So now its official… its confirmed… Oakland pastor and Family Radio talk host Harold Camping is just another in a long line of religious embarrassments. A wannabe prophet, playing on the fears of his “followers” searching either for his fifteen minutes of fame or his $15 of support.
If he is really clever, when the sun rises today he can say the Apocolypse actually did begin… it was just an invisible “spiritual” Judgement Day. The Jehovah’s Witness got away with that at least twice in the 20th Century when their predictions failed, and they still are able to find people gullible enough to drink their particular flavor of kool-aid.
Or of course, there is the second possibility… Camping believed he had unlocked some mysterious Bible code that revealed the arrival of Judgement Day and he actually believed what he was proposing about his end of days prediction for May 21. (Kind of doubt that since he had already renewed his radio licenses into 2012). That possibility is even more worrisome to me. In the days of the Old Testament, one purporting to be a prophet would probably be stoned if he missed this badly… today you get to visit Good Morning America. Welcome to Idiocracy.
Anyway, Camping had his moment, and the media, which for some reason decided to be complicit in his little ego trip now can gleefully search for the obligatory reaction from Christians. Here is my reaction. There are amazing stories of faith spread over the planet… Young men and women risking all they are, in many cases their very lives to spread the gospel, feed the poor, assist the AIDS victim, love the broken, etc… MY First Prediction: This fact will continue to go unreported and unnoticed by the media, who would rather watch the carnival freak bite the head off the chicken, than actually see the world of faith as it is.
My second prediction: Camping’s followers will continue to prefer to attach themselves to some little dude with a big mic rather than read the Bible for themselves. They will either ignore or rationalize his “miss” or find someone else who will tell them the things they want to hear… it is a lot easier than living out a faith dependent relationship with God in obedience to His Word.
My final prediction: Judgement day actually will come for tens of thousands of people on tomorrow, May 22, then again on May 23, then again on May 24 and, well you get the idea. Hebrews 9:27 states, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” Unfortunately this is a “End of Days” even the media won’t face up to.. it is too real, too close to home. That’s right over 150,000 people will die tomorrow, then another 150,000 the next day and so on, and so on. Now that is an End of Days worth getting prepared for… and I would not count on the media drawing much attention to it to help you out. I recommend a big dose of truth from the Word…. followed by a big dose of grace from the cross. Maybe not as exciting as standing on the rooftop watching the skies for a sign, but much more effective.
And You shall now the truth!
J Beckett