The Camping Rapture Fail

Harold Camping before an interview

 Hey, boys and girls! Guess what? It's May 21st! That means, according to this guy on the left, that the end of the world is nigh! The rapture is taking place at 6 PM tonight! Everything that Tim LaHaye wrote about in the Left Behind series is coming to pass! (Okay, so not really on that last sentence.)

It would kill me if I didn't write something about the Harold Camping hullabaloo, because not everyone realizes the kind of fallout that will come from this. We can point our fingers and laugh, but come Monday, Christianity as a whole will be held up and mocked again thanks to the exploits of this extremely misguided man who thinks he has found the secret formula identifying the day of Christ's return. I, for one, find this to be a serious issue, but I also think there are several valid lessons to learn from this. But first, let's take it one point at a time...

Let's compare statements concerning the coming of Christ...
Now, Harold Camping claims to be a Christian. If he is a Christian, then he recognizes Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life, and has put his faith in Christ alone for salvation. So let us start with what Jesus has said on His return. All of these verses are the spoken words of Christ in the Gospels.

“If anyone tells you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it! False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note: I have told you in advance. So if they tell you, ‘Look, He’s in the wilderness!’ don’t go out; ‘Look, He’s in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather. Matthew 24:23-28 (HCSB) "

“Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son—except the Father only. As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be: Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one left. Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:36-44 (HCSB)

“Now concerning that day or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father. Watch! Be alert! For you don’t know when the time is ⌊coming⌋. It is like a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his slaves, gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. Therefore be alert, since you don’t know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. Otherwise, he might come suddenly and find you sleeping.
And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!” Mark 13:32-37 (HCSB)

“Be on your guard, so that your minds are not dulled from carousing, drunkenness, and worries of life, or that day will come on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come on all who live on the face of the whole earth. But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36 (HCSB)

There are several things worth emphasizing in these passages. Of course, these are just snippets of a much larger picture. I am not trying to provide a crash course on eschatology and it's various views, but given these passages above, let us establish a few facts:

• The coming of Christ will be instantaneous.
• The coming of Christ will be unpredictable and unexpected.
• The Body of Christ is to stay constantly alert for His coming.

There is a very important point that arises from these facts, but we will get to that in a second. Here is what Harold Camping has said about the return of Christ. This is his formula from which he was able to pin the date down for May 21st.

1. The number five equals "atonement", the number ten equals "completeness", and the number seventeen equals "heaven".
2. Christ is said to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD and April 1, 2011 is 1,978 years.
3. If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar year, not to be confused with the lunar year), the result is 722,449.
4. The time between April 1 and May 21 is 51 days.
5. 51 added to 722,449 is 722,500.
6. (5 × 10 × 17)² or (atonement × completeness × heaven)² also equals 722,500. (retrieved here)

The Bible guarantees that you are just plain wrong.

Now, it is so very tempting to go through this argument and highlight the unproven premises, mainly in the first two premises. That, however, would simply be a waste of time, in light of what Christ Himself said on the subject of His return. For Harold Camping to think that somehow this argument can overshadow and supersede the words of His Lord Christ is nothing but the height of arrogance. He has elevated this calculation over the words of Christ, and this is nothing short of pure, raw arrogance. Unfortunately, he fits the description of the false prophet as Christ mentioned in Matthew 24:23-28 above, as his nationwide campaign for awareness of May 21st has been basically claiming "Look, here is the Messiah" (see picture above). In order for Harold's claims to even get off the ground, he must create a convincing and plausible case that Christ did not say those things - if he can't do that, his prophecy arrives dead on arrival, condemned at the very conception of the idea. As long as Christ's claims are true, Camping's are necessarily false.

Now, this is more than enough to convince the reasonable mind that Harold Camping's "prophecy" should be dismissed. However, before I move on to the damage that this campaign has caused, allow me to point out that, technically, May 21st could be the day when Christ returns. James R White wrote an excellent piece on this point in a blog post last week about how it is entirely possible that Christ returns today. If He does, however, it would not be because Harold Camping predicted it would be - it would be on God's timetable. Just because an extremely misguided false prophet claims a date for Christ's return doesn't mean that God cannot return on that date - like the verses said, "now concerning that day and hour no one knows". It is up for Christians to not say that Christ's return will not be today. We are to stay on alert and make the most of each day, knowing that Christ's return is guaranteed, just not when we expect it. Who knows? Christ could return on June 1st. He could return 10 years from today. He could return on August 7th 1000 years from now. It is not up for us to pin dates on the wall for His return - as I will explain later, it is up for us to live like His return is soon.


