This has become the latest buzz on the internet. Is Christ scheduled to return on the 21st of May to rapture His church? Some Christians are absolutely convinced that this is true while many other Christians wonder if it could be true. … In this blog I hope to speak to both groups. If they are wrong the former group will be crushed and possibly stumble in their faith. Therefore, please take time to read through the rest of this blog which will open your eyes to the truth and set you free from the bondage of deception.
The Apostle Paul confronted a similar issue in Thessalonica where Christians had stopped working and were quite alarmed by reports that Christ had already come. The Apostle refers to this coming to rapture His church as the “Day of the Lord.” But let’s let Paul speak in his own words, “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come, until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction” (II Thess. 2:3). Some might argue convincingly that the rebellion has already occurred. Especially when we see the Church sitting leisurely by while God is taken out of the public forum, and many of its ministers who no longer counsel their flock solely from God’s Word but refer them to secular counselors and dependence on the State instead of on Christ through His holy Church. But how about the man of “lawlessness;” has anyone seen him? Has he been revealed to every Christian? Clearly over the centuries many have come close to demonstrating all of the characteristics or marks of this lawless one which is also referred to as the Anti-Christ or the Beast in the Bible, but all will agree that none as of yet has demonstrated all of the marks. We may even look at some world leaders today and say, he is demonstrating some of the characteristics of the Anti-Christ or the man of lawlessness, but we know until we see the final mark then he has not yet been revealed.
So what is that final mark that would convince every Christian that he is the dreaded man of lawlessness or the biblical Anti-Christ? Let’s let the Apostle continue in his own words, “He (the man of lawlessness) will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (II Thess. 2:4). Quite clearly this person will claim to do everything better than God. He alone will claim to fix the aliments of your heart, the economy, and establish world peace. He will oppose any religion, especially Christianity that trust in God exclusively opposed to trusting in the man of lawlessness and his State run agencies. He will oppose any religion, especially Christianity who worships God exclusively and not the Biblical Anti-Christ, the works of your own hands, or self. “He will oppose and exalt himself over everything that is called God.” And it is in the Book of Revelation that we discover that this Anti-Christ will require that everyone have the mark of the Beast if they want to participate in the world’s economy. Simply put they cannot buy or sell without the mark. I go into much greater detail in my book Final Warning.
My second argument is from Christian history. Most every Christian, theologian, scholar, and prophet from the first Century until the Nineteenth Century all believed that the church would go through the Great Tribulation and not escape through some secret rapture that would leave the world paralyzed. If God allowed this to happen then everyone left behind would be in a position to make a false testimony of faith in Christ. It is clear from Scripture that the true Church will be raptured up to heaven at the end of the age, after the Great Tribulation. Christ said, “But in those days, following the distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect (Christians) from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens” (Mark 13:24-27). And in the book of Revelation it says, “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the people of the earth will mourn because of Him” (Revelation 1:7).
Finally, Christ Jesus made it quite clear to His disciples and to us that no man would know the exact date of His glorious return. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). So why has the actual day and hour been kept secret? I suppose if we knew the actual date, then perhaps we would sell everything we had, quit our jobs, settle our affairs, go to a mountain top and wait on Christ’s return. However, in the previous passage of Scripture Jesus did say that we would know the season. We could look around and see everything going on in the world in relation to what is described in the Bible and indeed realize that Christ is at the very door. This is important because it would do two things. First, it would give us hope for the day in which we live knowing that this generation would “certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” the Great Tribulation or Distress and the second coming of Christ to rapture His Church. Secondly, it allows us to prepare to enter and go through the Great Tribulation. And it’s this last statement that I have dedicated my whole ministry to – helping Christians to prepare for the Great Tribulation.
Copyright © 2011 Rev. Daniel W. Blair – All content (blog articles) have been published in my new book: “Revelation Truth” available in our bookstore or at a bookstore near you.