For 2000 years now, Christians have been waiting on and hoping for the rapture, the event where Jesus Christ returns for his followers before the Tribulation period begins, that is if you subscribe to a Pre-Tribulation rapture viewpoint. Many people over the last 2000 years have set dates for when The End would come and the rapture event would take place. And so far, they are enjoying a 100% failure rate.
In modern times, people like Hal Lindsey have made careers out of predicting world events as they believe they are taught in Scripture. Much more recent than Hal's books is the Left Behind series of books and movies. And so far... yep... a 100 percent failure rate. Events have not occurred as these men predicted. Back in 2011, a man named Harold Camping declared that the end of the world and the rapture event would take place in May of that year. Yep... wrong again. But let's not forget 1988 and Edgar Whisenant. This man wrote a book detailing the 88 reasons why the rapture would happen that year. Lots of Christians got very excited, and that included me. But yep... wrong again. And these days we have the benefit of the Internet, YouTube, and social media, and the rapture watching community is going strong there. I was a part of that community for about seven years, and I watched as date after date got set and date after date that was made to look so promising passed uneventfully. And the people setting the dates never apologize for being wrong. They just move on to what they think the next promising date is. Riding that roller coaster of hope and then disappointment over and over again was exhausting, and I finally had to jump off. I have seen well-meaning people spend years working on timelines trying to figure out when the rapture will happen, yet they are always wrong and they always will be. The reason for that is simple: Much of the Bible is myths, fables (stories involving talking animals), alleged "history" that is now known to be wrong, etc. The Bible is not the "word" of a god, but it is regarded as such by many sincere Christians who are blissfully unaware of the facts concerning their own holy book.
Watching and waiting for the rapture to take place in the here and now of the 21st Century is a complete and utter waste of time and emotional energy. This is so because it is crystal clear from the New Testament writings that Jesus, the apostle Paul, and all of the other authors that they expected the rapture and the end of the world to occur during their lifetimes. Let's take a look at some of the scriptures that make this point very clear.
In Matthew 10:23, Jesus tells his disciples that they will not finish going through the cities of Israel before he returns.
“You shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.” (Matt. 10:23)
“There are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matt. 16:28; cf. Mk. 9:1; Lk. 9:27)
Jesus tells his followers that their generation (back then, not 2000 years in the future), will not pass away until all these things happen.
“This generation will not pass away until all things take place.” (Lk. 21:32)
Paul clearly believes that the End is at hand, the rapture is about to happen, and the end of the world will take place.
“It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand.” (Rom. 13:11-12)
“Now these things …were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (I Cor. 10:11)
Paul clearly believed that he would be alive when the rapture event took place.
“We shall not all fall sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (I Cor. 15:51-52)
Can "a little while" reasonably be made to mean 2000 years?
“For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” (Heb. 10:37)
The Day of the Lord was clearly supposed to be back then 2000 years ago, not now 2000 years later.
“The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” (I Peter 4:7)
Again, the apostle Paul was clearly expecting to be alive when the rapture took place and the end of the world happened.
“…we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord… We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds… …You, brethren, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief.” (I Thess. 4:15,17; 5:4)
Those scriptures are just a small sample of the over 100 verses in the New Testament that make it clear that the rapture and the end of the world was supposed to happen back then 2000 years ago, not now in our current day.
The New Testament contains the writings of a failed first century apocalyptic cult. And the rapture event never happened back then as they were clearly expecting, and it's not going to happen in the here and now of the 21st Century. The rapture was the Blessed Hope of a 2000 year old failed apocalyptic cult. Just as this cult failed in its predictions of the end of the world coming back then, the rapture is a false doctrine taken from an ancient apocalyptic cult, and it is not meant for us today. It didn't happen for the Christians 2000 years ago, and it's not going to happen for Christians in the here and now of the 21st Century. I feel bad saying this because I too wasted a lot of time and emotional energy waiting and hoping for this event, and I have many Christian friends who have been disappointed time and time again when the rapture didn't happen on some particular date that someone on YouTube said looked promising. The facts are what they are. The rapture is a religious fantasy. It's a false doctrine taken from an ancient failed cult, and it's never going to happen. And my prediction is that the rapture fever happening now among some Christians will eventually die down when the rapture keeps failing to happen for long enough. I don't really expect these people to ever question the truth of their faith, but I do think and hope that the rapture fever will die down as the rapture continues to not happen.
