I’m sure you’ve heard about it. Harold Camping has predicted that judgment day is tomorrow, May 21. He and his followers are expecting the rapture to happen, but it won’t. Unfortunately, many Christians’ hopes will be dashed, and some will probably give up their faith in Christ. His followers should have learned from his first false prediction that the Lord would return in 1994 that Camping is a false prophet.
I would love to hear Camping’s radio program on Monday. What kind of calls is he going to get? I would imagine that he’d receive calls from irate followers who spent their life savings to advertise “the end” Camping predicted and guaranteed. There will be irate callers who racked up their credit cards in expectation that they would never have to pay them back. There will be scoffers who just want to rub it in his face. It’s my understanding that the day after his 1994 prediction failed, Camping acted like nothing happened on his radio show. Perhaps he’ll do the same again. Or perhaps he’ll decide it’s time to retire. Hopefully the latter.
Thinking to Believe 
May 20, 2011 at 10:15 am
According to http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/19/news/economy/may-21-end-of-the-world-finances-harold-camping/index.htm, it appears there wouldn’t be any live calls until next month, assuming Camping returns to the radio. The article also gives reasons to believe Family Radio plans on operating after May 21. It seems that the organization doesn’t believe its own claims.
Jason
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May 22, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Isn’t this the same as fraud? Should he not be criminally charged? Just wondering….
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May 23, 2011 at 9:26 am
I’m no lawyer, but given the number of lives he probably ruined, I hope he can be prosecuted. Perhaps it will force him off the air, if nothing else. Then again, such legal action makes me fear for a restriction on religious speech. I want people to be free to say ridiculous things, just as I want people to be free to follow the religion/leader of their choice.
Jason
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May 23, 2011 at 10:50 am
Some more news on the post-non-apocalypse. Apparently Camping is baffled by his failure and mum.
Jason
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May 23, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Camping speaks: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110523/ts_yblog_thelookout/doomsday-prophet-followers-flabbergasted-world-didnt-end. Doesn’t say much, but promises more to come. His PR aide even holds out the hope of reimbursing some people for their expenses to promote Camping’s 5-21 message.
Jason
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May 25, 2011 at 8:17 am
The Bible is clear on the Second Coming. No man knows the day or hour, not even Jesus, but only God Himself. And the Second Coming will happen during the lifetime of the apostles.
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June 2, 2011 at 12:25 pm
I hope people like this realize that maybe, just maybe, they are not hearing from God like they “think” they are. I am tired of people telling me God said this or God said that. I don’t believe any of them. If God wants to tell you something, He will, and you will hear it.
What makes me more angry is that so many people are being led astray following after men and not God. Not to mention the poor example that is been exemplified to the world in the Name of Christ. What a shame it is……. I can guarantee you that this pastor didn’t consider this when he made his claim. What does that tell you about him ? I would never intentionally do anything that could possibly bring shame to the Name of Christ.
With false prophets like this rampant, there is no doubt we are in the last of the last days…….
Come quickly Lord…..
Naz
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June 2, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Naz,
To my knowledge, Camping did not claim God told him that the rapture would take place on May 21. Rather, he has developed a formula for interpreting Scripture that allows one to calculate the precise date (Camping was an engineer, and he tries to interpret the Bible as such).
And I think Camping did consider the poor example. He has millions of followers, and this is not the first time he has wrongly predicted the end.
I share your skepticism when people tell me “God told me to tell you X,” but I do not share your view that if God wants to speak to us, He will do so directly. He can, no doubt, but we have multiple examples in Scripture in which He speaks to to person X to say Y to person Z.
Because God can and does speak to His people through intermediaries, the perennial question is the authority of the messenger. Are they a prophet? Do they have the gift of prophecy, word of knowledge, etc. This can only be determined by knowing the person’s history. If they are always proven to be right in their claims, then we have a prima facie reason to believe that what they are telling us is truly from God. If they have a history of being wrong, or a history of “missing it” most of the time but right on occasion, then we have a prima facie reason for being skeptical about their claimed message from God.
Jason
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June 3, 2011 at 3:00 am
I found that sometimes the most powerful messages come through other people. It is however still important to keep on praying and seeking confirmation. It’s also very easy to just hear what you want to hear (been there) – but I am privileged to have some very good friends which I can share my stories/messages with and sometimes while discussing it with fellow Christians, the actual meanings/messages tend to bubble to the surface – and sometimes it may be very different to what I initially thought the message was.
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