Rapture Tomorrow
It seems to me that the number of people set to be 'taken' probably can't be based on the number of people who identify as Christian, since there are so many flavors and many of them disagree completely on the rules. If only one flavor is right then at least the number will likely be fewer than the number subscribing to that one since it's more likely than not that at least some of them, while they may call themselves Catholics or Baptists or LDS or Jehovah's Witness or just plain Christian or whatever, probably don't fit all their version's criteria for salvation. I suppose the number might be balanced by those who don't realize they've fulfilled the requirements and get taken even though they don't identify as Christian at all (little surprise for those folks, eh? :D), but expecting all 200 million people who call themselves Christians to go and no one else seems optimistic (for them, assuming they're lookin' forward to it) or pessimistic if you believe their disappearance will adversely affect us all. Obviously, we'll miss them as people - good Christians are awesome folks, really positive and accepting and heartfelt - but we could use the openings in the job market and it would cut down on our emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, at least a little for a little while.
So, who goes and who stays? If the Catholics have it right then lots of the other guys are just outta the running. If the Baptists have it right then everyone else is out. I don't know why 'cause lots of religions have very similar salvation rituals to theirs; I'm told it's nuances in dogma that will make the difference. Frankly, it seems most likely that the Coptic Christians would be closest (and how many people have ever even heard of them?), specifically the Egyptian Coptics whose church was started by Mark the Apostle who walked with Jesus as opposed to Paul the Marketer who started the Catholics (and never met Jesus in person) or any of those who came after, as well-intentioned as I believe some of them were. But in any case, if any one of them is right and the rest are wrong that drastically reduces the number of people who will go. Then it must be taken into account that aligning oneself with a religion doesn't mean one is truly saved in the eyes of that religion (or the Christian God, if that religion is the one with the correct interpretation of 'the way'), so those who don't participate or haven't followed the necessary steps for salvation won't go but again that number may be balanced by those who got saved accidentally getting snatched up all unaware that they were bound for any kind of Christian Heaven. I doubt it'll be 200 million people, regardless.
If this pastor got it right this time it'll be interesting to see who's got the key. Wouldn't it be ironic if he didn't get taken up in the event he predicted? :D (Sad for him, I'm sure, but ironic. :)) I'm not really interested in going to the Christian Heaven; I have a real desire to be here for whatever the earth and humanity and I am meant to experience over the next little while, as long as I'm blessed to live in this body. It might be hard (when does life not bring challenges), but it'll be interesting, unique, the experience of, well, a lifetime - my lifetime - and I want to be here for it. Eternity isn't goin' anywhere and I'll leave this plane eventually, somehow (or so I'd expect), my matter and energy will go on into some other form or the same form in a different space/time, whether my mind remains intact when it abandons this being it currently inhabits or not. Maybe I will spend time in the Christian Hell for choosing not to go to the Christian Heaven (although I did do the Baptist ritual, twice, complete with optional dunking, so if they've got it right I may be going whether I like it or not), but the Christian Hell (as described to me, falling eternally in infinite blackness and unimaginable heat, no physical sensation - which seems like it'd make the darkness and heat moot - only memories of regret) sounds like a mind with a negative attitude waiting inside a black hole for the right place/time to jump back into the flow and cycle of life and I happen to believe that depression is sometimes a useful thing. Hell would just be depression for the disembodied mind and it's accompanying spirit. If it gets suicidal that mind would eventually just disintegrate back into the stuff of the Universe, lose cohesion and end it's suffering. If not, it would eventually stop living in the past, find a new body, and get a life. Any lifetime is a once-in-a-Universe thing; there'll never be another one like it, and I intend to see this one I'm living through to it's end. But to those who go tomorrow (or today, or next week, or whenever you go), all the best as you make your journey, your way. I'm sure Heaven will be heavenly if that's the choice you make and I'm sure you'll be glad you went. Love ya. :)
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