Wait....Are We Judged Twice?

One of the basic truths we learn as Christians is that when we die, we personally go before God for judgment.  But then you read the New Testament and notice something odd… the Bible presents the judgment as a massive public event at the end of time.

So which is it?

Well, your eyes do not deceive you – there are two judgment events.  The first occurs upon your death.  The second comes at the end of time.  But why?

That’s what I wanted to go over today.

The Nativity in Revelation

The Gospels contain two accounts of the Nativity - the birth of Jesus.  The first is in Matthew and the second is in Luke.  Today I wanted to look at a third one, which is found in a most unlikely place...

... the book of Revelation.

Was Jesus Wrong About the End of the World?

Today I wanted to look over a passage in the Gospel of Mark which had me a little confused back when I was in college. 

In the thirteenth chapter of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus predicts a cataclysmic event which would be marked by signs in the sky and the “coming of the Son of Man”.  It reads:

"But be alert; I have already told you everything. But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven." - Mark 13:23-27

Many interpret this as describing the end of the world – and it certainly sounds like that.  But then folks get really confused when Jesus says:

"Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place." - Mark 13:30

Wait… did Jesus say the end of the world would occur within the lifetime of His original hearers?  That’s odd….

Even the great Christian writer CS Lewis saw this verse as a scandal – a time when Jesus Christ was factually incorrect. 

What is going on in this passage? 

Short Answers: It's the End of the World!

Dear Apologist, What is the rapture?  And what do Catholics believe about the end of the world?