/ SpecFaith

Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign

John talks about “the signs of the times.” And he dresses up as a famous occult scholar and archaeologist. The two are related. Promise.
on Jul 18, 2012 · Off

Pardon me as I play dress-up this week.

John W. Otte leads a double life. By day, he’s a Lutheran minister, husband, and father of two. He graduated from Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a theatre major, and then from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. By night, he writes unusual stories of geeky grace. He lives in Blue Springs, Missouri, with his wife and two boys. Keep up with him at JohnWOtte.com.
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  1. Bainespal says:
    July 18, 2012 at 10:21 am

    Although I don’t think I believe Premillenial Dispensationalism anymore, or at least, I don’t believe that theologians could ever understand end-times prophecy well enough to draw a “flow chart,” I think I should defend the Premillenial Dispensationalists a little.
     
    In my experience, Premillenial Dispensationalists have the same attitude toward those signs that you advocate.  They believe that  He is coming soon, and their fascination with His return drives their analysis (perhaps over-analysis) of prophecy.  The Pre-Trib Rapture pastors that I’ve heard preach about always being ready for Christ’s return; they would almost certainly agree with what Luther said about the apple tree.  I think that most Rapture-people don’t bring their charts and diagrams into everyday spiritual practice.
     
    There are extremists, crackpots out there who do want to chart and predict the future, like that guy who thought the Rapture was going to happen in May 2011.  But not all Premillenial Dispensationalists are like that.

  2. Kaleb says:
    July 19, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    You give away the ending of the movie. 🙁

    Nah, I’ve seen it several times.  

    Interesting video, but I figure I’ll find out how the world ends when it ends.  

  3. Lauren says:
    July 19, 2012 at 11:49 pm

    Awesome video! I’ve loved following this series. It really gets me thinking about what I believe about the end times.
     
    I always found it hard to go along with the Rapture that most of my friends are convinced will happen. Personally, I’ve always thought that even as Christians, we all have to suffer, and we shouldn’t expect a “get out of jail free card”, but you’ve given me great logical reasons to back that feeling up. 
     
    And keep the videos up! They’re more enlightening than most of my college lectures. (Don’t get me started on how I wound up in arguments about Luther with both the prof and most of the class!) Thanks again!