In closing, I would like to say that I wish that the rapture was a real thing, a real event that will happen in the history of our real world. But... it's just not. And I hope that the rapture fever will die down not long from now given that the people making these YouTube rapture videos can't stretch out the "Fig Tree" generation for too much longer. But of course the generation that Jesus addressed was his own, not people living 2000 years in the future.
Christians like to make a really big deal out of Bible prophecy because they think it proves the truth of the Bible. But if we look at Bible prophecy honestly, it's not very impressive and it doesn't speak about the distant future or our current day at all.
One major problem with biblical prophecy is that it is vague and nonspecific. That reality has had Christians trying to match their current events to the vague prophecies of the Bible for centuries, and of course they are wrong today just like they have been for centuries now.
Let's take a look at Isaiah 66:8, which is about the rebirth of the nation of Israel in a single day.
Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
My question is what is so special about a nation being born in one day? ALL nations have been born that way. The United States, for example, didn't exist yet on July 3, 1776. But one day later, on July 4th, the nation was born. Was that a miracle? No, of course not. Lots of things happen over the course of a single day, not just the birth of nations.
What about the prophecy of Elam that Bible prophecy teacher Bill Salus is making such a big deal about right now? It's found in Jeremiah 49.
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Behold, I will break the [a]bow of Elam,
The foremost of their might.
36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds
From the four quarters of heaven,
And scatter them toward all those winds;
There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies
And before those who seek their life.
I will bring disaster upon them,
My fierce anger,’ says the Lord;
‘And I will send the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
38 I will set My throne in Elam,
And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the Lord.
39 ‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days:
I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lord.”
When read in context, which is critically important, this passage of Scripture says absolutely nothing about our current day, and it certainly doesn't say anything about a nuclear disaster occurring at any time in history, which is what Bill Salus is claiming, our current day included. Like all biblical prophecy, this passage speaks of the times in which it was written and it says absolutely nothing about the distant future.
Now let's consider Isaiah 17:1, which is about the destruction of the city of Damascus, and Christians today are trying to make it speak about our current day. Here it is in context:
The burden[a] against Damascus.
“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.
2 [b]The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid.
3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
The kingdom from Damascus,
And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
4 “In that day it shall come to pass
That the glory of Jacob will [c]wane,
And the fatness of his flesh grow lean.
This biblical prophecy, when read in context, is clearly about the times in which it was written, not the distant future. Yet Damascus has been inhabited continuously now for thousands of years. Christians today rip verse 1 out of context and try to make it about our current day. But this is an egregious abuse of the text. The Bible says absolutely nothing about our current day, and that includes the Book of Isaiah.
What about Old Testament prophecies that are supposedly about Jesus? The authors of the four gospels, whoever they were since these books were written anonymously, mined the Old Testament for scriptures that they believed could refer to Jesus Christ. But mining the OT for possible references to Jesus while writing a gospel about him is not writing or fulfilling prophecy. It's trying to make the Bible say what you want it to instead of reading it plainly and honestly. There are supposedly over 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament, but every single one of them has been mined and the attempt has been made to make them apply to Jesus Christ. These scriptures, when read in context, do not speak about Jesus or anyone else in the then distant future.
And the problems with the New Testament are numerous. I challenge you to go look up these prophecies that are supposedly about Jesus and read them in the Old Testament in context and then ask yourself if they really apply to a man who wouldn't be born for hundreds of years. Google the problems with the genealogical accounts written in the gospels. There are prophecies that are misapplied or that are nonexistent, such as the claim that Jesus would be called a Nazarene, yet that is found nowhere in Scripture.
