I just received this warning from someone named Alsdair in the UK. Back in the late 1970’s only Florida was to have been covered by a tidal wave based on a vision by someone who was “reliable” and several whole congregations, at their pastors’ urging, packed up and went to higher ground in other states. When the tidal wave did not occur, many returned, though most of the pastors did not.
Now, if you follow the links, you will find that this latest warning is based on “reliable” interpretation of the Book of Revelation. I thought I would post this to the blog to see if there are any others out there who concur with Alsdair. In the meantime, I’ll be helping my people live as followers of Christ every day, whether His return is now or thousands of years from now.
Tomorrow we will sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” I don’t think He’ll come riding on the crest of a tidal wave.
Press releases:
1. http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=24317
2. http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=23995
3. http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=23758
This email is going to sound unusual but please do not discount it; I will try to be brief. I got your email address from http://flumc2.org/.
The church system in Florida (and elsewhere) is not Christian; it is based upon the theology of Paul not Jesus. In the Bible it is very clear that at a certain time decided by God, when everything is really bad, there will be an end; in fact that end is in the immediate future. I am aware that there are many people who say this all the time, however this time it is really happening and there is substantial proof for it, some of which is attached to this email.
The reason that I am contacting you is that the East Coast of the USA is in immediate danger of a tsunami (the first plague of the end times). As a church leader, you are in a position to let people know about it. Please do not discount the information before looking into it; I appreciate that you are busy, however if you look into this you could easily save your own life and those of many other people.
Thank you and best wishes,
Alasdair
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Richard 12.02.06 at 5:53 pm
So have you started on your ark, Ivan?
Ivan the Crank 12.02.06 at 6:09 pm
I thought we’d load onto planes and head to the UK, since you all are obviously on the “God Favored” side of the Atlantic.
Kim 12.02.06 at 6:46 pm
Hey, Ivan, an Australian surfer assures me that Jesus will indeed be coming “riding on the crest of a tidal wave.”
By the way, I’m preaching on Revelation tomorrow - and the way that how some folk interpret the text shows that they don’t know how to read. The title of the sermon is “On the Nutso Express”. The phrase comes from Zadie Smith’s first novel White Teeth, where one of the characters observes: “[The book of] Revelation is where all crazy people end up. It’s the last stop on the nutso express.”
BD 12.02.06 at 7:03 pm
Funny how US centric these emails are, I get them too. Some of the online sites are really whacky.
Mentime 400 people died in the Philippines from Typhoon Durian.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6201176.stm
Sad, the rest of the world doesn’t matter to this crowd.
Don’t fly north Ivan, the snow will bury you with the rest of us.
Eugene McKinnon 12.03.06 at 12:40 am
I checked out one of the links to the web postings. He even interprets maps of China, Galapagos Islands, and the Gulf of Mexico and then backs it up with Scripture. He even read something into the Book of Ruth. What a royal waste of time and complete violence to the Word of God.
Eugene
Ivan the Crank 12.03.06 at 3:31 am
The sad thing is that his e-mail makes it sound like he not only genuinely believes what he’s sharing, but that he’s really trying to sound the alarm and save lives. If those who spend so much time trying to interpret apocalyptic literature would spend the same amount of time trying to make a real difference in the lives of those around them, then the interpretation of apocalyptic literature might not be necessary. We have folks like Hal Lindsey, our friends with the “Left Behind” series and news interpreting apocalyptasists (is that even a word?) like Jack VanImpe and his wife Roxella who keep us up to date on the latest and greatest end of the world events.
