Dates for Jesus Christ's return
Article from THE RAPTURE INDEX home page

The Numbers Game - Knowing the day and the hour

Other people throughout history have read the same words of Jesus and came up with different interpretations of what He intended. They've somehow managed to get around all restrictions against precise date setting. On a number of occasions, by doing so, they created pure havoc. The following is a list of some past failed dates and some dates yet to come.

• 53 AD
  Even before all the books of the Bible were written, there was talk that Christ's return had already taken place. The Thessalonians panicked on Paul, when they heard a rumor that the day of the Lord was at hand, and they had missed the rapture.

• 1000
  This year goes down as one the most pronounced state of hysteria over the return of Christ. All members of society seemed affected by the prediction that Jesus was coming back on Jan 1, 1000 AD. There really weren't any of the events required by the Bible transpiring at that time. The magical number 1000 was primarily the sole reason for the expectation. During Dec 999 AD, everyone was on their best behavior; worldly goods were sold and given to the poor, swarms of pilgrims headed east to meet the Lord at Jerusalem, buildings went unrepaired, crops were left unplanted, and criminals were set free from jails. The year 999 AD turned into 1000 AD and nothing happened.

• 1033
  This year was sighted as the beginning of the millennium because it marked 1000 years since Christ's crucifixion.

• 1186
  The "Letter of Toledo" warned everyone to hide in the caves and mountains. The world would be destroyed and only a few would be spared.

• 1420
  The Taborites of Czechoslovakia predicted every city would be annihilated by fire. Only five mountain strongholds would be saved.

• 1524-1526
  Muntzer, a leader of German peasants, announced that the return of Christ was near. After he and his men destroyed the high and mighty, the Lord would return. This belief lead to an uneven battle with government troops where he was strategically out numbered. Muntzer claimed to have a vision from God where the Lord promised that He would catch the cannon balls, of the enemy, in the sleeves of His cloak. The vision turned out to be false when Muntzer and his followers were mowed down by cannon fire.

• 1534
  A repeat of the Muntzer affair occurred a few years late. This time Jan Matthys took over the city of Munster. The City was to be the only one spared destruction. The inhabitants of Munster, chased out by Matthys an his men, regrouped and lay siege to the city. Within a year everyone in the city was dead.

• 1650-1660
  The Fifth Monarchy Men looked for Jesus to establish a theocracy. They took up arms and tried to seize England by force. The movement died when the British monarchy was restored in 1660.

• 1666
  To the citizens of London, 1666 was not a banner year. A bubonic plague outbreak killed 100,000 and the Great Fire of London struck the same year. The world seemed at an end to most Londoners. The fact that the year ended with the Beast's number (666), didn't help matters as well.

• 1809
  Mary Bateman, who specialized in fortune telling, had a magic chicken that laid eggs with end time messages on them. One message said that Christ is coming. The uproar she created ended when she was caught forcing an egg into the hens oviduct by an unannounced visitor. Mary later was hanged for poisoning a wealthy client.

• 1814
  Spiritualist Joanna Southcott made the startling claim that she by virgin birth would produce the second Jesus Christ. Her abdomen began to swell and so did the crowds of people around her. The time for the birth came and passed - she died soon after. An autopsy revealed it had been a false pregnancy.

• 1843-1844
  William Miller was the founder of an end times movement that was so prominent it received its own name-- Millerism. From his studies of the Bible, Miller determined that the second coming would happen sometime between 1843-1844. A spectacular meteor shower in 1833 gave the movement a good push forward. The build up of anticipation continued until March 21 1844, when Miller's one year time table ran out. Some followers set another date of Oct 22 1884. This too failed collapsing the movement. One follower described the days after the failed predictions, "The world made merry over the old Prophet's predicament. The taunts and jeers of the 'scoffers' were well-nigh unbearable."

• 1859
  Rev Thomas Parker, a Massachusetts Minister, looked for the millennium to start about 1859.

• 1881
  Someone called Mother Shipton 400 years early claimed the world would end in 1881. A controversy hangs over the Shipton writings, as whether or not publishers doctored the text. If the date was wrong, should it matter anyway.

• 1910
  The revisit of Haley's comet was, for many, an indication of the Lord's second coming. The earth actually passed through the gaseous tail of the comet. One enterprising man sold comet pills to people for protection against the effects of the toxic gases.

• 1914
  Charles Russell, after being exposed to the teachings of William Miller, he founded his own organization - the Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1914 Russell predicted the return of Jesus Christ.

• 1918
  In 1918, new math didn't help the Jehovah's Witnesses from striking out again.

• 1925
  The Witnesses had no better luck in 1925. They already possessed the title of most wrong predictions. They would expand upon it in the years to come.

• 1967
  When the city of Jerusalem was reclaimed by the Jews in 1967, prophecy watchers declared that the "Time of the Gentiles" had come to an end.

• 1970
  The True Light Church of Christ made its claim to fame by incorrectly forecasting the return of Jesus. A number of church members had quit their livelihoods ahead of the promised advent.

• 1973
  A comet that turned out to be a visual disappointment, nonetheless, compelled one preacher to announce that it would be a sign of the Lord's return.

• 1975
  The Jehovah's Witnesses were back at it in 1975. The failure of the forecast did not effect the growth of the movement. The Watchtower magazine, a major Witness periodical, has over 13 million subscribers.

• 1977
  We all remember the killer bee scare of the late 70's. One prophecy prognosticator linked the bees to Rev 9:3-12. After twenty years of progression and the bees are still in Texas, I'm beginning to think of them as the killer snails.

• 1982
  It was all going to end in 1982, when the planets lined up and created magnetic forces that would bring Armageddon to the earth.