The Book of Revelation is also not about our current day. Jesus is supposedly coming soon, and there is no way to make "soon" mean 2000 years in the future. And the book speaks of wars fought with ancient weapons and blood shed up to the horse's bridles. Yet modern wars are not fought with horses and ancient weapons.
Getting back to Jesus for a moment, Christians love to point to Isaiah 53 as a perfect depiction of Jesus that was written hundreds of years before he was born. But what do the Jewish people think about their own scriptures as opposed to what Christians claim? I offer this video for your consideration:
I could write much more on this subject because it is so important and Christians use it to try to prove the truth of the Bible. But I think I have made my point. If Bible prophecy was specific, such as predicting that on August 24, 2024, some major world event will happen and then indeed it does, that would be very impressive. But all we have with the Bible is vague, nonspecific prophecies that have been recycled over and over again by each generation of Christians who want the Bible to be speaking about their current day. Study what the Jews have to say about their own scriptures and read honest Bible scholars such as Bart Ehrman whose recent book on Revelation is excellent and highly recommended. Like I said, I could write much more on this subject, but I will leave it at that for now.
I spent many years of my life as an enthusiastic Christian, but even so, I often struggled to believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually happened in history. And my heart had a really hard time rejoicing in what my mind couldn't accept as real and true. I do believe that Jesus lived in history, but that was a very long time ago, and he is a long dead failed first century apocalyptic preacher. I don't like writing those words because there is a part of me that still wants to believe. But the honest truth is that I don't believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ ever actually happened. I think it's a powerful religious myth, and Jews for Judaism has a great video explaining how this myth developed over time after Jesus died. This is a lengthy video, but I think it is well worth the time to watch and consider.
I once firmly believed that the New Testament was a part of the inspired Word of God. It was inerrant and infallible, and it was absolutely trustworthy. But a man named Robert Chalmers at the Escaping Christianity YouTube channel opened my eyes to the truth, and now it is impossible to view the NT any other way. The New Testament contains the writings of a failed first century apocalyptic cult. Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul, and all of the New Testament writers clearly expected the rapture event and the end of the world to take place during their lifetimes, not 2000 years in the future. And there are, in fact, over 100 verses in the NT that make it crystal clear that the end of the world was supposed to happen back then, not in the distant future. The following is a list of those verses:
101 Eschatological Time Statements found in the New Testament
1. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2)
2. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Matt. 3:7)
3. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees.” (Matt. 3:10)
4. “His winnowing fork is in His hand.” (Matt. 3:12)
5. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17)
6. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 10:7)
7. “You shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.” (Matt. 10:23)
8. “…the age about to come.” (Matt. 12:32)
9. “The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.” (Matt. 16:27)
10. “There are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matt. 16:28; cf. Mk. 9:1; Lk. 9:27)
11. “‘When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?’ ‘…He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.’ ‘…Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.’ …When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.” (Matt. 21:40-41,43,45)
12. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matt. 24:34)
13. “From now on, you [Caiaphas, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, the whole Sanhedrin] shall be seeing the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matt. 26:64; Mk. 14:62; Lk. 22:69)
14. “The kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mk. 1:15)
15. “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. …They [the chief priests, scribes and elders] understood that He spoke the parable against them.” (Mk. 12:9,12)
16. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Mk. 13:30)
17. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Lk. 3:7)
18. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees.” (Lk. 3:9)
19. “His winnowing fork is in His hand…” (Lk. 3:17)
20. “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Lk. 10:9)
21. “The kingdom of God has come near.” (Lk. 10:11)
22. “What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” …The scribes and the chief priests…understood that He spoke this parable against them.” (Lk. 20:15-16,19)
23. “These are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” (Lk. 21:22)
24. “This generation will not pass away until all things take place.” (Lk. 21:32)
25. “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.'” (Lk. 23:28-30; Compare Rev. 6:14-17)
