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Hello and welcome to Conversations at Calvary.

Well if you didn’t know, it looks like we missed another Rapture. At least according to a random prophecy that had been circulating around on social media which had said the Rapture of the church would occur over a 48-hour span on the 23-24th of September.

And become of this most recent example of the numerous false prophecies trying to predict the date and time of the event known as the Rapture of the church.

If you’ve been alive long enough these are nothing new and by now none of this should be surprising, since the 1800s people have been falsely trying to predict when this event might occur. From the Millerites in 1844 to the Jehovah’s witnesses in 1914 and then age in 1918, to predicted raptures of 1988, Y2K, 2011, 2012, 2017, and of course 2020. Just like the so called prophecies of old there is one thing in common, a false prophet has been exposed. Brother Joshua is a liar.

As a dispensationalist my self I find nothing to be more frustrating than when these false prophet come out with these claims because thousands and thousands of undiscerning people will inevitably believe it.

However, we should never be deceived, if you like myself believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church we should never be deceived by such voices.

Believing any prophecy of the date and time of the Rapture is unbiblical.

That’s the first thing we must learn and make of this event:

The prediction will be wrong ever time.

Don’t Believe It

That’s not a lack of faith, that’s biblical. I can say with 100% certainty they are wrong and so can you not because I have some special revelation, but the Bible says so.

There’s never any speculation. If you feel bold enough to make a prediction you will be wrong.

You don’t need to be a scholar, you don’t need to be able to translate the Greek. The Bible point blank says no one can predict the Rapture.

No matter how credible we find the source to be, if that person come and says they know the day and the hour, they most certainly don’t.

Why?

That’s what Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:36: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Matthew 24:42

“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Matthew 24:44

Mark 13:32: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

The disciples again inquired after the Resurrection and again in Acts 1:7: Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.”

Which is why repetitively we see in the New Testament statements like: “the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” and “ I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.”

Look you don’t need to be a world class scholar to know that the scripture is very straight forward no one knows the day or the hour. No one knows when Jesus will return, and no one knows when the Rapture will occur.

So if someone says they know the day or the hour we can rightly be skeptical and not only rightly be skeptical, but rebuke them because because their words contradict the clear teaching of Christ and His Apostles.

We should disregard any guess or any prediction made because according to God’s word, it is going to be wrong.

There is always a temptation for us to try and know the day and the hour, and even the disciples wanted to know this. Yet, it’s not for us to know, rather we should always be ready. We must focus on: faithfulness, watchfulness, stewardship, expectancy, and preparedness.

We should focus on carrying our the Great Commission, being on fire for the LORD. Live each day knowing He will return, and it could be today. We’re always ready, but know that day has already been determine. Therefore, we make the most of our time on this earth.

2. Don’t Be Deceived

Now this really flows from the last point, but if you or someone you know fell for this or past false prophecies let this be a reminder once again to stop being deceived.

You’re not being unbiblical for question or testing someone's claims against God’s Word.

1 John 4:1 says to test ever spirit. Jesus says you will know them by their fruit.

Have a Berean mindset, pick up your copy of God’s Word, study it. When someone says something proclaiming it to be from God put them to the test. Any sermon you hear, have an open Bible.

Be discerning. Sometimes you may not agree, and it’s an interpretive difference. Those exist among the body.

Other times you will find what they say is false, unbiblical, and heretical. Mark and avoid them.

Furthermore, when it comes to this issues of the rapture. Stop trying to understand everything through the lens of what’s occurring in the world. Stop trying to guess who the anti-Christ is, he may not even be on earth at this moment. Stop reading the headlines, stop trying to make events fit into your views, stop with the newspaper eisegesis.

Because for dispensationalist, we have to admit there sometimes is a caricature our there and few people have been bigger enemies to dispensationalism than other dispensationalist. I’m not attacking any one because all eschatological positions have their extreme views.

No matter where you sit on these issues, and chances are if you’re part of CBC you’re like premillennial and likely dispensational premillennial, but wherever you fall there is no reason to look outside of scripture. There is no need to stray from the scripture because dispensationalism is a system that holds to a consistent literal interpretation of Scripture, especially Bible prophecy. Dispensationalists hold to a literal interpretation of the Bible as the best hermeneutic.

Unless its a clear symbol, figure of speech, and prophetic types dispensationalism hold to literal interpretation. Yet, even with symbols and figurative sayings there are literal meanings behind them.

If we stuck to that a lot of the those caricatures would fade away. The problem is many people are easily deceived, they proclaim to hold to this system, but their theology is more in line with Left Behind series than God’s Word.

We have to form our theological positions on the Word of God. Not some book, not some movie, not family history, but on God’s Word.

3. Don’t lose heart.

Just because a false prophet was wrong in their prediction doesn’t change the reality of what God’s Word says will happen.

We see the event known as the Rapture described in the scripture. Yet, we also realize some brothers and sisters read the scripture and come to a different conclusion.

No matter your eschatological view you hold to some view of the Rapture, the Harpazo, the snatching away.

For example amillennialism holds to a rapture view even it they won’t use it as a theological term because they see it as something that is coinciding with the second coming much as historical pre-millennialism holds.

The question isn’t whether this will happen, it tends to be whether or not the rapture is a separate and distinct event from the second coming of Christ or if it occurs simultaneously when Christ returns to earth at the end of the tribulation. People have held varying views whether it occurs pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or pre-wrath.

Really every view holds to some view of the rapture because every view agree there is a moment as 1 Thessalonians 4:17 states: “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

There will be a distinct moment where the Church meets the LORD in the air and will with him forever.

Perhaps in another conversation we can outline those views more LORD willing.

So never lose heart. Everything the scripture says will happen will happen. A false prophet should never discourage us, in fact, I would argue it should do the exact opposite.

One place I would turn you attention is to Matthew 24:24: For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

This sections belongs to a larger discourse by Christ warning of the signs of the end times. We should expect to see more false christs and more false prophets arise. They seek to deceive those chosen by God, but all they can really do is divert and distract God’s elect for a time.

People driven by lust for money or power will try to manipulate people. In the case of this recent prophecy this person go their 15-minutes of fame and will fade away just like the rest of the false prophet who had done the same.

People who make these false prophecies are scam artist who try to deceive people to think they possess true power. This is simply one of many examples of people who fulfill this Biblical prophecy of the end times and until Christ returned we should expect many more.

While we can and should lament those who were deceived. This is a fitting time for us to remind people we don’t ground our conclusions in the word of man, but the word of God. God’s Word didn’t fail you.

If we search God’s Word we should be encouraged, because it proves the reality.

It validates the scripture. When someone says I know the day and they are proven wrong, we don’t lose heart because the scripture says no one knows which means no one.

The time of Christ return will be revealed to no man. There will be no so-called prophet who receives this revelation.

We don’t lose heart, rather we stay alert, we remain on guard, we watch for His return.