The Rapture Comes on September 1, 1989 (Recalculated)
After '88 Reasons,' a Recount: Edgar Whisenant Moved the Rapture to September 1, 1989
The retired NASA engineer said his 1988 date was off by one year because the first century had only 99 years. The new date passed too.
What was said
“But I believe my mistake was God's will -- a shout, a preparation period for the church. And there has been a revival. I believe this year it's the Rapture. The evidence is there.”
— Edgar C. Whisenant (retired NASA engineer, author of 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988) · said 1989 · due Friday, September 1, 1989
September 1, 1989 came and went. The Washington Post (Religious News Service): 'When Sept. 1, 1989, came and went, Edgar Whisenant was still here.'
The Story
He told UPI in May 1989: 'I made a mistake last year - my calculations were off by one year.' The new pamphlet was The Final Shout: Rapture Report 1989.
UPI, on the morning of the date: Whisenant 'used clues from the Bible in claiming that 40 million born-again Christians will be lifted to heaven Friday,' having 'miscalculated the date in his earlier book because he failed to consider that the modern Gregorian calendar counts only 99 years in the first century.'
The Post noted that this time the pamphlet's title also listed 1990 through 1993. The first date: whisenant-1988.
Later spin
I guess God doesn't always do things the way man thinks He will.
Receipts
- Rethinking End of the World - UPI (May 28, 1989)accessed 2026-10-09
- Author predicts rapture -- again - UPI (September 1, 1989)accessed 2026-10-09
- Predictions of the Rapture Are Premature - The Washington Post / Religious News Service (September 9, 1989)accessed 2026-10-09
- Columbia Union Visitor, September 1, 1989 (editorial quoting Whisenant)accessed 2026-10-09