What are the dangers of rapture date-setting?

from the old testament

• In the Old Testament, we learn that God is bringing history to a definitive end. That is, there is no question about the reality of a final day of reckoning. See, for example, Isaiah 13:6–9; Joel 2:1–2; and Zephaniah 1:14–15.
• Scripture often refers to the end of history as “the day of the LORD” (Amos 5:18–20), highlighting its frightening reality for unbelievers. However, for all the end-time references, it never provides enough information to calculate when it will actually happen.
• Daniel had a similar question. He said, “I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, ‘O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?’” (Daniel 12:8). The reply was: “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end” (Daniel 12:9).

from the new testament

• The rapture and Jesus’ return to judge the world are two different events. The rapture refers to the sudden and unexpected removal of believers from the world (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; 1 Corinthians 15:52). This is in contrast to Jesus' return to judge the world (Revelation 19:11–16). Differing views of the end times, as well as popular discussions about them, often lead people to conflate the two into a single end-time event. Though not technically correct, the same issue arises whether one is trying to determine the date of the rapture or the date Jesus will return to judge.
• When the disciples asked when the kingdom was coming (conflating the destruction of the temple with the arrival of the kingdom, see Matthew 24:23), Jesus, after correcting their understanding of the end times, said, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36).
• This one verse cannot be overemphasized in how we are to understand anyone who offers a date for end-times events. Note that Jesus said this after giving signs of the end (Matthew 24:4–35), indicating that the signs themselves are not definitive date-setting markers.
• As Jesus was correcting the disciples, He warned them, saying, “False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it” (Matthew 24:24–26). Anyone who sets a date for the end risks being the very type of person Jesus warned against. Therefore, one of the dangers of date setting is being proven an enemy of Christ!
• Besides date-setting directly contradicting what Jesus said was possible, it’s also helpful to understand why God did not give us the exact date: He wants believers to always be ready. In the same conversation as before, Jesus exhorted His disciples to “stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42). He also gave two parables to illustrate the importance of being ready (Matthew 25:1–13 and Matthew 25:14–30).
• In contrast to always being alert, setting dates has the opposite effect. When one thinks they know the date, one becomes complacent. Jesus illustrated that with His first parable, saying, “if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into” (Matthew 24:43). He meant that the master wouldn’t worry about always being ready. He would just be ready at the moment he knew the thief was coming.
• The Thessalonians are an example of what happens when one thinks they know when Jesus will return. They had stopped working. While that may partly have been due to general laziness, given Paul’s ongoing exhortations about the end times, it seems that they had stopped working, thinking it was pointless because Jesus was coming very soon (2 Thessalonians 3:6–12).

implications for today

The last two thousand years since Jesus left, Christian history has been filled with men and women who have either calculated “the” date Jesus will return or have estimated that the time must be within the next few years. Some of these individuals have been otherwise faithful Christians who either ignored Jesus’ warning or were so overwhelmed by current events that they were carried away. Many others, however, used such date setting for gain or to start cults or otherwise branch away from Christianity.

Why are we so fascinated with knowing when the end will come? Certainly, one reason is that life can be so difficult that we just want the hard part to be over with and the eternal joy to begin! However, perhaps the more prominent reason is the tendency in sinful humanity to want to know everything that God has not revealed (Deuteronomy 29:29). It’s the desire to peek into places where even angels fear to tread.

However, God keeps things secret for His purposes, and we need to honor that. Jesus did give us general signs leading up to His return, but He didn’t do so to aid in our calculations; He did so to encourage us that “things being bad” is part of the plan. He did it so that as we see the world crumbling around us, we don’t lose heart, thinking we’ve been forgotten. And He did it so that we would keep one eye looking up, knowing that any moment He will appear in the sky like He left, desiring to be called good and faithful servants even at that unexpected hour (Matthew 25:21)!