Harold Camping's Rapture

Brother Camping has warned the world about the rapture next week. My dad and I feel so badly about watching him go through this again.

In defense of Camping, let me offer my opinion about him. He has a really good heart, and he has a body of good works that few in our age can rival. He was the founder of "Family Radio" which was the first of its' kind, and had exceptional programs, including daily Bible studies, and top notch teachers. His heart, is truly in the right place.

I want him to be right, and if next week turns out to be the return of Christ, no one will be happier than me. I pray I am worthy to be taken aboard.

But, the world's media machine is always looking to discredit people of faith, and by issuing such public predictions, he opens himself up to the ridicule and criticism of those who think Christ is a myth, let alone his return.

Just like when bad Jews, like Madoff, paint their entire race in a negative light, Brother Camping's predictions are used against those of us who earnestly believe that Christ will return in our lifetimes, hopefully.

I think all the signs are there, and it could be anytime, but, that doesn't guarantee that Christ will be back when I say it could be. It could take another 1000 years. A thousand years is like a day to God, or even more extreme.


Also, there's nothing black and white about the "Rapture" being what we think it should be. For as many scriptures as I can point to that implies a beaming up of believers, there are twice as many that indicate a trial and tribulation of the saints, where the only escape is physical death as the road to salvation.

In other words, none of us can know precisely. It pleased the LORD to make these signs ambiguous, and like much of prophecy, it takes a balanced view to get the whole picture.
We won't know, until it happens.

While I find Harold's predictions cringe-worthy, on the other hand, I think it's a good message to impart to people of faith to get their acts together, NOW.

While I'm typing this, I'm listening to the News and how Iran is drawing a line in the sand, even threatening nuclear action. Along with Syria, and the unstable individual countries of the Middle East, right now, the one prediction I can feel safe in projecting is the likelihood of nuclear war in the next decade. The rapid succession of nations which surround Israel, and becoming more unstable and trending towards extremist Jihad, the prophetic messages are clearer than ever before in history.

I join Harold in agreeing that something is going to probably happen, but, I don't know the order of these events, and neither can Harold. It would be amazing if we were beamed up before the radioactivity affects us, because the Book of Revelations states that the suffering and sickness will be so intense that the living will envy the dead.

I wish people would take these kind of real life events to heart, and stop focusing on Harold's predictions. As wacky as it seems, he's closer to the truth than the backwards and misguided individuals marching in the Wall Street spectacle.

While jobs and poverty are certainly a valid cause to join forces to fight, when compared to nuclear holocaust, it seems like a fatuous waste of time. We need to fix the world before we can become one-world at peace.

I believe that the only path to peace is Jesus Christ, who hopefully will come back soon. But, I am sad to report that I don't share Camping's view that it is soon. I think it's more likely that we'll all see a nuclear incident before that happens.

I pray for Harold Camping often, because, he's such a dear man, and he meant a lot to me, especially when I was a fledgling evangelical in the 80s. I truly admired and trusted him. The important thing to remember is that no one person, other than Christ, is infallible. I write some controversial things about prophecy, and I am offering my opinions, not claiming that I have divine inspiration, just personal revelations. I am also a flawed person, to say the least, and I hate it when someone points to my foolishness and use it against Christ or Christians.

Sometimes, Christians are the most gullible, because, we tend to be trusting. We have good intentions, and deeply desire to have everyone we meet exposed to the love Christ has bestowed on us.

Heavenly Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for Brother Camping to not lose heart, but, to have a sense of humor about our fallibility. I pray that people see that it's out of his passionate love for Christ that he projects topics like the Rapture, and that even if the message is flawed, that many will awaken to the fact that we're probably in the final ten years.

If we can live each day, prepared for it to be our last, then, for this alone, Harold has imparted a good work.