Another Judgment Day Prediction

Man has repeatedly tried to predict the date of the Day of Judgment. Predicted dates have come and gone and been replaced with future dates. These predictions are made by those who twist the Scriptures any way they can to come up with a date that suits them.

Return of Christ billboardNow there is a “Christian” group that is putting up billboards in various U.S. cities announcing the alleged date of the Judgment — May 21, 2011.

How did this group arrive at this specific date? On the front page of their website, they claim that “we can know from the Bible alone that the date of the rapture* of believers will take place on May 21, 2011 and that God will destroy this world on October 21, 2011.” They also speak of “proofs that God has so graciously given in His word showing us that these dates are 100% accurate and beyond dispute.”

What “proofs” were presented “from the Bible alone” that confirm these dates? Well, from browsing the resources available on their site, I found no proof, only baseless and fanciful claims that certain passages, which had been pulled completely out of context, referred to the dates they predicted. Their “proofs” were not “from the Bible alone,” but rather were their own empty suppositions.

We need to be reminded of what the Bible actually teaches. Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matthew 24:36). Paul says this day will come “just like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2) — unexpected and unannounced. Peter affirmed the same (2 Peter 3:10). Those who are looking for signs that indicate the end is near will not find them. Therefore, we must remain in a constant state of readiness. As Paul told the brethren in Thessalonica, “so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

Is it possible that the Judgment will occur on May 21, 2011? Sure, it’s possible. But it is equally possible that it will occur five years from now, fifty years from now, five hundred years from now, or five minutes from now. Instead of spending time in vain trying to predict the date of the Lord’s return, let us be ready at all times to meet Him. Live your life in such a way that “when He appears, [you] may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:28).

Instead of guessing dates, focus on living righteously as He has taught us.

* – Besides the predictions about the date of the Lord’s return in judgment, this group also believes a popular, and false, denominational concept about the “rapture.” More information about the rapture and premillennialism can be found here — Rapture and Premillennialism Refuted. One link on that page, Library of “end of the world” predictions, lists the May 21, 2011 date proposed by this group.


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