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"88 Reasons: What Went Wrong?" (an article from the Christian
Research Journal, Fall 1988, page 14) by Dean C. Halverson.
   The Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal is
Elliot Miller.

-------------

    To many, "Edgar Whisenant" has recently become a household
name. Whisenant, a former NASA rocket engineer turned prophecy
teacher, became famous through a booklet that included two of his
works: _88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988_ and _On
Borrowed Time._[1] In this booklet, Whisenant predicted that
Jesus would return to rapture His church sometime during the
Jewish holiday of Rosh-Hashanah in 1988, which was from sunset,
September 11, to sunset, September 13. Before those dates, The
World Bible Society, which published the booklet, printed 3.2
million copies[2] and distributed 200,000 of them to pastors
throughout the United States.[3]

    When the September prediction failed, Whisenant updated the
time to October 3. Now that date, too, has fallen through.
Whisenant nevertheless remains undaunted: "The evidence is all
over the place that it is going to be in a few weeks anyway."[4]

    What has been the response to Whisenant's predictions?
Thousands took the booklet seriously, some even quitting their
jobs to prepare for the rapture. Attendance increased in some
churches.[5] Many Christians shrugged the booklet off as being
part of a fanatic fringe. Many others, though, while not
accepting the specific predictions, praised the booklet for
reminding them of the imminence of the Rapture. Norvell Olive,
Executive Director of the World Bible Society, used just such a
reason to justify publishing the booklet: "One cannot deny the
complacency of so many, and nothing brings about the purification
of His people more than the expectation of His eminent [sic]
return."[6] Olive further makes the incredible estimate that
100,000 people have been converted as a result of the booklet.[7]
(We might also estimate that a great majority of these supposed
converts will lose their faith if 1988 fails to bring the
Rapture.)

    However they responded, it sadly appeared that most
Christians were unable to discern _why_ Whisenant's reasoning was
biblically unsound. In the following pages we will see that
Whisenant misinterprets several key verses that have bearing on
whether or not we can predict the date of Jesus' second coming,
wrests biblical phrases out of their contexts, and builds his
predictions on shaky assumptions about symbols and dates.

    Whisenant is not alone in attempting to predict the dates of
the end-time. Others have attempted it in the past,[8] and more,
no doubt, will attempt it in the future. While one purpose of
this article is to evaluate Whisenant's reasoning, another is to
draw out some principles of biblical interpretation by which to
discern such date-setting literature.


*MISCONSTRUES MATTHEW 24:36, "NO ONE KNOWS...."*

    When the reader first heard of Whisenant's _88 Reasons Why
the Rapture Could Be in 1988,_ it is not unlikely that one of the
first thoughts that came to mind was, "But didn't Jesus say, 'No
one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven,
nor the Son, but only the Father?'" (Matt. 24:36)[9] What does
Whisenant do with that verse? First he agrees that one cannot
know the "day or hour," but he then says that this "does not
preclude or prevent the faithful from knowing the year, the
month, and week of the Lord's return."[10] Secondly, Whisenant
says that Jesus' use of the Greek word _oida_ is significant.

    Whisenant makes a lot out of the difference in Greek between
the meaning of _oida_ and _ginosko._ He says that _ginosko_
connotes an objective knowledge: "In essence, the information or
knowledge [gained through _ginosko_] is either available and
understandable, or it is not."[11] Whisenant continues to say
that _oida,_ on the other hand, when used in its positive sense
connotes a subjective knowledge, a knowledge gained through
intuition or instinct.

    In Matthew 24:36, though, _oida_ is used in its negative
sense. Whisenant comments: "The negative use of 'oida -- cannot
know' means that the information or knowledge is unknowable or
unattainable; it does mean that it takes an effort,
investigation, or study in order to uncover and understand it. In
other words, it is there to obtain....the...verses where Jesus
used 'oida,' He was indicating that the knowledge would not come
instinctively, but would require some effort to perceive and
understand it."[12] Whisenant is saying, in a confusing way, that
since Jesus used the word _oida_ instead of _ginosko,_ He denies
only the possibility of knowing _intuitively_ the time of the
Rapture; Jesus does not deny the possibility of gaining
_objective_ knowledge about the Rapture through research.

