A friend feels fairly strongly about all this "fear-mongering."
Jeff Turner & Sound of Awakening Ministries
August 11, 2014
I don't say this with an ounce of anger, bitterness, or malice in my heart, but as a sincere challenge to the church of the day, as well as to the would-be eschatolog-ists among us:
Any preachers or teachers who are, at present, using the somewhat normal (in light of history) Tetrads (blood moons) as signs that the end of the world is at hand, and who are using the horrific goings on in Iraq and Gaza as fuel for their mere centuries old beliefs in a certain brand of eschatology, need to have their names taken down and compiled on a list. Then, 7-10 years from now, after the rapture has not occurred, Obama is out of office and the "anti-Christ" has not emerged, and things have (as much as they can with two religiously motivated groups sharing land) re-stabilized in the Middle East, these same teachers and preachers, unless they've openly repented for teaching error, need to be discredited.
This is not said out of anger, but I tire of seeing tragedies exploited to promote a certain brand of eschatology, and beautiful lunar phenomenon like the "blood moons" used to inspire fear rather than awe. I tire of our obsession with the idea that things in our day are as bad as they've ever been, when, in truth, even in light of today's horrific events, we're still living in a relatively peaceful time. I tire of the people of Iraq's pain being used as nothing more than a motivation for Christians to hide in their closets and await the rapture.
This madness has to end.
And so I say it again, and feel free to hear an increase in the volume of my voice this time around:
Any teacher or preacher who is using the current Middle East crises and "blood moons" phenomenon as an excuse to preach a "gloom and doom gospel" needs to have their name put on a list, and then, in 7-10 years, when their dispensationalist views of the end time have yet to occur, need to be held accountable and publicly discredited, unless of course they repent for abusing their platforms, teaching error, promoting fear, and using other peoples pain as an excuse for preaching bad theology.
This might sound harsh, but it's just how I feel about this. Someone has to hold these people accountable.