"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." (Matt. 25:13)

As we approach the year 2000, weird and fantasy-filled ideas are filling men's minds. One notion in particular is pinpointing the month and exact day of the return of Christ for His church.

The idea of predicting this grand event is not new, but it is void of scriptural support. Men like Bank-Ik Ha from Korea who predicted the rapture would occur on October 28, 1992 at midnight, and Harold Camping who published a book predicting the rapture in September of 1994 all have proven to be wrong.

I remember receiving a book by Edgar Whisenant entitled "88 Reasons Why Christ Will Return in 1988". He too made his prediction and just like all the date setters of the past was wrong. However, there are always unsuspecting Christians that are taken in by these self proclaimed prophets and great tragedy occurs.

We have not seen the last of the date setters. New predictions will come and vast amounts of money will be foolishly spent to awaken the world to a particular day, month and year when Christ will return.

They all will be wrong because the Bible plainly tells us in Matthew 25:13, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

What results occur when such false predictions are heralded as reliable? First, the enemies of the cross are provided with more ammunition in their crusade to prove the Bible is full of error.

Date setters twist and use scripture to make it say what they want it to say. Failure to distinguish between the rapture and the Second Coming of Christ by improperly applying scripture to these two distinct and separate events is the great down-fall of date setters.

To do so causes great confusion and gives way for whose who oppose the Bible to further question all of the scriptures. Let it be known, Christ is coming and that great event is not dependent upon the date setters and will not be canceled because of those who question and disbelieve the Word of God.

Additionally, people who side with the date setters and proclaim their predictions lose face with those who really need Christ. The unbelieving world concludes that if they were wrong about the coming of the Lord, they could be wrong about the need of salvation and the way to be saved.

Our testimony is severely tarnished when we make such false claims. It gives the devil an advantage against us and he will make every attempt to ridicule us and jeopardize our effectiveness. Guard your testimony and stand solidly and solely on the Word of God.

Another outcome of false date setting is that good men become silent on the subject of prophecy. They fear they will be identified with the date setters and be falsely labeled as such. Prophecy is an important part of the Bible and must not be neglected in our day.

For all Bible believers, the return of Christ at any moment propels us to purity and personal preparation. (1 John 3:1-3) It gives us hope in these days of trouble and persecution. (Titus 2:13) A careful and properly interpreted study of Bible prophecy compels us to increase our efforts to proclaim the gospel to the whole world. (John 4:35; 9:4)

Be careful, Satan is the real culprit that wants us to disregard the Bible and view the promise of the rapture as a farfetched scheme. Jesus is coming!

There are many tragedies that result from false date-setting, but one more needs to be considered. It concerns the deeply entrenched apostates of our day. Peter mentioned in his second letter that scoffers would question the return of the Lord. (2 Peter 3:3-4)

When a new date is established for the return of Christ and that day comes and goes without fulfillment, apostates and liberals use that as additional information to scoff at the idea that Christ is even coming again. It allows them to continue in their wicked lifestyle without any fear of judgment. It also gives them opportunity to gain new recruits to their willful position of ignorance and unbelief. (2 Peter 3:5)

Christ is coming! Don't be diluted or deceived by these self-proclaimed prophets who think they have an "inside track" to the mind of God. The rapture is imminent and can occur at any time. Be ready, pray and faithfully serve the Lord by spreading the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.