> "Even so, come Lord Jesus!" These words of the early Church motivated everything they did. Such phrases as 'occupy 'till I come' were not just pious prattle but dynamic motivators. We repeat these beliefs every time we say the Creed at Mass or in the Offices. Thank you for an excvellent essay, Charles. While Ms Coffman (who is known to me)has an eschatololigcal world view that I do not share entirely, nevertheless, she 'wins' in a certain sense because she will talk about the parousia (NOT the Rupture) and most historic Catholics hem and haw all too often. There is an excellent group in England (Guild of Prayer for the Return of Our Lord) under the Patronage of the sometime Bishop of Norwich. The Acting Chairman(The Rev J.Lee Potter MA, FRGS) is a long time friend of mine. If anyone would like particulars lewt me know. They have meetings and issue a quarterly newsletter.In your charity remember John Homer seriously ill. Blessings in Mary's Risen Son! GDVW+ > > > In the mid 1950's as I drove home from an evening meeting at church, > there appeared in the North, dramatic red and green lights that > shimmered and extended from the horizon line to near the zenith. > At that time I was just past my midteens, for I had a license to drive > and was alone in the vehicle. > > I had a moment of fear, is this the Second Coming? My Bible > Fundamentalist upbringing included far too many hell and damnation > sermons with warnings of being ready when Jesus returns and > preconditioned me for fear of this event. In a matter of seconds, my > natural skepticism came to the fore, and I recalled my father's > descriptions of the "Northern Lights" as he had vividly described the > aurora borealis. > > It required at least 5, perhaps as much as 10 years for my understanding > of Christology to develop to the point that I could with conscience and > conviction say the prayer "Maranatha." However, that moment of > irrational fear in my 'teens may well have been a prod to seeking a > better understanding of Scripture than was being provided by my church > and peers. An irrational approach to Christianity in the community in > which I grew up drove me to embrace a rather thorough going skepticism > in my early 20's that required more study and experience to correct. > > We owe it to our parishoners to provide better understanding. It is > amazing the things you can hear from our people in a lay-run Bible > class. Many who are well educated in other fields turn to Bible Book > stores for reading material to supplement their knowledge and have not > the tools or the time to evaluate what they read or challenge their > preconceptions, often shaped in childhood. > > The following article in regard to adventism prompted the memory. > > Charles > > ------------------------------------ > > Christianity Today, Week of October 7 > > The King Is Coming, Eventually > > What if you announced the rapture, but God didn't show up? > > By Elesha Coffman | posted 10/18/2002 > > > I was in eighth grade, Mrs. Pasyanos's English class to be exact, when I > stared at the clock and waited for the world to end. That was the year > Hal Lindsey had pegged for Christ's Second Coming, and someone else had > gone a step further, identifying a date and time. Other than a 5-minute > break in a lecture on parts of speech, nothing happened. The hapless > prophet probably had some statement for the next day's papers, and > everyone moved on. > > The rapture scare of 1988 ranks quite low on the all-time list of would- > be apocalypses. The year 1000 might top the European charts, though some > scholars aver that hardly anyone knew what year it was at the time. Here > in America, the Millerite mania of 1843-1844 takes the prize. > > In an age with more than its share of raving revivalists, incendiary > abolitionists, spooky spiritualists, and self- proclaimed messiahs, > William Miller seemed an unlikely striker of panic. He tended a farm in > Vermont, fought in the War of 1812, and served as a justice of the > peace. His religious life, however, had not been so steady. > > Early in life, Miller followed Deism, the rationalistic faith of many > American intellectuals (and several founding fathers). He converted to > Christianity in 1816, then began assiduous study of the Scriptures. He > found the prophecies of Daniel especially compelling and used a few key > numbers from the text to calculate the date for Christ's return. The > formula went something like this: > > Daniel 8:14 says that after 2,300 days, the sanctuary will be cleansed. > > "Day" actually means "year," and the cleansing of the sanctuary means > the eradication of evil on earth—in other words, the End. > > According to James Ussher, an influential Anglican bishop with a passion > for dating biblical events, Daniel recorded that prophecy in 457 B.C. > > Add 2,300 years to 457 B.C., and you get 1843. > > Miller arrived at this conclusion not long after his conversion, but he > didn't tell anyone about it until 1831. Soon invitations to speak began > to pour in, and Miller became a local phenomenon. He gained wider > audience in 1838 by publishing Evidence from Scripture and History of > the Second Coming of Christ, About the Year 1843 and partnering with > pastor Joshua V. Himes, who would serve as his publicist. An estimated > 50,000 people took the message to heart and prepared to meet their > maker, while hundreds of thousands more at least casually turned an eye > to the skies. > > As the title of Miller's book indicates, he had not pinpointed a date > for the apocalypse. Pressed for more specificity, he could only offer > the span March 21, 1843 to March 21, 1844—the beginning and end of the > Hebrew year. Unfortunately, March 1844 saw no lions lying down with > lambs. Miller announced that he must have erred, but one of his > followers dipped back into the Scriptures to adjust the calculations. > After the "tarrying time" cited in Habakkuk 2:3 and Leviticus 25:9 was > factored in, October 22, 1844, got the nod. > > Once again, nothing happened. Or did it? > > A small group of Millerites determined that Christ had cleansed the > sanctuary on that fateful day, but only in heaven. Earth, they claimed, > failed to participate in this glory because the earthly church neglected > the true Sabbath (Saturday). This group, led by James and Ellen Gould > White, went on to become the Seventh-day Adventist Church. > > Pretty much everyone else deemed Miller and his prophecies pure folly. > The October debacle became known as the Great Disappointment, and Miller > died, lonely and broken, five years later. > > In one sense, however, Miller's ideas won the day. Unlike most > nineteenth-century American Christians, Miller believed that God's > decisive intervention, not Christians' pious actions, would institute > the millennial kingdom. Twentieth-century fundamentalists carried on > this belief, in contrast to liberals who emphasized human progress and > perfectability. Many evangelicals still await the cosmic interruption > Millerites anticipated more than 150 years ago, though almost none go so > far as to nominate a day or hour. > > Elesha Coffman is the former managing editor of Christian History > magazine and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in history at Duke > University. > > Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Internet access plans that fit your lifestyle -- join MSN. > http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp > > > -- > To unsubscribe, send ANY message to > <faithandlife-unsubscribe@...> ----------------------------------------- This email was sent using FREE Catholic Online Webmail. Please tell your family, friends and children about COL Webmail! http://webmail.catholic.org/