Jesus’ return and pre-rapture have failed

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And many people fall for it again and again. False prophets have existed in every era. Today, they also roam the vastness of social media. Global reach and a correspondingly large audience. According to this, Jesus Christ would have returned “on time” and the Christian community would have been raptured beforehand. But that didn’t happen. What a surprise!

Hearing for false prophets

If you blindly rely on someone’s statement and don’t verify it, you can be bitterly disappointed. This is especially true if it turns out to be a complete failure. Popularity, high follower counts on Instagram, Facebook, and the like, and a confident demeanor have never been a guarantee of the truth being conveyed. Often, the opposite is true: the more convincingly the statement is presented, the more false the statement.

Yet it continually tempts people not only to listen to such voices, but even to follow their recommendations. This is a proven tool for any topic, as the media repeatedly uses celebrities to convey their opinion on a matter. If actor “A” says so, and singer “B,” then it must be true. Why? There can be no rational answer here.

False prophets with long, gray beards, dressed in linen robes and turbans, are a thing of the past. Today, they also wear suits, ties, and shiny leather shoes. Yet such “prophets” could easily be recognized (Info).

That went wrong

One such example, a loud announcement followed by a final plunge into nothingness, recently occurred on the social media platform TikTok. If it were a matter of announcing “leaked information” that smartphone manufacturer “XYZ” would launch the “already eagerly awaited, even vital” latest model on a specific date, and it turns out that delivery would be delayed by a month, then simply forget about it. However, it would be time to re-examine one’s own priorities. But in this case, it was about the announced return of Jesus Christ.

This was connected to the fact that a large number of evangelical Christians actually hold this (false) belief: the (secret) pre-rapture of the qualified within the Christian community. The predicted date was September 23rd or 24th. This prediction did not come true on that Wednesday or the following Thursday. Actually, the failure of the prophecy to be fulfilled should have been expected, because firstly, there are clear biblical statements that neither the hour nor the day of Jesus Christ’s return is known, and secondly, that the other prophetic context has not yet been fulfilled either.

The Bible has the answer

“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” says Mark 13:32. But also with an admonition in the immediately following verses 33 to 35: “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:”

Anyone who takes the Bible into their own hands and studies it with a completely open mind will also find clues about how the circumstances will unfold shortly before Jesus’ return, and beyond that, what the event of Jesus Christ’s return will look like (Info). Even believing in a so-called pre-rapture would quickly vanish with Bible study, because it is a fantasy story developed since the end of the 16th century (Info).

Actually a tragedy

It’s a true dilemma that people allow themselves to be led by the nose so easily. The entire package of Jesus’ return, including the so-called pre-rapture, at a predictable date, is not to be found in the Gospels. This reveals a complete lack of concern and a distinct lack of interest in exploring the truth, let alone tackling this actual duty on their own initiative. This is all the more true if one calls themselves a Christian.

Even for this phenomenon in our time, the Bible has an “exact hint” at hand, 2 Timothy 4:3-4:
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.“

The truth, that is, the genuine, unadulterated, pure gospel, is as scarce today as the far more familiar, very narrow path to the truly desired goal. Seduction and deception constitute the significantly larger number of even more, significantly broader paths. Some examples of the most popular fantasy stories surrounding the gospel are listed here.

And the greatest danger, which Jesus Christ warned us about so emphatically (Matthew 24), is the all-encompassing deception, the seduction through lies and deceit (Info).

Just record it as it is written

God is to be taken at his word. When He announces through Paul that a deception will come into the world, over which “only” those who hadn’t cared about the truth but had sleepwalked and seized on one idea or another will stumble, that is, fall for it, then that is exactly what will happen (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12).

If one uses the otherwise popular term “tipping point,” then it is to be feared that this also applies to the life of (false) faith. At some point, the threshold is crossed from which there is no return. Based on a false doctrine, one inevitably stumbles into the next deception, in the firm conviction of being firmly on the path of truth.

If it is already too late, then the awakening from this “spiritual coma”, the realization of the truth, will not even lead to remorse and repentance, but to horror, grief over what one is excluded from and, in addition, naked anger, Matthew 25:30:
“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.“

Why pure anger instead of redemption?

Teeth grinding is not to be confused with teeth chattering (fear, cold). It is a sign of rage, as the high priests and the Sanhedrin demonstrated to the apostle Stephen, Acts 7:54;57-58:
“When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him:“

Is that really all there is to it? So, pick up the Bible yourself, open it, and research it! Suggestion: Start with the Gospels in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Then “back” to the Book of Daniel, especially Daniel 7 and 8, regarding the symbolism of prophecy, which is a prerequisite for understanding the Book of Revelation (Info).

Bibelverse aus Schlachter 2000