Jesus told a whopper of a lie when he said there were people alive who would see him return to earth after his execution, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven. This, of course, did not happen. Everyone who lived in the first century eventually died, all without Jesus returning to earth. Since then, twenty centuries have come and gone without Jesus splitting the eastern sky. False prophet after false prophet has said that Jesus was coming back on such and such a date, without success. According to the Bible, these lying prophets should be executed for their false prophecies. Imagine if this sort of punishment actually happened? Why, the predictions would stop overnight. As it stands now, there’s no punishment for lying about the second coming of Christ.
Since the nation of Israel was established in 1948, countless Evangelical preachers have predicted certain dates and times for the Lord’s return. Passions are stirred, books are sold, prophets get rich, all without Jesus’s return to earth. And no matter how many times these prophets fail, gullible believers will give them more chances to lie, thinking that someday they will hit the winning numbers.
Just because Jesus lied and these false prophets lied, apologists say, doesn’t mean that Jesus is coming back to earth again. True, but after being told over and over and over again that the rapture is “imminent,” it’s not our fault if we think these preachers are frauds. The burden of proof rests on the shoulders of the apologists who say Jesus will soon return to earth. If a friend of mine repeatedly told me that he was coming to visit me and never showed up, I would be justified in concluding that he is a liar. So it is with every preacher who has falsely claimed the rapture was nigh. And if they are willing to lie about this, why should we believe anything they say?
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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Counting the 2012 Mayan calendar scare, I’ve lived through 3 End of the World scenarios. I don’t buy it. It annoys the crap out of me how people will panic over, or even welcome an Armageddon end, but they are willfully ignoring the real problems that are actually endangering the planet. People are stupid that way.
And the reason most evangelicals refuse to see the harms inflicted on this planet is that they’ve been indoctrinated to believe that we should exercise dominion over the earth, and — based on that logic — they believe it’s impossible for us to destroy it. They have a divine mandate to take what they want. Besides, Jesus is coming soon, and he’ll make everything new again.
Even as a young evangelical, I rejected these arguments. But I was part of a small minority. Hard data are no match for their dogmatism.
I commented on Bruce’s last post about the rapture,. He quoted aTik Tokker giving x-tians words of wisdom, like to be sure to buy new underwear for the occasion. I’ve since seen a guy’s video as he sells his car and watches it being driven away by the buyer. He says he loved it, he’d had it for 5 years and was nearly in tears to let it go, as he would be raptured the next day. Is that an american thing? That your last thoughts on this planet are to mourn the loss of your car? And why would you need money anyway in heaven? SMH here!
Anyhoo. The technology was not in place 2,000 years ago for the conditions ( prophetically speaking) to be there before the return of Christ. In the Bible, it says that a final anti-Christ will set himself up as God in the temple in Jerusalem ( the Third Temple is being built now, if it is not finished already). In 70 A.D., the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by Vespasian. AND, this final anti-Christ, it says, will cause all to take a mark on their hand or forehead in order to buy and sell. That was not possible 2,000 years ago. Today, people can be micro-chipped (and already have been for at least the past decade). Not yet to buy and sell, and not yet mass-enforced, but for various things like unlocking car doors without needing keys, and a dozen other things for convenience. But, eventually, I could see 👀 it being made mandatory for people to have all banking information in a microchip under their skin, instead of using debit card machines, it’s now technically possible.
Then you directly disagree agree with Jesus — who is God — when he said he will return to earth in the first century.
Your comment reveals what I call newspaper theology — people read the newspaper and then find Bible verses to justify what they read. This results in all sorts of crazy conclusions, feeding prophecy talk for 200 years.
Did I miss another rapture? Again? Dang it…that’s the 50th one I’ve missed since I was born….sheesh.
My wonderful late geology thesis adviser (still miss you, Dave) kept a cartoon on the cork board beside his office door on campus. The cork board was where professors posted their office hours for the current semester, but large enough to post other things. Each semester, as well as his undergraduate and graduate classes, Dave taught at least one section of an upper-division general science class called Prehistoric Life. He invariably wrestled with a few creationist students in that class. Anyhow, the cartoon, by Gary Larson I think, showed two dinosaurs on an ocean cliff, with Noah’s Ark sailing by. One dinosaur says to the other something like, “Hey, was that today?” suggesting that they’d missed the animal muster for the ark.
I think of that cartoon whenever I’ve missed another rapture, though I’m not a Christian, never was an Evangelical Christian, and never considered rapture a possibility when I was a Christian. Raised Catholic, I was taught that God had a process for purifying my soul after death (Purgatory) and that I didn’t need to fear death or endtimes tribulation because whatever crap happened to me in life, if I followed Jesus, after I died God would fix my understanding about whatever I didn’t get right. My liberal nuns taught that my job in life was to advocate for the poor, sick, hungry, and unhoused to the extent that I could, and help those people personally to the extent that I could. Oh, and to stretch myself in those tasks. I’m an atheist now, but my nuns were right.
My father first started talking about the “imminent” nature of the rapture, the last days, end times, etc. when I was in my early teens. He used to say that I wouldn’t need to worry about college or a job in the future because Jesus would return before then. It always made me anxious as I liked the idea of being able to grow up and live my life on my own terms. It’s been almost 30 years since, and I have been to college and now have a job. I have a pretty good feeling that I will live my life and pass without ever seeing the so called rapture. The older I get, the harder it is for me to believe in such supernatural stories.
I “think” I saw the “TiK Tok Preacher” You Tube (He quoted a Tik Tokker giving x-tians words of wisdom) that started this latest round of the Rapture. He was talking with two young ladies “guaranteeing” the return that was to occur on last Tuesday.
