The Tragic Aftermath of
Harold Camping's May 21st
False Predictions

Mr. Camping has fallen into a trap that nobody need fall into. Jesus said that no man would know the day or the hour. Paul also lets us know that, but lets us know that we would know the season when we entered it, and we would not be taken unaware as the world. But the whole point of the "day that no man knows", as spoken of by Jesus and shown in the Rosh HaShanah is that we are to watch and pray always so that we would be accounted worthy to escape "all these things" that Jesus said would come in the Tribulation according to Luke 21.

Mr. Harold Camping believes that the 70th Week of Daniel (a 7 year period), which is the time frame of the coming Tribulation Period is actually a number of months, and not years unlike the rest of the 489 weeks of years that has been fulfilled (Daniel 9:24-27). But his idea of time is a bit odd anyway. I am not trying to scoff, but after looking at his website, I still cannot fathom how he gets that Noah's flood occurred 7000 years to the day to May 21, 2011. He thinks that the creation of Adam was 10,000 years ago using genealogies of the Bible. I have researched those genealogies, and though there are gaps in them showing that more time is probably in there, it certainly does not date back 10,000 years according to them. And the flood is more like 5,000 years ago and not 7,000 years. I don't understand where he is getting it. Usually I can catch on, but this is kind of frustrating especially when you consider that people have put tens of millions of their own dollars into this ministry that has made this their foundational belief.

He has used "Bible Codes" to come up with some of this, I know. But there is something that he has not considered that every Rabbi knew. See, Bible Codes are real and Rabbis always knew that they were in the Pentateuch and other books. But the "real" Bible Codes make some sense in the way that they are figured... as every so many letters repeated without changing. When you have to start doing complicated math to get the words you are getting, then you might as well be looking at Lewis Carrol's Through the Looking Glass, because you can get results in just about any writing. Especially if you are looking for certain word combinations. If you play with it enough, many times you can find it.

Real Bible Codes (using equidistant letter sequence - ELS) are actually quite astounding without trying to manipulate the text. It is the signature of Yahweh in His Word, for no computer could figure out how to give us the Word of God as we have it and still have within it coded the personal signature of the HOLY SPIRIT who inspired it. If you begin at the beginning of the book of Genesis and skip every 50 letters, you see the word "Torah" spelled out. The same things is true in Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In Isaiah 52-53, when speaking of the coming suffering Messiah there is an ELS that tells us that "Yeshua is my name".

UNDERSTAND THIS: as wonderful as this is for seeing the hand of God in scriptures (you know a man didn't come up with this... couldn't have), this is secondary in understanding the teaching of God's Word. You are not to use this to try divination or to form a new doctrine that is not found in the text. It would be like making something out of the signature, but ignoring the plain instructions in the text. THIS IS WHAT HAROLD CAMPING'S GROUP HAS DONE.

The sad, sad thing is that he had former atheists that have become believers who have sold everything to follow him. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM WHEN JESUS DOES NOT COME WHEN A MAN PREDICTS?

There are those who already make fun of our believe in a resurrection and rapture already, what happens when May 21 comes (is here as of this writing) and goes and nothing happens as man has predicted? It helps solidify the opinion that this doctrine of a catching away of the church is bogus and that we who believe in it are superstitious. It helps the unbelievers not believe. It is a slap against true faith.

Any time that we make a stand that the Word of God does not back, then we hurt not only ourselves but we hurt any who followed us. We also give more weight to those who are attacking our beliefs. This is so fundamentally sad on so many levels... mainly because it is unnecessary.

Look... Jesus Christ can come today! I wish that He would. I am to the point where I desire to see Jesus with my eyes! I want the Marriage Supper of the Lamb to begin and I want to be a part of it! I understand the deep feeling that inspires us to pray, "Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!"

But if Jesus comes today, it will not be because of a Bible Code or because a man said that he would. It will be because this was the time. But if today passes by, I will look for Jesus tomorrow! That is what we are truly called to do. We are to watch and pray always... always! That is Jesus' commandment. What if the actual rapture occurs on May 22nd? Just a thought...

We are close and we are definitely in the prophetic season. It is our generation that will see it... but we just cannot "know" the day or the hour... Jesus said that we couldn't. In the end, I believe Jesus over any man or woman.

There was one boy who died in a tragic accident in a "World didn't End Party".  There were people who sold everything that they had so that they could travel the country warning people that Jesus was coming.  How many will be so disillusioned that they will lose all faith that Jesus is returning at all?  How many of their relatives have been put off of God and evangelism over them promoting this one false doctrine.  See, we are living in the last generation in the Last Days.  We do know the times and season, but we can never know the day or the hour.  This kind of false preaching helps the scoffers and God-mockers who ask, "where is the promise of His coming?"

The truth is that we are so very close, but to set a date is always wrong.  I remember the book, "88 reasons why the Rapture will be in 1988."  I was in college then, and during the time when they were blowing the shofar in Israel, there were people who were checking to see if other "more dedicated" Christians were still there.  I heard of a number of people who did this.  If you watch and pray always, you won't become lukewarm and you will always be ready.

Pray for those who have followed this... pray that they not lose their faith in God and His Word. Understand that the Word of God did not say that Jesus was coming back today, and it sure did not say that the End of this Age was later this year. God help us! 

James