Back in late May, we noted that radio personality Harold Camping had incorrectly predicted the world would end on May 21st. It was a big story at the time, though I am not sure why. Such predictions have been made since the first century, and have always been bogus. There is a reason for this, as the Bible clearly reveals that man can’t know the day of the Lord’s second coming, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
Camping refused to admit that he was wrong when May 21st came and went. At least, not completely wrong. Instead, he claimed that Jesus had indeed come in judgment upon the world, but had in His mercy allowed the world to continue for five more months. He then proclaimed confidently that the universe would come to an end on October 21st. This tactic of revising predictions after the fact is again not unique. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, among others, have done it on several occasions.
Consider that what Camping claimed happened on May 21st directly contradicts what the Bible teaches. The Bible clearly indicates that Jesus’ coming in judgment would be accompanied by the dissolution of all things. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).
False prophets are able to convince the credulous because they speak their lies with such great conviction. After the debacle of May 21st, when those who made the latest prediction were convinced they would be raptured to God, the predictions continued. At the website where Camping’s teachings were spread, there was a “correction” made when October 21st came and went, indicating that the calculations were a day off. After the 22nd likewise did not bring the end of the physical universe, the last announcement was for a fellowship study and lunch on October 29th. There is no acknowledgment of false teaching to be found anywhere on the site.
Any influence this particular teacher had has been destroyed. But, it will not be long until his predictions are replaced by another’s. And, despite the long line of failures, the new predictions will be embraced by many. Why? Because people fail to study and embrace God’s word. Too often a love of speculation has replaced a willingness to learn and submit to God’s will. Concerning such tendencies, Paul wrote, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
In contrast, the discerning disciple will examine any claims in light of scripture, as did the Bereans. “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
Any and all predictions concerning the exact day of Jesus’ second coming contradict scripture. No man knows the day. So, all such claims should be immediately rejected as false.
