Is the Rapture Upon Us?

Amos 5:18-24

18 Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness, not light;
19 as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake.
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.

The texts this week deal with the coming of the end-times. I always walk a tightrope when preaching on the end-times. You see, I do not hold to the pre-milenialist view that the apocalyptic literature in the Bible is a literal description of future events. Rather, I see these texts as being metaphoric of the struggle between good and evil in the world. Of course, being deep in the Bible-Belt, many of my congregation hold very tenaciously to the pre-milenialist and literal view of the events. To them, Tim Lehay and Jerry Jenkins were writing additional books of the New Testament and will soon be added to the canon. I can get away with a postivist sermon looking at goodness of God in Jesus and his desire for all to be in the Kingdom. But I still get the same old questions usually wrapped in the trappings of the current news story. How long will the beast reign on earth? Who do I think is the Anti-Christ? And, of course, in the midst of the current political campaign, do I think Barak Obama is the Anti-Christ? I am tempted to enter into a psudo discussion with them on the Anti-Christ at this point. One knows instinctively that the candidate on the stump is not the power behind the political party or the presidency. They are merely the window dressing. The real power, and therefore the real candidates for the Ant-Christ are among the true power brokers. One cannot minimize the role played by the one in front of the camera to get the message out. "Believe in me for I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to true equality/happiness/economic stability but through me." But I would not say Barak Obama is the Anti-Christ. I reserve that distinction for Oprah. :)

Don't miss this anglobaptist post: Hardly working and Sermon Mumblings.