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If you’re reading these words and the world seems perfectly normal, that’s good news: The Great Tribulation apparently didn’t begin yesterday.
On the other hand, if you’re still here and more than a few people are mysteriously missing, that’s bad news: The Rapture happened and you and I both missed it!
Social media has been abuzz with Rapture Fever since June, when a South African pastor named Joshua Mhlakela declared that Jesus had personally assured him that true believers would be gathered to their Lord on either September 23 or 24.
A number of evangelical Christians believe that the Rapture – an event popularized by the Left Behind series of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins – is the means by which God will instantaneously transport Christ’s followers to his side just before the Last Days. Non-believers will be left behind to experience seven years of global mayhem.
Pastor Joshua’s video, which has amassed 570,000 views, has given birth to RaptureTok, a corner of TikTok where users are posting videos of themselves preparing for the End of All Things.
A woman named Hannah, for instance, believes that God confirmed the September dates for the simple reason that she was fired from her dream job. “I prayed and I asked God, ‘Whenever the rapture happens, whether it is next week, next month, next year, can you please just arrange things where I can be home with my family when it happens?’” Losing her job seems to be just the ticket.
A user named Tilahun offered others these words of encouragement:
“Our blessed hope is coming. We are going home. Guys, it’s going to happen. Believe, do not doubt. Faith is leading this hour. I don’t care how many mocking or scoffing videos you come across… it’s going to happen. Believe it,” he said.
Jenna, a content creator, made this promise: “I’m going to be livestreaming while I ascend, and I’ll also be making videos and posting about what heaven is like and stuff like that once I get up there. So if you’re going to be left behind,” she added, “make sure to follow now so you can get updates.”
Apparently Jenna has a great deal of confidence concerning the Wi-Fi strength of signal in Paradise.
Is there any corroborating evidence that this week is unusually special when it comes to God’s eschatological timetable?
We can always check in with Todd Strandberg, the self-described “fearless leader” of the website Rapture Ready, which presents itself as “the eBay of prophecy – the best source online for predictions and calculations concerning the end of the world.”
The website routinely updates the Rapture Index, a numeric estimate of the nearness of the Rapture.
Strandberg explains, “You could say the Rapture Index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as a prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we’re moving…”
Depending on his assessment of global headlines, the Rapture Index may be 100 or below (“slow prophetic activity”); 100 to 130 (“moderate prophetic activity”); 130 to 160 (“heavy prophetic activity”) or above 160 (“fasten your seat belts”).
And what is the numeric value of the most recent Rapture Index, posted just this week?
That would be 181. Better tighten that seat belt.
Then again…
There’s always that inconvenient verse: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). Not even Jesus himself knows the timetable of the Apocalypse. Claiming to know something the Son of God doesn’t know is always a bad call.
It really doesn’t matter if Pastor Joshua turns out to be just a nice guy who is trying to encourage the global Christian community. According to Jesus, claiming to have received inside information is a serious misunderstanding at best, and a grievous spiritual misstep at worst.
We may presume that Mark 13:32 covers not just books, sermons, and YouTube videos, but 21st century websites and social media echo chambers like RaptureTok.
But there’s more to the end of the thirteenth chapter of Mark than just a warning. Jesus also issues a call to action:
“Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13:33-37).
During Bible times, watchmen were charged with sounding warnings to the residents of a walled city.
They would typically stand on parapets and survey the horizon for approaching danger. Some of them ultimately took on the role of prophets, warning people that they needed to recognize impending concerns and get their lives in order.
Every healthy church needs a few watchmen and watchwomen who can read “the signs of the times” and help God’s people respond. That’s clear in verses like Hebrews 13:17: “Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls…”
But Jesus makes it clear this is a job for everyone.
If you’re part of his band of followers, you’re in the watching business, too. He tells his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Watch and pray so that you won’t fall into temptation” (Mark 14:38). The church at large has always understood those words to apply to disciples of every generation.
Watching means paying attention.
We pay attention to God and we pay attention to our own lives. And with massive doses of gentleness and humility, we pay attention to the lives of those around us – not to boss them around, but to be part of the priceless fabric of a community in which people actually care about each other, and care how all of our lives are turning out.
Now that September 24 has come and gone, we can sigh with relief that history continues to march on. Or perhaps sigh with longing that we aren’t yet at home with our Father in heaven.
But one thing’s for sure: One of these days, Jesus is going to make good on his promise and come back.
A few years ago, a group of church leaders huddled in a conference room. Before they dived into their strategic planning agenda, the leader asked, “Does anyone here think that Jesus is going to return within the next 60 minutes?” Everyone looked thoughtful. Everyone shook their head No.
The leader then silently circulated an index card bearing a single verse of Scripture:
“You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Luke 12:40).
Who knows?
That special hour may actually come during this first beautiful weekend of autumn.