Dozens Of Nigerians Freed From Church Awaiting 'Second Coming' In Ondo

[ramonmercado]

Another apocalyptic/millennial cult, they'd being locked in the church for months.

Dozens of Nigerians freed from church awaiting 'Second Coming' in Ondo
By Ishaq Khalid & Robert Plummer BBC News. Published 13 hours ago

Police in Nigeria have rescued 77 people, including children, from a church where they were confined in the south-western state of Ondo.

Some of them are believed to have been there for months. A police spokesperson said many of them had been told to expect the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in April and had abandoned school to witness the event.

The raid came after a mother complained her children were missing and she thought they were in the church. Police say they are investigating suspected mass abduction after the raid on the Whole Bible Believers Church in the Valentino area of Ondo Town.

The pastor of the Pentecostal church, David Anifowoshe, and his deputy have been arrested, while the victims have been taken into the care of the authorities.

"Preliminary investigation revealed that one Pastor Josiah Peter Asumosa, an assistant pastor in the church, was the one who told the members that Rapture will take place in April, but later said it has been changed to September 2022 and told the young members to obey only their parents in the Lord," said police press officer Funmilayo Odunlami.

In all, police rescued 26 children, eight teenagers and 43 adults, she added.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62025178

 

[Frideswide]

Oh dear

what is the basis for belief in The Rapture?

 

[hunck]

Oh dear

what is the basis for belief in The Rapture?

I’m assuming the ‘second coming’ is synonymous with the Rapture but God should sort himself out. The amount of times he’s given a bum steer to one of his fans is bang out of order & no way for a supreme being to behave.

 

[Sollywos]

Yes it's the same. For a short time in my misspent youth I was a member of the Plymouth Brethren who very much believe in this. One of them used to have a notice in their car:-

'Ride at your own risk,
I'm leaving at The Rapture!!'

They did however acknowledge that they knew not when, although it was obviously going to be any second now.

I've recently met up with one of my friends from those days having returned to the area. It's a good half century since I've seen her. I thought it best to tell her from the off that I no longer believe and guess what? Her first reaction was:-

'But how are you going to feel when you see the people being Raptured and you are left behind?'

Not a lot I could say to that really. She seems even more sure than ever that it is about to happen.

 

[maximus otter]

Oh dear

what is the basis for belief in The Rapture?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture#Tenets

maximus otter

 

[Mythopoeika]

Oh dear

what is the basis for belief in The Rapture?

None, apart from some vague paragraphs in the Bible.
It's mostly just something that a bunch of evangelicals cooked up between them. Most branches of Christianity don't believe in it.
Unfortunately, the religious types in my family follow this nonsense.

 

[Mythopoeika]

'But how are you going to feel when you see the people being Raptured and you are left behind?'

My reaction would be 'good luck with that'. Heaven's already full.

 

[Squail]

My reaction would be 'good luck with that'. Heaven's already full.

We are the chosen few;
All others will be damned.
There isn't room in Heaven for you --
We can't have Heaven crammed !

(to the tune of "Teach me, my God and King")

 

[Mythopoeika]

We are the chosen few;
All others will be damned.
There isn't room in Heaven for you --
We can't have Heaven crammed !

(to the tune of "Teach me, my God and King")

Indeed.
Heaven will only take 144,000 souls - yet there are maybe millions that deserve to get in.
I guess they didn't give that much thought.

 

[Squail]

If I have things rightly -- the "144,000" thing, is from an item in the book of Revelation: said book, a greatly fought-over / commented-on / expatiated-on-and-explained-about, part of the Bible. (No doubt Googling would tell us more, though likely not actually clarify: am for now anyway, opting out of "going there".) I do get the picture that virtually all Christian denominations all through history, have found ways to have it that despite the "144,000" bit: the potential number of the saveable and admissible-to Heaven, is actually infinite.

Again if I get things correct; the Jehovah's Witnesses -- big on this whole aspect of the faith -- parse it as: the 144,000 who get to "Heaven proper", will be the very especially pure-and-holy throughout history. All other faithful believers who endure to the end: will after the Last Judgement, spend a blissful eternity on planet Earth, beautifully and pristinely re-made, and purified of all sorrow / cruelty / anything bad.