    Three things can be said in response to Whisenant's
interpretation of Matthew 24:36. First, concerning the
connotation of _oida,_ the meanings of _ginosko_ and _oida_ are
not as distinct as Whisenant claims. Merrill Tenney, for example,
makes a distinction between the two words, but he also cautions
that one should not draw too sharp a line. Moreover, the
connotations that Tenney sees in _ginosko_ and _oida_ are
completely opposite to those of Whisenant. Tenney writes that
_oida_ "implies knowledge of facts or knowledge by intellectual
process."[13] It should also be noted that, while Whisenant has
gleaned the meanings of _ginosko_ and _oida_ from Strong's
_Concordance_ and _The Companion Bible,_ he goes far beyond these
two sources when he talks about the meaning of _oida_ in its
negative sense.

    By manipulating the connotation of _oida_ in Matthew 24:36,
Whisenant has turned the meaning of the verse on its head.
Whereas Jesus is clearly saying that we cannot predict the time
of His second coming, Whisenant has Him instead saying that with
enough research we _can_ predict the time, down to the very week.
In his commentary on Matthew, William Hendriksen uses rather
strong language to describe those who attempt to predict the
Second Coming. He says that Jesus in Matthew 24:36 "proves the
futility and sinfulness of every attempt on man's part to predict
the date when Jesus will return."[14]

    Secondly, in order to understand what Jesus meant when He
said, "No one knows about that day or hour" (v. 36), it is
helpful to look at the two analogies that He uses to illustrate
His statement: the flood of Noah's day (Matt. 24:37-41) and the
coming of a thief (24:42-44). The point of both analogies is that
the coming of the End will be both unexpected and unpredictable.

    Concerning the unexpectedness of the flood, Whisenant
counters that _Noah_ was not surprised by the coming of the flood
because God had told him exactly when it would come seven days
ahead of time (Gen. 7:4). While that may be true, Whisenant is
mistaken in assuming this fact is relevant to the interpretation
of the flood analogy in Matthew 24:37-41. In other words,
Whisenant is guilty of attempting to do too much with Jesus'
analogy. Just as it is a mistake to think there is a literal
interpretation for every object in a parable, so is it a mistake
to make Noah's knowledge of the time of the flood an issue in
Jesus' analogy here. The subject of Jesus' analogy is not Noah
and how much he knew, but the spiritual blindness of the people
of Noah's day and how they went about their everyday routines
until the very day of the flood, which did indeed come upon them
unexpectedly.

    Whisenant might respond by saying that Jesus' analogy proves
only that the End will come unexpectedly on those who are
spiritually blind, but the spiritually alert (i.e., the
Christians) will be able to know the time of His coming. If Jesus
had used just the analogy of the flood to explain what He had
meant when He said, "No one knows about the day or hour," an
argument such as Whisenant's would not be without merit. It is
wrong, however, because Jesus further explains what he had meant
by the analogy of the thief. If Jesus' point in the first analogy
were to say that with enough research we could predict the coming
of the Son of Man, then it would have been counterproductive for
Him to add the analogy of the coming of the thief. No one is able
to predict the coming of a thief. Jesus, moreover, concludes this
analogy with _inclusive_ wording: "So _you also_ must be ready,
because the Son of Man will come at an hour when _you_ do not
expect him."[15]

    In Reason #19 Whisenant again tries to make the point that
the Lord will let His people know of His return shortly before He
comes. Whisenant does this, though, by misplacing the emphasis of
the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13). Whisenant writes:

     I ask this question: would the shout that "The
     bridegroom cometh" by someone in the wedding party [be]
     in order to let the bride know a few minutes early so
     she can get ready -- would this book or some similar
     event just before the end [be to] let the faithful
     church know or at least know the week, the month and
     the year a short time in advance to allow the bride to
     get ready to meet the bridegroom?[16]

When one interprets the parable correctly, though, one sees that
Jesus was saying that the time to prepare is _before_ the cry
"The bridegroom cometh" rings out. The foolish virgins had no
time to prepare _after_ the cry. The purpose of Jesus' statement
in Matthew 24:36 and in the illustrating stories is to exhort
everyone to _always_ be prepared because "the Son of Man will
come at _an hour when you do not expect him_" ( Matt. 24:44 ). If
God is going to forewarn the church concerning the year, month,
and week of Jesus' Return, then it would not be a true statement
to say that Jesus will come at an hour when we do not expect Him.