26. “We were hoping that He was the One who is about to redeem Israel.” (Lk. 24:21)
27. “I will come to you. …In that Day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.’ …’Lord, what then has happened that You are about to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?'” (Jn. 14:18,20,22)
28. “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” (Jn. 21:22)
29. “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days…'” (Acts 2:16-17)
30. “He has fixed a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness…” (Acts 17:31)
31. “There is about to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” (Acts 24:15)
32. “As he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment about to come…” (Acts 24:25)
33. “Not for [Abraham’s] sake only was it written, that [faith] was reckoned to him [as righteousness], but for our sake also, to whom it is about to be reckoned.” (Rom. 4:23-24)
34. “If you are living according to the flesh, you are about to die.” (Rom. 8:13)
35. “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us.” (Rom. 8:18)
36. “It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand.” (Rom. 13:11-12)
37. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Rom. 16:20)
38. “The time has been shortened.” (I Cor. 7:29)
39. “The form of this world is passing away.” (I Cor. 7:31)
40. “Now these things …were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (I Cor. 10:11)
41. “We shall not all fall sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (I Cor. 15:51-52)
42. “Maranatha!” [The Lord comes!] (I Cor. 16:22)
43. “…not only in this age, but also in the one about to come.” (Eph. 1:21)
44. “The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:5)
45. “The gospel …was proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” (Col. 1:23; Compare Matt. 24:14; Rom. 10:18; 16:26; Col. 1:5-6; II Tim. 4:17; Rev. 14:6-7; cf. I Clement 5,7)
46. “…things which are a shadow of what is about to come.” (Col. 2:16-17)
47. “…we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord… We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds… …You, brethren, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief.” (I Thess. 4:15,17; 5:4)
48. “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Thess. 5:23)
49. “It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.” (II Thess. 1:6-7)
50. “Godliness …holds promise for the present life and that which is about to come.” (I Tim. 4:8)
51. “I charge you …that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Tim. 6:14)
52. “…storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for that which is about to come, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” (I Tim. 6:19)
53. “In the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self… …Avoid these men. For of these are those who enter into households and captivate weak women… …These also oppose the truth… …But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all…” (II Tim. 3:1-2,5-6,8-9)
54. “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is about to judge the living and the dead…” (II Tim. 4:1)
55. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” (Heb. 1:1-2)
56. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who are about to inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14)
57. “He did not subject to angels the world about to come.” (Heb. 2:5)
58. “…and have tasted …the powers of the age about to come.” (Heb. 6:5)
59. “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near a curse, and it’s end is for burning.” (Heb. 6:7-8)
60. “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.” (Heb. 8:13)
61. “The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way of the [heavenly] Holy Places has not yet been revealed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.” (Heb. 9:8-10; Compare Gal. 4:19; Eph. 2:21-22; 3:17; 4:13)
62. “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things about to come…” (Heb. 9:11)
63. “Now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin.” (Heb. 9:26)
64. “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things about to come…” (Heb. 10:1)
65. “…as you see the Day drawing near.” (Heb. 10:25)
66. “…the fury of a fire which is about to consume the adversaries.” (Heb. 10:27)
67. “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” (Heb. 10:37)
68. “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the one that is about to come.” (Heb. 13:14)
69. “Speak and so act, as those who are about to be judged by the law of liberty.” (Jms. 2:12)
70. “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. …It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (Jms. 5:1,3)
71. “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” (Jms. 5:7)
72. “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (Jms. 5:8)
73. “…salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (I Peter 1:6)
74. “He …has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” (I Peter 1:20)
75. “They shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” (I Peter 4:5)
76. “The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” (I Peter 4:7)
77. “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.” (I Peter 4:17)
78. “…as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is about to be revealed.” (I Peter 5:1)
79. “We have the prophetic word …which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the Day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” (II Peter 1:19)
