Observations
about the failed prediction of the end of the world.
Well, since you are here today it means either: 1) the predictions of
Harold Camping that yesterday the world would end failed, or 2) you were
“left behind” when He came and there is no hope for you.
Of course, there was not a massive earthquakes, no graves opened,
and no one we know was “raptured,” all major tenets of the now affirmed
FALSE PROPHET Harold Camping.
As you know I have been following this for a couple of months now and
have sought to warn and teach against this.
You might think I have been obsessed with this subject.
Let me assure you, my intent was to prepare us for this failed
prediction first hand, with a greater goal of being prepared for future
predictions (of which others are already in the making).
But even more than that, I want us to trust what the Bible says
and realize that we CAN understand it (Eph. 5:17).
There is no hidden code that requires a prophet to read between
the lines. There is no
“numerological significance” that hints at when the world will end.
While numbers certainly did have meanings in scripture, we are
clearly told that God has appointed a day of judgment (Acts 17:30-31)
and that we don’t know when it is (2 Pet. 3:10, 1 Thess. 5:2, Matt.
24:42-43, Luke 12:39, Rev. 3:3, 16:15, Mark 13:32, etc.).
As far as we are concerned, “the mystery” has been revealed (Eph.
3:3-6) and we have “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2
Pet. 1:3). The gospel is
STILL the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16), it is able to save
your souls (Jas. 1:21), and is able to make you wise unto salvation (2
Tim. 3:15). And the church
is STILL the body of the saved (Eph. 1:22,23) and remains active until
the Lord returns the kingdom to God (1 Cor. 15:24).
We can go on and on with scriptural principles that have been
absolutely disregarded by the deluded and now disillusioned followers of
FALSE TEACHER Harold Camping.
Just because the Lord did not return yesterday does not mean that we
should let up on being prepared.
Because the Lord WILL come as a thief in the night,
But as we move on, let me ask you.
Did you NOT want the Lord to come yesterday?
And if so, WHY? Were
you prepared for His coming?
In conclusion, as I wrap up my observations about this failed
prediction I want to say unequivocally, Harold Camping is a false
teacher – THE BIBLE GUARANTEES IT! (Deut. 18:22)
NOT SITTING IN
THE SEAT OF SCOFFERS
Denny Burk
As I write this, it is already 6:00 pm in certain parts of the globe, and we have no reports yet of a rapture, earthquakes, or any other
cataclysmic events. So now we know from experience what we already knew
from scripture. No one knows the day or the hour of the Lord’s return,
and teachers like Harold
Camping who claim to possess
such knowledge are false prophets (Deut
18:22; Mat 24:36; Mark 13:32).
Nevertheless, I have been struck by
the attention that this particular false prophecy has gained in the
popular culture. For instance, just yesterday morning the talking heads
on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program took a moment to scoff at the infamous
prediction, and everyone around the table had a good belly laugh.
Even though Bible-believing Christians
will likely agree with the “Morning Joe” crew that Harold Camping is a
crackpot, I think we need to be careful about feelings of solidarity.
What I heard in the laughter on “Morning Joe” was not the sober critique
of the pious, but the sad ridicule of 2
Peter 3:3-4:
…knowing this first of all, that
scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own
sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For
ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they
were from the beginning of creation.”
In other words, one of the hallmarks
of the sinful human heart is the suppression of any notion of a coming
judgment. Sinners employ all kinds of strategies to make-believe that
the second coming of Christ is make-believe. Thus, the mockers of 2
Peter register the same objection that modernists offer:
“Where’s your Jesus? We have never
seen him or any evidence that there will be a cataclysmic reckoning at
the end of the age. Your belief is as silly and irrelevant as it is
unfounded. You believe in fairy tales.”
This is what I heard in the laughter
on “Morning Joe.” And this is the real tragedy of a false teacher like
Camping. He gives the scoffers a reason for feeling vindicated in their
scoffing. He gives aid and comfort to the judgment-suppressing human
heart and thereby consigns them to their own God-ignoring delusions.
This is a tragedy of eternal proportions, and it is anything but funny.
If you count yourself among those who
pray “Maranatha” in earnest (1 Cor 16:22), you will find
very little to laugh about in Harold Camping’s false teaching—and even
less to laugh about in a scoffer’s scoffing. So let’s be sober. Let’s be
ready for the Lord’s return. And let’s pray that the Lord would grant
the mockers not a belly laugh, but repentance (2 Tim 2:25) leading to a
knowledge of the truth about the One to whom we must all give account (Heb
4:13).