It is 11:00 am MDT on September 23, 2017 as I write these words. David Meade used a study of numerical features in the Bible to predict the world ending today. However, he changed his prediction and said the world would not end today, but a series of cataclysmic events will occur over the next few weeks that will end life as we know it. “The world is not ending, but the world as we know it is ending, a major part of the world will not be the same at the beginning of October.” (According to the Washington Post article he was quoted in on Sept 17.) The life we live can change in an instant and life is never the same again. Let us be clear, he is still predicting that every single person on this planet is about to go through a cataclysmic upheaval almost as bad as the end of the world.
These predictions have been happening for a number of years, remember the Mayan Calendar prediction in 2012? The sad part to me it is professing christians who make these predictions and believe them, even promoting them. So how should we as bible believing, Christ following eagerly awaiting Christ return, disciples of Jesus think about these predictions when they occur?
First whenever someone says, The world is ending or Jesus return is on this specific date, you can know they are wrong. (I am connecting both because the Bible clearly says Jesus is making a visible bodily return to this earth before it is destroyed. So if the world is ending on a certain day Jesus must return first.) In Matthew 24:36 & Mark 13:32 Jesus is quoted exactly in both passages saying no one knows the day or hour not even the angels. Hopefully anyone reading this would believe the literal words of Jesus over another human, including a professing Christian.
Second, they mix Judeo-Christian teaching with other religions. Almost every one of these rely not just on what Scripture says but something in another religion and connect the two as equals or evidence for their predictions. Anytime someone professing to be a Christian adds aspects of other religions (that are clearly not biblical or biblically based) to what the Bible says and claiming “God says” you should have red flags going up! To borrow from aviation, all your crash warning systems should be going off.
Third, these predictions fall into the category of biblical prophecy. These individuals are relying on the written Word of God to make their predictions. As such they are claiming, “God says” to pretend otherwise is disingenuous. They are claiming God has said it by hiding it in the interpretation or numbers of the Bible. That is a claim “God says.” In Deuteronomy God did say, and said it very plainly, how to respond to prophets making predictions.
“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. - Deuteronomy 18:22”
When their predictions do not come true they should be treated as the false prophet they are. First stop listening to them! Second, admit to yourself and those around you they are a false prophet. And third, pray for their repentance, God has very harsh judgment for a false prophet claiming to speak for Him.
There is a benefit to these kinds of predictions when they are reported in the news and people start talking about them. First, it opens the door for biblical truth to be spoken. These events give you and I a chance to respond with biblical truth about what to believe and not believe. It opens the door for sharing the gospel, because one day this world will end, one day the Lord will return and the whole of humanity will face judgment. A judgment clearly described in Matt 25:31-46 the description of the final judgment, where people are described as falling into two groups (and only two groups) one for eternal glory and the other for eternal damnation. We desire for all to know Jesus as their Savior and be among those who enjoy eternal glory.
Second, these events give us a chance to examine our own hearts. How prone we are to embrace such ideas tells us where our heart is. Why would we be so inclined to believe such predictions or hope they are true? Are we too enthralled with biblical prophecy? Are we hoping it is true so someone we are at odds with will “Get what’s coming to them”? Are we looking at this as a way to avoid something unpleasant in our lives? All of them show our hearts are captured by something other than Jesus. Seeing this and having a chance to correct it is a gift from our Lord and Savior. He is loving us enough to discipline us so we will enjoy Him above all else.
Third, these events remind us Jesus is returning one day. They give us the chance to examine our lives and ask if we are fulfilling the calling God has placed on our lives. If this was the end would I be pleased at how Jesus found me living my life right now? Do I need to make changes in my life or my priorities so I am living the life the Lord has called me to?
How are we to think about these world ending predictions when they are spoken? Like someone who knows Jesus as their Savior. Critically measuring them by the Word of God and responding to them like one of Jesus’s disciples.
Come Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:20)
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