The world will end…but not tomorrow.

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:16

Perhaps you’ve heard the prediction of a semi-prominent American false teacher, Harold Camping. He’s predicted that tomorrow, May 21, at 6:00 pm Pacific Standard Time, Jesus will rapture His church.

I really wouldn’t mind if he was right. We Christians are “to watch and be sober” (1Thessalonians 5:6). Must of us want the rapture to occur sooner, rather than later. However, this penchant of setting an exact time is a flagrant offense against the Word of God.

Camping has previously predicted Christ’s return (1994) and there have been others throughout history who have attached a precise timing to Jesus’ return.

The Montanists established a community in Anatolia in 699 AD where followers could wait for Jesus’ expected return.

In 1284, Pope Innocent III predicted that Christ would return that year. He simply added 666 years to the date of 618 AD, the year Mohammed founded Islam.

The Millerites sold off their belongings and gathered in upstate New York on October 22, 1844 to meet Jesus at His return. But that day came and went causing Hiram Edson to report: "Our fondest hopes and expectations were blasted, and such a spirit of weeping came over us as I never experienced before... We wept, and wept, till the day dawn.”

More recently, we had 88 Reasons Why Christ Will Return in 1988 by Edgar Whisenant, followed up the next year by 89 Reasons Why Christ Will Return in 1989. Oh well.

The Bible is clear that we “know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13) and Jesus said “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:32-33). If Jesus doesn’t know when the Father has established His return, certainly Harold Camping doesn’t know it.

While the exact time of Jesus’ return is uncertain, that He will return is very certain. We may not know the day and hour, but we can know “the times and seasons” (1 Thess 5:1). And we are very close to the rapture of Christians, the return of Jesus and final judgment of the world.

John “saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12).

Are you ready for judgment day?

Warning from 1 John

1 John 4
1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

With so many heresies bombarding the church today, it is somewhat encouraging to read John’s words from the end of the first century. Somehow I imagine that we’ve done something wrong; that we went to sleep and forfeited the high ground of sound theology. But if the apostles weren’t successful in getting the infant church into the second century untarnished, what makes us think we’ll have pristine orthodoxy?

Paul “marveled” that the Galatian church had abandoned the true gospel (Galatians 1:6) and said he would turn over to the devil "Hymenaeus and Philetus; who concerning the truth have erred."

The Bible warns us “Do not believe every Spirit”. Not everyone holding a Bible is a true teacher.
Interestingly, behind the voice, every doctrine, every teaching, there is a spirit. False spirits give false teachings; only the true Holy Spirit of God teaches us the Word of God.

“Many false prophets have gone out into the world”. Rob Bell is one of the current abusers of God’s truth. I could name 100 more.

Notice that John did not say we can tell false spirits by their works. He said we can identify that they are false spirits by their message. This was the acid test of a false prophet under the Old Covenant as well (Deut. 13:1-5). And the primary message false teachers avoid is a discussion of Jesus Christ. He is come in the flesh to save us from our sins. That message is likely to be avoided by many.