Well it seems as though May 21st has come and gone... and the only things raptured yesterday were Harold Camping's websites. Clearly the fallout has been... unfortunate for Christianity. Fortunately, I think that most people understand that Mr. Camping does not represent the whole of Christianity, but sadly non-Christian groups are wasting no time in speaking out against Camping, his followers, and Christianity as a whole.
While I'm sure I could join in the throngs calling for Harold's public apology and repentance (not to mention that he pay back those people that have given everything to his cause); however, I think this is a great learning opportunity for us!
If there was one thing that Harold Camping lacked in his campaign to the rapture, it was scriptural credibility. Having had the chance to look at his website and his explanation about how he managed to figure out something that no other person save God Himself knows, what I found was a miscellaneous grouping of random verses which had absolutely nothing to do with each other, and really have very little contextually to do with the end times, the rapture, or Christ's second coming.
Camping's timeline also lacked theological credibility, as it followed none of the major eschatological views of the end times either (not that we really truly know what is going to happen any more than he thought he did). But to create a brand new point of view about the end times with, again, no scriptural evidence, lays a huge blanket over his argument... not to mention the fact that we are all still here.
So... what can we learn from this? Not to listen to people that say they know these things? Well... yes... in a way... but I think there is more that we can glean from this. Rather than turning a deaf ear to people like Camping and ignoring what they say, dismissing it as the ridiculousness than it is, we need to ourselves be informed about what Scripture says in light of this!! People will undoubtedly ask questions, about Camping and others like him, and we as Christians should be prepared. This is why we NEED to be in the Word all the time.
As Christians we believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God, meaning that we know it is reliable and trustworthy, but it is the sole place we go for Truth. We are to test all things against scripture, so we can see it for what it is truly worth. For all that Harold Camping used scripture for in his philosophy, he failed to recognize Christ's words on the matter which really settles the question entirely: "36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Matthew 24:36. In that Truth, Jesus' own words, there really needs be no more discussion about when exactly that day will be. We would not claim ourselves to be God... therefore we do not know when Christ will return.
What we DO know... is that we are still here!! Which means there is still work to be done for the kingdom! There are people out there that are desperately seeking Christ and there is still time for us to help bring them to Him!! Paul writes in Philippians 1:21, "To live is Christ, to die is gain." He also goes on to say in verse 22, "If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me."
May this be our prayer and goal... that as long as we live, as long as we are here... that we live for Christ!
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