Prediction of Rapture Year: Religious Gambling or Biblical Accuracy?

Pastor Chris Oyakilome's prediction of the rapture to happen between 2026 and 2030 has caused pandemonium in the religious atmosphere as religious pundits and fanatics have slanted dividing opinions which technically lie on two religious canopies: on the one hand, some Christians debunk the prediction to be a mere exercise of human intelligence which cannot be used to connote biblical mysteries, and on the other hand, other Christians and churchgoers who are mainly sycophants of this gargantuan religious personality have accepted and supported the prediction to be biblically accurate.

The centre of the debate stems from the biblical focal point concerning the rapture embedded in Matthew 24:36, which says, 'No one knows the day nor the hour.' But before delving into the nitty-gritties of this argy-bargy, it is essential to dilute the term 'rapture'. Religiously speaking, the Rapture is an event that has been announced in the Bible to occur when Jesus Christ, the son of God, will appear in the sky and call forth his people, who will join him through teleportation in the sky.

The Bible made mention of the fact that this event will happen immediately after the trumpet from heaven sounds, and after the sound, both the dead and the living faithful of God will teleport and meet Jesus Christ in the sky.

Though this event has been grossly argued and denied by non-Christians, atheists and even some Christians, the majority of the Christians have come to accept the dinkum that there is a promise of an event called the rapture in the Bible.

But the biggest problem that has saturated and divided the mind of Christians is the fact that the Bible made it clear, as seen above, that no one knows the day and hour, but some Christians and religious dignitaries have made declarations and predictions which seem to be contrary to biblical dispositions.

A regard of this prediction will enable us to ascertain if these objurgations are valid.

Pastor Chris has for some years made declarations or statements concerning the rapture. His prediction of the rapture began in September 2020, wherein he mentioned that the rapture will happen in at most 10 yrs' time, that is, indirectly setting the year 2030 as the time limit for the event.

Though this prediction ignited a religious commotion, the one that has invited ferocious debates and trepidation, especially among Christians, is his late 2025 prediction, which came with clarity and precision. According to him, he got inspiration from 1st Corinthians 15:52, whose King James Version (KJV) reads:

"In a moment, in the twinkle of an eye, at the last Trump: for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

From his reading of this verse, he says the mystery is that the Trump mentioned in the scripture is the US president, Donald Trump. He explained that 'the last Trump' means the second and the last mandate of Donald Trump.

He further elucidated that for this scripture to be fulfilled, Donald Trump needed to lose his second election so he could come back as a fresh candidate because if he had won the second election, he would have been maintained for a second mandate, and it wouldn't have been the second coming of Trump.

He would have still been the 45th president, but as he lost the second and won the third election, he became the 45th and 47th president. His coming back as the 47th president is interpreted through the lens of scripture as the second and the last Trump, because no one can serve more than two terms as the President of the United States of America.

After the reading and explanation, the kingpin man of God concluded that the rapture will happen between 2026 and 2030 and that the countdown is 2026. He therefore encourages Christians to be watchful and prepared, because the event can happen at any time during this period.

Division of Opinions

This prediction has attracted a robust discrepancy of opinions, as some Christians have argued that the prediction is an ardent contradiction of Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32.

They are of the view that his prediction is an indirect declaration of his superiority to angels because the scripture says even angels in heaven do not know the day nor the hour.

Other Christians have drummed unflinching support to this prediction that is based, as they claim, on biblical backings and current happenings which are overtly pointing to the fact that the long-announced rapture is no longer near but here.

As per my understanding of the Bible, I think the objurgators of this prediction have a miscomprehension concerning the wordings used in Matthew 24:36.

It is clear that this scripture mentioned day and time, not year. So it's possible for one to know the year and even month, but it's not possible to know the day and hour.

Their remonstrance can only have a standing if English language holds 'time', 'day' and 'hour' as synonyms. Since it's clear that these words aren't synonyms, the message here is that it's possible to know the year.

Based on current happenings, that is, the current war between Iran, Israel and the USA, one can say that Pastor Chris is right to have announced that the countdown to the rapture is in 2026.

But Since I don't have the spiritual ezozia, I will leave you to decide if the prediction is based on the preacher's intelligence or biblical accuracy.

BY MARK ABIAKO

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