Date Setting: Is It Biblical?

By Dr. Ken Matto

 

These two verses teach us that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to return to earth in the same manner in which He was taken up. This does not mean He will return to the Mount of Olives but on the last day every eye shall see Him and He will return to this world in great power and that will usher in Judgment Day and the completion of the redemption of God’s people. We are also given a command in Scripture that we are to be looking for the Lord’s return.

 

(2 Pet 3:12-13 KJV) Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? {13} Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

 

The word "hasting" in verse 12 is the Greek Word "speudw" (speudo) which means to "desire earnestly, to hurry, or to strive for." As believers we desire earnestly the return of the Lord Jesus so we may begin our life in heaven away from sin and the cares of this world. But when the Bible tells us that we are to look for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, does that also include the quest for the exact day Christ will come back? Is it possible for us to know the exact day Christ will return? When the Lord went back to Heaven, the command given to His church universal was to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

 

(Mark 16:15 KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

 

 

(Luke 19:13 KJV) And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

 

The word "occupy" means to be diligent in business or trading.

 

 

(Psa 107:23 KJV) They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

 

This verse teaches us about the believer’s calling. The sea is the world and the ship we are in is the Lord Jesus Christ. The business we do is to send forth the gospel to the entire world.

 

 

(Prov 22:29 KJV) Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

 

When a person is diligent in Bible study, they shall be able to teach other Christians and evangelize God’s elect into the kingdom. The believer’s are referred to as Kings in Scripture. (Genesis 17:16 & Revelation 1:6)

The privilege for teaching is not for the slothful or the diverted, but to the diligent.

 

 

(Luke 2:49 KJV) And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

 

This verse tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ when He was a child, knew what His mission in this life was. This is why new Christians must be grown up correctly so they will become diligent Christians and seek to occupy, till the Lord returns, in the ministry He has designed for them.

 

 

(Rom 12:11 KJV) Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Here is a command that we are not to be slothful or lazy in the Lord’s work but we are to be zealous.

 

These four verses give us an insight how the believer is to be engaged in the Lord’s work. If you notice, in the command to be diligent in God’s work, there is no hint of date setting or searching. This is because the believer is to be engaged in evangelism and missions. Anything else is a diversion for the command to go into all the world. I cannot go into all the world if I am sitting home date setting.

 

Date setting has been around since the Lord Jesus announced that He would be returning. Dates have been set since the first century and if you are reading this article, then it is obvious they have all been wrong. Many dates have been set on a hunch, or on a supposed vision, or political events, or supposed time paths in Scripture but no matter what method is used, the outcome is the same, ERROR! How many dates have been set for the Lord’s return? There have been approximately 300 dates set for the Lord’s return since His ascension. Here is a list of some of them:

 

80 AD ----- Ben Zakkai died about 80, and expected the Messiah about the time of his death

331 AD --- Tichonus writer of the fourth century

470 AD ----Rabbi Hanina

500 AD ----Hippolytus (170-236) and Lactantius (250-330)

1000 AD --Hysteria reigned at this magical date

1009 ------- Rain of blood; sun turns red and fails to shine for three days; plague and death follow

1147 AD - Gerard of Poehlde decided that the millennium had actually started in 306 AD during Constantine's

                    reign. Thus, the world end would happen in 1306 AD.

1179 AD - John of Toledo predicted the end of the world in 1186 AD

1533 AD - Melchior Hoffman

1689 AD - Benjamin Keach

1794 AD - Charles Wesley

1844 AD - William Miller (7th Day Adventists)

1859 AD - Rev. Thomas Parker expected the Millenium to begin

1910 AD - Charles Taze Russell

1914 AD - Jehovah’s Witness

1981 AD - Hal Lindsey

1988 AD - Edgar Whisenant

1988 AD - J.R. Church (Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms) I heard this one with my own ears in 1983 in

                   Oklahoma City.

1989 AD - Edgar Whisenant

1992 AD - Korean group called (Mission for the coming days)

1994 AD - Pastor John Hinkle

1994 AD - Harold Camping (Now Claims Church is being Judged - Same as 7th Day Adventists)

1998 AD - Heng Ming-Chen leader of Taiwanese cult out of Garland Texas

1999 AD - Kirk Nelson

2000 AD - Lester Sumrall

2000 AD - Tom Holt (Editor of Family Radio Digest)

2008 AD - Marilyn Agee

2011 AD - Harold Camping (He has also named the day May 21 for the rapture and October 21 for the annihilation of the unsaved)

2012 AD - The Mayan Calendar ends on December 21

2018 AD - Jack Van Impe

 

As you can see the list is long for those who feel they could know the timing of the Lord’s return, yet this is an incomplete list.  Whether they try to set a date by a supposed vision or a time path, the end is a failure. There is one verse which must be factored in when we have a subject like date setting.

