YouTube is lit up right now with all kinds of Rapture Soon and Get Your Life Right with Jesus videos. A lot of watchers are posting dreams that the Lord has given them as well as special words pertaining to the imminency of the Lord’s return. It’s real exciting and a bit exhausting at times. I have to pace myself when watching as I too have to discern the spirit of the influencer and move on to the next video as I feel prompted. What I am looking for is what people who read my blogs are looking for, some encouragement for watchers in these last days. I don’t need someone to preach at me, I get a lot of that from other sources. What I am looking for is a good old fashioned testimony of how God is working and speaking in a person’s life, particularly as it relates to the nearness of the Lord’s return. In this blog I hope to share my insights on some of the hoopla that has been going around, especially the many ‘UFO/lights in the sky’ type videos circulating, especially as the government is releasing more so-called classified information pertaining to such phenomena. I believe it’s all a projection of demonic activity that will be used to explain away the soon coming Rapture.
That being said, the title of this blog has to do with a prophecy given by a brother in Christ from South Africa the watcher community has come to call Brother Joshua. The ‘no world cup’ prophecy was the first of a few prophecies he gave last summer where he foretold the Rapture date, it happening before Israel turned 78 years old, and the adverse effect it would have on the world which would nullify the market for a world cup. He also mentioned a few other post-Rapture horrific prophecies that I am sure will occur after we’re gone. Since that time, brother Joshua has taken a lot of hits from the watcher community.
While many in the watcher community tend to criticize brother Joshua for his supposed misses, I am more cautious in my observance of this brother and would encourage you to do the same. People tend to attack those things that they don’t understand, when they should be a little more willing to pause and take a second look at the bigger picture. Did this brother miss the prophecies so far? It appears so, but for what purpose I still wonder. Do these ‘misses’ make him a false prophet, not necessarily; especially if what he has prophesied is still in play; and from a certain point of view, they very well may be. Brother Joshua is a guy who believes that he heard from the Lord and proclaimed the same. If we get past the June 11th start date of the world cup games, this prophecy, as the others, will fail; but I don’t judge the brother, only pray for him. It takes a lot of courage to stand up and proclaim those things one believes God gives. Even brother Joshua said that if we get past the June 11th date, the prophecy fails.
What is scary to so many people is they can feel that something ominous is on the horizon, yet they feel helpless to do anything about it. This is not the result of some politician or a bad turn of events associated with weather or economic trends; in realty, what people are experiencing right now is Bible prophecy manifesting right before our eyes. We can’t blame God’s servants, or so called servants, for what is happening, or not happening; but rather, we must ascertain that what we are seeing today is the foreshadowing of the coming seven-year tribulation. We are living in a pre-tribulation world and thus, a pre-tribulation era. As a result, we should be looking for a pre-tribulation Rapture. While I would agree that we can’t know the day or hour of the Lord’s return, we can know the season, and I believe we are living in it now.
The opening ceremonies for the World Cup games begins on June 11th, 2026, a date still in the future at the time of me writing this blog. Suffice it to say, we are living in quite a prophetic pocket at the end of the Church age.
I believe that brother Joshua is genuine in his faith and that he loves the Lord. His methods are unique and a bit excentric to say the least, but I will be the last person to cast aspersions on this brother as his actions and faith has awakened countless people in the body of Christ to the nearness of the Lord’s return for His Church globally, and the pending tribulation that will soon follow. Think of it as an obscure wake up call for the Church; at least for those believers who are watching and becoming more aware that what’s happening in the world is exactly what Jesus said would be happening just prior to His return for us.
The fellowship that I am credentialed with, the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal denomination. We have seen and done a lot of good for the body of Christ over the past 100 plus years of our existence. We are far from perfect and have made a lot of mistakes along the way; however, the God we serve is perfect and He continues to call us forward in ministry, messages, outreaches, and missions projects that are still ongoing, even as we approach the eve of the Rapture. In our fellowship, we have experienced many individuals over the years who have prophesied things that have not come to pass, but we still love them and trust they mature in their faith as we are all doing ourselves individually; hit or miss, no judgment. You can’t get out there and do ministry without a few mistakes along the way. It’s part of the ride if you want to learn as you grow.
While this blog is not about brother Joshua’s so-called missed dates and such, as there are plenty of those vlogs to go around. What I am looking at is a hard date, June 11th 2026. This is when the opening ceremonies for the World Cup 2026 begins. I played soccer when I was in High School and even coached a city league team when my kids were little, but after that, not so much. I see all the promotional posters in stores, in windows, on billboards, in commercials, and I hear the ads for the upcoming games; and yet I still wonder if this major sporting event will actually happen.
Brother Joshua said that Jesus would come last September 23/24, 2025. That was a huge deal for a lot of watchers, and when it passed, many in our community were disappointed. Some of our more mature watchers have learned to keep our eyes on Jesus, not on dates. However, there was something about that date and the days afterward that still haunt me a bit. A few days prior to 9/23/25, Mohamad bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, endorsed (strengthened) the two state solution with many nations when he remoted in a speech at the UN in support of Palestine becoming a nation. The world watched, but nothing came of it; at least not yet. I am not saying that MBS is the AC, but what I saw there could have fit the Daniel 9:24 prophecy, or at least, presented a possibility of it. My main reason is that I have always taught my students that the 70th week of Daniel 9 contains 2,520 days; the length of the tribulation. If Jesus was to return on the Day of Atonement in 2032 (9/15/32) as brother Joshua prophesied, then the window for that timeframe would have had to started on October 22, 2025. All of these weeks passed, no Rapture, no nothing, and the reason was attributed to do a delay, citing Matthew 25:5, ‘the bridegroom was delayed.’ Things were said as we keep moving along the timeline, some negative, some positive. I watched and observed, but like the rest of our community, I kept my eyes on Jesus and trusted His divine providence in all of this.
