The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle,
so that she might
fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness,
where she would be taken
care of for a time, times and half a time,
out of the serpent's reach.
Revelation 12 : 14
Even as young pastor in
the WCG and with a young family, I had no plans to ever "flee"
to the Petra, Jordan when the end of the age became official.
"Hide me in the grave," was going to have to suffice . I did
not give sermons on Petra that I recall and doubt I would. It would have
been short.
It didn't take long for
"probably" to change over to for sure and of course "for
sure" quickly moved on to topics of how shall we live? , what will we do
for that time and how can this or that be? It was fertile ground , as we
know, for Evangelist Gerald Waterhouse who made things even worse. After
every pass through any church I pastored he caused a stir. Of course
there were the groupies around whom even I had be careful to just smile when
they speculated even more about Petra after he left the area and say "uh
huh." But also there were those brave souls who probably represent
the silent majority for whom this topic caused fear and anxiety. What
about my kids? Can I take the dog? How will we eat? Why would
we go there where it is very dangerous especially with Armageddon and all going
on just up the street when we can stay here? Waterhouse had evolving
answers for all these and I referred their questions on to him since he started
it. All the OT stories were used to encourage us about food and
protection. Proof-texting at it's best! A small number of people
thought it malarkey from the start and I got along best with them.
This teaching, though I
did not buy into it much at all, was always troubling to me. The message
in Revelation seemed for those of that time in that place under those
conditions but maybe it was just me. I think the picture at the top of
this article will stir memories for most of just how we were to get
there. Once it was established that Petra was not speculation but where
God would protect his church, we had to get there and since the symbol of the
United States was the Eagle, it was probably, no for sure, going to be the USA
packing us all up and sending us there one American Airlines. HWA had
grace and favor, and bribed, world leaders who love us so they would be sure we
got there safely. Just shoot me I recall thinking.
Southerners would have
to take a different flight. :)
At any rate, I worried
consciously or subconsciously about the topic for years. HWA was getting
old now and you know how crazy some old people can be when they have never
considered the fact that they too would die like everyone else . I had
visions of HWA dying and drooling out , "Tell the Brethren it is
time to flee..." Gerald Waterhouse would be in charge of the
details. Money stashed by HWA would be used to have us flown from every
corner of the planet to Petra. I was concerned most when HWA had to
leave California for Arizona and he might get used to the heat and
Waterhouse would tell us God was acclimatizing HWA for the change. I
have a vivid imagination. Did Jordan have good airports? How many
buses would it take to get to the site. Please don't tell me we have to
walk from the airport! Is it hot? Will I be able to bring my
Nintendo? What do I tell my family? What if my husband won't let me
go? Do I need a passport? And so it went and
while it seemed absolute rubbish to me as time went on , people actually
believed this stuff. How much more insane it seems to me now knowing more
about the actual story behind the Book of Revelation, but at the time, it
seemed something in the Bible for the church today to have to figure out.
Of course it has NOTHING to do with us today but we'll let that go for now.
Sadly and of
course...there are many today who are Clingons. They still cling to some
one man show's vision of what this still means for their personal church today.
Everyone wants to be protected in bad times right? Times are bad,
right? So, the game is still on. Plainly however, this is really
bad teaching and a totally speculative and bogus use of scripture. Again,
and if this phrase gets burned into you head my purpose will be done. A
scripture can never mean what it never meant. However, many religiously
ignorant and unstable types seem to make every effort to make this not
so. With proof-texting and speculation , usually designed to keep people
in line and in an appreciative mood for the safe feeling the dance
through scriptures was supposed to give, the ignorance went on and still
does. If it causes fear and anxiety in some then we can make that the
sermon for next week. You can be sure that sermon will have something to
do with your lack of faith and insight, not to mention the problem you might
have with following God's chosen Apostle.
Will it be safe?
Will God squish the passage in the rocks together like the closing of the Red
Sea? ("Yes" Gerald Waterhouse) Can't
helicopters and bombs get dropped from above? ("Hmmmm...God will put
clear bulletproof dome over us maybe..no for sure!") Where will we
go potty since we can't do it in the camp? Who will take out the
garbage? Will there even be garbage because what will we eat??? Can
I open the first "Petra Hut" and make money of the brethren?
Can I have the toilet paper franchise?
And on and on and
on. Had I known the pun back then I would have "kidded" Gerald
about his long sermons on Petra or "Mr. Urmstrong," qualifying him
for "On and On Anonymous"! My humor is passive aggressive , or
sooooooooooooo I am told...excuse me for livin' :)
This is not an article
on fleeing or not fleeing to Petra today. If you can't settle that
historical context and theological foolishness for yourself, I can't help you.
This is a short reminder of the kind of foolishness the self appointed
can get themselves into and the anxiety you can feel when you are stuck between
wanting to believe and voting with your feet. It's why I say "when
your head tells you one thing, especially on this topic, and your stomach tells
you something else, your head is lying and your stomach is telling you
the truth.
Proceed with such speculative and ultimately false and foolish teachings
and those that teach them at your own risk....
Proverbs 11:14 - "in a multitude of counselors there is
safety"
Unfortunately and in my experience, those who stand up to stupid
and offer advice or caution are shown the door. Those that kiss up
to stupid get ordained.
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