 

(Deu 29:29 KJV) The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

 

God has revealed much in the Scriptures but there are some things which He is obviously going to keep a secret and this must be realized and accepted by the believer. For example, God never revealed the exact location of the tomb where Christ’s body was laid after His crucifixion. The exact location of Golgotha is not revealed in Scripture. The exact location of His birth nor the location where the Wise Men found Him. No one knows the location of the Ark of the Covenant nor of the Robe of Christ. God has allowed these things to remain secret and be lost in time for one reason, for if these items and locations were known, they would become idols and would be worshipped. I believe this is why God had allowed General Titus to level Jerusalem in 70 AD so all these places and items would vanish and in His wisdom, prevented these things from becoming worshipped.

 

God in His wisdom has also kept the exact date of Christ’s return a secret for the same reason. I once asked a date setter in an e-mail forum why he needed to know the exact date of Christ’s return. He never answered me. Here is a case of someone setting a date, but they have no clue as to why they want to know the exact date. Later in this study I am going to offer some sobering reasons why date setting is both dangerous and against Scripture.

 

Does the Bible Seem to Endorse Date Setting?

I wish to look at a few biblical scenarios which involve specific times and let us see if we can use these as a precedent for the establishing of dates of Christ’s return.

 

Jonah

(Jonah 3:4 KJV) And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

 

Here is a specific scenario in which God tells Jonah that He plans to destroy Nineveh in 40 days unless they repent of their wickedness.

 

Noah

(Gen 7:4 KJV) For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

 

(Gen 7:24 KJV) And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

The universal flood of Noah’s time was a well documented event in terms of the recording of time between events. The entire experience of Noah was 371 days from the beginning of the flood to the time they left the ark.

 

David

(2 Sam 5:4-5 KJV) David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. {5} In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

 

Solomon

(1 Ki 11:42 KJV) And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

 

There are also many more Scriptures which contain time sequences and spans such as the Kings of Judah and Israel. Now these time span references may be used to work back and date a historical event but they cannot be used to project the second coming of Christ. This time path method was used by Harold Camping in his book "1994?" and it turned out to be erroneous. Mr. Camping has also, from Scripture, given us a date of creation and that being 11,013 BC which I believe may be accurate since many Creation Geologists set the time of the earth’s creation at about 10,000 BC based on empirical evidence of the rocks, fossils, and underground pressures. Now it must be understood that numbers in Scripture have as much spiritual meaning as do all the words in the Bible. Some are: 40 which is the number of testing (Matthew 4:2); 42 which is the number of tribulation (Judges 12:6; 2 Kings 2:24; Rev. 11:2); 2 which is the number for the true church (Mark 6:7; Rev. 11:3-4); 5 which is the number for either grace or judgment depending on the context (Matthew 25:2).

 

We have ascertained the fact that date setters have been wrong since you are reading this article, it is obvious you are still here. Now I want to present some dangers of date setting which affect people. Many date setting Christians believe that date setting is a very innocuous thing and doesn’t hurt anyone. One only need look at the many doomsday cults such as "Heaven’s Gate" where they all had to die by a certain date so they would fall in line behind the comet that was going to usher them into a new state of consciousness. It is not a light thing to say thus saith the Lord when He hasn’t. Even speculation on a date will be taken by many to be a certain date.

 

Some Christians even say that date setting can be a wake up call. I disbelieve that to the uttermost because, let us suppose, that if Christ came back in September 1994, then all that were meant to be saved would have been saved. God is not willing that any of His elect should perish. You cannot scare anyone into salvation since only God draws and saves whom He will. Those who believe in "wake up calls" and "scare tactics" are subtly believing in a works for salvation doctrine. If a person can be scared into heaven then that places the "acceptance" on the person and not God. It becomes a free will gospel in that a person, upon reading these doomsday prophecies, will walk into the kingdom on their own merit after they assess the message. My friends, listen, God is in control of His salvation program from Eden right to the last day and we better get busy getting the message out because that is our calling and not to create more dissension in the church than there already is. Let us now attend to some real dangers of date setting.

 

1. They Turn Faith to Sight

(Rom 1:17 KJV) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

 

There are many Scriptures teaching us to look for the signs of the coming of the Lord Jesus but if we knew the exact date of Christ’s return, Bible study would cease and faith would go out the window. 2 Cor 5:7 KJV (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) If we knew the exact date of Christ’s return, there would be no one walking by faith, all would be walking by sight in contradiction to God’s Word.