    A third problem with Whisenant's treatment of Matthew 24:36
is his inadequate interpretation of a verse that is critically
related to it -- Acts 1:7. We find this in his companion work,
_On Borrowed Time._

    Because Acts 1:7 expands the time period beyond that of
"day or hour" to "times or seasons," Whisenant is compelled to
reconcile his interpretation of Matthew 24:36 with it. When
discussing Acts 1:7, he immediately focuses on the meaning of the
phrase "times (_chronous_) or seasons (_kairous_)" and attempts
to limit its extent. He writes,

     The NAB [New American Bible]...puts these scriptures in
     a different light. Acts 1:7 in this version reads "the
     exact time is not yours to know."..._The times and the
     seasons were not limitations in the original Greek
     manuscripts._[17] (emphasis his)

In a footnote to the above statement Whisenant adds,

     There is a Greek phrase used in Acts 1:7 which means
     _specific._ The phrase "the times and the seasons" in
     this passage contains the "specific" mark of the
     original manuscripts which was left out of the King
     James translation. The New American Bible translation
     has retained this mark and the passage reads "the exact
     time is not yours to know." This implies that there are
     only two limitations to our knowing when Jesus will
     return for the church: the day and the hour. We will,
     therefore, know the times and the seasons.[18]

Whisenant, therefore, approaches the interpretation of Acts 1:7
in the same way as he does Matthew 24:36: Jesus only denied the
possibility of knowing the _specific_ day and hour of His Return.
Jesus did not, says Whisenant, deny that we can know the time
frame down to within a week and even to within a particular
three-day period.[19]

    The biblical evidence, however, contradicts Whisenant. The
supposed Greek "phrase" in Acts 1:7 which means "specific" (which
Whisenant conveniently fails to identify) is nonexistent.

    Perhaps Whisenant is referring in an imprecise way to the
fact that the Greek _kairous_ ("seasons") is at times used in
Scripture for a _point_ in time (while at other times it means a
period of time). In any case, this does not reconcile Acts 1:7
with Matthew 24:36, for Jesus also makes reference in Acts 1:7 to
the Greek _chronous_ ("times"). _Chronous_ is consistently used
in Scripture for a _period_ of time, usually of _long_ duration.

    We see then that in Acts 1:7 Jesus is excluding from our
knowledge _both_ specific dates _and_ indefinite periods. Thus,
Acts 1:7 further confirms that when Jesus says in Matthew 24:36
that we can't know the day or the hour of His return, He also
means that we can't know the month or the year of His return.

    Acts 1:7 is significant also because of the word that Jesus
uses for "to know." When discussing Matthew 24:36, Whisenant
himself said, "Had Jesus used [ginosko], there would have been no
doubt that no one could know 'of that time, not even the angels,
or Jesus.'"[19] The point is that Jesus _does_ use _ginosko_ in
Acts 1:7, and He uses it concerning an even more expansive time
period than a day or an hour.

    Whisenant makes a further effort to dodge the implications of
Acts 1:7, arguing that the apostles' question, "Will you at this
time restore the kingdom to Israel?," "had nothing to do with the
Rapture."[20] Perhaps not, but Jesus' answer does. He expands the
topic to "the times or dates the Father has set by His own
authority" (v. 7), which includes the end-times. Acts 1:7, then,
deals a major blow to Whisenant's assumption that we can predict
the dates of the end-times.


