Setting Dates and Prophets of Doom

One of the clearest statements of Jesus concerning his eventual return is “you don’t know when it is going to be,” but watch the signs and remain prepared, because you don’t know when it will be.

Even with the clarity of Jesus’ own words misguided souls have misled their followers with date setting. Several of today’s religious sects began with a leader who set dates. Seventh day Adventists for example began with William Miller who predicted 1844. Jehovah’s Witnesses began with a date of 1914, then later 1975. Mormonism’s founders, Joseph Smith and his theologian, Sydney Rigdon, were apocalyptic, however they never set exact dates.

In the 1980’s , Edgar C. Whisenant predicted the Rapture would occur in 1988. Harold Camping, set a date in 1994, and is now promising next Saturday will be the day. (see www.familyradio.com)

What about it? Is there any reason to believe May 21 as the end?

All these charlatans have something in common? The day comes, the day goes, and Jesus is proven right. They didn’t know the time or the day. They lose followers after a set day goes by, but they all give a new definition of what happened, and some go on. Eventually their false prophecies are forgotten and they again mislead people from the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

Camping’s ads explain the verse in Mark 13 with two statements. He says that in the Greek text the word son is not capitalized so it doesn’t refer to Christ. That is as disingenuous as Jehovah’s witness claims that since the definite article is not in the Greek text of John 1:1 it means the Logos was a god, not God.

Both are a misunderstanding of Greek, either out of ignorance or intentionally. NT Greek doesn’t use capital and miniscule letters the way we do. In fact, most manuscripts have either one or the other. They don’t mix them.

Camping’s second explanation is that since Jesus is Divine, he would know everything. To say that he didn’t know the date he was returning is blasphemous. That ignores the teaching of Philippians, that Jesus emptied himself. While he was on the earth, there were parts of his divinity that he purposely left behind so he could live as human and thus become the substitute for our sins. (see Philippians 2:6-9)

I believe the Son knows the date today. But he didn’t know it that day in Mark 13.

Like Robert Kirby, writing in today’s Salt Lake Tribune says, you are going to need to mow your lawn next Saturday as usual. I would recommend you get your spiritual relationship right with God. I recommend you be on the alert. When you are least expecting it, Jesus could return. So it could be on Friday, May 20. It could be on Sunday May 22. But I am positive that it won’t be on Saturday, May 21. Jesus said, No One knows!