Don't try this at home. . . .

Or at church, or seminary, or in the library, or in your study, or in your secret heart of hearts. Because you will fail.

What I am referring to is the lamentable tempation to set dates for the Lord's return. It is a really bad idea, especially since Jesus says in Matthew 24:36 that you can't do it.

So someone decided that they had it figured out. Note the date of this post: it is May 22. Are you still here? Because yesterday was supposed to be a bible-guaranteed judgment day. You realize, I could be posting this from heaven. Maybe you got left behind.

Relax, I am posting this from Panera Bread in Cincinnatti, which is about as far removed from heaven as you can get, this side of Sheol.

Take a gander at this screeprint from my browser - did it just a minute ago, wanted to catch it before their poor webmaster takes it down. Notice my very artistic red circles.

Here is a closeup of the big red circle:

And a closeup of the little red circle. Please believe me when I say that I have not monkeyed with the date:

5/22/2011. Okay, so the countdown clock ran down and the judgment fizzled. The more jaded side of my nature looks forward to the explanation that will have to be posted as to what went wrong. The better side of my nature is heart-broken, and here is why.

We live in a secular culture which has sold its soul for a mess of rationalistic, materialistic [nuance warning: speaking of philosophy here, not greed] pottage. Our neighbors reject the spiritual when it comes to talking about the personal God Who is, who has objective existence, who transcendently exists outside of and separate from all aspects of creation; I am referring to an active, living, thinking, choosing (and judging) personal God. And yet our culture delights in the paranormal, horoscopes, wicca, mother nature, gaia, and other non-theistic spiritualism. America is very picky as to what requires "scientific evidence" for its justification (such as the existence of the true God) and what does not (such as your latest flavor--and there are many--of humanistic spirituality).

By putting such a silly prediction on the front page, and then having it be so wrong (as it must be, because of Christ's statement in Matt 24:36), they make it appear to a secular, skeptical public as though the Bible, and biblical truth has failed.

The purveyors of the "Judgment Day" calculation claptrap above have trivialized and rendered liable to ridicule what is actually a traumatic and dangerous truth: Christ is going to return, personally, visibly, really, in judgment and every knee will bow to His sovereign majesty. We just have no idea when His return will take place; and we were told it would be at a time when we think not (Matt 24:44).

When believers chase ridiculous rabbit trails, they discredit the gospel and make it very difficult to have a serious discussion with a skeptic about the gospel.

Thank you, Family Radio.