*DISREGARDS THE CONTEXT*

    We have already seen how Whisenant disregards the context
when interpreting Matthew 24:36, but he does this again when
interpreting phrases that he claims have eschatological (end-
time) significance. The following example comes from Reason #9,
which serves as the foundation for Reasons #10 and #11 -- the
cornerstones for his predictions: "If you need only one reason,
then either reason #10 or #11 is it."[21] In Reason #9 Whisenant
delineates his peculiar interpretations of two phrases found in
John 4:35: "Four more months and then the harvest" and "For the
fields are already white to harvest." Whisenant writes:

     Jesus' comment, "White unto harvest," could only apply
     to the time of Rosh-Hash-Ana and the latter harvest
     (the white linen of the bride's wedding gown being made
     of white cotton, and the color white representing the
     righteousness of the saints) while Jesus' comments,
     "Four more months and then the harvest," could only
     apply to the Day of Atonement and the beginning of the
     70th week of Daniel.[22]

In other words, Whisenant claims that the phrase "white unto
harvest" refers to the Rapture, and the phrase "Four more months
and then the harvest" refers to the beginning of the period of
the Tribulation, which is "the start of the harvest of the wicked
at the end of this age."[23]

    The biblical context of these phrases, however, does not
support Whisenant's interpretation. The context of John 4:35 is
the incident where Jesus has struck up a conversation with a
Samaritan woman after the disciples had gone into town to buy
food. In that conversation, Jesus explains to the woman that He
gives "living water" and that He is the Messiah. When the
disciples return, they are surprised to see Jesus talking with
the woman, but they decide against saying anything about it.
Instead, they encourage Jesus to eat some of the food they had
bought while in town. Jesus replies, "My food is to do the will
of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'Four
months more and then the harvest?' I tell you, open your eyes and
look at the fields! They are ripe [Greek: _leukai;_ literally
"white"] for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even
now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and
the reaper may be glad together" (vv. 34-36).

    The intent, then, of the two phrases, "white unto harvest"
and "four more months and then the harvest," has nothing to do
with people being ripe for judgment at the end of the age, but it
has everything to do with people being ripe for evangelism. The
phrase "four more months and then the harvest" was a common
saying in Jesus' day that connoted the feeling that there was no
hurry in getting to a particular task because one could not rush
the growth of the crops.[24] Jesus, however, with the statement
"They are ripe for harvest," spurs the disciples on to
proclaiming the good news of eternal life now, for people are
spiritually hungry enough to receive it. To apply these phrases
to a future eschatology, as does Whisenant, is to wrench them
from their original context and to misconstrue altogether the
meaning that Jesus intended for them.


*MISTAKENLY INTERPRETS A SYMBOL*

    In at least one instance Whisenant incorrectly interprets a
biblical symbol, and then proceeds to build his predictions upon
the shaky foundation of that faulty interpretation. The instance
occurs in Reason #7 where Whisenant quotes Jesus' words in
Matthew 24:32-33 as follows, "`Now learn this lesson from the fig
tree: as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out,
you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these
things,...I [Jesus] tell you the truth, _this wicked generation
(1948-1988) will certainly not pass until all these things have
happened_" (ellipses and emphasis in original).[25] Whisenant
interprets the above verse in the following way: "This last
generation spoken of above started on 14 May 1948, the day Israel
became a nation. Israel is the time clock of God throughout
history. Israel is the blooming fig tree, and the last generation
will end 40 wicked gentile years later on 14 May 1988."[26]

    Contrary to Whisenant's interpretation, the context of Jesus'
words in Matthew 24:32-33 gives no warrant to the idea that Jesus
was using the figure of the fig tree as anything more than an
illustration of how the Jews were able to tell when summer was
near. Just as the blooming of the fig tree indicates that summer
is approaching, so the previous signs that Jesus had mentioned
(e.g., nations rising against nations, famines, earthquakes, and
the preaching of the gospel to the entire world) are indications
that the end is near.

