In the summer of 1988, my father took me with him to The Great Passion Play, an outdoor theatrical production portraying the events leading to Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. I was eight years old. Its immense scale carried me into another place and time every night, and the experience changed my life forever.
My father managed cast members and staged Jesus’ disciples and the many extras, but he was more widely known for his rousing portrayal of Pontius Pilate. I had the privilege of standing on Pilate’s Porch as a scribe’s young apprentice. My favorite role, however, was serving as a watchman on the city gate. As Jesus approached, I would cry, “He is coming! I can see Him!” Another would ask, “Is it the great prophet, the miracle worker?” Then I would answer, “It is Jesus! He comes!”
Little did I know that this childhood experience would help prepare me for a spiritual calling received many years later: to be a watchman for Jesus’ return.
WHY THE WHEEL WAS CREATED
To recognize the season—not to set the date.
01
The urgency
The patterns explored through the Wheel have impressed upon me the urgency of sharing just how close we may be to the return of Jesus. The purpose is not sensationalism, but watchfulness, readiness, and faithful proclamation.
02
The boundary
Jesus plainly taught that no man knows the day or the hour of His return. The Wheel of Ages is therefore not presented as a device for declaring a certain date. Any proposed marker remains a question for discernment, never a claim to secret knowledge.
MATTHEW 24:3603
The season
Scripture also tells believers that they are not in darkness for that day to overtake them as a thief. Though the precise moment is hidden, the Church is called to remain awake and recognize the season.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:1–6
THE HERALD'S RESPONSIBILITY
Prepare the way of the Lord.
John the Baptist heralded the coming of Jesus in the first century, calling people to prepare the way of the Lord. In the same spirit, the Church today is called to herald His second coming—not through speculation, but through repentance, truth, hope, and faithful witness.
Across the centuries, predictions have repeatedly failed. Edgar C. Whisenant’s widely distributed 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988 is one prominent example from the very year I stood upon the Passion Play gate. Yet failed predictions do not annul the promise. Scripture anticipated scoffers asking, “Where is the promise of His coming?” Their skepticism itself echoes the prophetic warning.
ISAIAH 40:3 · MATTHEW 3:1–3 · 2 PETER 3:3–4
“The Wheel of Ages is an invitation to watch, to understand the pattern, and above all—to be ready.”
