sfgate.com – Friday, January 1, 2010:
Camping, 88, has scrutinized the Bible for almost 70 years and says he has developed a mathematical system to interpret prophecies hidden within the Good Book. One night a few years ago, Camping, a civil engineer by trade, crunched the numbers and was stunned at what he’d found: The world will end May 21, 2011.
This is not the first time Camping has made a bold prediction about Judgment Day.
On Sept. 6, 1994, dozens of Camping’s believers gathered inside Alameda’s Veterans Memorial Building to await the return of Christ, an event Camping had promised for two years. Followers dressed children in their Sunday best and held Bibles open-faced toward heaven.
But the world did not end. Camping allowed that he may have made a mathematical error. He spent the next decade running new calculations, as well as overseeing a media company that has grown significantly in size and reach.
Do I need to buy more luggage??
Over the centuries, there have been many dates predicted to be the end of the world. When those dates came and nothing happened, those nutbars who predicted it were either never heard from again, or they gave bogus excuses such as “whoops, I forgot to carry the 1”.
Anyone who actually read the Bible knows that it states, quite clearly, that nobody knows the time of the 2nd coming. Period. So, feel free to mock those that do, with the blessing of the good book.
One of my fav bumper stickers: “In the event of the rapture, can I have your car?”
The unmitigated arrogance to think that the earth and heaven and God have been waiting 4,000,000,000 years to kill everyone but him and his dozen followers (in four months).
We will all die. Most likely it will not be very special, and most people won’t notice, when each of us dies in our own time.
The only creatures that appear to have a greater ego than God are men.
I wonder if occurred to Mr. Camping that God might not use a base 10 numeric system. What if God is octal?
Matthew 24:29-31 (King James Version)
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
No Rapture there! Whats the first 4 words? and what happens in verse 31?
Re: #7, Tech-1, “…and the stars shall fall from heaven”
Interesting. How does a star go about falling?
#6, He’s not. He’s base 11.
The end isn’t near, it’s already begun, at least for human society as we knew it. Aren’t the signs abundantly clear? Those who were expecting a hollywood disaster flick will be disappointed, looks like it’s all happening in slow motion.
Wiki says: “Christian preterists believe that the Tribulation was a divine judgment visited upon the Jews for their sins, including rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah. It occurred entirely in the past, around 70 AD when the armed forces of the Roman Empire destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.”
This is all crazy talk AFAIC.
If God wants me to do something, I’d appreciate a sticky note.
God must be a woman becase she refuses to come out and tell me what she wants face to face.
You are out of luck! He is only taking Republicans.
Crazed rantings of a spooky, demented old nutter. More please.
When even religious people make fun of such mini-cults, nothing more needs be said.
So I will:
Imagine a universe according to the tenets of any religion: doesn’t look like ours does it.
Imagine a universe without any gods at all. Looks JUST LIKE ours doesn’t it?
Draw your own conclusions.
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Matthew 24:36 ESV
Jesus spoke this (See the full text here: http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=Matthew+24) while on the Mount of Olives to his disciples claiming only God the Father knew when he, the Son, would return for his people.
That verse doesn’t mention Camping, besides the ‘no one’ verse, which includes every single man and woman on this planet, in Jesus’ time to present day. If you read the beginning of chapter 24, Christ warns of people like Camping, leading people astray and most likely milking people for their money. Once that date next year comes and goes, he’ll just readjust the date and claim he was off by a few numbers.
Re: Bobbo, “Imagine a universe according to the tenets of any religion: doesn’t look like ours does it.
Imagine a universe without any gods at all. Looks JUST LIKE ours doesn’t it?”
Bobbo, tch, tch… Satan has gotten to you. Don’t believe anything your senses or reasoning tells you. It’s all about faith.
Here’s how you do it. Head down, blinders on, senses off, contrary suppressor on, science distortion on, sing lalalala in your head…
NOW, plod on to your rapture.
Quantum physics and cosmology are very humbling. As is said, “If you understand quantum physics, you don’t get it”. If you take a look at recent images from Hubble, and the facts associated with them, things become quite relative. The truths of physics are not really compatible with the human processing organ.
That being said, why bother with such ancient mumbo-jumbo as religion and prophecy? Why not go out and divine the future from sheep’s entrails?
Or watch a bunch of musclebound kids chasing a football?
Everyone knows Rapture came in January 1981.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UWRL9NLQqP8
Cursor_
One of the many tenements of Christianity that always confused me was the grandiose nature of the rapture. Jesus did not exactly wipe out all the non-believers in a dramatic wave of his hand the first time so what makes Christians believe he’d do it the second time and how does that fit with a “merciful” god? Or is it that he’ll toss the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch and be done with it?
If Rapture came in January 1981, this must be the sequel.
I hope it’s as good as the first.
When Jebesus and his rapture do arrive, I hope we have warp drive by that time so that we can reverse chain linked takion drives and route their power thru a deflector shield and finally defeat Jebesus. After all, when he actually enters our universe, what is he but an adverse alien combatant to be dealt with?
Advise everyone to include at least a 3 day reminder on Outlook. Don’t be caught doing something bad!
christrians may end up failing their god if they do not build a starship capable of FTL speed.
The unbelievers keep asking why a god needs a starship.
christrains please donate to NASA if you want to please your god.
Camping is probably getting rich selling “End of the World” T-shirts.
Interesting how Harold Camping knows what Jesus The Christ said is unknown to any man nor angel. I guess when Camping received his engineering degree he also picked up his G-O-D! lol!
Whoa–an engineering theologian…with Debbie Harry supplying the tunes.
My guess is that Mr. Camping, at the age of 88, will have his own personal rapture before too long…
To say the end is near would only excite a homosexual.
And did he do this with the oldest Greek and Aramaic texts or some translation?
Just asking.
The Bible says numerology is twaddle but do these guys actually read the thing? Nope!
I’d have as much confidence in this guy if he’d crunched numbers on a Harry Potter book.
He’ll make money on the talk show circuit and selling his book.
You all should read “The Newest Pretrib Calendar” on Google. It’s a hoot! Tim
Well if I ever win the lottery, I won’t get the 20 year annuity for sure.