Religion News Service has an AP report:
The curators of raptureready.com — which shares commentary about “end of days” prophesies — suggest things could move quickly. Their “Rapture Index,” — on which any reading above 160 means “Fasten your seatbelts” — was raised this week to 187, close to its record high of 189 in 2016.
Which leaves me to wonder, At what number do they stop believing that a Rapture will ever occur? At what number do they stop believing in God?
One of the most detailed alerts came from televangelist Pat Robertson, who came out of retirement on Feb. 28 to assert on “The 700 Club” that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “compelled by God” to invade Ukraine as a prelude to an eventual climactic battle in Israel. Robertson said verses of the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel support this scenario.
“You can say, well, Putin’s out of his mind. Yes, maybe so,” Robertson said. “But at the same time, he’s being compelled by God. He went into the Ukraine, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.”
“It’s all there,” added Robertson, referring to Ezekiel. “And God is getting ready to do something amazing and that will be fulfilled.”
Which leaves me with the terrifying visual of God as sock-puppet guy. Poor Vlad, eh? But I suppose it absolves him of guilt.
Or does it?
Perhaps Robertson’s conception of God, and interpretation of the Bible, bedevils – if you’ll permit – the idea of free will, which in turn leads to a God that’s, at best, juvenile in behavior.
Bah, the whole thing is silly. Drama queens, the lot of them.
