Harold Camping of Family Radio has predicted that Christ will return to rapture His church on May 21, 2011. His whole approach is wrong for the following reasons.
1) Jesus said, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). Jesus did not know the day or the hour while He was on earth, but of course, now He does.
2) “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7). The Bible is written in such a way that even simple people can understand how to be saved and how to live. It is not filled with coded messages that can only be unraveled with careful calculations, mystical insight, or computer programs.
3) It will always be possible to manipulate numbers in order to come up with a new date for the second coming. The false prophecy of Christ’s return in 1844 came to be called “The Great Disappointment.” In 1988 thousands of pastors received a booklet by Edgar Whisenant (which I still have). He predicted the return of Christ between September 11 and 13. The next year he said he’d been a year off, and I received another booklet. I guess he either ran out of dates or money because I didn’t get one in 1990. Harold Camping has also been wrong before (1994). Will he live long enough to hope that the third time will be the charm? If he doesn’t someone else sure will.
4) The apostle Paul wrote, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). In Paul’s day, Judaizers were adding Jewish circumcision and other Old Testament ceremonial laws to the gospel. Harold Camping has added leaving the apostate churches (i.e. all the churches) to the gospel as a requirement for being saved. It is a false gospel, which falls under the curse of God.
I have theorized that May 21 is not the day from the standpoint of no one knowing the day or the hour, however, it is conceivable that God in His sovereignty has picked a day that one of these many charlatans have picked as well. Perhaps Mr. Camping will be left behind if that were the date. Wouldn't that be something to explain! At any rate, like many other false prophecies, the chances are huge that this date will come and go with no such thing happening. That may account to some extent for those who mock Jesus' coming at all.
ReplyDeleteSuccinct & to the point! @Bill, haha!!
ReplyDeletePastor,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you say that Jesus now knows the hour and the day? I thought the passage in Mark 13 refers to Christ on earth and now that He is sitting at the right hand of the Father as well. Iow, that only the Father knows the time of Christ's return even now.
To Darlene--Philippians 2 indicates that He emptied Himslef by taking the place of a servant, but He is now exalted as Lord of all. While He was on earth it was necessary for Christ to keep from His human nature much of the knowledge He had according to His divine nature. This was necessary in order for Him to grow and develop as a true human being. That necessity no longer exists. As a matter of fact His infinite divine knowledge is necessary for Him to rule the world as many passages indicate that He does (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 1:20-23). Without infinite knowledge of all things, past, present and future, Jesus would botch the job of ruling. In John 17:5 Jesus looked forward to entering again into the condition of glory that He had with the Father before the world began. That divine glory necessarily entails the active use of all divine attributes.
ReplyDeleteYou gave me much to ponder. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome.
ReplyDeleteHi Dr. LaShell,
ReplyDeleteI want to let you know that I listed your blog on a Moody blogroll here: http://mbialumni.wordpress.com/
Thank you for your writing and teaching. We are proud of you!
Alexis the editorial assistant