Rapture Jokes

The Date: May 21st, 2011
The Time: 10am to 5pm

All day I had been making rapture jokes along side of my co-workers. We were having a lot of fun joking about the end of the world, and even teasing each other about it. Being a comedian & a youth pastor I probably had the best jokes out of everyone, mostly because I knew what I was talking about.

The Time 5:00pm
After work I bump into a local pastor who I haven't seen in a while. I sat with him at his table in the resteraunt & we talk a while.

The Time: 5:50pm
We're walking out the door of the resteraunt together. Harold Camping had predicted that the rapture would take place at 6pm that day.

Our Conversation:
Local Pastor: Well, guy, it's been good seeing ya! Hope to see you again, soon!
Comedian Eric Johnson: Don't worry. You could see me in another 10 minutes!
Local Pastor: Hahahahahahahaha! That was a good one!
Comedian Eric Johnson: Hahahahahaha!! Thanks, Pastor! See ya in a few!

The Time: 6:02pm
I'm driving home from work & I'm reflecting on the day's events, or should I say at this point lack of event. I'm thinking about all the jokes I cracked, how I sat with the local pastor & how both of us were even cracking jokes & then the Holy Spirit hit me:

"...in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth..."

I quickly examined myself & discovered that I had done wrong in the eyes of God. The Rapture is apart of the Truth, & here I was making a mockery of it, scoffing at it infront of non-believers!

The Holy Spirit began convicting me, quickly sending me the message that if I don't take the Rapture seriously infront of non-believers, they will never take it seriously. My laughter & my jokes is actually HURTING them because I'm showing them that Christ's return is nothing to take seriously.

I thought on this all weekend. Finally Monday afternoon I go & grab my Bible. I look up in II Peter where the apostle Peter talks about "in the last days scoffers will come..." and I discovered something: Peter wasn't so much as talking about the world as he was talking about the church!

I read the whole book of II Peter about 4 times. Just kept reading it over & over & over. Just about everything that Peter has to say in this book applies to the whole "May 21st - Rapture Prediction" thing we got going on right now.

In II Peter 1:12-19 we're encouraged & instructed to pay close attention to scripture. Then in verses 20 through 21 Peter says something really cool:

"Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God." (Emphasis mine.)

Harold Camping used math formulas to make his May 21st prediction. That's both human understanding & initiative.

Peter goes on in chapter 2 to talk about false prophets, & he goes on to describe what kind of damage a false prophet does, & how to recognize one.

Then in chapter 3, Peter warns us starting in verse 3:

"Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say "What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created."

First off, who has the promise that Christ will return? The church. Jesus made the promise to the church, not the world. The world can not talk of having a promise given to them. Only the church can.

Secondly, who believes that the world was created? Surely it's not the athiest! It's not the science community! It's not Hollywoood! It's not the media! It's believers! Peter is talking about Christians. He's talking about mockers & scoffers within the church, not outside of it!

He ends the chapter & book with these words:

"I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing....."

What wicked people is Peter talking about? He's talking about the false prophets, mockers, & scoffers. He's talking about people in the church who can cause us to "lose your own secure footing...."

Folks, it's not people in the world who can cause us (Christians) to lose our secure footing, it's people in the church.

And likewise, it's people in the church like you & me who can cause those outside of the church to never get a footing in the first place, much less a secure one.

Let's be careful.

Karma vs. Grace

If there's 2 words that I hate hearing Christians use it's the words "Luck" & "Karma." These words simply shouldn't exist in a Christian's vocabulary. (Editors Note: To read my views on "luck" please read my blog titled "Luck.")

The Law of Karma is basically this: If you do good, good things will happen to you. If you do bad then bad things will happen to you. Depending on your religious views it will happen to you either in this lifetime or another, & what happens to you today could be the result of things that have taken place in a previous lifetime.


The idea of Karma is found in many religions, chiefly Hindu & Buddhist. Karma is actually foundational to both systems of belief, and can even be found in Wiccan & other "new age" type of religions.

But karma is not just exclusive to those systems of belief. Many Christians & people of other religions who believe in God or a "god" also subscribe to the belief known as karma. You hear it in the way they talk

For instance ever heard someone ask the question:

"Why does good things always happen to bad people? And bad things happen to good people?"

That, folks, is karma. I think most of us are guilty of thinking that way at one time in our life. Some of us are there right now & that's why I feel that now is the time for me to address the "Law of Karma" in relation to Christianity.

To get a true perspective of karma you first have to look at it through the perspective of God the Father. The perspective we currently have of karma is through the eyes of man, and unfortunately man's eyes never have the best perspective.

Let's take a look at some of the things from God's word, so that we can get His perspective on it. But before we do, let me remind you what "The Law of Karma" says. The "Law of Karma" says if you do good, good things will happen to you & if you do bad then bad things will happen to you.

Here's what God's word says:

"As it is written: There is none righteous. No. Not one." - Romans 3:10
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23
"The wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23

Ok. If karma is true, then we're all screwed. If good things happen to good people, & bad things happen to bad people then in God's eyes we're all bad (sinners) people and we all deserve death. If karma is true then it's a merry-go-round that we can NEVER get off because we're all bad people, and we should expect nothing but the worst from God.

It's a good thing for us that karma is not a true "law" as some believe it to be. God the Father made a way for us to get off of this merry-go-round & it's summed up in one little word called "Grace."

The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

It's by placing our faith in Jesus (the gift of God (See John 3:16)) that God's grace is extended to us. It's Jesus that pulls us off of this merry-go-round of works that Satan spins with his lie called "karma."

Karma is a lie because in order for karma to be true it would have to be a law established by God, which simply can not be found in the word of God.

Instead what we find is the law of grace. The Apostle Paul says it like this in II Timothy 1:9 (NLT):

"For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it,  but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time- to show us His grace through Christ Jesus."

From BEFORE the beginning of time....GRACE. Not karma. Wow. Enough said.

Plunder Hell to Populate Heaven

Today marks a first in both my career as a comedian & my ministry as a minister. Today I booked a show at a bar.

Normally most Christian entertainers mostly stick to entertaining at Christian venues.  We stick to church events, & other "church" type functions. Yet if you talk to the entertainer they will tell you that their "ministry" is an "outreach."

Who are they fooling? They're preaching to the choir!! In some cases they're not even preaching - they're only entertaining.

I know it sounds like I'm being pretty critical. I am. But this blog is just as much directed at myself as it is them.

I'll be honest here, folks....I'm scared!! Even though I'm taking my Pastor with me, it's still me in front of all those people, most of them intoxicated, with a microphone in my hand talking. This is my Elijah & the 450 prophets of Baal.

I've heard this term used over & over again: You've got to plunder hell to populate Heaven. Going into enemy territory is never easy, but it is necessary. There's people in there who are dying mentally, physically, emotionally, & especially spiritually. They need Jesus, but they're not going to find Him in that bar unless someone brings Jesus in.

Please keep me in prayer as I prepare myself for this 1-night mission trip. I do need to hear from God on what to say & what to do. I need to hear from God while I'm there. Not only that, but there's someone there who needs to hear from God, and that's what is most important.

Thank you guys for your continued love & support!!

Many blessings,
Eric