For a long time people have been predicting the end of the world.[The artist formerly known as] Prince did it in the song 'Party like it's 1999', REM claimed back in 1987 that it was 'the end of the world as we know it' and that they felt fine about it.
Many pastors and religious leaders have attempted unsuccessfully to predict the end of the world - perhaps most famously the Jehovah's Witnesses, who predicted the return of Christ and the end of the world would happen in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994.
Right now in the US there is a movement - inspired by the calculations of radio preacher Harold Camping, who also predicted the return of Christ in 1994 - which claims that the exact date for the return of Christ will be on May 21, 2011, and that the end of the world will happen on October 21, 2011.
Across the US, billboards and other advertisements are proclaiming the return of Christ on May 21, 2011. Here are some examples:
This prediction - like most before it - is based on 2.Peter 3:8, which says that 'one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.' Rather than an analogy explaining that God doesn't see time the way that we do, many people assume that this is a divine recipe for us to calculate the exact date of Christ's return.
Despite the fact that Jesus, in response to his disciples' question about WHEN he would return to establish his Kingdom on earth, told them that it was not for them to know the times or the seasons that the Father had fixed by his own authority, and that they should rather focus on carrying on Jesus' mission by being his witnesses in the world (Acts 1:7-8), these people refer to 1.Thessalonians 5:1-5 in claiming that we can in fact figure out the time of Jesus' return.
Personally, I don't think that 2.Peter 3:8 is a recipe for figuring out the exact time of Christ's return. However - if I am wrong, I'm ok with that. I'm ready to go at any time. I won't be surprised if Christ doesn't return on May 21, 2011, but if I'm wrong, that's cool too. Either way I say Maranatha! (Come Lord!)
Here is the website of ebiblefellowship, in which they explain why they believe Jesus will return on May 21.
Interestingly, they claim that the great tribulation started in 1988 and that the tribulation actually lasts 23 years, not 7 years like most dispensationalists claim.
Here is a video made last year explaining this claim:
What do you think?
Are you going to sell all your possessions and party like it's 1999 until May 21?
Is this just another misguided attempt to calculate the end of the world?
Good job, but I prefer the Harry Walther prediction of 2012 myself. The antichrist coming in a spaceship sounds much cooler.
ReplyDeleteÉn a Bibliának hiszek, ami azt mondja, nem tudja senki, mikor jön el, csak Isten. Szerintem a Biblia nem kódok rendszere, amiből ki lehet olvasni a jövőt, pl. hallottam már olyanról, hogy bizonyos kódfejtőkkel kiderítették, hogy dátum szerint előre megjósolta a holokausztot, vh-kat, Hitlert (név szerint) meg ezeket... Nekem az a véleményem, hogy ezt a Gőgös Gúnár Gedeonból is ki lehet olvasni a megfelelő kóddal... :P
ReplyDeleteSzerintem ez az "akció" még egy lapát az amúgy is a béka feneke alatt lévő kereszténységnek... Én így látom... :(
Ági - kár hogy nem voltál szilveszterkor, mert pont Krisztus második eljöveteléről tanítottam, és pont arról is, hogy vannak aki megpróbálnak kiszámolni az alapján (illetve egy másik vers alapján) a pontos dátumot. Sajnos, ezt a tanítást nem vettük fel.
ReplyDeleteÉn sem hiszek a Biblia kódokban, hogy pl ha karikázod minden hatodik betűt az apokrifban, akkor megtalálod Barack Obama nevét és azt hogy 3. világ háború...
És szerintem, ha ezek az emberek tényleg hisznek ebben, akkor miért nem úgy élnek mint ha ez tényleg igaz? Pl, nem csak beszélni róla, hanem eladni minden vagyonukat, stb...?
De amúgy nem bánnám ha igaz lenne :)
Sorry, but Prince has been called Prince for a long time now.
ReplyDeleteYea, I see - on Wikipedia it says that he changed his name back to Prince in 2000. I guess that shows how much I follow Prince...
ReplyDeleteWe can not DOUBT the Bible. If we claim to be true believers then we should SEACRH the Bible and ask God to help us to understand if he so willing. "Partying" today wouldn't do anything for your spiritual soul but only satisfy our earthly body. Those who say they are ready are the ones who are possibly living in darkness especially when they think because they go to search or have been baptized they will enter into the kingdom of Heaven. This is NOT a funny deal therefore, PRAY because when that time comes GOD WILL NOT HAVE MERCY ON YOU but rather let all his anger out. May 21, 2011 will be a GREAT day for his TRUE believers and such an AGONIZING day for those who claimed they did this or that in his name but really was doing their on things. "The WORD OF GOD IS LIKE A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD..." It can save you or destroy you.. Pray that it doesn't DESTROY YOU..
ReplyDeletewww.divvastruthandreality.blogspot.com
diivastruthandreality.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteWhat is your point?
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt the Bible, I just doubt these calculations.
Are you then saying that you aren't ready, since you say that those who claim that they are ready are those who will be destroyed? Didn't Jesus tell us to be waiting, ready at any moment for the return of the Bridegroom?
Seems to me you like to yell more than you like to think.
Nonetheless, I say: Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Jesus Himself stated that NO MAN would know the day nor the hour that even He did not know when God the father has planned for this to occur, does this group presume to know more than Jesus? That seems to be dangerous ground to me. As for the claim re: 1 Thes 5:1 - 5 we don't have to know the exact date in order to be expecting his return, I expect it any day. And finally the Bible is absolutely clear that the tribulation is 7 years and that there are events in Israel must happen and the antichrist must rise, etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteIn 1992, brother Harold Camping published a book entitled 1994? (the question mark was actually part of the title), in which he theorized that the Rapture might occur in September, 1994. In that publication, he also mentioned that 2011 could be the Rapture. This last fact, that brother Camping in 1992 referenced 2011 as the possible time of the Rapture, is generally (and either ignorantly or dishonestly) not mentioned by his numerous detractors.
ReplyDeleteThese same detractors when repeating, almost mantra-like, the “no man knows” part of certain scriptures, also, invariably (through ignorance or dishonesty), fail to point out the other pertinent parts (as it pertains to the ability of people to know critical dates of the end times) of those scriptures. I would humbly invite the reader to consult brother Camping’s research at familyradio.com and investigate it for yourself. Or my blog http://whymay212011matters.blogspot.com/
might be an interesting read as well.
Far better to just say that you dislike brother Camping, his followers, etc. on principle rather than trying to justify it through an ignorant, lazy, or dishonest "analysis" of his work.
I don't have any reason to dislike Camping or his followers. In fact, until very recently I had never heard of them.
ReplyDeletePlease understand, that with my whole heart, I long for the return of the Lord, and I will rejoice if it is on May 21.
Nonetheless, disagreeing with this man's calculations constitutes neither ignorance, laziness nor dishonesty.
Furthermore, please note that lightly veiled insults and name calling do not make your position more convincing.
Please tell me - what do you find most convincing about Camping's conclusion that the rapture will be on May 21, 2011?