    In fact, Luke 21:29-30, a parallel passage, supports the idea
that Jesus was not using the analogy of the fig tree for anything
more than a way to illustrate how people can know when a
particular time is near. Luke writes: "He told them this parable:
'Look at the fig tree _and all the trees._ When _they_ sprout
leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near'"
(Luke 21:29-30). In Luke, then, Jesus refers not just to the fig
tree, but to all trees. This parallel verse is difficult, if not
impossible, to reconcile with the
fig-tree-equals-the-rebirth-of-Israel interpretation of Matthew
24:32-33. Whisenant charges ahead, though, and makes specific
predictions about the date of the Rapture, apparently oblivious
to the fact that his interpretation of the symbol of the fig tree
lacks contextual support.


*RELIES HEAVILY ON QUESTIONABLE DATES*

    Not only does Whisenant build his predictions on the
questionable interpretation of biblical symbols, he also builds
them on historical dates for which there is little consensus
among either biblical scholars or archaeologists. For example, in
Reason #14 he states that _The New Scofield Reference Bible_
gives 602 B.C. as the date when Daniel interpreted
Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the idol with the head of gold.[27]
Whisenant then makes the following extrapolation: "Therefore, 602
B.C. less [sic] the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity equals
532 B.C.; and 532 B.C. less 2,520 years equals 1988 as the end of
the times of the gentiles. So here we have shown that
Rosh-Hash-Ana 1988 is the exact end of the church age."[28] _The
NIV Study Bible,_ however, places Nebuchadnezzar's second year of
reign during 604 B.C.;[29] and _The Expositor's Bible Commentary_
says it was between April 603 and March 602 B.C.[30] It is
possible, therefore, that 602 B.C. is an incorrect date from
which to count. If it is indeed an incorrect date, then it would
throw off Whisenant's calculations not only in Reason #14 but
also in several other Reasons (#'s 19, 28, 35, 38, and 60).

    In Reason #16 Whisenant makes a prediction based on the date
of Adam's creation!

     _The Chronological Bible_ gives Adam's creation by God
     as Friday, 3975 B.C., and states that Adam was created
     at approximately 30 years of age. So 3975 B.C. less 30
     years equals 4005 B.C. as the year that Adam would have
     been born, had Adam been born of a woman. And from 4005
     B.C. to 1995 A.D. is 6,000 years or six days with God,
     and the year that the seventh day (called the millenium
     [sic]) would be expected to start. So if the millenium
     [sic] would start in 1995, then the 70th week of Daniel
     would have to start seven years earlier in 1988 in
     order to be completed on time.[31]

Passing over the question of the validity of Whisenant's
arguments here, can we in fact be so certain that Adam was
created on a Friday in the year 3975 B.C. and that he was created
at the age of 30? Even Edward Reese, the man who compiled and
prepared _The Chronological Bible,_ offers a disclaimer
concerning the accuracy of its dates:

     No two Bible scholars would be likely to arrange a
     Bible in exactly the same chronological order. There is
     not common agreement on the length of the judges, or
     the exact dates of the 483 years of Daniel 9:25. After
     consulting numerous works on Bible history and
     chronology, after careful analysis of every time frame
     in the Bible, and after many revisions, placement
     decisions were made in the best judgment of the
     arranger, _some necessarily arbitrary._[32] (emphasis
     added)

     Good men's opinions will vary on most things, and
     certainly do in the field of Bible Chronology....May
     the dates and titles be kept in proper perspective.
     They are only aids.[33]

Therefore, Edward Reese, the man behind _The Chronological
Bible,_ does not recommend using its dates as the basis for
making exact predictions. Nevertheless, in almost half (41 times,
according to my count) of his 88 Reasons, Whisenant assumes the
exactitude of these dates as the starting point for calculating
the date of the Rapture. (It is interesting to note that similar
schemes of chronological reasoning led the Jehovah's Witnesses to
their false predictions concerning the years 1914 and 1975.)


*SEEKS KNOWLEDGE RESERVED FOR GOD ALONE*

    As we have seen, in order to make the Bible fit his
particular prophetic scheme, Whisenant has misconstrued Matthew
24:36, pulled biblical phrases out of their original context, and
taken for granted the interpretation of a biblical symbol and the
identification of dates that are anything but certain. Whisenant
has in essence misinterpreted and misused the Bible, and it is on
that foundation alone that his predictions of the church's
rapture are based.

