The short answer is no, but don’t take my word for it, let’s see what the Bible says.
Matthew 24:36
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
So, if no one can know when Jesus will come and the end of the world will occur, then it’s safe to say that for most of us, the world will continue the way it always has. But, if that isn’t enough for you, let’s look at the theory itself.
This theory, promoted by David Meade, and a host of others, basically states that one piece of evidence is Luke 21:25-26:
“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
Now, supposedly, this has some special meaning that coincides with August 21, the date of the Great American Solar Eclipse, August 25 when Hurricane Harvey hit, and August 26, when it flooded Houston in Texas.
Get it? Luke 21:25, 26
Here’s the first problem with that. Originally the Bible didn’t even have verses and chapters, those were added by Robert Estienne in 1551 to make locating specific passages easier. In other words, Luke wasn’t inserting special meaning into these verses by adding those numbers, they weren’t even there originally. And if that isn’t enough, it’s says just 12 verses earlier in Luke 21:9:
“When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
Then the Bible proceeds to talk about those wars and uprisings for the next several verses. In short, the Bible is basically saying that the world is going to go to hell in a hand-basket before Jesus comes.
Moving on, some people say that this confirms another prophecy in Revelation 12:1–2, which will supposedly mark the start of the rapture and the second coming of Christ:
Revelation 12:1-2
“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.”
Supposedly, the woman is Virgo, and on September 23, the sun and moon will be in Virgo, as well as Jupiter, which is somehow supposed to represent the Messiah.
This particular celestial alignment happens about every 12 years, but because of another planetary alignment, which is supposed to represent “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”, it somehow becomes an “unprecedented event” predicted in scripture.
Now, here’s the first problem, modern astrology (including the zodiac) is based on Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos which was created in the 2nd century AD whereas Revelation was written in approximately AD 69-96. Which means that if astrology was used it would have been an outdated version.
If that isn’t enough, just keep reading in Revelation 12…
Revelation 12:1-6
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
First off, if you take Revelation 1:20 to apply here, then those stars are angels, which would make that part of the passage about the war in heaven after Lucifer (who became Satan) started a rebellion against God. This is better explained in the rest of the passage:
Revelation 12:7-17
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
But, back to the whole Virgo thing, this is the passage speaking of the woman:
Revelation 12:5
“She gave birth to a son, a male child, who ‘will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.’ And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.”
Notice that quote in the middle of the verse? This refers to a messianic prophecy in Psalm 2 that speaks of the messiah ruling the nations with an iron scepter. (Psalm 2:9)
Lastly, regarding the “unprecedented event” in an article entitled “Will the World end on 23 September?” by Jonathan Sarfati (a Christian chemist) wrote that this “unprecedented event” has happened four times in the last millennium, so it’s not actually unprecedented.
Now, this date may be complete hogwash, but does that mean we can just dilly dally until Jesus comes? No, scripture says in Matthew 24:44 (KJV):
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
So, even if Jesus isn’t coming on the 23rd, we should remain ready to receive him at all times. I’d like to invite you to spend time reading the Bible and if you haven’t done so already, I’d like to invite you to ask Jesus into your heart, He loves you, and He’s coming back for you.