FALSE PREDICTIONS OF THE COMING OF CHRIST

FALSE PREDICTIONS OF THE COMING OF CHRIST

Harold Camping is at it again. He had predicted once that Christ would return in 1994. Obviously, Christ did not return and Camping’s only response to his failed prediction was that he had not studied the Bible enough. Therefore, he has a revised prediction for May 21^st 2011. The verse commonly invoked against Camping is Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Camping dismisses such verses by pointing out that the church cannot be trusted in matters of Biblical interpretation because it has become apostate.

The place to deal with Camping is by questioning his hermeneutical approach to the Bible. Hermeneutics comes from the Greek word meaning, “to interpret.” Camping interprets the Bible allegorically, wherein a passage can mean whatever the interpreter can twist it to mean. Although, he claims to believe the Bible, he manipulates it to mean whatever dates and events he chooses.

The correct principle in interpreting the Bible is: “If the plain sense makes good sense, then any other sense is non-sense.” When the Bible is talking about the sign-less rapture, it means that Christ will come for his church without any warning before the Tribulation. When the Bible is talking about the signs of Christ’s second coming, it is referring to the return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation. When the Bible is talking about Israel, it is referring to Israel. When it is talking about the church, it is the church. The prophecies about Israel should not be applied to the church. The list goes on and on.

I believe the Bible tells us to keep our eyes on the skies but our hands on the plough. Knowing that Christ can come at any moment, we should strive to live holy lives and tell others about Jesus. Not knowing the time or the season should motivate us to make this world a better place for our children and our grandchildren. Harold Camping and other “date-setters” are the false prophets of our times and should not be believed. Neither should we support those TV evangelists who are trying to sell emergency food packets. We have our Charlie Sheens too!