The fallout of this whole debacle

Allow me to copy/paste a segment from James R White's blog post concerning some of the actions Harold Camping's followers have take. 

I listened to two NPR reports on Camping's prophecy today, and it was truly disheartening to listen to these folks. One lady had been about to enroll in medical college, but did not, so that she could warn people about "Judgment Day." Another man had left wife and children behind, as they did not "believe." A couple, the woman expecting their second child in June, were interviewed. They had given up everything, and had just enough money to make it till May 21. After that…well, they will be destitute. The New York Post just reported on a man who squandered his $140,000 life's savings to buy advertisements in the New York area promoting the May 21 prophecy. (James R White, retrieved from here)

This is what separates Harold Camping from just the average doomsday guy - this guy will ruin the lives of many people who have followed him. To be sure, those who follow him are doing so out of their own free will - regardless, if there is no message, then there is nothing to follow. This guy will give Christianity a very bad taste in those who have abandoned everything for this false prophecy. This is simply inexcusable for any Christian. Camping owns an entire radio station chain called Family Radio (which has been his chief propaganda arm for decades) to which he will still have even when some of his followers have given everything to follow Him. I will pity his followers - I have little pity for Camping.

Of course, the atheist camps will take great advantage of this opportunity. I imagine the atheist organizations will have some new members in their ranks come next week, and that there will be a circus parade in the media (although it appears that the media is already calling this a failed prediction - and good for them). As my apologist friend Lauren Kimball pointed out, it is funny that a clearly misguided Christian gets a large amount of screen time, yet when it comes to Christian charities or other good things that Christians are doing (or worse, the persecution against Christians that is already well documented in other countries) gets relegated to Christian publications and news sources. Bias, much?

Of course, there is a lesson to be learned from this as well - as my apologist friend Steve Bedard, the editor of the apologetics journal Hope's Reason, wrote on his blog,if people are willing to give everything they have for a cause they believe in, even when it is a false cause, what does it say about the majority of American Christianity? Are we willing to give up our stuff and sell it for a cause which does matter? I can testify that I am not. Though charitable giving is a major part of my life, there is always more I can be doing besides giving. The American Church would do well to not write off the followers of Camping when it comes to what they have done for their belief - indeed, the American church should learn a lesson from them. I would do well to learn a lesson from them. This ultimately leads to my last point.

Christian don't get to choose how they want to live

There are valuable lessons to learn from all of this. Christians should not waste the time that they are given here on Earth. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so how we live out lives is not a matter of personal preference, but of unquestionable importance:

"Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires." Romans 13:11-14 (HCSB)

"Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts.They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, assuming you heard about Him and were taught by Him, because the truth is in Jesus.You took off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires;you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds;you put on the new self, the one created according to God’s ⌊likeness⌋ in righteousness and purity of the truth.Since you put away lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by Him for the day of redemption.All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ". Ephesians 4:17-32 (HCSB)

"Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:13-16 (HCSB)

This whole event can serve as warning for Christians that we don't get the luxury of living life for our own benefits, and that we are called to live differently from the ways of this world. Christ has given us the directive of the Great Commission, to make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20). That is not an optional call for Christians to take up when they feel like doing so - for those who call themselves Christians, they are acknowledging Christ as the Lord of their lives (or as my former youth minister Ryan told his daughters, "Jesus is Boss"), and that Lord has commanded that disciples be made over the world. The focus of my life is to make disciples - Christ has commanded me to do so, and as someone who has surrendered my life to Him acknowledging that without him I am an object of God's wrath that is due my sin, I am to obey in that calling wherever I am located (and guess what? If you are a Christian, that last sentence applies to you as well).American Christianity is great at communicating a lukewarm commitment to Christ, and while I am certainly guilty of being a lukewarm Christian at times, it is not acceptable for any of us. And at the end of today, if Christ has not returned today (again, if He does return today, it is not because Camping called it), it does not diminish our call to "be holy in all your conduct, for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy". His coming is certain, so let us be faithful servants until that time.