I have a secret

I didn’t get all excited when the new millennium dawned at 12:00:01 on Jan. 1, 2000. Many people expected some cataclysmic event to occur at the stroke of midnight on the last day of 1999. There were predictions of everything from a cyberspace meltdown to the rapture of the church.

There was a brisk sale on catalogs devoted to helping people survive Y2K. Consequently, people stocked up on imperishable food products and bought gallons of bottled water. Stores sold out of generators, lanterns, and wood burning stoves as soon as they were placed in stock.

One man admitted to buying weapons, military extreme sleeping bags, and two bulletproof vests. Many people were preparing for the worst-case scenario, and there were plenty of companies catering to their hysteria.

I thought the whole thing was just “much ado about nothing” and chided my friends who got all hyped up about it. I even had a pastor friend who preached a Y2K sermon series. I was astounded by the frenzied fanaticism of people I knew as the new millennium approached. Talk about the over-exaggeration of a date – I couldn’t believe it! And I certainly didn’t think the rapture was going to happen at the turn of the millennium.

However, I did buy 20 gallons of water, a case of pork and beans, and a Coleman stove.

There is a new date on the immediate horizon that does trigger my emotions and spiritual sensitivity. This Saturday is 7-7-07. This is the day we have all been waiting for. I honestly believe this is the day the rapture will occur.

Audrey Barrick, a reporter for The Christian Post, recently revealed the statistics from a survey in which one in four Americans indicated that they believe the second coming of Christ will occur in 2007. A poll by Ipsos, an international polling firm, found that 11 percent of respondents said, it is “very likely” that Jesus will return to Earth this year and 14 percent said it was “somewhat likely.”

Among white evangelical Christians, 46 percent said it’s at least somewhat likely that Jesus will return in 2007 compared to 17 percent of Catholics and 10 percent of those with no religion.

Yes, I know that God is not sitting up in heaven waiting for a survey on earth to dictate the exact date of His Son’s return to this planet to rapture His waiting bride. However, perhaps there are Christians who have a spiritual intuition about the exact time of Christ’s return.

The significant evidence for me is the date on the calendar. Numerically, the date is 7-07-007. That date has not appeared on our calendars for a thousand years. The number seven denotes spiritual perfection or completion. Seven is sacred, and this is evidenced by the fact that there are seven days in the week. Seven is also the number that regulates every period of incubation and gestation, in insects, birds, animals, and man.

There are seven colors in the spectrum. Seven of the Ten Commandments begin with the word “not.” There are 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 parables in Matthew, and 7 promises to the churches. There are 7 “eternals” in the book of Hebrews and Jesus made 7 statements on the cross. “Hosanna” occurs 7 times in the Bible and “Hallelujah” occurs 28 – or 4 x 7 – times.

We know that the number of the antichrist is 666. Therefore, it only makes sense that 777, the number of completion, signifies the perfection the church will experience when the rapture occurs and we (the believers) are transformed into His likeness and ushered into glory.

When anyone honestly surveys the condition of the world today with its overpopulation, famine, political instability, threat of a nuclear holocaust, pollution, AIDS, holes in the ozone layer, and the perilous prospect of terrorism, you have to believe that the end is near. I believe the date for the beginning of the end is July 7, 2007, at which time the rapture will occur. The date seems obvious, but we cannot be certain about the hour.

Now, I know it is not April 1, but if you have believed everything I have written thus far, you are more gullible than I suspected, because the Lord Himself said, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh” (Matt. 25:13).

Quite honestly, I have no secret about the return of Christ. I do not know when He will come again, but I do believe His return is imminent. We ought to live like He’s coming Saturday, or better yet, like He’s coming today!