Another month, another conspiracy theorist claiming the end of the world is coming.
You may be rolling your eyes right now, but the reality is scads of unsuspecting people are buying into this bombastic banter. We need to pray for more discernment in the body of Christ. When the world witnesses this goofy manifestation of the “prophetic,” it makes genuine prophets seem illegitimate.
Let’s debunk these false prophetic utterances before we pray:
Signs of the End Times, a website run by Christian fundamentalists, claims it has “evidence from the Bible” that 2017 will bring the end of the world. They point to signs of the times like earthquakes, the dwindling number of bats, fish and honey bees and more.
“Never has there been a time before when all these events were evident in so many diverse places and with such frequency and intensity,” the site reads. “Our generation is the first generation to fulfill all the biblical signs. Without doubt we are living in the final year.”
Signs of the End Times then points to Earthquake Track, which tracks earthquakes, to back up its assertions. Earthquake Track has chronicled 4,000 earthquakes since the start of 2017, which the conspiracy theorists claim is God “giving us plenty of warning.”
Sure, there are earthquakes and there are indeed issues with dying birds and fish, but these things alone do not suggest the world will end this year and to claim such is disingenuous at best and harmful at worst. This kind of rhetoric doesn’t get anyone saved.
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“We will be without excuse if that day of Christ’s return comes upon us like a thief in the night and catches us unaware,” they say. “We need to heed the signs and get ready.”
And there’s one contradiction. Paul did indeed warn: “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord [a]will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4).
But Jesus Himself said plainly, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matt. 24:36). How much clearer can He get? If the angels don’t know and the Son doesn’t know, who are these false prophets to work up formulas and fiction to drive traffic to their website so they can collect advertising dollars?
Carl Olson, editor of Catholic World Report, perhaps said it best:
“Date-setting is not an option. It could be many more centuries or millennia before Christ comes again—or it could be very soon. Anticipation and readiness need not turn into despair, fear, or the error of date setting. It means nothing in the end.”
Don’t let the false prophets scare you—or steal your money. These end-times “prophets” may be obvious to you but you could be sowing into the ministry of a false prophet promising profitability for your purse through money miracles that never manifest. If you’re one of those false prophets, repent now because there’s an exposure coming. The Lord is going to expose the false.
Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening; Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan’s Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer’s Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.
