It is astonishing how many times we lose focus, searching for things that God has not told us to do. Speculating about end time events. Books have been printed about this and I am sure if we were to take stock millions of dollars have been made predicting the coming of Christ.
We preachers have been guilty of tossing out different dates. I heard a prominent preacher speculate that Jesus will be returning in 2012. Preachers like Harold Camping have even gone as far as giving a definite date – 21st of May 2011. We all know nothing happened. His prediction was false. All this madness makes Christians lose credibility which is very sad.
The other disturbing fact is, most of us who follow these guys do not read our Bibles. The person presenting these facts might be or even sound scholarly, they might even be great orators but that does not mean we should just soak in what they are saying. We should go back to the Bible and find out if what they are communicating is accurate. Let’s look at a passage of Scripture that sheds some light on this.
Acts 1:3-8 (NLT)
During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Next time, when somebody tries to get you involved in speculating about the coming of Christ, tell them to go read verse eight of Acts chapter 2.
Yes! He told us of the signs that would occur. But he never told us to get involved in predicting the date. Let us continue to be witnesses, letting His light shine through us in a dark world.