80. “Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (II Peter 2:3)
81. “In the last days mockers will come. …For this they willingly are ignorant of…” (I Peter 3:3,5)
82. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” (II Peter 3:10-12)
83. “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” (I Jn. 2:8)
84. “The world is passing away, and its desires.” (I Jn. 2:17)
85. “It is the last hour.” (I Jn. 2:18)
86. “Even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.” (I Jn. 2:18; Compare Matt. 24:23-34)
87. “This is that of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” (I Jn. 4:3; Compare II Thess. 2:7)
88. “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation. …About these also Enoch …prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly…'” (Jude 1:4,14-15)
89. “But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’ These are the ones who cause divisions…” (Jude 1:17-19)
90. “…to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place.” (Rev. 1:1)
91. “The time is near.” (Rev. 1:3)
92. “Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.” (Rev. 2:25)
93. “I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is about to come upon the whole world.” (Rev. 3:10)
94. “I am coming quickly.” (Rev. 3:11)
95. “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is about to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” (Rev. 12:5)
96. “And in her [the Great City Babylon] was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” (Rev. 18:24; Compare Matt. 23:35-36; Lk. 11:50-51)
97. “…to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.” (Rev. 22:6)
98. “Behold, I am coming quickly.” (Rev. 22:7)
99. “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” (Rev. 22:10; Compare Dan. 8:26)
100. “Behold, I am coming quickly.” (Rev. 22:12)
101. “Yes, I am coming quickly.” (Rev. 22:20)
When you really think about it, it is amazing that a failed first century apocalyptic cult has survived for 2000 years as a major world religion! The rapture event is a doctrine taken from this failed cult, and it never has and never will actually happen, and I don't believe that Jesus Christ is ever returning either. But this is really interesting stuff to think about and consider!
Who was or is Jesus Christ? Ask any fundamentalist Christian, and they will respond enthusiastically that He was and is God in the flesh. I used to enthusiastically share that belief. I firmly believed that Jesus is God and that He shed His precious Blood on that brutal Roman cross for the remission and forgiveness of my sins. There is a part of me that wishes that I could still believe. But I have come to the conclusion that Jesus was actually a first century apocalyptic preacher who expected the end of the world to occur during his lifetime. And there are scriptures that support that viewpoint. I will offer one quote here, and it's Mark 9:1.
And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
Jesus also said that He would return before his disciples had time to travel through the cities of Israel. Obviously, that didn't happen.
The following video is very long, but I believe it is well worth the time to watch.
It is my belief that the New Testament contains the writings of a failed first century apocalyptic cult, and there are over 100 verses in the NT that I believe prove this reality beyond any reasonable doubt. I believe that it is crystal clear that Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul and all of the New Testament writers clearly believed that the rapture event and the end of the world was going to occur during their lifetimes. The following is a list of 101 verses that I think prove this point.
101 Eschatological Time Statements found in the New Testament
1. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2)
2. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Matt. 3:7)
3. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees.” (Matt. 3:10)
4. “His winnowing fork is in His hand.” (Matt. 3:12)
5. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17)
6. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 10:7)
7. “You shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.” (Matt. 10:23)
8. “…the age about to come.” (Matt. 12:32)
9. “The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.” (Matt. 16:27)
10. “There are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matt. 16:28; cf. Mk. 9:1; Lk. 9:27)
11. “‘When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?’ ‘…He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.’ ‘…Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.’ …When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.” (Matt. 21:40-41,43,45)
12. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matt. 24:34)
13. “From now on, you [Caiaphas, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, the whole Sanhedrin] shall be seeing the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matt. 26:64; Mk. 14:62; Lk. 22:69)
14. “The kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mk. 1:15)
15. “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. …They [the chief priests, scribes and elders] understood that He spoke the parable against them.” (Mk. 12:9,12)
16. “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Mk. 13:30)
17. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come?” (Lk. 3:7)
18. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees.” (Lk. 3:9)