Brother Joshua also said that the Rapture would occur before Israel turned 78, which happened on 5/14/26 according to the Gregorian calendar. Some have surmised that this date is extended till June 19/20th using the Hebrew calendar. More specifically, that on 5/14/48, when Israel became a nation again, that date landed on Sivan 4 (Hebrew calendar) whereas Sivan 4 this year lands on 6/19,20. If this is true, then Israel is still 77 years old until the June 20th date. Some challenge these dates and times, but I say, let’s wait and see. I am not a calendar expert and I don’t get into the calendar hoopla; I am just keeping my eyes on Jesus. The fact that, from a certain point of view, this timeframe is still in play, at least at the time of this blog, encourages me.
There was another prophecy that brother Joshua gave that pertains to the Second Coming of Jesus, with His Church, at the end of the seven-year tribulation. He said that Jesus would return in His Glorious Second Coming on September 15th, 2032. The problem with this date, as stated above, is that for the entire 2,520 days of the tribulation to be complete, the tribulation would have to started on October 22, 2025; that was over seven months ago as of this blog post. The absorption of those months within this time frame was ascribed to Jesus shortening the days of the tribulation. (Matthew 24:22) If this is true, than in essence, we are living inside of that 2,520 day window right now, and what happened at the UN on September 22/23, 2025 may have been the Daniel 9 covenant event, or a prototype of it. If Jesus has shortened the days of the tribulation, than the real question is, What will be the actual length of the tribulation?
Daniel said it this way, “Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” – Daniel 8:13,14
While this blog is not an extensive study on Daniel or the prophetic relevance of this passage to the end times, I will say that if you assign this 2,300 day count against the prophesied Day of Atonement (9/15/32) Second Coming date in 2032 and backdate it, it will land on 5/30/31st, 2026, another date that has recently passed. Many Bible prophecy scholars believe that Christ’ Second Coming will occur on some future Day of Atonement, and while I don’t have the space to expound on this, suffice it to say that we are really in that window. All of this is a prophetic theory, it’s perspective, it’s a high watch overview, a tactical understand of where we’re at if we’re watching. However, when looking for the Lord’s return, such perspectives must be considered as we move along this timeline. Again I say, don’t set dates or look to them, just be aware of the times and seasons we are living in and keep on living your life, each day to the fullest, for Jesus.
For me, I choose to watch and work as I wait and witness for Jesus. I continue to manage our properties and other blessings well. I have accepted a new position with a local Christian school where I will oversee their transportation needs. My wife has also recently been promoted in her job. She has been in Israel since the end of May and early June, participating in an archaeological expedition. Some question the safety of this, I say that as long as the Church is on the earth, the Holy Spirit will continue to restrain evil as it will be known after the Rapture. Get out there and live your life! The Christian walk it not for lightweights baby; faith up man of God. The Lord has you and He will come and get you (us) in His perfect time.
My point is that we need to keep on living our lives, looking forward to whatever the Lord has instore for us, paying our bills, doing business, stimulating the economy, tithing and giving to missions, doing missions, and continuing to occupy as we watch for the Lord’s return. We can’t cower in fear or uncertainty over things we can clearly see are on the horizon, for things that might happen, or for things that we are just not clear on. We have to live our lives to the fullest and trust the Lord as we press on in our stewardship and faithful living for the Lord.
I will admit that I get a little concerned at some of these YouTube vloggers who post critical videos and attack fellow watchers who are just as eager for the Lord’s return as they are. They may have missed it a time or so or misspoke something they would have been better not to have said, yet in all of it, they are still sharing the gospel message to the masses. They love the Lord and want to make heaven crowded like the rest of us. I am less critical over someone who is attempting to proclaim the gospel from a flawed vantage point because I know that I have had similar issues that I too have had to mature through. In essence, I have had to grow in my faith and watcher prowess over the years. Life is a classroom.
We all must do our best as we watch and wait for our Lord. In the meantime, we must be about His business, occupying and sharing our faith with others in the process. If we do have a world cup this year, than this assessment, like brother Joshua’s prophecies, will be a bust; just like a lot of other predictions that were based on a failed prophecy. However, on the other hand, if there is a truth to all of this, we want to be sensitive to what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the Church. I, for one, want to be listening as I watch, wait, and work for the Lord. We could have a Rapture at any moment; it’s ‘imminently’ close. We can sense Christ’ nearness.
If I can encourage you my brother (sister) in the Lord, it would be this. We all long for God’s kingdom to come. We desire to be with Jesus and those who love Him. This is why we enjoy our church with all the wonderous ministry and drama that comes with imperfect people gathering to worship a perfect God. I exhort you to stay in God’s Word, keep in good fellowship, and continue to serve the Lord as He has enabled you to do so. As we pursue holiness and righteousness in these last days, the Lord will reveal to us that which He desires for us in His time. We must take good courage and do our best to be our best as we press on toward our eternal home. God is with us and He is for us. We can trust in Him as He shows us the way. Stay strong and believe that it shall we well.
Maranatha!
Encourage Men 