Harold Camping has been declaring on radio, billboards, newspapers and the internet that the Lord Jesus is going to return to earth on May 21, 2011 at 6:00 pm Pacific time. To be precise, I believe Mr. Camping would call this prediction the rapture. Though I appreciate Mr. Camping's eagerness for the return of the Lord Jesus, I believe it is highly doubtful that he is right in his prediction. Why?
Well, for starters, Mr. Camping's track record on the issue is not good. He predicted the same thing back in 1994, and well, it did not happen. Though some might take offense, I think you could make a case for Mr. Camping being a false prophet. The Bible does not think very highly of false prophets.
A second reason why I do not think Mr. Camping is correct is because the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:42-44 and Matthew 25:13 seems to suggest an unexpectedness to the return of the Lord Jesus. Matthew 24:42 says, "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." (ESV). I find it very hard to believe that Mr. Camping has found a hidden code that has allowed him to do some elaborate mathematical analysis to discover something the Lord Jesus stated we do not know. Even more strongly, in Matthew 24:36 the Lord Jesus said, "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." It strikes me as the ultimate of arrogance to claim to know something that the Lord Jesus says He does not know.
I do believe the Lord Jesus is coming back, but I do not know when. Because of that I want to be faithfully serving the Lord Jesus. I am preparing for Sunday morning now, I am not going to wait until 6:01 PM Pacific time (8:01 PM Central time) to start preparing. The Lord Jesus is coming back, but not at a time I can figure out. My responsibility right now is to serve Him and seek to point others to Him. That is the only and best way to prepare for His coming.
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