The Rapture is coming tomorrow...again

[Scooter]

This year's version of the Rapture has been announced:

Great news! The rapture is coming on Rosh Hashanah

A new date for the rapture has taken over the internet, declaring that true Christians will bodily ascend to heaven this week — on Rosh Hashanah.

Believers are sharing tips for the rapture — don’t hold onto anything as you begin to rise, lest you hurt yourself. Others have pinned notes to their refrigerators with instructions for anyone left behind. (The main advice is to convert to Christianity.)

It’s not a coincidence that the latest rapture is slated for Rosh Hashanah. It’s core to the biblical math used to calculate the date.

This rapture date was sparked off, seemingly, by a South African pastor named Joshua Mhlakela, who said he had a vision of the rapture in which he heard trumpets; Christians often refer to Rosh Hashanah as the Feast of Trumpets. The sermon was shared on YouTube, where it went viral.

A South African woman, Mahlatse Letoka, employed by KPMG, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, sent an email to the entire staff of the enormous company. That email went viral as well and was shared around online. “Jesus will take the Christians who are ready (filled with the Holy Spirit and prayed up) between 23-24 September (Feast of Trumpets)” she wrote.

Now, users on ChristianTok — that’s the Christian part of TikTok — are debating whether or not the rapture will take place on Israeli time, or whether it will roll out across the globe at midnight. Others are attempting to prove the date through a sort of biblical math.

The idea of the rapture is tied to a line in 1 Thessalonians 4, which references trumpets — or shofars — describing “the dead in Christ” rising first “with the trumpet call of God,” followed by those who are still living ascending to the clouds. Though the New Testament in Matthew 24:36 says that “no man knows the day nor the hour” of the rapture, some posts on ChristianTok are saying that this, too, is about Rosh Hashanah, since Jewish tradition requires two witnesses to the new moon to confirm the day and no one knows when they might see it.

Of course, there have been a lot of Rosh Hashanahs without a rapture — 5,785 to be exact. Why this year is the winner is unclear.

Most of the people expecting a rapture seem to have a clear vision of what it will look like: people rising into the sky, as though they are being beamed up into an alien ship. (It seems likely that most of these ideas are based on popular media such as The Leftovers, an HBO show about those who remained after a rapture event.) Those left behind would then endure seven years of tribulations, after which Jesus would return to establish heaven on earth.

The idea of the rapture is a relatively new one in Christianity. While various lines in the New Testament refer to some sort of second coming of Jesus, also a raising of the dead, the idea that a rapture would come to save true Christians from the seven years of tribulations was only popularized by a British minister in the 1830s, John Nelson Darby. In the early 1900s, an American edition of the Bible called the Scofield Reference Bible further spread the idea of a rapture through its margin notes.

Pastors and historians online are desperately trying to calm those who are concerned about the rapture via videos discussing the recent history of the idea.

But for those readying themselves and their homes for the rapture, the details are irrelevant. The main thing to remember is not to look down.

[BoSoxGal]

Make sure to dress FABULOUS today!

[Scooter]

[Sue U]

It’s not a coincidence that the latest rapture is slated for Rosh Hashanah. It’s core to the biblical math used to calculate the date.

***

Now, users on ChristianTok — that’s the Christian part of TikTok — are debating whether or not the rapture will take place on Israeli time, or whether it will roll out across the globe at midnight.

Well that's yer problem right there: the biblical "day" begins at sunset. You'll never find the rapture using clocks and time zones.

I had promised myself ice cream if the believers got raptured. So far, no frozen dairy treats for me. But I've got apples and honey because it's New Year's 5786, so have a good and sweet year, everyone!

[liberty]

If that same observation were made about an Islamic sect, would it be considered religious bigotry?

[liberty]

Talking about your temple whores, isn't that just another form of prostitution? Yet it's religiously sanctioned.

