September’s here – so once again, there’s been a spate of videos in effect saying, “The Rapture’s about to happen.”
I am no Rapture-denier, as anyone who knows me or has listened over time to my teaching. I am a firm believer in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. What I am NOT is a date setter because setting dates is contrary to the posture Jesus said we were to take toward the Rapture.
I’ve made it clear that one of the strongest reasons to see the rapture and the Second Coming as two distinct events separated by several years is that one coming of Christ is described as unknowable, while the other can be calculated. [See ( https://youtu.be/JBtJJ9Keg0Y )]
What I want to do NOW is dispel a myth that’s become a common talking point about the timing of the Rapture and to appeal to Christians to stop giving attention to sensationalists who try to get clicks by conjuring up Rapture Excitement.
One of the main reasons attention to End Times prophecy has declined over the last few decades is because of foolish date-setters getting everyone excited that the rapture was going to happen on or by this or that date. It didn’t, and while those sensationalists rode off into the sunset with the fat profits of their books and videos, the Church was left holding an embarrassing empty bag of “Whoops!”
Well, the cameras are busy again, making videos on how THIS September – the 23rd or 24th, it’s Rapture-time.
First, let me dispel a myth. While there IS indeed a good reason to assume the Rapture will take place on the Jewish Feast of Trumpets, it is categorically NOT true that Feast, in Hebrew, “Yom Teruah,” was called “The feast no one knows the day or hour of.”
Yom Teruah is held on the 1st day of the Jewish month called Tishrei and marks the beginning of the Jewish year, called Rosh Hashanah. BUT – tradition asserts that at least two witnesses must visually verify a New Moon to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council, before the Feast is reckoned as officially begun.
Because weather conditions might obscure that verification, an extra day was added to Rosh Hashanah, which is counted as spread over two days.
Contrary to what some sensationalists claim, The Feast of Trumpets was NEVER, EVER referred to as “the feast no one knows the day or hour of.” That’s a very recent supposition that’s become a popular and repeated claim or Rapture-Hypers with NO support. None. Nada, Zero. Zilch.
And this is where I appeal to you to remember to always consider Scripture in its CONTEXT.
A TEXT, without a CONTEXT, is a PRETEXT and going to get you into trouble.
Jesus uses the phrase “no one knows the day or hour,” in a context clearly meant to convey the idea that we must be vigilant and ready – precisely because – WE DON’T KNOW WHEN the Rapture will happen!!!
Check it out – Matthew 24
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
You tell me – does it sound like Jesus is pointing to a specific knowable day there, or that we need to be ready AT ALL TIMES because we DON’T?
Sensationalists take the phrase “No one knows the day our hour” and turn it on its head to make it say what the context very CLEARLY says it does NOT mean.
The parallel passages in both Mark and Luke make it utterly clear that Jesus’ message was to always be ready because we do NOT know when the Rapture will take place.
I’ve watched some of the current crop of sensationalist videos, and while they conjure up some fancy mathematical footwork, they all play fast and loose with the facts. They have to, to make things fit into their scenarios.
It seems every year about this time, videos come saying, “THIS year’s the Rapture,” and here we are, still watching videos.
Yes, one year the Rapture will take place. For sure! But JESUS tells us to ALWAYS be ready. Because the fact is, we might not make it to the Rapture. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow.
If a sensationalist video moves someone to be MORE ready on September 21st than they are RIGHT NOW – they’re going about the Christian life all wrong.
Lance is the founding and lead pastor of Calvary Chapel Oxnard where he has served since 1982. Lance & David Guzik co-pastored the church for six years before David planted a church in a nearby community.
Lance & his wife Lynn were married in 1980 and have three adult children and five grandchildren. Lance loves teaching the Bible, History, and Leadership. He holds Masters-of-Arts in Biblical Studies and Ministry.
Lance serves as a chaplain for both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme Police Departments and enjoys backpacking, wood-working, working out, gardening, home improvement projects, reading, and graphic design.
The popular Communio Sanctorum: History of the Christian Church podcast can be found in both audio and video at the Into His Image website along with a growing inventory of Lances teaching.
