Rapture Hype vs. Hope - Stop Setting Dates

Still Waiting

Here we are on September 23rd and the Rapture hasn’t happened. A Christian I know this because first, I wouldn’t be writing this sentence and second my cell phone would be issuing Amber Alerts at a frenetic pace and it would be all over social media. When I was a young believer back in the 1970s finding out if the Rapture happened would take a little more time since we didn’t have cell phones, the Internet and network television with only three channels to watch. There would be real time signs like car accidents, plane crashes and people going outside asking where people they knew went. On a personal note the youth pastor at the church I attended and I would get anonymous phone calls from people that would hear us answer the call and then hang up. We thought it was odd but every now and then someone would actually speak and tell us why they called. They figured if we were still here the Rapture hadn’t happened. The compliment was noted, but the fear was unwarranted if they accepted Jesus at some point before the calls. However, back in the 1970s and later, the doctrine of the Rapture of the Church was taught incorrectly in my opinion. People lived in fear of missing the Blessed Hope and were warned to never let their spiritual guards down or they would be left behind as if their salvation was that fragile which it’s not. But that’s an argument for another day. The point is that the predicted dates of today and tomorrow for the coming of Jesus in the clouds are here. So those who said they heard from Jesus about it transpiring now are on the hot seat.

A Little Disclaimer

I want to be crystal clear about those who continue to set dates for something Jesus told us at least 4 times to avoid doing. I don’t believe that they are insincere. I am not judging their walk with Christ. I’m not accusing them of not reading their Bibles. And I’m not saying they are only making these public assertions to become social influencers and maybe make some money. I’ve listened to many of these people who say that the Rapture is set for these two days and my spirit hasn’t leaped out at me warning me about them. I’m Pentecostal and I believe God speaks to us if we’re open to Him. So when something like setting a date for the Rapture comes up I know when someone is off kilter doctrinally or just off period. The leader of this current crop of Rapture prognosticators Brother Joshua as he is called seems like a Godly man. He knows the Bible and I believe hears from God. But no one is above being deceived. If they say they saw Jesus I would remind us that the Apostle Paul made it abundantly clear that Satan can fool us:

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, (2 Cor 11:15, NASB1995)

Even if someone says that Jesus Himself appeared before them and said that the Rapture will happen on a future date they still must be held to Biblical scrutiny. No exceptions. So let me be very clear again, by disagreeing with these believers I am not doing anything more than disagreeing with them. I am not belittling all the good they’ve done or their Bible knowledge overall. I am only doing what Paul admired in the Bereans and checking with the Scriptures before I accept a word of prophecy:

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, [k]for they received the word with [l]great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17, NASB95)

Not Critical

To be certain if the Rapture doesn’t happen today or tomorrow I will not be overly critical of all those who espoused the date setting and those who believed it. I will only advise them to find out why others in the past did the same thing with the same results. The easiest explanation is that they just didn’t think that when Jesus Himself said to not get enamored with knowing when the Rapture will happen He somehow mysteriously meant we could and it was alright. I have heard so many people bend and contort this clear admonition so they could pick dates for the Rapture whether it happens on this date or that date or to support it happening sometime in the Tribulation. I like how Occam’s razor, which is a principle that suggests the simplest explanation, which makes the fewest assumptions, is usually the correct one when faced with competing hypotheses, clears things up. It encourages us to avoid unnecessary complexity in our explanations. Why is it so hard to simply believe that when Jesus tells us to not try and figure out when the Rapture occurs or when His second coming happens He means it. Or maybe He knew how many people would try and do it because He knew how curious we are about the unknown that He wanted to do like the great philosopher Barney Fife and nip it in the bud. In the end all this date setting has ever caused is to make it hard for people to see Christianity as a religion they want to follow.

What Now?

I can say with a straight face that, yes it could happen now. But that’s only because I believe in immanency which is to say that it could happen at any time which includes now. Paul said it could happen in his time and he was correct even when it was 2,000 years or so ago. When he counseled the Thessalonians to not worry about missing the Rapture he was correct. Paul laid out the reasons why it hadn’t happened then and those same criteria work in our age. The list of those things are also very simple and because the Rapture didn’t happen way back in the early days of Christianity doesn’t mean it was invalid. It just meant that it would happen at exactly the right time, when everything is in place. The various pieces mostly showed up in every generation really but not all at the same time. But this begs the question of how we need to live our lives. If the Rapture doesn’t happen as this recent crop of predictors say it will, we need to do two things: forgive those who made these predictions and then deal with the detractors who will be demeaning anyone who even remotely believes in the Bible and the doctrine of the Rapture. The first thing might just be easier than the second one, however both will take time. Joining in the chorus of mockers who will be yelling “I told you so!” won’t help at all. These brothers and sisters in Christ will already feel bad so pig piling on isn’t the best approach if it ever is. We must Lovingly speak into their lives and find out why they were blind to the Devil’s deception so it won’t happen again. As for the unbelieving skeptics, well trying to defend the Bible on the Rapture won’t do any good either. For them the best approach is to let Holy Spirit guide us for each person and to create the opportunity to speak into their lives. Other than that we need to pray for them privately and let God do the rest. Overall, I like what Jesus told us in Luke 21:28:

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (NKJV)