case. You are invited to defy the whole theology behind this "Day of Judgment" by believing instead in the most often-quoted line of the Scriptures: "God's steadfast love endures forever."

Two Physicians Died and Went to Heaven ...

Please check me if I’m wrong, but here’s the scenario that many “rapturists” see unfolding, as of May 21.

-         The “rapture” comes and the genuinely Christian people are snatched away suddenly. By “genuinely Christian” I mean people who “redeem the time” and don’t waste it by reading superfluous blogs like this.

-         Seven years of the “Great Tribulation” take place among those who are “left behind.” This is not to be confused with “so-so tribulations” like the stuff you and I gripe about - bad vacations, visits from the in-laws, two-year-olds, etc.

-         Then there is the “Millennium,” the 1,000 years of peace that earth-dwellers enjoy while the beast is locked up. Somehow the prospect of peace just doesn't jibe with humanity, though, because when this time is over, the Beast seems to have an easy time recruiting new soldiers for his futile battle against God.

-         Then the beast is released, the “Battle of Armageddon” takes place, the beast and his minions are utterly defeated, and the earth is destroyed, to make way for a “new heaven and new earth.” 

-         Or, something like that.

  

****************  We pause this incredibly insightful thought for a story ***********************

Two physicians died and went to heaven. When they walked through the pearly gates, St. Peter said, "Hey Jesus, look! A pair o' docs!" (Pair o' docs. Paradox. Get it? Eh, never mind.) 

******************* Now, back to our incredibly insightful thought **************************

The vision of a “new heaven and new earth” is something of a puzzle. Some ‘rapturists’ seem to think – and worse, seem to live – as if our earth, the earth where we live now, the only earth we have ever truly known, is doomed. Therefore, any attempt to preserve the earth – like not exploiting the heck out of it – is classified as a tree-hugging, Mother-earth-worshipping, pagan ritual of god-hatred. Ann Coulter once put it this way (get the yak bucket ready): “God said so: Go forth, be fruitful, multiply, and rape the planet — it's yours. That's our job: drilling, mining and stripping. Sweaters are the anti-Biblical view. Big gas-guzzling cars with phones and CD players and wet bars — that's the Biblical view.”*

Thank goodness the historic church saw the “new heaven and new earth” differently. They saw this phrase as a promise of renewal. Much like the view they held of the resurrected body, where it would be a renewed body – still us, but in a new, imperishable form. In other words, the 'new heaven and new earth' metaphor is a paradox - they will be the same / and / they will be different from the heaven and earth that we know. The paradox is the creative tension that comes from holding both the sameness and the difference together. To say that it is just one or the other is to lose the power of the paradox.

Anyone who thinks our existing earth is simply toast because God wants it that way, is missing the point. Anyone who thinks we have no obligations to conserve and preserve the earth might as well make self-mutilation a religious practice as well. But anyone who comprehends the way a paradox works, can – once again – live in awe of God’s promises, even as we live in obedience to God’s commands.

*  "Oil Good; Democrats bad", Townhall, 2000-10-12

Are You Ready for the 1.5 Coming?

So, indeed, the "rapture" is scheduled to take place on May 21. That means that, on May 21 - as so many billboards and painted covered vans have been advertising diligently - the saints are going to disappear. I think the proper order is that the 'dead in Christ' get to rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet him in the air. That's the event that we are supposed to expect on May 21, based on the words of 
I Thessalonians 4:16-18, which reads like this: 


For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.


In the old days, the word that is translated 'to meet' (which is actually a noun - a meeting - not a verb) was the kind of language that signified going out to meet a dignitary that was coming on the highway. (This is how it used in the parable of the 10 Bridesmaids in Matthew 25.) The locals would get cleaned up and go out to meet the dignitary, then accompany him or her back to their humble abode with joy and thanksgiving. That is why the historic church read this passage as a description of the "second coming," not the "meet me half way." For some reason, the "rapture" proponents have turned this formula around to where Jesus 'comes,' and we 'meet him in the air' and then he takes us to his house, while suffering happens back in the old homestead. 


So, on May 21, apparently, we're supposed to go to meet the 'coming' Christ, but he's not really coming. He's meeting us halfway and taking us to his house until he really comes later, so it's the "1.5 coming." But, I can't remember any of our Christian forebears talking about that. Can you?

Set the Bagpipe to Thy Mouth

The tragic death of David Wilkerson last week reminded me of an image that he found useful. In 1985 - after he was well-established as the evangelist among gangs through his book, The Cross and the Switchblade, David Wilkerson came out with a very different kind of book called, Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth. It was a book of what passes among many folks today as prophetic utterance. It certainly had the feeling of gloom and doom, as many people often ascribe to some of the prophets like Jeremiah or Nahum. The most compelling quality of this kind of "prophecy," however, is it's predictive nature. The words "soon" and "at hand" and other such indicators of time are scattered readily and often in this kind of literature. That may be why the imagery of the prophet as the one 'blowing the trumpet' is so popular. The trumpet - among its other great qualities (namely that it is LOUD) - is immediate. Start blowing and it starts sounding. So, part of the imagery of blowing a trumpet as a warning is that it's attention-getting qualities are immediate. TOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! = NOW!

However, most predictive prophecies simply do not come true. Or, if they do, it is usually in manner that is less devastating or less cosmic, or quite different than the predictor predicted. "America will be utterly destroyed" is the prophecy; "See, 9/11 happened!" is the fulfillment. And, as tragic and heart-wrenching as 9/11 was, it was not the utter destruction of America, it didn't stop the USA from exhibiting whatever sins the prophet seemed to be condemning, or anything like that. "America will be destroyed" is the prophecy; "See, hurricane Katrina destroyed the wicked city of New Orleans!" is the fulfillment. Well, Katrina was powerfully destructive, but it missed Bourbon Street and destroyed a lot of good people's homes. The predictive prophecies - by and large - go unfulfilled, at least to the magnitude and in the manner that the prophets predict.

Therefore, we get the caveats that accompany predictive prophecy: "No one knows the day or the hour" is the caveat; "But, we're reading the signs of the times and it is going to happen soon!" persists the prophecy. "With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years," is the caveat; "But we're on the END of those thousand years" persists the predictive prophecy.

In the end, predictive prophets seem passive-aggressive to me. They want all of the bluster and fear-mongering that the real meaning of their immediate words ("soon!" and "at hand!") conjure up; but they also want to cover their prophetic asses by hiding behind the caveats when 25 years pass and nothing the size of their predicted catastrophe has really taken place.


It's sad. I suggest a better metaphor - if we insist on having this kind of predictive prophecy - would be "Set the bagpipe to thy lips." Those bagpipers blow and blow and blow, filling up their windbag long before they actually start playing notes. At least with this image the predictive prophets would recognize that their use of immediate words is mistaken. It's a start.