Published October 22, 2005 - Glendale News Press - Los Angeles Time
IN THEORY
Q: With the recent spate of natural disasters and the potential of pandemics, talk of the end times has heated up. Speculation about the end of the world has become the topic of blogs and evangelists. What are your thoughts on the Book of Revelation in relation to our current age? Do you believe in the prophecy of the end times, or not? Are the disasters more than natural?
A: It never ceases to amaze me how quick people are to latch on to the prophetic aspects of faith and ignore the practical fundamentals that are essential to quality living.
The Book of Revelation is not meant to be read as a guide for the end times. It was written in prison by the Apostle John while most Christians were suffering and enduring violent persecution toward the end of the first century. Its message is in line with the rest of Holy Scripture: God's enduring love will carry us through the most horrendous persecutions and in the end love is triumphant.
Those who extrapolate messages correlating to world events today are out of sync with the orthodox reading of Scripture. Their blueprints and maps for disaster are erroneous.
I have a simple approach to end-time theology. Don't worry about the second coming of Christ until you've first mastered the lessons of his first coming. When we can love, care and respect one another in our diversity, when we can honor the sacredness of our planet and stop the exploitation of God's wonders, then we may be living in a utopia where the cares of tomorrow are minimized by the fullness of the life we live today.
FATHER VAZKEN MOVSESIAN
Armenian Church
No comments:
Post a Comment