Doomsday date-setting is nothing new. People throughout the ages have perpetually speculated about when they believe the end times will come to fruition.
Since Jesus’ death and resurrection, his promise that he will one day return has left believers waiting in anxious anticipation. Along the way, the concept of the “rapture” became a key piece in this complex, prophetic puzzle. It’s a topic I detailed in my book “The Armageddon Code.”
End-times divide
Merriam-Webster defines the rapture as the “final assumption of Christians into heaven during the end time according to Christian theology.” And while this definition is fine in a general sense, rapture theology has splintered into many forms and fashions.
We certainly see many signs today that point to important reverberations as chaos swirls around the globe.
The concept centers on various biblical teachings, though 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is a central text. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
Among Christians, there are a slew of beliefs about when — or even if — the rapture will unfold. Those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture say Christians will be taken up to heaven by Jesus and protected before a seven-year tribulation period on Earth.
Others take a mid-tribulation stance, believing Christians will be brought up to glory halfway through the seven-year tribulation period. Then there’s the post-tribulation view, which sees the rapture and second coming of Jesus as one event.
There are some other perspectives as well, but the point is: The church is divided over the timing and even the existence of the rapture.
September 23, 2025?
Like many other theological constructs, it has become a lightning rod for debate. Yet there’s one area where there should be absolutely no controversy, debate — or even discussion: Date-setting.
Sadly, over the past two millennia, many people have attempted to set specific predictions about when they believe Jesus will rapture the church.
The latest madness centers on September 23, a date circulating on social media as the time when Christ will purportedly come back to take Christians to heaven.
“Rumors have recently gone viral online that the rapture will take place on September 23,” Charisma explains. “Videos across TikTok and YouTube claim dreams, visions, and even mathematical formulas confirm the return of Christ during this year’s Feast of Trumpets. Some are so convinced that they are selling possessions and preparing for that day as the final moment.”
While it’s hard to tell how widespread these proclamations have become, it’s simply another day, another rapture conspiracy theory.
No dates allowed
But there’s a major biblical problem with date-setting when it comes to the end times: We’re never told in scripture to do it.
Both Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 proclaim that no one knows when the end will unfold. The former reads, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
In the preceding verses, Jesus does offer powerful words after his disciples asked for the “sign of [Christ’s] coming and of the end of the age.” He encourages followers not to be deceived by fake messiahs and tells them there will be “wars and rumors of wars” and even famines and earthquakes all over the globe.
Jesus explains that these events will be the “birth pains,” and persecution will follow. He also notes that the gospel will be preached around the world before the end comes. There is, of course, debate about how to place these events in the context of future events, as some believe Christ’s warnings in these scriptures pertain — at least in part — to Rome’s destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70; some see his words as being both immediate and long-ranging prophecies.
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Regardless, Jesus makes it clear that we won’t know when the end of days will arrive. This elusive nature would, thus, apply to both a rapture event and Jesus’ second coming. In fact, Christ goes on to say that the conditions surrounding his return will be as in the days of Noah.
People around Noah were living their lives without a care until the flood shockingly took them away. He said his own re-emergence will follow a similar pattern.
“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left,” Jesus proclaims in Matthew 24:40, with verse 41 continuing: “Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”
Now, he does add the following in verse 42: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” So there’s certainly a call to be alert, but never to date-set.
Faith, not forecasts
We certainly see many signs today that point to important reverberations as chaos swirls around the globe — much of it focused on Israel and the Middle East. People are lovers of themselves, and morality is fleeting.
But to claim the rapture is happening on a specific date like Sept. 23 isn’t only biblically incorrect and spiritually illiterate; it’s also dangerous.
Over a decade ago, other viral claims surrounded a man named Harold Camping.
Camping purportedly unsuccessfully predicted the rapture numerous times, with people who believed his proclamations reportedly giving up their money and possessions in anticipation; one man spent his entire life savings.
It was a tragic dynamic that would have been avoidable if people simply stuck to the biblical text.
Ultimately, if we’re concerned that the rapture or second coming (or both simultaneously, depending on your theological proclivities) is upon us, our best action is to reach the lost around us with God’s eternal truth.
Rather than waste time date-setting, we should be spreading the gospel to a watching world, because that’s a calling the Bible actually gives us.
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