Just wanted to write "one last post" before the world "comes to an end"
No, I don't really buy that the rapture starts May 21st, or May 21st is "Judgement Day" or "Doomsday". But apparently a lot of people, like Harold Camping, do.
According to Camping, and those that apparently follow him, the end of the world is set to begin May 21st, 2011 with Judgment Day. The actual end of the world is scheduled to occur on October 21st, exactly 5 months from the supposed beginning. If you happen to read this today, the 21st, and wonder why the apocalypse hasn't begun - give it until 6pm. According to Camping:"At about 6pm, he reckons 2 per cent of the world's population will be immediately 'raptured' to Heaven " But wait, is that Eastern time? Pacific? How will I know? Will people in Asia be raptured first? Wouldn't they already have been? Wouldn't we hear it on the news that thousands were disappearing in Asia and Europe as 6pm hit?
I started writing this, and wrote a couple brief sentences, at 11:55pm Eastern time on May 20, 2011 (honestly just for the impact of the timestamp). I am following up at 5:14am Eastern time on May 21, 2011. In some parts of the world it is already well past 6pm in their local time, such as Auckland, New Zealand (currently 9:14pm there). Why haven't they been taken away yet? Is that to say it must be that no one is saved in Auckland?
I am actually a full believer in the Apocalypse, Judgment Day, the Tribulation, etc, just not right now. Why? Show me all the fancy math (he apparently arrived to his conclusion using some calendar math) that you want. For someone to know the date that the world will end goes directly against what the Bible, what Jesus himself teaches. If one person were to know the date of the end of the world (and moreso, announce it to others) is a direct contradiction to this verse: 1 Thessalonaians 5:2-4 (NASV): For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
There are many other verses that say basically the same thing, and reference Christ coming as a thief in the night. If He is to come as a thief, that is completely unexpected, how can someone know the date and tell others? The point is, if people know when to prepare for Christ then the mindset would be last-minute preparation instead of always being on your toes.
To make a couple bad analogies - think of the popular parental teaching to "always wear clean underwear!" (since you never know when you might wind up being in some sort of accident where people might have to see them). Also along those lines, you're always supposed to wear a seatbelt for just in case. In either situation, if you knew when you were going to be in a wreck, the clean underwear - or even wearing your seatbelt - would be unnecessary 99% of the time.
That then means that if we are to believe that Harold Camping knows the truth, and his many followers are fully justified in spending their life savings to support the advertisement of his message, God's message would be reduced to "You could've pretty much done whatever you wanted all this time, just be sure to repent on the 21st, maybe the 20th too." Instead, God's message clearly is to remain prepared and vigilant at all times so you are ready for whenever Christ returns. Isn't that much more profound than to simply prepare for May 21st?
Sadly, in addition to so many people blindly following the words of a false prophet, there are many profiting from the blindness of those followers. Many have already created sites dedicated to disputing Harold Camping's teachings. I decided to write this post because frankly because I see Harold Camping as a cult leader (from what I can tell, I'm not alone) and cult behavior is always fascinating to me. It's one thing when people become members of a cult and the cult leader uses specific mind control tactics to gain followers and keep them under their wing. However, with Camping, he isn't keeping these people in some sort of concentration camp drilling his ideals into them and breaking them down as done in Jonestown.
I honestly can't quite figure out why people would choose to follow his misguided teachings. Have they just missed those passages of the Bible? Did Harold Camping rewrite the Bible for them so they had a copy that fits his teachings? Are people just really sick of how this world has become and desperately cling to the desire to leave it? I really can't say, and I'm sure it's different for everyone believing it. However, one thing I am sure of is that this will be as anti-climactic as Y2K, when midnight rolled around and life went on. But if by some incredible misjudgment of Camping, he is right and we who don't believe him are wrong, at least I got this post done before 6pm.
According to Camping, and those that apparently follow him, the end of the world is set to begin May 21st, 2011 with Judgment Day. The actual end of the world is scheduled to occur on October 21st, exactly 5 months from the supposed beginning. If you happen to read this today, the 21st, and wonder why the apocalypse hasn't begun - give it until 6pm. According to Camping:"At about 6pm, he reckons 2 per cent of the world's population will be immediately 'raptured' to Heaven " But wait, is that Eastern time? Pacific? How will I know? Will people in Asia be raptured first? Wouldn't they already have been? Wouldn't we hear it on the news that thousands were disappearing in Asia and Europe as 6pm hit?
I started writing this, and wrote a couple brief sentences, at 11:55pm Eastern time on May 20, 2011 (honestly just for the impact of the timestamp). I am following up at 5:14am Eastern time on May 21, 2011. In some parts of the world it is already well past 6pm in their local time, such as Auckland, New Zealand (currently 9:14pm there). Why haven't they been taken away yet? Is that to say it must be that no one is saved in Auckland?
I am actually a full believer in the Apocalypse, Judgment Day, the Tribulation, etc, just not right now. Why? Show me all the fancy math (he apparently arrived to his conclusion using some calendar math) that you want. For someone to know the date that the world will end goes directly against what the Bible, what Jesus himself teaches. If one person were to know the date of the end of the world (and moreso, announce it to others) is a direct contradiction to this verse: 1 Thessalonaians 5:2-4 (NASV): For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
There are many other verses that say basically the same thing, and reference Christ coming as a thief in the night. If He is to come as a thief, that is completely unexpected, how can someone know the date and tell others? The point is, if people know when to prepare for Christ then the mindset would be last-minute preparation instead of always being on your toes.
To make a couple bad analogies - think of the popular parental teaching to "always wear clean underwear!" (since you never know when you might wind up being in some sort of accident where people might have to see them). Also along those lines, you're always supposed to wear a seatbelt for just in case. In either situation, if you knew when you were going to be in a wreck, the clean underwear - or even wearing your seatbelt - would be unnecessary 99% of the time.
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| BibleAndScience.com |
Sadly, in addition to so many people blindly following the words of a false prophet, there are many profiting from the blindness of those followers. Many have already created sites dedicated to disputing Harold Camping's teachings. I decided to write this post because frankly because I see Harold Camping as a cult leader (from what I can tell, I'm not alone) and cult behavior is always fascinating to me. It's one thing when people become members of a cult and the cult leader uses specific mind control tactics to gain followers and keep them under their wing. However, with Camping, he isn't keeping these people in some sort of concentration camp drilling his ideals into them and breaking them down as done in Jonestown.
I honestly can't quite figure out why people would choose to follow his misguided teachings. Have they just missed those passages of the Bible? Did Harold Camping rewrite the Bible for them so they had a copy that fits his teachings? Are people just really sick of how this world has become and desperately cling to the desire to leave it? I really can't say, and I'm sure it's different for everyone believing it. However, one thing I am sure of is that this will be as anti-climactic as Y2K, when midnight rolled around and life went on. But if by some incredible misjudgment of Camping, he is right and we who don't believe him are wrong, at least I got this post done before 6pm.
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