Hmm, I thought. I wonder what the Book of Revelation is all about. I mean, god kills people horribly for unclear reasons, and Jesus fights with a sword in his mouth. I didn't get it. It's obviously a dream, so there must be some theologian to interpret the symbolism. So I poked around online, and came almost immediately across this: http://www.biblebookofrevelation.com/ch4.htm. Holy Hell!
Some disturbing tidbits:
1. Right off the bat, the guy who wrote this commentary is creepy. First, god hates gays. Obviously. Because god is love and homosexuals are all about love. So...no. I still don't get it.
"Before we move on, I would like to add a comment about the Daniel prophecy above in regards to the phrase, "He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women ..." In my opinion, this statement about the desire of women may well indicate that Antichrist will be a homosexual....The tremendous explosion of homosexuality in our world today and the ongoing and unprecedented push to legitimatize it in every realm of society may well be laying the foundation for the future acceptance, and indeed adoration, of Antichrist. In a very short period of time, homosexuality has become accepted and is now aggressively being endorsed on a world-wide scale. I believe this is an indicator of the late hour in which you and I are living."
2. Remember the part in Revelation when all the good people die, too? I know, seems like the whole thing, but specifically the 5th seal. Apparently, god's okay with killing people as a way to recruit them into a celestial army. What's wrong with taking everyone up bodily? Isn't that what's supposed to happen in the rapture? I am very confused here. The rapture is nowhere in this story!
"The question arises, "In what sense is the fifth Seal
then a judgment of the Lamb when it is his own saints who are
being killed?". The answer probably lies in the fact
that those who are murdering God’s people are storing
up for themselves vengeance against the day of vengeance
(Romans 2:5). As Christ's murdered Saints swell in number in
Heaven, the wrath of God will be swelling as well ... toward
their murderers below...John heard the Tribulation martyr's cry to their Lord for
vengeance. This precipitated the handing out of white
robes to each one followed by the Lord's words to
them, "that they should rest a little while longer,
until both the number of their fellow servants and their
brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed".
What a long-suffering God our Lord is! Even in that awful day,
when his own beloved people are being slaughtered by the score,
he will continue to delay his wrath for his great mercy’s
sake."
3. Why does god start killing people--really cruelly--all of a sudden? It's not clear from John. Well, this guy has an answer. It's because we don't believe in Jesus. Really? God massacres almost everyone on Earth horribly because they don't believe in him? I must be missing something because to me that seems kind of...evil.
"The only sin that God is holding men accountable for today is the
sin of unbelief in his Son and that sin has not yet brought judgment on mankind.
However, at the end of the Age of Grace, it will."
But of course, that's not true, because in Rev. 9:20-21 it says:
But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their drugs or their sexual immorality or their thefts."
But most of these are silly. Plus, the Greek for drugs was apparently "sorcery", which is even sillier.
Anyway, god chooses a special number of just-converted Jewish virgin men to be nice to, while he beats on everyone else. This, I also do not get. What about all the Christians?
"This seal will protect each
one of God's Jewish servants when his judgments fall upon the Earth. They will not effect these
144,000 chosen servants of Christ....There, demon locusts are
instructed to hurt only those men who do not have the seal
of God on their foreheads. God’s judgments on the
wicked are never designed to be inflicted upon his own people."
Then, there are these Orwellian statements:
"Shortly, our loving and gracious God will arise
and begin a systematic and decisive intervention on planet Earth...In the days of the great
flood, I believe it was Satan who moved all of mankind to become
so wicked that God would have to destroy them all...Sadly, many many people, even
some of the saints of God, readily receive and believe what they see
and experience over what they read in their Bibles"
And then this horrifying thought:
"The first Trumpet will be the beginning of an
environmentalist’s nightmare for Earth. However, we need to
understand that God has no great concern for his creation when
man who is the crown of that creation persists in willful
rebellion against him. To care about the creation when this is
going on would be analogous to one’s son being killed while
riding a bike and then being concerned about the bike! Make no
mistake about it, God will not give a rats eyebrow for all
the forests and grasses of Earth if, by means of burning them,
just one man or woman could be saved."
