Expert: Roy Wallen - 4/25/2010

Question
Hello,

I was doing some research when I ran into this facebook thread: http://ja-jp.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=59837636035&topic=9877

The people on here think Jesus' return is soon, and some users think it is 2018. Specifically, the user with an avatar of a cartoon dog with a shepherd's staff posted some long answers to support his belief that Christ will return in 2018.

Now, some it seems like a stretch, but some of it seems solid. But what bugs me is the verse that says Christ will come like a thief in the night. A thief doesn't leave clues that will tell what year he is coming in.

I don't know. What do you think? Is the claim that Jesus is coming back in 2018 grounded in anything solid? Or is it just hog wash?

Thanks,
Elizabeth

P.S. As a side question: do you believe in a Pre-Trib rapture?

Answer
Thanks for the question and the thread from Facebook.  I had not heard the rationale for this theory on Christ's return.  For centures, Christians have been eagerly anticipating Christ's return.  While it is true that some of the things noted by "Gregory Bowser" are true, his speculation about when Christ returns is just that - speculation.  He starts out with the best reference for knowing when Christ will return, Matthew 24:36, which says that "of that day and hour no one knows".  Only God knows the appointed time.  Then he deviates from that clear statement to speculate on the return that "no one knows".  There may be theories of which "generation" will see His return but, again, they are just theories.  Well-meaning Christians can develop theories but Jesus made it clear that is remains a mystery for everyone but God.  

In another context, Jesus said an "evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign".  The only thing we need to know is of His substitutionary death, burial, and resurrection.  If we know those events to be true and know that He suffered for us and in our places, then we can know that we will avoid all the events revealed to John in the last book of the Bible.  

This leads to your postscript question.  I do see clearly in the Bible that those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and believe that God raised Him from the dead will meet Him in the air before any of the tribulation events take place.  So, yes, I believe in what is called a pretribulation rapture of believers.  Because we don't know the day or the hour and, when He does return, we will be long gone, it is my responsibility to live now in a way that pleases God.

In short, the theories you found are not based on anything solid but on speculation and theory.  It is strong to call it "hog wash" because it is sincere speculation but it is only speculation.  I think we have better things to do with our time because the fields "are already white for harvest" (John 4:35).

God bless,