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Jesus Christ Returns!
From the July 2009 Trumpet Print Edition »
How will you react when you read the world’s most shocking headline? By Stephen Flurry
While working as an advertising manager at a daily newspaper during the 1920s, Herbert W. Armstrong had a brief discussion with four or five reporters and editors about what would be the most astonishing and dramatic newspaper headline.
“Another World War Breaks Out,” one of them suggested.
Not to be outdone, one of the others proposed a headline he believed would be even more sensational: “New York City Suddenly Blown Off the Map!”
“That’s tame,” a third newsman exclaimed. “Second Coming of Christ Happened This Morning!” All of them, except Mr. Armstrong, cackled with laughter.
“You men,” Mr. Armstrong said solemnly, “may live long enough to write that headline.”
As it turns out, they didn’t. Neither did Mr. Armstrong. But for an increasing number of people today, especially here in America, the subject of Jesus Christ’s return is no longer a joking matter.
“Will He Return?” Newsmax asked about Jesus Christ on the cover of its April edition. According to the feature, “public buzz about the biblical last days is at its highest level since 9/11.” In a 2006 survey, the Pew Research Center found that 79 percent of American Christians believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, although only 20 percent believe His return will occur during their lifetime. Still, there was a time when “doomsday” preachers were universally seen as wild-eyed fanatics. Today, those same Jeremiahs are attracting large throngs of faithful supporters.
On the other hand, as Jon Meacham argued in an article also published in the lead-up to Easter, while America remains “a nation decisively shaped by religious faith, our politics and our culture are, in the main, less influenced by movements and arguments of an explicitly Christian character than they were even five years ago” (Newsweek, April 4; emphasis mine throughout). According to Meacham, since 1990, the number of self-identified Christians has dropped by 10 percent. Conversely, the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation, he says, has jumped from 8 to 15 percent over the same period.
Thus, even as apocalyptic teachings about the last days increase in popularity, our way of life drifts further and further from God.
From the July 2009 Trumpet Print Edition »
How will you react when you read the world’s most shocking headline? By Stephen Flurry
While working as an advertising manager at a daily newspaper during the 1920s, Herbert W. Armstrong had a brief discussion with four or five reporters and editors about what would be the most astonishing and dramatic newspaper headline.
“Another World War Breaks Out,” one of them suggested.
Not to be outdone, one of the others proposed a headline he believed would be even more sensational: “New York City Suddenly Blown Off the Map!”
“That’s tame,” a third newsman exclaimed. “Second Coming of Christ Happened This Morning!” All of them, except Mr. Armstrong, cackled with laughter.
“You men,” Mr. Armstrong said solemnly, “may live long enough to write that headline.”
As it turns out, they didn’t. Neither did Mr. Armstrong. But for an increasing number of people today, especially here in America, the subject of Jesus Christ’s return is no longer a joking matter.
“Will He Return?” Newsmax asked about Jesus Christ on the cover of its April edition. According to the feature, “public buzz about the biblical last days is at its highest level since 9/11.” In a 2006 survey, the Pew Research Center found that 79 percent of American Christians believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, although only 20 percent believe His return will occur during their lifetime. Still, there was a time when “doomsday” preachers were universally seen as wild-eyed fanatics. Today, those same Jeremiahs are attracting large throngs of faithful supporters.
On the other hand, as Jon Meacham argued in an article also published in the lead-up to Easter, while America remains “a nation decisively shaped by religious faith, our politics and our culture are, in the main, less influenced by movements and arguments of an explicitly Christian character than they were even five years ago” (Newsweek, April 4; emphasis mine throughout). According to Meacham, since 1990, the number of self-identified Christians has dropped by 10 percent. Conversely, the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation, he says, has jumped from 8 to 15 percent over the same period.
Thus, even as apocalyptic teachings about the last days increase in popularity, our way of life drifts further and further from God.