4. The guy who wrote this essay on Revelation isn't just a hater, he's a nut. He claims all kinds of things are "scientifically impossible". But they just...aren't. It's clear that worldwide earthquakes have happened in the past (through meteors), and "stars" can fall to earth as shooting stars. Or, well, super-dense tiny neutron stars that are only a few miles wide (but that would cause us all kinds of other problems). The sun can go dark through, well, all kinds of ways--dense cloud cover (which has happened within human memory after really big volcanic activity), not to mention eclipses. The cool thing about science is that it never, ever says something is impossible, just really unlikely.
But again, if god exists, sure he can also do all that. But then why does he have to kill people to get a spiritual army to fight the devil and the antichrist? Can't he bend the rules so all those people don't have to die horribly? Honestly, the "god can do anything" argument just makes it all the more cruel. The real question is why is he doing it? There is no redemption here: like Santa Claus, god's already decided who's saved and who's irredeemable. So why make the saved people suffer?
"A worldwide earthquake is scientifically
impossible. Earthquakes are caused by shifting tectonic plates and thus only
occur in specific
and very limited locations. A worldwide earthquake cannot occur apart from the supernatural.
A temporary and total darkening of the sun is scientifically impossible. It just couldn't occur apart from the supernatural.
The reverse of earth's light source from the sun to the moon is scientifically impossible. Can you imagine how such an event is going to affect the scientific community in that day? For a period of time ... the moon will be earth's only light source.
Stars falling to the earth is scientifically impossible. Many would say that the very fact that such a thing is stated in the Bible is proof that it is a scientifically inaccurate book. They would object, "Real, stars falling to the Earth? Do you realize the nature and size of a star? You Christians are so ignorant and unscientific! Why, if this literally were to occur, the stars wouldn’t fall to the earth, the earth would be sucked into the first star that got close and then burn up like a moth in a flame!
The skies parting is a scientific impossibility. They would say, "The skies ... 'rolling back like a scroll' ... preposterous ... impossible!".
The shift and relocation of every mountain and island on the face of the earth is scientifically impossible. How could that be? Yet, it shall.
Finally, the rolling back of the heavens above like a scroll is scientifically impossible. But it will occur."
5. This guy is hilarious. I love that "burden of proof is on the skeptic" part! And honestly, how many scientists do you know who are politically correct? Though yes, yes, they are often puny. But seriously, John had a dream once. Why should all of human civilization have to prove that dream wrong? Can't we just assume that it was as off-base as that of another Christian covert who influenced a generation, Hong Xiuquan?
"Puny scientific man .. politically correct man ..
sophisticated modern civilized man .. is scheduled for a rude awakening at the breaking of the
Sixth Seal...At the breaking of the Sixth Seal, God will arise and bear his right arm and the
supernatural will become undeniable. Can you picture what effect that these
things will have when men witness such a contradictions of their so-called
laws of nature!? We don’t need to scientifically to
prove
that stars can fall to the Earth, by the way, nor
how
the heavens will roll back like a scroll ... we just need to believe
the Word of God, dear saint, whether it makes sense to us or not.
The burden of proof is on the skeptic. He must prove that these things will
not occur as they have been written here in the Word of God."
6. God is all about the torture. The whole point of the really cruel stuff that happens is so that people will become so desperate they'll say anything for it to stop. Seriously.
"At that time, men and women will not even be able
to kill themselves. Why do you think God will not allow men to
die during those days? Would it surprise you if it was because of
his mercy? That is exactly what this Fifth Trumpet is about. It is about the
grace and mercy of God. Think how many poor lost sinner will repent and be saved
during those days. That being the case, bring it on, aye?"
Comments