Harold Camping was wrong about 5/21/11, now what? What does he believe? Does the Bible teach us when the end times or rapture will take place?
25 - May - 2011
Harold Camping & several followers were claiming that May 21st, 2011 would be the beginning of the end of the world. We are familiar with that, but what else does he believe? From his own words on his organization’s website, I understand that he (not me) believes the following:
What’s right with Harold Camping’s teaching?
He does seem to have a good grasp of God’s attributes. He repeatedly states that God is all-knowing (omniscient), holy, merciful & just as well as many others. He also correctly understands that God’s justice demands judgment & penalty for mankind’s sin as individuals & as societies (Eccl 12.14, 1 Pt 4.5, 2 Pt 3.7, Heb 9.27, 10.26-31). He does understand that man cannot earn salvation, but here is where things start to get sticky.
What’s wrong with Harold Camping’s teaching?
He has a misunderstanding of what “earning” salvation means. One way you can discern false doctrine is to recognize inconsistencies. At one point, he said you “must depend on the Lord” to save you which sounds a lot like faith. Yet he adamantly states that trusting, accepting, believing or having faith in Christ is somehow an attempt to earn salvation. The problem is that this type of faith is the only means given to us by the Bible for salvation from God’s wrath against our sin (Rom 3.22-28, 10.8-11, Eph 2.8). All through the Gospel’s you see Jesus responding to faith (Mt 8.10, 9.2, 22, 29, 13.58, 15.28, 25.21 – and those are just from 1 book!). Faith is simply believing God to do what He says He’ll do & be who He says He is, regardless of anything else.
In the case of salvation, it is belief that Christ personally died in your place for the punishment of your sins & then places His righteousness (perfect moral standing) on you to permanently qualify you for His presence. Thus, God’s justice is satisfied, your sins are forgiven & you are justified to stand before God Almighty (Rom 5.1-2, 2 Cor 5.21, Col 1.21-22, 1 Jn 1.8-9). And because you are trusting in Christ’s work, you can be certain that you are saved (Jn 3.16, 1 Jn 5.13). Without this faith, God says you are still dead in your sins & can expect His eternal judgment in hell.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. – Jesus in Jn 3.36
As for God choosing who His people (the elect) are, the Scriptures support this (Mt 24.31, Eph 1.4-5, 1 Pt 1.1-2), but not to the extreme Mr. Camping takes it. Despite bountiful Scriptures that teach about salvation through faith, he believes that the doctrine of election negates a responsibility to personally respond to Christ’s salvation & any necessity for faith. The Bible does not tell us that they negate each other, it just tells us that they are so. And that this is God’s way even if we can’t understand it. We must remember our place (Isa 55.8-9). Besides, from our vantage point we have no way of knowing who God’s chosen people are beforehand, but we know that they must have faith. God knew we would wonder about these things, so He had Paul write:
One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? – Rom 9.19-24
And now we come to the issue of the church. Let us remember that the Holy Spirit does not dwell in buildings or denominations, but in the hearts of His people (Jn 14.16-17, Ac 7.48-51, Eph 1.13-14). While there are many churches who have abandoned God’s truth & the Gospel, not all of them have. Christ is still building His church (Mt 16.18). Mr. Camping’s claim that Mt 24.15-16 somehow means the church age is over is simply false. In fact, the Bible teaches that we should continue to meet as local churches in the context of the last days (the Day – Heb 10.25).
What is the church age? What are the end times?
While there are several teachings on the sequence of events, I will present what seems to be the most consistent & straightforward from Scripture. If you would like to understand other views, I would encourage you to search them out yourself (Acts 17.11).
To start, when Jesus came to Earth, He instituted the universal (global) church which has grown & consists of all believers everywhere who have trusted in His sacrifice for the punishment for their sins & trust entirely on Christ’s own merit to qualify them for heaven. This universal church is made up of several localized churches which are groups of Christians who love & serve one another while seeking to carry out God’s will. The time span from the universal church’s inception up through current times is called the church age which will culminate when Jesus Christ returns to collect His people (1 Thes 4.16-17). This event is known as the rapture & ushers in the tribulation period which by no means will be a pleasant time to live as it will be a time of God’s judgment & wrath (Rev 6.17). The Bible seems to teach that those who are already Christians will be spared from this tribulation period by means of the rapture (1 Thes 1.10, 4.17, 5.9-10, Rev 3.10). Even so, God doesn’t delight in pouring out His wrath, but wants people to turn from their sin to Him & some will during that dreadful time (Eze 18.32, 2 Pt 3.9, Rev 13.5-8, 14.6-13). Still, most will never repent (Rev 9.20-21, 16.9, 11). At the conclusion of this tribulation period (usually understood to be 7 years long), God will condemn all unbelievers, Satan & his demons to eternal hell (Rev 20.10, 14-15).
