The end of the world

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

It will be far more interesting to see if any xtian fuckheads take him seriously again.

Oh of course they will.


After all, Christianity itself is a failed millenarian movement;Jesus promised to return within the lifetime of his disciples.

There are quite a few Christian sects which have used (consistently failing) prophecy from their begining: Eg Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses.

In his book 'New Heaven,New Earth' Kenelm Burridge explains exactly how millenarial movements form, how they behave at each step,including the way they deal with failed prophecy;they don't miss a beat.

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Maybe someone should tell old Harold that the Rapture isn't exactly Biblical before his End of Days rolls around.

Well, yes and no. One can say it is BASED on a rather tortuous interpretation of scripture.

Realistically, the rapture is a relatively modern American invention.Viz By a seventeenth century father and son puritan pair, Increase and Cotton Mather (no really)


The full article is worth a glance

The concept of the Rapture, in connection with premillennialism, was expressed by the 17th-century American Puritan father and son Increase and Cotton Mather. They held to the idea that believers would be caught up in the air, followed by judgments on the Earth, and then the millennium.[12][13] The term Rapture was used by Philip Doddridge[14] and John Gill[15] in their New Testament commentaries, with the idea that believers would be caught up prior to judgment on the Earth and Jesus' Second Coming.
There exists at least one 18th century and two 19th century pre-Tribulation references: in an essay published in 1788 in Philadelphia by the Baptist Morgan Edwards which articulated the concept of a pre-Tribulation Rapture,[16] in the writings of Catholic priest Emmanuel Lacunza in 1812,[17] and by John Nelson Darby in 1827.[18] However, both the book published in 1788 and the writings of Lacunza have opposing views regarding their interpretations.[citation needed] Emmanuel Lacunza (1731–1801), a Jesuit priest, (under the pseudonym Juan Josafat Ben Ezra) wrote an apocalyptic work entitled La venida del Mesías en gloria y majestad (The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty). The book appeared first in 1811, 10 years after his death. In 1827, it was translated into English by the Scottish minister Edward Irving.[citation needed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture