Last year, a person who believes in Christ told me the end of the world was scheduled for mid-September 2015, so the return of Jesus should be around that time too. A young Muslim echoed the same prophecy recently to me, but this young man does not believe in the Word of God that gives us God’s revelation, so it’s understandable… My brother, my sister, bad news or Good News, which one do you believe? Let me go back a bit in history before entering the word of God: many people throughout history have wrongly insisted they knew when Jesus would return. The examples of three influential men displayed below should make us think, without judging, criticizing or debating, while millions of people are still following their religious movements:
– William Miller, who began the Adventist movement, mostly known nowadays as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, claimed that Jesus would return “between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844.” After his prediction had failed, one of his colleague, Samuel Snow, completed his false prophecy saying that the right date was October 22, 1844. That prediction also proved false. Yet, today we are in 2015. Jesus has still not returned, but many people are followers of their religious movement!
– Another Adventist who was very sure of himself, wrote a book about the return of Jesus. His name is Nelson H. Barbour. He gave ‘Evidences for the Coming of the Lord in 1873’, and many people supported this book and date-setting attempts, among them Charles Taze Russell. But Charles Russell was so wise that, even though he continued setting dates for the return of Jesus, and because this was not happening, he said that his prophecy was fulfilled invisibly! And, Russell is credited as being the founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Today we are in 2015. Jesus has still not returned, but many people are followers of their religious movement!
– Joseph Smith, another the founder of a religion organisation called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), claimed that Jesus would return by 1891. Yet, today we are in 2015. Jesus has still not returned, but many people are followers of their religious movement!
The only question that comes to mind is: have these Christians read the same Bible we read? It is therefore not surprising that some even have their own bible. This is where non-believers become confused, thinking that there are different bibles… Yet, the Word of God has not changed and will never change to suit any religious movement whatsoever.
My friend, what do you believe in? The bad news of the world or the Good News that comes from the Word of God, which clearly tells us this: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man “(Matthew 24: 36-37). All we need to know, as Christians, is that the Lord is coming soon. The day and time are not within the reach of our knowledge. Even Jesus does not know. One day, God the Father will say, “it’s today!” Even the angels do not know, so they can not come to notify us.
Yet, the Bible gives us signs that we should not overlook: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14) and many “false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). Therefore, we are warned to remain watchful because the ‘Day of the Lord’ will indeed take many by surprise. Why? Because they are more likely to believe in the bad news of the world than the Good News of the Word. The Bible says “you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44). That’s all a believer needs to know. My friend, “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9). So, let’s prepare ourselves every day, believing that tomorrow is not ours, and Jesus can return anytime. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.