Quite a few people have asked me what I think about the coming April 8 eclipse and all of the hoopla surrounding it from supposed Christians.

Let me just say that I’ve been around for 53 years. I’ve seen things like this come and go. People, who claim to speak for God or from His Word, make claims that never come to pass. One book that comes to mind is Edgar Whisenant’s book: “88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1988: The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hash-Ana) September, 11-12-13.” Needless to say, he was clearly wrong.

Over and over, people have claimed to have some special knowledge or “divine revelation” from God. And they make predictions … and they don’t come true.

What happens is that those professed Christians make their outlandish claims (even though they may seem to have a convincing argument) in a public way, and the watching world eventually observes that the claims don’t materialize. The watching world sees Christians getting worked up and sharing the information … and the “prophecies” never come to pass.

Do you think this draws people to our Lord when Christians appear so simple-minded? Of course not! We are supposed to be people of the truth, and yet it appears that we are so naïve. Unbelievers who enjoy using their brains are not drawn to such things.

But even more important is what God thinks. What does God think of someone who claims to speak on His behalf and the prophecy doesn’t come true?

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (CSB): “But the prophet who presumes to speak a message in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die. You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the LORD has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the LORD’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”

According to this text, if someone claimed to have some special revelation from the Lord and what was prophesied didn’t happen, that person was to be killed. Fortunately, that word from the Lord was limited to Israel and only to the Old Testament. But this makes it clear that God despises someone who falsely claims to have some revelation from Him.

Yes, I do believe that America has strayed from the Lord, and He has judged nations that seem to have been more righteous than us. We cannot help but think that God’s judgment upon us could be imminent. But we should repent whether the eclipse was to happen or not.

So, repent if necessary, pray for our nation to repent, and enjoy the eclipse on April 8.

And when the current “prophecies” don’t materialize after the eclipse, hold the person who spoke those “prophecies” accountable in some way. Make it abundantly clear, with your finger on Deuteronomy 18:20-22, that they did not get their message from the Lord and let them read how serious their sin is. Call them to repent, which means they will never do it again.

But let’s not be naïve here. It’s been my observation that they won’t repent. They will find some way to reinterpret their prophecy so they can maintain that they weren’t wrong. In that case, move on. You’ve done your job. And leave it to the Lord to handle in His way and in His time.