19. “His winnowing fork is in His hand…” (Lk. 3:17)
20. “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Lk. 10:9)
21. “The kingdom of God has come near.” (Lk. 10:11)
22. “What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” …The scribes and the chief priests…understood that He spoke this parable against them.” (Lk. 20:15-16,19)
23. “These are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” (Lk. 21:22)
24. “This generation will not pass away until all things take place.” (Lk. 21:32)
25. “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.'” (Lk. 23:28-30; Compare Rev. 6:14-17)
26. “We were hoping that He was the One who is about to redeem Israel.” (Lk. 24:21)
27. “I will come to you. …In that Day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.’ …’Lord, what then has happened that You are about to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?'” (Jn. 14:18,20,22)
28. “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” (Jn. 21:22)
29. “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days…'” (Acts 2:16-17)
30. “He has fixed a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness…” (Acts 17:31)
31. “There is about to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” (Acts 24:15)
32. “As he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment about to come…” (Acts 24:25)
33. “Not for [Abraham’s] sake only was it written, that [faith] was reckoned to him [as righteousness], but for our sake also, to whom it is about to be reckoned.” (Rom. 4:23-24)
34. “If you are living according to the flesh, you are about to die.” (Rom. 8:13)
35. “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us.” (Rom. 8:18)
36. “It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand.” (Rom. 13:11-12)
37. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Rom. 16:20)
38. “The time has been shortened.” (I Cor. 7:29)
39. “The form of this world is passing away.” (I Cor. 7:31)
40. “Now these things …were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (I Cor. 10:11)
41. “We shall not all fall sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (I Cor. 15:51-52)
42. “Maranatha!” [The Lord comes!] (I Cor. 16:22)
43. “…not only in this age, but also in the one about to come.” (Eph. 1:21)
44. “The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:5)
45. “The gospel …was proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” (Col. 1:23; Compare Matt. 24:14; Rom. 10:18; 16:26; Col. 1:5-6; II Tim. 4:17; Rev. 14:6-7; cf. I Clement 5,7)
46. “…things which are a shadow of what is about to come.” (Col. 2:16-17)
47. “…we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord… We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds… …You, brethren, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief.” (I Thess. 4:15,17; 5:4)
48. “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Thess. 5:23)
49. “It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.” (II Thess. 1:6-7)
50. “Godliness …holds promise for the present life and that which is about to come.” (I Tim. 4:8)
51. “I charge you …that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Tim. 6:14)
52. “…storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for that which is about to come, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” (I Tim. 6:19)
53. “In the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self… …Avoid these men. For of these are those who enter into households and captivate weak women… …These also oppose the truth… …But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all…” (II Tim. 3:1-2,5-6,8-9)
54. “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is about to judge the living and the dead…” (II Tim. 4:1)
55. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” (Heb. 1:1-2)
56. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who are about to inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14)
57. “He did not subject to angels the world about to come.” (Heb. 2:5)
58. “…and have tasted …the powers of the age about to come.” (Heb. 6:5)
59. “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near a curse, and it’s end is for burning.” (Heb. 6:7-8)
60. “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.” (Heb. 8:13)
61. “The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way of the [heavenly] Holy Places has not yet been revealed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.” (Heb. 9:8-10; Compare Gal. 4:19; Eph. 2:21-22; 3:17; 4:13)
62. “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things about to come…” (Heb. 9:11)
63. “Now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin.” (Heb. 9:26)
64. “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things about to come…” (Heb. 10:1)
65. “…as you see the Day drawing near.” (Heb. 10:25)
66. “…the fury of a fire which is about to consume the adversaries.” (Heb. 10:27)
67. “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” (Heb. 10:37)
68. “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the one that is about to come.” (Heb. 13:14)
69. “Speak and so act, as those who are about to be judged by the law of liberty.” (Jms. 2:12)
70. “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. …It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (Jms. 5:1,3)
71. “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” (Jms. 5:7)
72. “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (Jms. 5:8)
