Rapture--May 21st! ?????

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Matthew 24:42

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Matthew 25:13

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

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

1 Thessalonians 5:2

What do the following dates have in common with May 21st, 2011?  Here they are: March 21, 1843, March 21, 1844, October 22, 1844, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1942, 1975, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000. These are just a few of the times when different "prophets" have decided to disobey scripture and set a date as to the LORD's return or rapture of the church.  Apparently, these men need to work on their comprehension skills because the Bible is very specific in the above scriptures that Christ's return for the church is to be a veiled event.  These and other scriptures with the same message clearly warn against date setting.

So why do Bible geniuses feel the need to set dates over and over and over--ad nauseum?  The same pride of life that drew Eve to the fruit compels these "scholars" to be the person who determines the right date! Their actions, however, are in violation of the Word of God.  They are setting up doubt and confusion about all prophecy for those uninformed or unknowing by their continual predictions.  By repeating the error too often they destroy many of the people that they think they are trying to warn.


So you will know, this is not a complete list of dates since many have tried to predict the Lord's coming repeatedly throughout church history.  For instance, there were those who had 1000 AD and 1033 AD as dates for Jesus' coming.  The reasoning in that day was that the kingdom of Christ is 1000 years so it would be on the anniversary of His birth or death years. In 1070, Jesus was supposed to come on the anniversary of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.  That date didn't work out either.  The point is that the hypotheses for the rapture timing are as infinite as the dates being set and the knuckle heads who keep setting them.  The Lord, who is all wise and ever truthful, has many reasons that He has not told us the exact day.  Here are three.

First, God is not a huge fan of false repentance.  He wants the hearts of men to freely come to Him for forgiveness so that they may have a genuine relationship with Him.  The Lord also spoke often about mouthing that you know Him while your heart is far from Him.  If He published the day and hour of His return, think of the revival that would take place!  Do you remember the rapture hoax on Rosh Hashanah, 1988 (If you are old enough, of course)?  Of all of the dates, this one seemed to have some of the most logical arguments.  It was 40 years from the time of Israel's formation, and that was but one of the 88 reasons for '88 being the year of the rapture.  How many churches filled up with people repenting at the last minute only to realize they were duped--again?  What happened to all of those conversions?  I do remember churches holding 24 hour prayer vigils and being packed from front to back--it is a very clear memory (Just so you will know--I was not in a prayer room worried that Jesus was coming back on that day either).  God doesn't want mankind to enjoy sin and then come sliding into the kingdom seconds before it is too late.

What if you were the devil?  Wouldn't you be working overtime to deceive humanity if you knew for sure that Jesus was coming back at a specific time.  Can you not see that is exactly what Satan is doing?  Do you remember the story of the little boy who cried wolf a few too many times?  This is the tactic the enemy of men's souls is using.  By getting foolish preachers to continually announce the rapture (like Harold Camping who had earlier predicted September, 6th, 1994 on his radio program) on a specific date, he causes men to put their guard down before the real rapture of the church takes place.   We are on the verge of Jesus truly calling His bride home with prophecy coming true around us in every sphere imaginable, but people who have heard it all before many times feel no conviction to trust Jesus for the pardon of their sin.  They are fulfilling another prophecy without even realizing it.  They are asking, "Where is the promise of his coming? 2 Peter 3;4".

Finally, it detracts from the message of the cross.  It seems that these "believers" have no clue what they are talking about to the lost world.  As a result, they do mock, laugh, and ridicule.  If we don't know the date of His return, surely the message of the cross is just as silly they reason.  Look at this article as proof. Atheists Mock May Rapture Prediction with "Rapture Party" Sadly, without Jesus Christ covering their sin this will not be funny to them in 1000 years if they do not repent.  Very few godless people will take the time to separate those truly following scripture from those in error.  To them, they are all the same.  Furthermore, these false prophets are actually strengthening them in their unbelief.

Jesus is coming soon!  I just don't know when and neither does anyone else.  Yet, with the clear authority of the prophetic word behind me, I can tell you that it is soon, very soon!  Jesus Christ is Soon2Come! 

But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

1 Peter 4:7

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Revelation 16:15