A fine fellow, well spoken with all the requisite garb and accoutrements of the shaman! His two lady followers (nuns / concubines / acolytes) were quite attractive.
Bruce this is an interesting subject. The Christian grifters have been running this con since – what? 33 AD?? I am not a historian on the subject but there are many (too numerous to list) examples in the historical record.
I know the end of the first millennium (999 AD) had a gigantic movement, with thousands and thousands, (perhaps many more) collecting on mountain tops awaiting the rapture.
Paul (formerly Saul), was the “progenitor” of this fiction if I have my facts correct. (Heck of a grift from a tax collector).
When I was in H.S. (1975-77) my religious friends were packing bags in preparation of heading to the hills as I recall, something about 30 years after the UN recognition of Israel in 1948. They were waiting on their church shaman to give the word as to when to sign over all their wealth and possessions to the church / board of directors.
Then the 2012 deal here in Philadelphia, Bill Boards all over the place proclaiming the return and the blowing of trumpets. I was confused about that one, I thought 2012 was a “Mayan” deal not a christian one, but never underestimate the ability of Christian grifters to hijack the worlds end scenarios from other cultures.
I should note that I do believe in the anti-Christ, his name is Donald Trump. He won’t be blaring trumpets, just ICE bull horns, and the faithful will not go to heaven, but their pockets will be lined from the suffering of others.
Dang it, the evangelicals are still here! They didn’t get raptured away! I was hoping they would do that a significant number of the Trump administration would be caught up in the air to meet the Lord! Would the Lord take the traditional Catholics too? That’s a good number of the Supreme Court, as well as the VP. Catholics don’t generally teach rapture eschatology, but maybe the Lord is OK with that as long as they’re promoting his culture war agenda of persecuting LGBTQ people, women, people of color, and immigrants.
My favorite was the hubbub around 1988 being 40 years since the establishment of the state of Israel. A lot of us evangelicals thought surely Jesus would return in 1988! 40 is a Big Important Number in the Bible. (Secretly, I was pissed because 1988 was my senior year of high school and I was finally getting out of Fundamentalist Christian school and entering my dream university in the fall. Fortunately, over 30 years later I have that degree and a good life without any rapture interruption). By the time other big rapture scares came along, I was well out of Fundamentalist evangelicalism.
No, friend. I was not disagreeing with Jesus. I was only interpreting what He said differently. I came to that conclusion on my own reading the Bible. And then found out that the more charismatic churches also interpret it that way. I explained it in a comment I left, but u didn’t post it. Or maybe the comment just didn’t get through.
You confuse personal opinion with proper exegesis.
“What it means to me” is a plague in Christianity.
“ I was only interpreting what He said differently” wait…. What?? Like..Jesus said X but I think it means Y? Wow, that certainly makes things a lot easier.
Well said, Sage, LOL. Also note the use of the word ‘friend.’ Smarmy is the adjective that comes to mind….feign niceness, and fake love and friendship to those heathens you KNOW are all wrong….and need to hear YOUR version of jesus’ threats of eternal damnation. And Terri, does that version include ‘saints’ like yourself enjoying watching as we scream and burn forever? Or will you be too busy watching cows playing football up there? Oh, no sorry, that’s Kat Kerr’s version of eternity at god’s right hand. I’m so confused. Ha Ha!
Terri: ” I was only interpreting what He said differently.”
Zoe: So differently but not disagreeing?
I’m no Saint. I’m a flawed human being with faults and scars. That’s about it. Any righteousness or right standing I believe to have with God is a gift of sheer love and grace on His part. To me, He is a tender, loving Father. And I don’t think you are all a bunch of terrible heathens, and I certainly don’t cherish the thought of ANYONE burning in hell!!
Memory lane – Years of praying that I would be alive for the Rapture. As I look back, I’ve moved passed the idea of being embarrassed. I think most of my shame has been shorn. There is regret that is accompanied by a mature understanding. I simply didn’t know what I know now. Knowing is a journey.
Today may be the day that some believers decide to research the Rapture. Perhaps they will learn things they never knew about it. Is it in the Bible? If not, who came up with the idea? Who is this Darby guy? Who is Margaret MacDonald? It’s a start. But, it’s a start that most of us never had when it came to Sunday School, church, youth clubs and dinner tables.
I no longer have the fear that once floated about in my world of spiritual anxiety. Will my family be saved? Will they be among the Raptured? Countless believers are awake and still here today. They are probably confused and scared. It is not an easy journey and usually, not a peaceful one. ~ Zoe
Before I have to go for now due to time limitations, I want to add what I’ve been meaning to get back to here.
First off, Jesus never said that He was going to return to earth 🌎 before some of the crowd He was addressing, died.
He didn’t say that.
What He DID say, was that there were some in the crowd who would not die until they saw His Kingdom coming in power.
This is in Mark 9, just before the inner circle of disciples saw Him on the Mount of Transfiguration.
And, as they came down from the mountain, he warned them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
And, after He rose from the dead, they later saw Him ascend to heaven in front of them.
Not many days hence, they had tongues of fire 🔥 fall upon them in the upper room.
After which, they went out boldly preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, operating in deliverance ( setting the captives free), etc.
Like Paul later said, the kingdom of God was not of talk, but of power. The power to transform lives. To bring freedom to captives. The prophecy in Isaiah, which Jesus said was fulfilled in the hearing of those hearing His first public reading of the scrolls.
The Lord’s Prayer 🙌 🙏 tells us to pray, “Thy will be done, Thy Kingdom come, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Do you believe that only means for when He literally returns at the very end, or did He want His lordship, His example, to be molded in every heart ❤️, in every home, in all of society?
Whether you believe the Bible is fact or fiction, what do you think was actually meant?
https://brucegerencser.net/2025/04/did-jesus-tell-a-lie/