I've been reading the book, " The Kingdom of the Cults " by Walter Martin. He's a " Christian " so being an atheist/agnostic I've had to wade through some of the more subjective Christian comments and observations he makes on things. But he does see through the BS of cults in predicting the last days. Because of unfullfilled expectations many of these religions and cults really hurt people and cause their members to hurt others by doing bizarre things when promises go unfullfilled. Check it out.
From the early years of 300 A.D. until the 1900's cult leaders have ALWAYS tried luring unsuspecting people with promises of the " end " or " last days " which allegedly will free them to be closer to God in heaven, or be at peace on earth after the wicked are destroyed. Martin in his book lists these different dates that cult leaders gave as the " end of times " over the years. " 500, 999, 1100, 1200, 1245, 1420, 1528, 1656, 1734, 1844, 1874, 1975, ........." And so it goes on and on.
In 1992 a Christian radio personality Harold Camping began making predictions about the year 1994. He stated, " When September 6, 1994 arrives , no one else can be saved, the end has come. " After the " end " didn't come on his date Camping claimed that " it was only God's mercy that resulted in God giving the world a little more time to repent. " Yeah, right.
Another alleged " prophet " a pastor of Christ Church in Los Angeles, John Hinkle predicted that on " Thursday, June 9th , 1994 God will rip the evil from the earth. It will be the most cataclysmic event since the resurrection of Christ. " After God's alleged date passed, Hinkle claimed that ot did come to pass, but it did so " invisibly " , in the " spiritual realm ". Uh huh.
A full page add in 1991 appeared in the USA TODAY saying " Rapture October 28, 1992 Jesus is Coming in the Air ". This was started by a Korean based cult called Hyoo-Go movement. They predicted that beginning on October 28, 1992, " 50 million people will die in earthquakes, 50 million from collapsed buildings , 1.4 billion from World War 3 , and 1.4 billion from a seperate Armageddon ." As the " end " drew near, social disruption mounted in South Korea . Believers quit their jobs , sold their homes, abandoned their families, and ran up debts in preperation for the " end of the world ". Several pregnant women reportedly had abortions " so they would not be too heavy to be lifted into heaven " and at least 4 followers committed suicide before October 28th. Finally the day arrived and thousands of these followers gathered in their various churches around the world and in Korea to await their departure to heaven. 15 minutes after the deadline passed, Rev. Chang Man-Ho, pastor of the movement, took the pulpit and simply said, " Nothing has happened. Sorry. Let's go home. " The next day some followers physically attacked the preachers who had misled them. One distraught member tearfully commented, " God lied to us . ' As of November 1992, several parents were searching for children who had been kidnapped by members of the radical sect ! Does this sound like something that hurts, or helps people ?
Time will fail me if I go on about Jim Jones, David Koresh, who torched and blew up his own followers ( 100 of them approximately ) promising them they'd sacrifice for God and become spiritual bodies in heaven. What a load of crap ! The point I'm making here is all these cults promise their members things, eternal life, in heaven or earth - but they never fulfill the promises. They do more damage than good ! So if anyone tries to deceive you that you have an easy out in this life by God bringing the end - don't believe them. They probably have ulterior motives - or they are just as much in the dark about the future as you and I. They have no " divine " inspiration. Look : The future has not been written yet. We make our own future by the decisions we make today, in the here and now. So make your future a good one by not being sucked in by JW's, or any cults who try to con you into falsehoods which could waste your entire life ! I welcome any and all comments ! Peace out to all, Mr. Flipper