{I could go to jail in Britain for making that comment.}

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Nikah Mut'ah)


Nikah mut'ah[1][2] Arabic: نكاح المتعة, romanized: nikāḥ al-mutʿah, "pleasure marriage"; temporary marriage[3]: 1045  or Sigheh[4] (Persian: صیغه ، ازدواج موقت) is a private and verbal temporary marriage contract that is practiced in Twelver Shia Islam[5] in which the duration of the marriage and the mahr must be specified and agreed upon in advance.[1][6][7]: 242 [8]: 47–53  It is a private contract made in a verbal or written format. A declaration of the intent to marry and an acceptance of the terms are required as in other forms of marriage in Islam.[9] The Zaidi Shia reject Mutah marriage.[citation needed]

The length of a temporary marriage varies and can be as brief as an hour or stipulated to be as long as ninety-nine years. Traditionally, a temporary marriage does not require witnesses or registration, though taking witnesses is recommended.[10] The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, indicate the minimum duration of the marriage is debatable and durations of at least three days, three months or one year have been suggested.[1]

[Sue U]

If that same observation were made about an Islamic sect, would it be considered religious bigotry?

No.

[BoSoxGal]

It’s not a coincidence that the latest rapture is slated for Rosh Hashanah. It’s core to the biblical math used to calculate the date.

***

Now, users on ChristianTok — that’s the Christian part of TikTok — are debating whether or not the rapture will take place on Israeli time, or whether it will roll out across the globe at midnight.

Well that's yer problem right there: the biblical "day" begins at sunset. You'll never find the rapture using clocks and time zones.

I had promised myself ice cream if the believers got raptured. So far, no frozen dairy treats for me. But I've got apples and honey because it's New Year's 5786, so have a good and sweet year, everyone!

Shanah Tovah u'Metukah, Sue!

[BoSoxGal]

[Joe Guy]

[Burning Petard]

Now it is the day after. I checked via text messages this morning and all my friends were Left Behind. Happy to read you are still here with us sinners.


snailgate.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Checking in . . . I know you were all worried when I posted no crap yesterday. A simple matter of the computer geek fixing my HDMI problem on the old laptop but accidentally removing all my favorites, history and (of all things) my Plan B link. (How did he know?)

[Big RR]

And I was counting on you to be up among the clouds.

Get ready for the tribulation.

ETA: Still waiting to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth (and, FWIW, what would gnashing of teeth sound like?).

[BoSoxGal]

If you listen very carefully, you can hear the gnashing of teeth in the background:

[Sue U]

ETA: Still waiting to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth (and, FWIW, what would gnashing of teeth sound like?).

Ever had TMJ?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Talking about your temple whores, isn't that just another form of prostitution? Yet it's religiously sanctioned. {I could go to jail in Britain for making that comment.}

Anyone want to get up a collection for lib's airfare?

Just kidding, lib. We all know (as do you) that your statement is rubbish.

Biblically gnashing is not a sound but grinding the teeth in a physical reaction to something hated. For example, Matt 13:42 suggests that wailing (sound) and gnashing of teeth (physical expression of being really pissed off) might occur when people find themselves about to be thrown into the fiery furnace. Seems to be a remarkably restrained reaction, all things considered. And the rapture was an idea from some loony girl in 1830 so . . . not biblical at all.

[Big RR]

Meade--as I recall, while the "rapture" as it is called that is a fairly recent doctrine, there is bilbical precedent in some of the writings of Paul (as I recall, he says the believers will be spared the horrors to come [of the tribulation period], and some of the early chapters of Revelation suggest the same. As I recall from my confirmation classes (Dutch reformed, the Heidelberg Catechism), the general consensus among many of the more conservative churches is that a trial will precede the horrendous tribulation period, and those judged "worth" (or saved or redeemed) will go to be with god and spared those horrors.

Personally, I think the scriptures can be interpreted wither way (then again, the usually can be and are), but I do think a certain portion of the christian church does believe in the rapture/trial, at least in theory, while some preach it more than others.

If you want to see where this can lead, I recommend this movie:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rapture_(1991_film)

Interesting but flawed

[Scooter]

And let's not forget that masterpiece of filmmaking:

[Crackpot]

The “Rapture” is not a new doctrine but the timing of the Rapture especially the “pre tribulation” rapture is newer. It’s also doctrinally weak in my opinion. It was created to address a supposed problem with “for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short”. (Note: not avoided completely). The other two theories are Mid-tribulation (approximately the same time as “the abomination that causes desolation”) and post- tribulation (slight misnomer) that quite literally (it is written) happens at the second coming which ends the tribulation. Personally the answer I arrived at during my eschatological studies is that if you have a firm unwavering belief on when the rapture happens you have completely missed the point of said prophecies.

[MajGenl.Meade]

And let's not forget that masterpiece of filmmaking:

I always expected there to be a follow-up: "Right Behind: Kiss the Other Cheek"