 

2. They Turn Hope to Disappointment

(Ezek 13:6 KJV) They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

 

Here is a very powerful verse taken from a chapter in Ezekiel where the false diviners are prophesying in the name of the Lord. These false teachers had such a gift of words, they caused the people to hope in their words and that those false teachers would fulfill their own words. This is what the date setter does, they set a date and people hope in their words, and when it does not come to pass, the people lose hope and become discouraged. This is why any type of date setting, even with a question mark behind it, will cause people to hope and then when it all comes to naught, they become discouraged. This is also a sin against younger Christians in the faith who may follow these false prognosticators. The Lord has sent no Christian to set a date for His return. It is the arrogance of man when they think they can think on the same level with God. Only God knows the date of His return to earth, and no mere human, is going to find that one out. (Luke 21:19 KJV) In your patience possess ye your souls.

 

God tells us to have patience as we wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Why would be told to have patience, if we can know the exact date of His return. If we knew the date, it would then be anxiety and then the Bible tells us to be anxious for nothing. (Phil. 4:6)

 

3. They Cause God’s Word to be Mocked

(Rom 2:24 KJV) For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

 

The word "blasphemed" in this verse means "speak abusively or slander."  Slander does not necessarily mean a vociferous attack but also implies a false or defamatory charge. When a date setter sets a date for the return of Christ and claim they received their information from the Bible and the date comes and goes without incident, then immediately the verity of the Word of God comes under attack. It is not that God’s Word is any less true, it is those who mishandle, misuse it, and misinterpret it. It is the same with any false prediction, the unbeliever and the skeptic look for any reason to attack the Christian faith and the Bible. What better ammunition to give to the unbeliever than to say a truth has come out of the Bible when it is someone’s ill-handling of God’s Word. Then when a set date does not come to pass, then there is assumed cause to attack the other teachings and doctrines of Scripture making it harder for the Christian to regain credibility in the eyes of many all because of a person who does not know how to handle the Word of God.

 

(2 Cor 4:1-2 KJV) Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; {2} But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

 

4. Diverts from Needed Biblical Studies

(2 Tim 2:15 KJV) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

We have seen this verse used many times as a cudgel to beef up our Bible study time. This verse also surfaces the type of Bible study we are to engage in and that is the type of study which will not make a person ashamed. When Paul gave the charge to Timothy, he expected Timothy to correctly interpret the Word of God so Timothy would not be ashamed. The word "ashamed" in this verse means "having no cause to be ashamed." (Used only one time in the New Testament) Paul was stating that Timothy was to make sure his spiritual credibility was always intact because once it is lost it may never be regained. Why do you think Hollywood portrays date setters as long haired nit-wits with a long white robe walking down the street wearing a sandwich sign. This is because date setters bring shame to the cause of Christ and the unbeliever capitalizes on it. The needed Bible studies in the church today should be focused on the subjects of salvation, true eschatology, Christian living in perilous times, etc.

 

5. Divides Congregations

(Rom 16:17 KJV) Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

 

The Charismatic doctrines are not the only doctrines which cause division in a local church. Any doctrine which borders on the extraordinary will cause some type of division in any local church. If a person comes into your congregation and says that he or she knows what day the Lord is returning, you would definitely challenge them but there will be a few in that assembly who would probably take their side which would begin a rift in the congregation.

 

(Prov 11:29 KJV) He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

 

The only inheritance the troublemaker can expect is to inherit the wind, in other words, there is no spiritual rewards for bringing trouble into one’s house or assembly. The real problem with introducing false teachings is that you will hurt the young believers in your church. If you think you have a date for the Lord’s return, then keep it to yourself, so you will not destroy the faith of young believers and bring scorn to every Christian. There is a lot more at risk than you.

 

(Prov 17:28 KJV) Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

 

6. Date Setters are Never Right

(Jer 23:16 KJV) Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

 

Date setters try to make themselves sound like everything they received is out of the Bible. God warns that we are not to listen to these false teachings. I have yet to find one Scripture telling me I will know the date of Christ’s return. When I asked a date setter to give me one Scripture verse to justify their view, I received back a laundry list of theology books and theologians I should read. The main reason I can give for date setting being a contrived myth is the fact that you are reading this right now. If the date setters were correct, we would be in heaven right now. Right?

