NOTE: This week's guest blog comes from Grant Penner, a member of our church and also my son-in-law. I am glad to give him the opportunity to share his thoughts this week as they express a good perspective on current events and Bible prophecy.

April 8th is going to be a day to break out those eclipse glasses that we’ve had in our junk drawer since 2017 as we have the opportunity to view another total solar eclipse that will be visible all over the United States. However, as with many major astrological events throughout history, this eclipse has been the focus of many rapture predictors and end times prophetic “experts”. Some may view events like eclipses in light of passages such as:

• Matthew 24:29: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:”
• Joel 2:31: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.”
• Acts 2:20: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:”
• Revelation 6:12: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;”

Obviously, there is some sort of eschatological precedence for the darkening of the sun (and an eclipse by definition is a darkening of the sun). Naturally, many well intended believers and ministers will take this very association, find additional proofs or reasons that they believe, and work other believers into a tizzy because they believe the end is near. This week I came across a YouTube video with over 100,000 views predicting that April 8th will be the end. The man in the video spent 20 minutes explaining various astrological signs, the seven-year gap between eclipses, and other various reasons for why he believes the rapture will occur during this eclipse. In this video, he displays an intense passion to know fine details of the Word of God. He shows a fervor for the lost in seeking to prepare those for Christ’s return. He even has thousands of interested individuals listening and engaging with his teaching. While we do believe in the imminence of Christ’s return and that the next event in God’s prophetic timeline is the rapture of the church, is attempting to predict the time of the rapture what we are supposed to be doing?

Before Christ’s ascent in Acts 1 His apostles asked Christ in verse 6, “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” And Christ’s response in verses 7-8, “7And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” We ask the question, while we long for His return are we to spend our time trying to piece together the day or the hour? According to Christ’s own words in Acts 1:7-8, no. The day and hour of the rapture is not for us to know. Is there benefit to spending hours attempting to piece together world events to discover exactly when Christ will return? Not really. Instead of using the knowledge of our intellect and passion to seek to find answers we were never given, why not leverage the passion to further understand other truths of God’s Word and share that with others? Attempting to uncover a mystery Christ did not intend to reveal to us crosses into the realm of subjective conjecture where theologians, ministers, and everyday Christians find themselves in a place of attempting the impossible. However, to take that passion and leverage towards the discipleship of God’s people and the evangelism of the lost would produce a powerful work in the church. In light of this, I have an encouragement and a warning.

What then are we to do? Well, in Acts 1:8 we see our goal. To “be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”. I would encourage this. We have clear direction from Christ that the specific day of His return is not our concern; however, we have been given the power of the Holy Spirit to disciple His people and reach the communities around us with the Gospel. Instead of focusing on mysteries we will never know, study other components of God’s Word, learn how to share your faith, and point the passion towards a greater cause. There is benefit to us in understanding the general timeline that has been made clear in Scripture. It is good for us to recognize the importance of end times prophecy to fuel our evangelistic zeal. However, when it comes to all areas of theology including the study of end times, there is a caution I would give to any who attempt a deep understand of God’s Word and theological topics. Stop where the Scriptures stop. To delve into the mystery of God and pretend we can pass through on our own merits is dangerous at best and utter foolishness at worst. Are we to think we are going to be the one to discover the missing piece that makes it all work when Christ said explicitly in Acts 1:7, “it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power”? Take God’s Word seriously enough to humbly recognize that it is not for us to know and accept God’s Word when it says we won’t know. When we don’t, we find ourselves leading other believers down a dangerous rabbit hole and non-believers see our lack of humility that got us there.

All in all, God’s timeline for history is going to happen as He has declared it in His Word. Likewise, the mysteries God has chosen not to reveal to us are hidden from the mind of mankind. When God speaks, He speaks clearly. When God hides details, no man can uncover it. As we head towards this event that displays the beauty of God’s creation, let us enjoy the coming eclipse and share with others that Christ is returning soon. Even if we don’t know the specific day.