    Some may defend Whisenant by saying that he has made them
more mindful of the imminency of Christ's return. Such a
mindfulness certainly has merit. It is one thing, though, to be
reminded that the end might come soon, it is quite another thing
to make specific predictions about the date of the Rapture. Jesus
Himself warned against speculating about the dates of the
end-times (Matt. 24:36; Acts 1:7), and He stressed that only God
knows exactly when the events of the future will transpire. The
practice of speculating about the date of the Rapture is akin in
spirit to that of the diviners and astrologers (Deut. 18:9-14;
Isa. 47:12-14). It is akin in that they all seek after a
knowledge that is reserved for God alone. In that respect it is
interesting to note that Whisenant bases two of his Reasons (#'s
64 and 65) on the words of "America's famous psychic"[34] and
another on the occultic practice of numerology (#61).

    Concerning Whisenant's _88 Reasons_ and other prophetic
schemes in the same vein, the reader would be well advised to
view them with a "healthy dose" of skepticism. As Jesus said, "It
is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by
his own authority. But...[to] be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts
1:7-8). Our task is not to dwell at length on the particulars of
the end-times, but to make ourselves ready at all times, and to
help others become ready for Christ's return, which will happen
in His time.


----------------------------------------------------------------
*Dean C. Halverson,* formerly a researcher with the Spiritual
Counterfeits Project, is presently working with International
Students, Inc., as their world religions specialist.
----------------------------------------------------------------

*NOTES*

 1 Edgar Whisenant, _88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in
   1988/On Borrowed Time,_ (Nashville, TN: World Bible Society,
   1988).
 2 "Rapture Seer Hedges on Latest Guess," _Christianity Today,_
   21 October 1988, 43.
 3 "Still Around," Colorado Springs _Gazette Telegraph,_ 14 Sept.
   1988, Part D.
 4 "Rapture Seer," 43.
 5 "Book Predicts End of World; Some Quit Jobs," Colorado Springs
   _Gazette Telegraph,_ 31 Sept. 1988, Part A.
 6 Quote appeared in a letter printed as the introduction to _On
   Borrowed Time._
 7 "Rapture Seer," 43.
 8 See, for example, Kenneth R. Samples, "From Controversy to
   Crisis: An Updated Assessment of Seventh-day Adventism,"
   CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL, Summer 1988.
 9 Unless otherwise noted, all biblical quotations are taken from
   the New International Version.
10 _Reasons,_ 3.
11 _Ibid,_ 4.
12 _Ibid,_ 4-5.
13 Merrill Tenney, "The Gospel of John," in _The Expositor's
   Bible Commentary,_ ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI:
   Zondervan, 1981), 9:58.
14 William Hendriksen, _Matthew_ (New Testament Commentary Ser.)
   (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1973), 869.
15 _Reasons,_ 44.
16 _Ibid.,_ 24.
17 _Borrowed,_ 1.
18 _Ibid.,_ 2.
19 _Ibid.,_ 4.
20 _Borrowed,_ 2.
21 _Reasons,_ 19.
22 _Ibid.,_ 17.
23 _Ibid.,_ 21.
24 Leon Morris, _The Gospel of John,_ the New International
   Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F.F. Bruce (Grand Rapids,
   MI: Eerdmans, 1971), 279.
25 _Reasons,_ 10.
26 _Ibid._
27 _Ibid.,_ 21.
28 _Ibid._
29 Kenneth Baker, ed., _The NIV Study Bible,_ (Grand Rapids, MI:
   Zondervan, 1985),1301.
30 Gleason L. Archer, Jr., "Daniel," in _The Expositor's Bible
   Commentary,_ 7:39.
31 _Reasons,_ 22.
32 Edward Reese, _The Reese Chronological Bible_ (Minneapolis,
   MN: Bethany House, 1977), from the page entitled "The Reese
   Chronological Bible."
33 _Ibid,_ from the page entitled "A Final Word About the
   Dating."
34 _Reasons,_ 37.

 ----------------

End of document, CRJ0023A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"88 Reasons: What Went Wrong?"
release A, February 7, 1994
R. Poll, CRI

(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

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