 

(Eccl 12:12 KJV) And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

 

7. Date Setters must Over-Justify their teachings

(Eccl 5:7 KJV) For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

 

If you ask a date setter for biblical proof, you will receive back only nebulous answers. Date setting lacks one doctrinal requirement to make it an acceptable teaching, specifics. What they lack in specifics, they amend with many words. For example, let us look at the following doctrines briefly:

 

Final Judgment

(Rev 20:12 KJV) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

 

The Gathering of the Church

(1 Th 4:16-17 KJV) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: {17} Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

 

Election

(Rom 9:11 KJV) (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

 

Justification

(Rom 4:25 KJV) Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

 

These four doctrines are just examples of how specific the Bible is when God wants us to know a doctrine. When you come to the arena of date setting, there is not one verse in the entire Bible where it specifically states that we can know for certain. The verses which God gives us are pointing us to signs that the return of the Lord Jesus is very near and that is why we are told to be ready. If I knew the exact date of Christ’s return, I wouldn’t have to get ready till the day before. See how my natural reasoning comes into play. (He who has ears to hear)

 

8. Date Setters Draw Attention to Themselves

(Gal 6:3 KJV) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

 

Date setters love to be able to think they have a deeper handle on God’s word than others do. I remember when dialoguing with a date setter, I was told that if you oppose date setting you are quenching the Holy Spirit. The Charismatics say the same thing that if you oppose their tongues, you are quenching the Holy Spirit. It is an evil parallel. It is like false prophets like Jesse Duplantis who claims to have been in Heaven for five hours. Since Satan deceived him, he has been on countless charismatic TV shows and when he appears all eyes are on him. He draws attention to himself. Isn’t it interesting how the Apostle Paul was taken up to the third Heaven and was not allowed to speak about it, yet this false prophet dares to publish a book and video to verbalize his deception to the doltish masses.

 

The date setters do the same thing as they will reap a following as if they have some type of inside information from God. People will look to them as their source of information and hope.

 

9. Date Setters Misuse Scripture to make their case

(2 Cor 2:17 KJV) For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

 

The word "corrupt" carries with the meaning of retailing or peddling the Word of God for gain. How many people write books with their prophetic date setting and sell it for gain. They work the Scriptures in such a way, that it makes it sound like the date is in every verse they give. I remember I was e-mailed the following verse as one of their proof texts for knowing the day:

 

(1 Th 5:1-9 KJV) But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. {2} For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. {3} For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. {4} But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. {5} Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. {6} Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. {7} For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. {8} But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. {9} For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

Did you see a date or a reference to the belief that you will know the date or is this set of verses telling us that we need to be vigilant Christians keeping ourselves in the Word so we will see the signs of the near return of Christ? The following verse was sent to me by another person who follows date setting.

 

(Rev 3:3 KJV) Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

 

When I received this e-mail, all I received was this verse and no explanation. I received this verse from a follower of Harold Camping. Some of his disciples have set a date of December 21, 2000 for the return of Christ. Date setting is an infectious disease which doesn’t die easily, even when someone is proven wrong. When we look at the context of Rev. 3:3, we see that this verse is dealing with the faithfulness of a local church. If it ceases to be faithful, then that church will go from truth to apostasy and all the while will not realize that Christ has withdrawn His hand of truth from that church. It doesn’t deal with the second coming of Christ, but you see they must twist Scripture to make their case.

 

10. Will it be a wake up Call?

(Joel 2:1 KJV) Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

 

It is verses like the Joel passage above which the date setters use to justify their desire to date the Lord’s return. The wake up call to all should be issued from every believer in every generation. The Lord is going to return only once, but thousands are going to die today! Which scenario do you think the Lord has in mind?

 

(Acts 13:36 KJV) For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

 

Date setters like to think they are sounding forth a wake up call. You mean God predestines and elects people to salvation but simply because someone sets a date for Christ’s return, that would automatically negate God’s salvation plan and people could now get saved on cue simply because someone set a date? That is part of the arrogance of date setting. If someone became saved at the time a person set a date, it was only because God had already planned to save that individual from before the foundation of the world, at that particular time in their life.

 

11. Will it Make You do Things You are Not Doing Now?

(1 Th 1:9-10 KJV) For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; {10} And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

 

Here we see the Thessalonians being commended by Paul and please notice the order he places things in. First, they served the living and true God; secondly, they waited for the return of Christ. Their first priority was to serve God, not to look for the Lord’s return. Date setters reverse the priority. Let me ask a few questions which only you can answer. If you knew the exact date of Christ’s return:

Then my question to these questions is, why aren’t you doing it now?

 

Summary

There is not one passage in Scripture commanding us to look for the exact date of Christ’s return. We are to be living in such a spiritual state that when Christ returns, He will find us in an obedient milieu. The second coming warnings throughout Scripture are not there for us to tape together so we can come up with a date, they are there to warn us of three things:

 

(2 Cor 13:5 KJV) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

 

(Rom 1:9 KJV) For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

 

(Joel 2:1 KJV) Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

 

1. To make sure we are in the faith

2. To serve God with a whole spirit

3. To send forth the gospel to a dying world

 

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