When 89 years old Harold Camping president of Family Radio, a California-based radio station announced that Jesus would return on May 21 2011, not all Christians regarded him as a ranting old man. Some actually believed him both Christians and non Christians alike. As much as the belief of the unbelievers in this false prophecy did not move me, I get worried by Christians who helped this man spread his false prophecy. In spite of the clear statement of Jesus that no one knew the time of His coming, some people could still boldly announce a date for His second coming. My worry is not the deluded souls that call themselves prophets, but the gullible souls that believe and follow them. These false prophets are doing more harm than good to the body of Christ with these their false prophecies. If they thought of frightening the people into accepting Jesus as their Saviour with their doomsday prophecies, it is highly regrettable that it is not working; rather it is pushing sinners farther away from the saving grace of Jesus. This publicity stunt is mocking Christ and Christianity. Some atheists in America fixed a party for May 21 2011 and invited those who “missed” the rapture to join them as there would not be any rapture on that date. As Camping and his deluded team of supporters were busy with adverts and awareness of the rapture, atheists were busy degrading our God and our faith. The failure of Camping’s prediction has further strengthened them to campaign against God despite the fact that it was Camping that failed and not God.
Camping is not the first false prophet to predict the date of the second coming of Jesus Christ, Chares Taze Russell, the founder of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society popularly known as Jehovah’s Witness movement also predicted that Jesus would return in 1914. William Miller, a former Baptist pastor out of whose teaching came The Seven Day Adventist also set the day for the return of Jesus in 1843. When the second coming failed to occur as he had falsely predicted, he set another date for March 21, 1844, which also failed and then another date for October 22, 1844, which again failed. The effect on his followers known as Millerite movement back then was a major disaster, and the failure of the return of Jesus Christ to appear was called the “Great Disappointment.” However, one common trait of all these false prophets is that they keep fixing dates until their shame is covered by time. Camping has fixed another date for the rapture; October 21, 2011 just as his fellow false prophet fixed October 22, 1844.
Another troubling issue is the fact that Camping kept receiving money, goods and properties from those who believed him that Jesus would return on May 21, 2011 even as he was busy campaigning and running adverts for his false prophecy. After his prophecy failed and was asked to return the money and the material things given to him by deluded souls, he refused insisting those people gave him out of their free will and not out of compulsion. Hum! Free will or fear?
I find it difficult to understand the type of Christianity we practice today where the word of man is given preeminence above the Word of God. Let us assume this false prophecy was given by one of our well respected ministers in Nigeria, no doubt some genuine Christians will still believe the minister even when the Scripture has made it clear that no man knows the day of His coming.
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matt 24:36.
Beloved, no man is infallible not even the pope. The Word of God is fixed, any revelation or special revelation from any man of God no matter how influential that contradicts the established Word of God should be rejected. The church is gradually heading for a crisis and yet we are ignoring it to our own detriment. Ministers are gradually putting on the robe of infallibility under the guise of “vision” “revelation” “mystery”. Church members now liken their general overseers to people like apostles Paul and Peter and claim that their general overseers can also receive revelation on behalf of the church just like the apostles did. This is dangerous because a deluded general overseer just like Harold Camping can rise up one day and claim that Jesus has given him or her a revelation that the church is in error for believing and teaching the doctrine of Trinity. Apostle Paul knew by divine revelation that a time would come when men who love power and fame will claim their revelations as divine and press the church to accept them as doctrines. Thus he warned,
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Gal 1:8
The Bible has a great deal to say about false teachers and false prophets. In the Old Testament, prophets whose prophecies turned out to be false were to be put to death. According to the New Testament, they are to be exposed, removed from the church, and no longer even to be greeted by believers. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy that “there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.” [2 Timothy 4:3 NET]
He warned Titus of those who would upset the church and its families by “teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught..” [Titus 1:11 NET] . Bible in Basic English says, “who take money for teaching things which are not right; these will have to be stopped.”
Peter’s words to the church are especially directed to the rise of false teachers: “But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves. And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. Because of these false teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation pronounced long ago is not sitting idly by; their destruction is not asleep.” [2 Peter 2:1-3. NET]
For this reason, James warned, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, because you know that we will be judged more strictly.” [James 3:1. NET]
Those are sober words, and false teachers are in real trouble. That was true in the first century as the church began, and it is certainly true now. The difference now is the velocity with which false teachings can be disseminated. Today’s church cannot remain faithful if it tolerates false teachers and leaves their teachings uncorrected and unconfronted. Harold Camping is not the first false teacher to present the church with such a test of faithfulness, nor will he be the last.
Shalom!!!