73. “…salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (I Peter 1:6)
74. “He …has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” (I Peter 1:20)
75. “They shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” (I Peter 4:5)
76. “The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” (I Peter 4:7)
77. “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.” (I Peter 4:17)
78. “…as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is about to be revealed.” (I Peter 5:1)
79. “We have the prophetic word …which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the Day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” (II Peter 1:19)
80. “Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (II Peter 2:3)
81. “In the last days mockers will come. …For this they willingly are ignorant of…” (I Peter 3:3,5)
82. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” (II Peter 3:10-12)
83. “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” (I Jn. 2:8)
84. “The world is passing away, and its desires.” (I Jn. 2:17)
85. “It is the last hour.” (I Jn. 2:18)
86. “Even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.” (I Jn. 2:18; Compare Matt. 24:23-34)
87. “This is that of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” (I Jn. 4:3; Compare II Thess. 2:7)
88. “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation. …About these also Enoch …prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly…'” (Jude 1:4,14-15)
89. “But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’ These are the ones who cause divisions…” (Jude 1:17-19)
90. “…to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place.” (Rev. 1:1)
91. “The time is near.” (Rev. 1:3)
92. “Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.” (Rev. 2:25)
93. “I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is about to come upon the whole world.” (Rev. 3:10)
94. “I am coming quickly.” (Rev. 3:11)
95. “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is about to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” (Rev. 12:5)
96. “And in her [the Great City Babylon] was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” (Rev. 18:24; Compare Matt. 23:35-36; Lk. 11:50-51)
97. “…to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.” (Rev. 22:6)
98. “Behold, I am coming quickly.” (Rev. 22:7)
99. “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” (Rev. 22:10; Compare Dan. 8:26)
100. “Behold, I am coming quickly.” (Rev. 22:12)
101. “Yes, I am coming quickly.” (Rev. 22:20)
It seems very clear that the rapture event described by Jesus and the apostle Paul was supposed to happen 2000 years ago, not 2000 years in the future. This is why I believe that the current rapture fever among some Christians will eventually die down and pass, just as it did back in 1988. If you are old enough to remember, a man named Edgar Whisenant wrote a book about why the rapture was going to happen in 1988, and obviously it didn't. The same thing is happening now, but with the benefit of things that didn't exist in 1988 such as the Internet, YouTube, and social media. The reason that the rapture keeps not happening despite all of the date setting going on and dates and date ranges of interest being looked at over time is because the rapture is not a real event that is ever going to happen in the history of the real world. It's a doctrine taken from an ancient failed apocalyptic cult. I think the rapture would be absolutely amazing if it was for real, but it isn't and I don't expect it to ever actually happen. And it is clear from the apostle Paul's writings that he expected to be alive when the rapture occurred. So he was not looking 2000 years into the future, and none of the other NT authors were either. And so far, the world stubbornly continues to exist despite religious people predicting THE END over and over again. It's important to note and to realize that, so far at least, religious people predicting the rapture and/or the end of the world are currently enjoying a centuries-long 100% failure rate, and I don't expect that to ever change.
Faith has always been a complicated thing for me. My religiosity is very tightly tied to the manic phase of my bipolar illness. When I am on the manic side of the illness, I tend to be extremely religious. But otherwise, I am generally not religious at all. I am 58 years old, and I have been studying the Bible and the Christian faith from both sides of the religious fence for most of my adult life. I am currently agnostic but leaning towards atheism. There is a simple reason for this, and it's because God never thinks, says, or does anything at all except in the minds of religious believers. It is also true that if God does exist, then He doesn't have much to do because our universe and our world and everything about how it all works can be explained by entirely natural processes.
The purpose of this site is to explain why I no longer believe and to do so calmly and rationally. But I would like to say right now that I do not "hate God" nor do I hate the Christian faith. I would actually love for there to be a loving God who cares about the intimate details of our lives. I just don't see any evidence that such a God actually exists. And I think that there is beauty to be found in the Christian faith, but being beautiful in some respects doesn't make it true.
I will be covering many different topics on this site, and I hope you find your time here well spent.
