Just in case we're left behind...
May 20, 2011
Well tomorrow is the big day.
I was listening to a "Camping-ite" today on a national radio program. At the end of the interview I noticed that my face hurt from being in a constant cringe for almost 45 minutes. The man was a deeply sincere fellow and quite articulate. Unfortunately he has given himself to a system of biblical interpretation which has a little too much in common with pagan numerology. He would balk at this description of course. But Camping and his followers have devised a method of interpreting the Bible which is exotic to say the least. Among their beliefs is that all churches are under the dominion of Satan, and that since May 21, 1988.
This poor man on the radio claimed that there is not one scintilla of doubt that May 21st will be the day that Jesus raptures His church. Camping and his followers also specify that it will occur at 6:00 pm (measuring from the International Date Line - and, no, I'm not kidding!). He said that through television and the internet we will be able to view graves being emptied in Australia and on through Africa, Asia, and Europe as 6:00 approaches Eastern Standard Time.
All of this, the man said, is "guaranteed" by the Bible. He continued to speak of the "hundreds of Bible verses" which make Christ's return on May 21st undeniable. The only way to deny it, he reasoned, was to say that the Bible is wrong. This, of course, is very dangerous. The Camping-ites give this date the same certainty as the deity and resurrection of Jesus. So, if Jesus does not return tomorrow the only option is that the Bible is nothing but a fable for what it promises is false.
So, what if it doesn't happen? What if Jesus does not rapture his church tomorrow? The Camping-ites refuse to answer the question because, they say, it is an impossibility. "How am I supposed to respond to an impossibility?" So it will be interesting to see how they respond at 12:01 am on May 22. Hopefully they will repent. But barring repentance, then they ought to be consistent and reject the Bible and the Christian faith for erring so egregiously.
Now, I could write something about some of the dangers inherent in dispensationalism. Perhaps another time...