On top of all this false teaching, is the idea that Christians will be able to have secret or special knowledge (a part of Gnosticism) revealed to them near the end times. While there are Scriptures that show us that God teaches us things & reveals things to us, you will never find Scriptures that contradict other Scriptures. In other words, if the Bible plainly teaches that we can’t know the time of the rapture, then we can’t expect other passages to teach that we can. It is not surprising then that Mr. Camping’s prediction didn’t come to fruition. Here’s why.
Jesus Christ said, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man (Jesus) will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Mt 24.36-44)
The Apostle Paul carries on this same thought, “Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” (1 Thes 5.1-3)
The Apostle Peter concurs, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” (2 Pt 3.10)
In other words, the time & date details of Christ’s return are not revealed to us, but we do know that it will occur & it will be sudden. Many people will be going about their business, but Christians are exhorted to be vigilant. The truth of the matter is that right up until Christ returns, Christians should be doing the same things they have been called to do for past 2,000 years – live lives worthy of the salvation Christ has provided, seek to know & live out God’s will & share the good news of salvation with others (Rom 12.1-2, Col 1.10, 1 Pt 4.1-2, 2 Pt 3.11, 2 Tim 4.5).
When Jesus’ disciples inquired about the end times, Jesus began His response with “Watch out that no one deceives you.” (Mt 24.4) In fact, much of Scripture dealing with the end times makes note of rampant deception (Dn 11.23, 27, Mt 24.5, 24, 2 Thes 2.3, 9-10, Rev 13.14).
The Apostle Peter said, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute." (2 Pt 2.1-2)
Indeed, many have followed Mr. Camping’s teachings & if any have found their way here, I have some encouraging news for you. God does want you to know the truth & more importantly, He wants you to know Him through His Son Jesus. But we can’t trust in man’s ways (Pr 29.25). We must carefully examine the whole council of God’s Word (1 Tim 4.16, 2 Tim 3.16-17).
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. – 2 Pt 1.16-21
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. – Gal 1.6-12
I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments… See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. - Col 2.4, 8
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. – 2 Cor 4.2
- To be saved (from God’s wrath), you must be part of God’s elect (chosen people).
- If you trust or accept or have faith in Christ, that would be considered making a contribution to or a do-it-yourself salvation.
- You must have an intense desire to do the will of God, find the Bible important, continually ask “would God want me to do this?”, be deeply troubled by sin & “depend on the Lord”. Then, “It could be you’re saved.”
- If you plead for God’s mercy, you may be one of the elect as long as you also…
- You must stop being part of a church because the church age is over & the Holy Spirit has left the church; and
- Believe that you can know this secret knowledge of the end times.
What’s right with Harold Camping’s teaching?
He does seem to have a good grasp of God’s attributes. He repeatedly states that God is all-knowing (omniscient), holy, merciful & just as well as many others. He also correctly understands that God’s justice demands judgment & penalty for mankind’s sin as individuals & as societies (Eccl 12.14, 1 Pt 4.5, 2 Pt 3.7, Heb 9.27, 10.26-31). He does understand that man cannot earn salvation, but here is where things start to get sticky.
What’s wrong with Harold Camping’s teaching?
He has a misunderstanding of what “earning” salvation means. One way you can discern false doctrine is to recognize inconsistencies. At one point, he said you “must depend on the Lord” to save you which sounds a lot like faith. Yet he adamantly states that trusting, accepting, believing or having faith in Christ is somehow an attempt to earn salvation. The problem is that this type of faith is the only means given to us by the Bible for salvation from God’s wrath against our sin (Rom 3.22-28, 10.8-11, Eph 2.8). All through the Gospel’s you see Jesus responding to faith (Mt 8.10, 9.2, 22, 29, 13.58, 15.28, 25.21 – and those are just from 1 book!). Faith is simply believing God to do what He says He’ll do & be who He says He is, regardless of anything else.
