A theory

Isn't it fairly vague as to how he will prove himself?

Maybe some of the spectacular parts will be reconciling science to faith.

 

According to the Bible, Jesus will return from the clouds, and everyone on the planet will see Him. And when He gets here, he'll begin supernaturally slaughtering those who have sided with the antichrist.

 

So you are saying nyet on the vagueness then.

Never claimed to be a Bible expert.....

Am I getting Him returning confused with the Rapture and the Judgement?

 

Possibly. I seem to remember Turbo using the term 'vague' regarding the Rapture in the "Hell" thread. In the theory of pre-Tribulation Rapture of the church, Jesus comes to earth and takes all living believers in the blink of an eye, then He's gone back to heaven again. No one knows when it will happen or what will trigger it. But that's just a theory.

When He comes back to stay (i.e. for judgment and His millenial reign), there will be no mistaking Him. He'll be the One on the white horse with angels by His side and kicking some serious butt on the armies of the antichrist.

 

OK, so maybe it goes like this. Someone "find" God by proving He exists, which triggers the Rapture. The true believers are taken away at the Rapture, and those that are left are left with scientific proof that God does indeed exist. They are given a little while to mull over there options and then they have to chose God or the other side.

Those that don't get the Jesus doing his impersonation of Michael Douglas in Falling Down.

 

I guess the sticking point for me is still finding 'scientific proof'. I just don't see how it's possible to prove the existence of a supernatural being by natural means. By definition, proof is nothing more than compelling evidence. Whether or not evidence is compelling is up to the individual, and millions of individuals today say 'proof' already exists... at least for them, anyway.

I think I get what you're saying though. You're talking about some kind of enormous discovery or revelation never before seen. Not to be funny, but something like finding a fully-powered Ark of the Covenant, yes?

 

Yeah, something like that, or maybe even more than that. Maybe we find archaelogical sites that validate ALL the stories in both books of the Bible. Maybe there is a find that proves Moses brought plagues and split the Red Sea. Maybe we find Noah's Ark. But maybe they are all just clues leading to God.

That is why I was talking about a scavenger hunt. Maybe once we find all of the clues that God wants us to find, then we will have reached a point where He thinks it is time for the Second Coming, or the rapture, or whatever that may be.

So maybe it's not a case of proving God, but more a case of collecting all of the pieces and putting the puzzle together in the right way.

 

Nah you're being burkean and taking the negative tack. It is all a scavenger, regardless of what the Baptists say there's more to it than just mouthing the words. Until you can enter a situation like a child and have no fear or resort the nasties, you are just not heaven material. Consider the case of Issac, clearly he knew what his father was doing but wasn't afraid, clearly Abraham knew what he was doing but followed through without question. The lives most of us lead tend to put us in situations where we violate our ethics on a minor scale and for me anyways causes me some duress, later in what are perhaps more important situations knowing the past I tend to not repeat it. So I would tend to agree with VP's analogy, that along the way you are here to pick up understand of how fear and loathing and so on function so as to not let them affect the beingness.