by Todd Strandberg
Newsaholic -- compulsive consumption of prophecy-related news. This person is constantly scanning the news sources for events that relate to the end times.
Symptoms: Has CNN or Fox News on constantly. Becomes irritated if he misses a news update. Breaking news will cause him to neglect all social responsibilities.
Treatment: One who is news-dependent should become involved in utilizing the information he's learned to warn people about the end times. If world events are trending toward the conclusion of the Church Age, a person who closely follows the news should be motivated to witness to lost people around him. "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (2 Cor 5:11).
Prophecy Denialitis -- Refuses to believe that we are drawing closer to the end times. Unable or unwilling to give the Bible credit for predicting the rebirth of Israel and the revival of the Roman Empire.
Symptoms: Members of this category are often non-believers with little or no knowledge of the books of Daniel or Revelation, and they display no reaction to end-times warning signs.
Treatment: Should spend an hour each day reading the Bible and articles on Rapture Ready. "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
Bible Malnourishment -- Just as the lack of food will cause the human body to become physically weak, the lack of spiritual sustenance will result in a soul that is undeveloped.
Symptoms: Someone suffering from this condition might not currently own a Bible, or may not know where his Bible is located. If he does know where his Bible is, he has not opened it in several years. A quick test for Bible malnourishment is to ask someone if he can quote John 3:16.
Treatment: Change reading diet to one that offers more meat from the Word of God. Relocate to a church that regularly preaches Bible-based messages. "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).
Obsessive-Compulsive Mark Disorder -- The Bible tells saints to avoid receiving a financial-related mark that will be issued by the Antichrist. Some individuals take this warning to an extreme level by viewing every system used for identification as being the Mark of the Beast--gym cards, Social Security numbers, and license plates.
Symptoms: People with OCMD often have intense fixations on the beast numbers 666 and any mathematically related number. They have also been known to have a strong dislike of the color red.
Treatment: Logical thinking is the best treatment for OCMD. People need to realize that the Mark is a financial system that people will have to willingly accept. "He required everyone--great and small, rich and poor, slave and free--to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead" (Rev 13:16 NLT).
Conspirarrhea -- A chronic and progressive problem that causes its sufferers to care more about conspiracies than about the more the obvious problems of life. They begin to lose trust in God's power, believing that the imagined conspirators are the ones who are truly calling all the shots.
Symptoms: These folks often believe that they are being watched by agents of the government or secret organizations. They frequently subscribe to several conspiracy theories.
Treatment: These people need to refocus their energies in the right direction. They give the enemy too much credit and need to focus on the power of God. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers...in high places" (Eph 6:12).
Date-Setter's Syndrome -- People who come down with
date-setter's syndrome will typically attempt to predict the exact date that Jesus Christ will return. Of all the ailments and conditions, this one has a history of being the most contagious.
Symptoms: Sufferers may have a history of setting several dates that have passed uneventfully. They are always looking for the mathematical significance of numbers found in the Bible.
Treatment: Several Scriptures can be used to treat date-setters. "But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Mat 24: 36). "And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power" (Acts 1:7).
Rapture Rabies -- A psychosomatic reaction that people have to the very mention of the pre-tribulation rapture. People with RR have an irrational dislike for the pre-trib view.
Symptoms: The inflicted person's prophetic interest is exclusively centered on writings that discuss the timing of the rapture. As a group, these folks are always seeking individuals who will agree with their viewpoint.
Treatment: The realization that the pre-trib rapture is an unknown event that must transpire before the tribulation is the best cure. "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Mat 25:13).
Tribulation Maniac -- This is a delusional state of mind that causes people to look forward to the tribulation. This condition most frequently strikes people who believe Jesus is coming for the Church after the tribulation.
Symptoms: These people are verbally committed to going through the tribulation. They typically have no game plan for how they will survive the seven years of hell on earth.
Treatment: A strong dose of reality is highly recommended. The tribulation will most likely require that most believers be martyred for their faith. "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Rev 20:4).
Wrath of God Rash -- When suffering from this ailment, people claim that all calamities are part of God's end time judgment. They believe every negative occurrence is wrath being poured out by the Almighty.
Symptoms: Has a "they had it coming" attitude regarding tragic events. Feels frustrated when hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes miss striking populated areas.
Treatment: Needs to realize that until judgment day, God still blesses the wicked and the good. "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." (Mat 5:45)
Anti-Christophobia -- Condition that causes sufferers to declare almost every world leader to be the Antichrist. They will focus on a single personality to the point of neglecting more significant end-time events.
Symptoms: These people refuse to vote in any general election because they don’t want to stand accused of electing the Antichrist to office. They only watch leaders who are prominent on the world stage.
Treatment: Should bear in mind that the Antichrist will not come to power until after the rapture. "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate" (Dan 9:27).