In the case of salvation, it is belief that Christ personally died in your place for the punishment of your sins & then places His righteousness (perfect moral standing) on you to permanently qualify you for His presence. Thus, God’s justice is satisfied, your sins are forgiven & you are justified to stand before God Almighty (Rom 5.1-2, 2 Cor 5.21, Col 1.21-22, 1 Jn 1.8-9). And because you are trusting in Christ’s work, you can be certain that you are saved (Jn 3.16, 1 Jn 5.13). Without this faith, God says you are still dead in your sins & can expect His eternal judgment in hell.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. – Jesus in Jn 3.36
As for God choosing who His people (the elect) are, the Scriptures support this (Mt 24.31, Eph 1.4-5, 1 Pt 1.1-2), but not to the extreme Mr. Camping takes it. Despite bountiful Scriptures that teach about salvation through faith, he believes that the doctrine of election negates a responsibility to personally respond to Christ’s salvation & any necessity for faith. The Bible does not tell us that they negate each other, it just tells us that they are so. And that this is God’s way even if we can’t understand it. We must remember our place (Isa 55.8-9). Besides, from our vantage point we have no way of knowing who God’s chosen people are beforehand, but we know that they must have faith. God knew we would wonder about these things, so He had Paul write:
One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? – Rom 9.19-24
And now we come to the issue of the church. Let us remember that the Holy Spirit does not dwell in buildings or denominations, but in the hearts of His people (Jn 14.16-17, Ac 7.48-51, Eph 1.13-14). While there are many churches who have abandoned God’s truth & the Gospel, not all of them have. Christ is still building His church (Mt 16.18). Mr. Camping’s claim that Mt 24.15-16 somehow means the church age is over is simply false. In fact, the Bible teaches that we should continue to meet as local churches in the context of the last days (the Day – Heb 10.25).
What is the church age? What are the end times?
While there are several teachings on the sequence of events, I will present what seems to be the most consistent & straightforward from Scripture. If you would like to understand other views, I would encourage you to search them out yourself (Acts 17.11).
To start, when Jesus came to Earth, He instituted the universal (global) church which has grown & consists of all believers everywhere who have trusted in His sacrifice for the punishment for their sins & trust entirely on Christ’s own merit to qualify them for heaven. This universal church is made up of several localized churches which are groups of Christians who love & serve one another while seeking to carry out God’s will. The time span from the universal church’s inception up through current times is called the church age which will culminate when Jesus Christ returns to collect His people (1 Thes 4.16-17). This event is known as the rapture & ushers in the tribulation period which by no means will be a pleasant time to live as it will be a time of God’s judgment & wrath (Rev 6.17). The Bible seems to teach that those who are already Christians will be spared from this tribulation period by means of the rapture (1 Thes 1.10, 4.17, 5.9-10, Rev 3.10). Even so, God doesn’t delight in pouring out His wrath, but wants people to turn from their sin to Him & some will during that dreadful time (Eze 18.32, 2 Pt 3.9, Rev 13.5-8, 14.6-13). Still, most will never repent (Rev 9.20-21, 16.9, 11). At the conclusion of this tribulation period (usually understood to be 7 years long), God will condemn all unbelievers, Satan & his demons to eternal hell (Rev 20.10, 14-15).
On top of all this false teaching, is the idea that Christians will be able to have secret or special knowledge (a part of Gnosticism) revealed to them near the end times. While there are Scriptures that show us that God teaches us things & reveals things to us, you will never find Scriptures that contradict other Scriptures. In other words, if the Bible plainly teaches that we can’t know the time of the rapture, then we can’t expect other passages to teach that we can. It is not surprising then that Mr. Camping’s prediction didn’t come to fruition. Here’s why.
Jesus Christ said, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man (Jesus) will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Mt 24.36-44)
The Apostle Paul carries on this same thought, “Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” (1 Thes 5.1-3)
The Apostle Peter concurs, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” (2 Pt 3.10)
In other words, the time & date details of Christ’s return are not revealed to us, but we do know that it will occur & it will be sudden. Many people will be going about their business, but Christians are exhorted to be vigilant. The truth of the matter is that right up until Christ returns, Christians should be doing the same things they have been called to do for past 2,000 years – live lives worthy of the salvation Christ has provided, seek to know & live out God’s will & share the good news of salvation with others (Rom 12.1-2, Col 1.10, 1 Pt 4.1-2, 2 Pt 3.11, 2 Tim 4.5).
When Jesus’ disciples inquired about the end times, Jesus began His response with “Watch out that no one deceives you.” (Mt 24.4) In fact, much of Scripture dealing with the end times makes note of rampant deception (Dn 11.23, 27, Mt 24.5, 24, 2 Thes 2.3, 9-10, Rev 13.14).
The Apostle Peter said, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute." (2 Pt 2.1-2)
Indeed, many have followed Mr. Camping’s teachings & if any have found their way here, I have some encouraging news for you. God does want you to know the truth & more importantly, He wants you to know Him through His Son Jesus. But we can’t trust in man’s ways (Pr 29.25). We must carefully examine the whole council of God’s Word (1 Tim 4.16, 2 Tim 3.16-17).
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. – 2 Pt 1.16-21
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. – Gal 1.6-12
I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments… See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. - Col 2.4, 8
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. – 2 Cor 4.2