Christianity+and+the+end+of+the+world

The Bible is written in many different versions, and they can be interpreted in many ways. I am writing about common interpretations. It's okay if you have other opinions; these are just some people's interpretations. (Thanks to Rev. Jason Wahlstrom, at my church, for help answering these questions)

__What books of the Bible are considered apocalyptic?__ Daniel and Revelation are considered apocalyptic. Daniel is from the Old Testament and Revelation is from the New Testament, and though they were written hundreds of years apart they have a similar theme. My expert said, "Daniel was written during a time of oppression of the Jews, so the apocalypse, or the hope for the future, was that God would ultimately deliver his people from their oppression. Similarly, Revelation was written in a time when Christians were being oppressed by the Roman Empire. The book of Revelation offers hope for a future when God's people would no longer be oppressed and God would usher in a new kingdom of peace." In other books of the Bible (specifically, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Jesus says some things that could be considered apocalyptic as well, but that is very limited. My expert reminded me that, "Also important to remember is that the word "apocalypse" does not actually mean a prediction for the future. Instead, the word literally means a revealing, or something revealed to us. This could include predictions for the future, but it could be a revealing of truth or a fact that we weren't aware of before.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Daniel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation __Revelations is known for its prophecies. Could you explain what happens in this book?__ "Revelation has been greatly misinterpreted by Christians in recent times to suggest that a "rapture" will occur when all Christians will be taken by God into heaven and the rest of the people will live in torment on earth. The word "rapture" does not appear in the Bible and the idea was made up in the mid 1800's. Because it is such a recent fabrication, and there is no description of such a thing in the Bible itself, this rapture theology should not be taken seriously. Revelation describes the impending fall of the Roman Empire, suggesting that the powers that were then oppressing Christians, would eventually fall. The message is a revealing of hope for those who were living in oppression."

__So should all these "predictions" throughout the Bible be treated literally?__ According to Pastor Jason, no :"I do not believe that the apocalyptic literature from the Bible include any predictions from the future that should be taken literal. They were written for a certain audience dealing with a specific situation, and they should be read as such. There is nothing in these pieces of literature that suggest they were meant to predict the future as it would occur thousands of years after their writing.

__Is there a right answer to when the world would end?__ The Bible, as far as my expert can tell, doesn't give a clue to when the end of the world might happen. He said, "Christianity has historically taught that Jesus will eventually return and that is the point when all Christians (and maybe more; we don't know!) will be raised from the dead and resume our lives in a new creation. I don't believe there are signs we can look for to anticipate the end of the world or the second coming of Jesus."

__ For those who believe the Bible has prophecies in it, or for those who are just curious: __
 * here is one literal interpretation of different time periods related to the end of the world:
 * the Millennium: in Revelation, Jesus Christ is the ruler of a golden era that lasts for 1000 years
 * Tribulation: a 7-year interval, during which the world religious- political leader is the evil Antichrist
 * Armageddon: a horrible war, caused by the Antichrist. Most people will die, but Jesus will save the true believers . God's wrath, anger, and hatred is poured out over mankind. God/Jesus fights Satan / Antichrist
 * Rapture: a miraculous event, and among other events, Christ will descend from Heaven towards Earth.
 * below are images of interpretations of Revelation



http://jonathanturley.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/book_of_revelation026.jpg



http://jamestabor.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/7headedbeast-only-albrechtdurer.jpg

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