• 1984
  The Jehovah's Witnesses made sure in 1984 that no one else would be able to top their record of most wrong doomsday predictions. The Witnesses record is currently holding at nine. The years are: 1874, 1878, 1881, 1910, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975, and 1984. Lately, the JW's are claiming they're out of the prediction business, but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. They'll be back.

• 1987
  The Harmonic Convergence planned for Aug. 16-17, 1987, and several New Age events were to occur at that time. The second coming of the serpent god of peace and the Hopi dance awakening were two examples.

• 1988
  The book "88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988" came out only a few months before the event was to take place. What little time the book had it used effectively. By the time Sept 11-13 rolled around, whole churches were caught up in the excitement the book generated. I personally had friends who were measuring themselves for wings. In the dorm where we lived, my friends were also openly confronting all of the unsaved. It became my job to defuse to situations. In one case, an accosted sinner was contemplating dispensary action against my now distant friends. Finally, the days of destiny dawned and then set. No Jesus. The environment was not the same as Miller's 1844 failure. To my surprise, the taunting by the unsaved was very brief. I took it that people have very little understanding of the Bible, so they had nothing to taunt my friends with. I made one other interesting observation. The time for the rapture was a 3 day window from Sept 11 to the 13 - my friends had given up hope on the morning of 12. I pointed out that they still had 2 days left, but they had been spooked nonetheless.

• 1989
  After the passing of the deadline in 88 Reason's, the author, Edgar Whisenaunt, came out with a new book called "89 Reasons why the Rapture is in 1989." This book sold only a faction of his prior release.

• 1991
  A local group in Australia predicted Jesus would return through the Sydney Harbor at 9:00am on 31st March, 1991.

• 1991
  Menachem Schneerson, a Russian born rabbi, called for the Messiah to come by Sept 9, 1991, the start of the Jewish New Year.

• 1992
  A Korean group called Mission For The Coming Days had the Korea Church a buzz in the fall of 1992. They foresaw Oct 28, 1992 as the time for the Rapture. Numerology was the basis for the date. Several camera shots that left ghostly images on pictures was thought to be a supernatural confirmation of the date.

• 1993
  If the year 2000 is the end of the 6000 year cycle, then the rapture must take place in 1993, because you would need 7 years of the tribulation. This was the thinking of a number of prophecy writers.

• 1994
  In the book "1994 the Year of Destiny" F. M. Riley foretold of God's plan to rapture His people. The name of his ministry is The Last Call and he operates out of Missouri.

• 1994
  Harold Camping in his book "Are You Ready?" predicted the Lord's return in Sept 1994. The book was full of numerology that added up to 1994 as the date of Christ's return.

• 1994
  After promising themselves they would not make any more end time prediction, the Jehovah's Witnesses fell off the wagon and proclaimed 1994 as the conclusion of an 80 year generation - the year 1914 was the starting point.

• 1996
  This had a special month, according to one author. He foresaw the month of Sept as the time for our Lord's return. The Church Age will last 2000 years from the time of Christ's birth in 4 BC.

• 1997
  In regard to 1997, I've received several e-mail messages that point to a date when Jesus will return for his church. Two of the more widely known time frames are Monte Judah's FEB/MAR tribulation start and a May 14 rapture which is based on numerology and the Psalms.

• 1998
  M.J. Agee in her book "The End of the Age" has her sights set on May 31, 1998. This date will conclude the 6000 year cycle from the time of Adam. Agee looks for the Rapture to take place on Pentecost also known as the feast of weeks. Another indicator is the fact that the Holy Spirit did not descend upon the until 50 days from Christ's resurrection before descending on the Church. Israel was born in 1948, add the 50 days and you come up with 1998. If this prophecy fails, numerology will mark itself as one of the most unreliable method of foretelling and yet the most repeated.

• 2000
  The names of the people and organizations that have called for the return of Christ, at the turn of the century, is too long to be listed here. I would say that if there is day that Christ can not come back on, it must be Jan 1, 2000. To come at an unknown time means an unknown time. I think Jan 2, 2000 would be a more likely day for Him to call His Church home - right after the big let down.

• 2000-2001
  Dr. Dale SumburŠru looks for March 22, 1997 to be "the date when all the dramatic events leading through the tribulation to the return of Christ should begin" The actual date of Christ's return could be somewhere between July 2000 and Mar 2001. Dr. SumburŠru is more general about the time of the Christ's second coming than most writers. He states, "The day the Lord returns is currently unknown because He said [Jesus] these days are cut short and it is not yet clear by how much and in what manner they are cut short. If the above assumptions are not correct, my margin of error would be in weeks, or perhaps months." SumburŠru has his own web site: The Greatest Deception

• 2001
  Because there was no year 0, the true millennium will not start until Jan 1, 2001. Most prophetic watchers still have their sights set on 2000. If the date passes uneventful, I'm sure they'll realize their error and refocus on this year.

• 2004
  This date for Jesus' return is based upon Psalmology, numerlology, the biblical 360 days per year, Jewish holidays, and "Biblical astronomy." To figure out this date you'll need a calculator, a slide rule, and plenty of scratch paper.

• 2012
  New Age writes sight Mayan and Aztec calendars which predicts the end of the age on Dec 21, 2012.

The return of Jesus Christ for His Church is the most important event in history for believing Christians. The glory of heaven contrasted with our life on earth, is like comparing the job of running a hotdog stand with the job of President of the United States.

Finally, when it comes to knowing the general time frame of Christ's return for His church, the word of God is more generous. Jesus informed us of a number of events that will take place. When we see the predicted events coming together, we can conclude that time is short. Most of the prophecies will take place during the tribulation. Any forewarning of their arrival would make the rapture all the more likely, because it occurs at the start of the 7 year tribulation period.