Episode 17: The Great Rapture Disappointment

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope: Episode 17

With the recent death of Hal Lindsey, Gary discusses his popular books and the rapture and end times that they promised yet never arrived.

Jesus used the parable of the fig tree as an analogy. His point was that when leaves begin to appear on the fig tree—or, for that matter, on “all the trees” (Luke 21:29)—it is a sign that summer is near. Similarly, when Jesus’ first-century audience (“this generation”) saw certain signs, they would know that the kingdom of God was near, “right at the door” (Matt. 24:33).11 Near to what? Near to fulfilling the promise Jesus made about coming within a generation to destroy the temple and the entire Old Covenant system and inaugurate a New Covenant (Matt. 24:1–3). This is the simple and clear meaning of the text. Any other interpretation wildly stretches the Bible beyond its intended meaning.

The Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and parallels in Luke 17:22–37 and 21:5–36 (also 13:34–35; 19:41–44) are not about restoring Israel as a nation again. They refer to the judgment of Israel that took place in AD 70. You see, Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, Chuck Smith, and many other contemporary prophecy writers were right about one thing. A biblical generation is about 40 years in length. They were wrong in their timing. That 40-year generation is long past—from the start of Jesus’ ministry around AD 30 to the destruction of the temple in AD 70.

Now that the “rapture” did not take place after 40 years (1988) or 70 years (2018) from the 1948 starting point, as so many prophecy writers claimed it would, what’s next? Will these failed prophecy dates put an end to the speculations? It’s hard to tell since the prophetic goal posts have been moved so many times. For example, Tim LaHaye and Henry Morris argued that the World War I generation was the start of the fig tree generation with the November 2, 1917 signing of the Balfour Declaration. LaHaye argued for this date in a 1972 book. But when that World War I generation was about to run out of time, he revised the starting date to 1948 in his 1991 revised edition of his book.

The Rapture and the Fig Tree Generation

For decades Christians have been enticed with the belief that they would be taken to heaven before a coming tribulation period in an event called the “rapture.” Since the national reestablishment of Israel in 1948, countless books and pamphlets have been written defending the doctrine assuring readers that it could happen at any moment. Some prophecy writers claimed the “rapture” would take place before 1988. We are far removed from that date. Where are we in God’s prophetic timetable?

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With the recent death of Hal Lindsey, Gary discusses his popular books and the rapture and end times that they promised yet never arrived. Scores of authors and pastors have been influenced by Lindsey’s books and prophetic system, but the words they use are as elastic as the timeframes they propose about events which the Bible says were “near” in the first century AD.

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