Some believe the Rapture is a lot closer then we think. According to a Christian numerologist and end times theorist, David Meade, it will happen next week.

Meade says the heavens are aligning to point to the Rapture occurring on April 23, 2018 according to a FoxNews.com report. Meade is basing his prediction off of Revelation 12:1-2 which says:

“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.”

Meade goes on to explain that, on April 23, the sun and moon, as well as the planet Jupiter, will be in the constellation of Virgo. Virgo is thought to represent the Virgin and Jupiter the Messiah.

He believes the heavenly alignment represents “the Lion of the tribe of Judah,” and is “a unique once-in-a-century sign exactly as depicted in the 12^th chapter of Revelation. This is our time marker, Meade says.

But some Christians are skeptical of Meade’s claims. Author Jonathan Sarfati is one of them. He explains, “There is nothing to suggest that April 23 is a momentous date for biblical prophecy, and Christians need to be careful about being drawn into such sensationalist claims. We won’t know the day or the hour – so we should be prepared at all times!”

While the word Rapture does not appear in the Bible, the event is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-44. At the time of the Rapture, believers who have died will have their bodies resurrected and, along with believers who are still living, will meet the Lord in the air. This will all occur in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.

In short, the Rapture is the return of Christ in the clouds to remove all believers from the earth before the time of God’s wrath. The Rapture is typically associated with events of the Second Coming of Christ, when Jesus returns to defeat the Antichrist, destroy evil, and establish His millennial kingdom. While the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ are similar, they are separate events. Both involve Jesus returning. Both are end-time events.

We are warned in the Bible to avoid determining a date and time for the Rapture. Despite many attempts throughout the years to calculate the date, the truth is we cannot calculate the day Christ will return because God specifically chose not to reveal this to us. When Jesus was asked about the apocalyptic time by the apostles, He replied. “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:7-8).

Only God knows the date, the time and the hour, and only God knows when time will run out.