Thankfully, here and there across the years, there have been some who have realized that there are "no endtime signs" that predict the time of the return of the Lord Jesus for this Church Age. One by the name of Herbert Vander Lugt has wisely said:

I like the slogan, 'Perhaps Today.' But I do not view wars, pestilences, natural disasters, widespread immorality, proliferation of cults, and spiritual deadness as signs that Jesus is coming soon. We simply don't know when He will return. He may come before you finish reading this page. He may remain at the Father's right had for many more years (Herbert Vander Lugt, "Perhaps Today! The Rapture of The Church," Radio Bible Class, 1984. p. 8).

Some years earlier, on November 4, 1949, an evangelist of considerable note in another generation by the name of John R. Rice published one of his preached messages and titled it, "False Teaching About 'The Last Days'" in his paper called Sword of The Lord. I learned the date of the issue by means of a phone call. This same article was also published in a later issue of this tabloid paper. This later issue from which we worked was dated, September 16, 1988. He begins on page one, "The term, 'the last days,' is often misused these days even by orthodox Christians. An eminent Bible teacher and theologian is quoted as saying, 'I am convinced that we are seeing the closing days of this dispensation.'"

As some of his early proof that endtime prophets in this Church Age are wrong, John R. Rice says in section 1 on page 8, "No One Knows Even Approximately When Jesus Will Come." He follows this with three points:

"1. The angels do not know when Jesus will come.

"2. While on earth the Lord Jesus Himself did not know when He would return.

"3. Jesus said His Second Coming was so wholly unpredictable that it was illustrated by the servants waiting for their master's return. He might come in the evening, midnight, at the cock crowing, or in the morning" (Rice, John R., "The Sword of The Lord," Vol. LIV, No. 19, September 16, 1988. p. 8.).

John R. Rice provides some most crucial and interesting insight to one of the false prophets of another day. He tells us clearly and unmistakably:

I sat at dinner with Dr. Lowe, a professor of Biblical interpretation at the Practical Bible Training School, Johnson City, New York. He told me that his people lived in the community of Farmer Miller [Wm. Miller whom we have mentioned above.] and many of them had been convinced that Jesus was coming on the day announced by Miller. One uncle planted no crops -- why should he when he wouldn't be there to gather them! He showed his faith by sitting on his front porch while others toiled. But since Jesus did not come, that winter thirteen of his cows starved while he and his family barely lived on the milk from one cow and corn meal (Ibid.).

A little later, John R. Rice says, "One greatly-heralded British-Israel teacher in Los Angeles predicted that Jesus would come September 16, 1936, as I recall. Needless to say, his prophecy was wrong and his influence was broken. Date setting for the return of the Savior has always been a heresy which turns out with much embarrassment" (Ibid.).

John left us just a little too soon!
"Prophets," aren't embarrassed!

In all honesty, however, John R. Rice explains or goes on to confess that he had been caught-up in such false teaching at one time. He says, "In my early ministry I sometimes preached on 'Signs of Christ's Second Coming.' I had a chapter on that in my book, The Coming Kingdom of Christ.’ In a second edition I was compelled to modify the chapter, for I saw that the next thing on God's program, as far as Bible prophecy is concerned, is Christ's coming in the air to receive His saints ... That event is imminent; that means it may occur at any time" (Ibid. p. 9).

Toward the end of the article, as it is printed, we find these words, "THERE IS NO SIGN OF CHRIST'S COMING PROMISED BEFORE THE RAPTURE" (Ibid. emphasis is that of JRR). Then, John R. Rice climaxes this good message of considerable length with some further words that I deem to be evidence of considerable wisdom. The 1940's and the 1950's were years when false prophets of every possible stripe were abroad in the Land. Yet, in those days, John R. Rice was saying, "Let us say again, there are no signs that will indicate when Jesus is to come, and there is not a single prophetic event which must come before the rapture of the saints" (Ibid.) [Emphasis, RW]. All of the false prophets whom we have referenced above since the 1940's should have heeded John R. Rice's words.