Eschatology is fascinating, and while Jesus stated plainly that no one knows the “day and hour” of His return, He was crystal clear that He will return. And, in Revelation, Jesus is recorded as announcing, “Behold, I am making all things new” (21:5). In other words, the Bible’s focus when it comes to eschatology is not so much the “when” or the “how,” as it is that He is returning and the “so what?” That He is returning should be a source of hope, joy, and comfort. 

Well, the world did not end this week as a South African pastor predicted. Joshua Mhlakela said that the Rapture would occur on September 23. To prepare, some people sold their homes and quit their jobs. 

This is not the first end times prediction that failed to materialize. In 2011, a radio preacher named Harold Camping identified May 21 of that year as when the Rapture would occur. More famous was the 88 Reasons the Rapture Will Be in 1988 book. There was also a Rapture panic surrounding Y2K, and in 1844, a Baptist preacher named William Miller misled so many people, the event became known as “The Great Disappointment.” 

American protestants have been particularly interested in end times prophecies. The Left Behind book series from the 1990s and early 2000s sold millions. Though its fictionalized account of the end times was described as a contemporary phenomenon, it did not predict a day or year. And, of course, there was the haunting Larry Norman song of the 1970s, “I wish we’d all been ready.” 

Of the various views of the end times, the most well-known is some version of premillennialism. The most popular view of premillennialism is that at a future point, Christ will meet His saints up in the air through the Rapture, before the Antichrist rules the world in a time known as the Great Tribulation. After that, Jesus will return again to rule for 1,000 years before the Final Judgment. 

Another view is Preterism, which understands much of the prophesied happenings of Scripture to have already happened in the First Century. According to Amillenialism, the Millennial reign of Christ and the Tribulation aren’t specific periods of time, but rather representations of the rule of Christ through His Church and the oppressions of evil in all times. Postmillennialism holds that Christ will return once the world has been fully evangelized.

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