It's happening again. Another ministry has come along claiming to know the date the rapture will take place. (Followed by the the date of the judgement of the world to boot!) This time they have an impressive marketing campaign and internet following. The last one (of any significance) was the whole 88 reasons Jesus was coming back in '88 thing. 1988 came and went with no rapture. This latest group have selected May 21, 2011 as the date of the rapture with October 21 as the great day of judgement. (I have no idea what they did with the seven years of tribulation that follow the Biblical teaching of the rapture. They somehow reduced things to five months.) I don't want to sound like a complete skeptic. I BELIEVE in the rapture of the church. I believe it could happen on May 21st! (Or any day between now and then for that matter!) I just don't believe we can know. In fact Jesus said that quiet emphatically! (Matthew 25:13) We do know that He promised His return would happen within a generation span following the reestablishment of Israel as a nation. That happened in 1948. So, if we're interpreting Matthew 24:32-34 correctly, His return should take place before 2028. I base that assumption on the verse in Psalm 90:10 that states the lifespan of man is 70-80 years. If that's what God considers a generation, then 2028 would mark a full lifespan since Israel was reestablished in '48. (I'm not starting a marketing campaign here, just doing a bit of speculating.)
We should all be watching and waiting. Jesus is coming back soon and this world isn't ready! So many around us are unprepared and it's our responsibility to tell them. I don't need a date to do that, just a mandate - And that He's given me!
Definitely watching and waiting ... always. I do hate how life can make us forget about this so easily.
ReplyDeleteBut, really, I thought it was 2012 that the world was to end. Well, according to the Mayan calendar.
Thank you for Sharing! I will take your word for it, as well as Gods that May 21,2011 is not the rapture Date as far as we know! :) Praise God! We should always be ready!!!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. God said that he would come like a thief in the night; no one will know the day or the hour. How could this particular religious group missed that?
ReplyDeleteAh, annoyance. Great blog Pastor Jeff. I love it, and it is a real wake up call. It makes me realize that I need to start preaching The Word of God as we are called to. Any suggestions on discipling? I definitely need it, ASAP. Thanks for keeping us up to date and sharing wisdom. God bless you!
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