My favorite was while I was studing apocalyptic literature (from a historical-critical and literary style points of view), our professor brought in an article on a Tuesday that a Rev. Willie Day Smith of Texas predicted that on the next Wednesday Jesus would return, the rapture would happen and the faithful beamed out of the world. Wednesday came and went and either we were left behind because of our lack of faith, or Willie Day Smith was off target. The next day of class, Thursday, our professor brought in a short article that declared that “Rev. Willie Day Smith has disappeared without a trace.” Hummmmmm
Have a wonderful Advent as we help prepare people for celebrating the birth of Christ and for His eventual return, whenever that might happen. May we, as the United Methodist Service of Death and Resurrection declares, “live each day as those prepared to die and then, when our time to die comes, that we go forth to live…”
Ivan the Crank 12.03.06 at 3:41 am
I just “googled” Alasdair Laurie and was very interested to find that he is a second year Ph.D. student in Leeds. I hope that he is a much better expert in his field of study than in his interpretation of Scripture. It might also be interesting to know if he really believes all the garbage he has on his end times web site, or is it a really interesting attempt to poke fun at those who have made a living off the end times and related Scriptures? His web site at Leeds is: http://www.bioinformatics.leeds.ac.uk/~bmbatrl/
Eugene McKinnon 12.03.06 at 8:38 pm
You sure it’s the same Alasdair Laurie? That’s a fairly common name. I have met 21 Eugene McKinnons in a google search one day. I was the 21st.
Blessings,
Eugene McKinnon
Ivan the Crank 12.04.06 at 3:48 am
I guess that shows my parochialism. I just thought that since I’d never heard of Alasdair Laurie that it might be an unususal name, and because he is in the UK it had to be the same one. Could very well be my bad.
Ivan the Crank 12.04.06 at 3:51 am
I went to the End Times web site and the snail mail address is also for Leeds. I guess there could be two Alasdair Lauries in Leeds. I guess the only way we’ll know is if someone actually wants to e-mail him to find out, and then that person would actually have to engage in an e-mail dialogue about all this and that would be quite interesting. Any takers?
Richard 12.04.06 at 9:47 am
It’s a tempting offer, butI think I’ll pass!
Karen 12.27.06 at 1:47 am
Hey friend,
Just thought I’d do a google search on this Alasdair guy. He wandered over to Christian site I used, probably chased off by anyone else who’s gone and opened up a Bible.
Interestingly, hes been a ‘member’ of our site for quite a while and posted a whole 8 posts, all of which deal with the feel guilty for being responsible for home and hearth, give everything up except perhaps That Which Floats, including a blameless life.
What’s he going to do once April Fools comes and goes with only the practical jokes being shared?
Not Alasdair 01.05.07 at 10:22 am
It is the same Alasdair Laurie, though he isn’t a PhD student anymore….
Gemma Atkinson 05.03.07 at 4:05 pm
Hi,
I’m trying to get in touch with Alasdair Laurie. I did a Masters course in Leeds with him in 2004. He stayed there to do a PhD, and I left to do a PhD in York.
I stayed in contact with him for a while, but we somehow dropped out of touch and today I got some very distressing news that last October he quit his PhD after having some personal problems, and now no-one at Leeds can get in touch with him. There are lots of people who are very worried about him and who are desperate to find out if he’s OK. Something’s obviously happened in his life, and it sounds like he’s changed a lot since we were at Leeds together. I can hardly believe it’s the same Alasdair, but from what I heard today I know it must be.
Please Ivan - if you have his email address, could you send it to my email address, or could you drop him an email asking him to get in touch with me?
I know he’s very unpopular with you, but I’m appealing please please please help me find him.
gemmaDOTatkinsonATgmail.com
Richard 05.03.07 at 5:08 pm
I culdn’t find an address for him - but his website is here: Alasdair Laurie You might try sending an email to admin@worldends.co.uk - many webhosts run a catchall email address. It ought to be worth a try. (I’ll rewrite your email address above Gemma - we don’t want you getting spammed!)
Gemma Atkinson 05.03.07 at 5:20 pm
Thanks for your reply!
After some web trawling, I’ve found his website and contact details, and hopefully he’ll get back in touch with me and others who are worried about him.
Certainly a lot has changed with him since we were last in touch (I didn’t even know he was religious).
Thanks again,
Gemma