The world will end on 21 May 2011 at 6:00 PM [PST]. I am not certain about the time zone, but the prediction came from a man who lives in California and I imagine that the Almighty would account for this while providing the revelation. The charlatan in question is Harold Camping, a preacher from Oakland, CA. Camping is the originator of the latest End Times craze and the founder of the ubiquitous Family Radio Network. This network owns 66 stations and is responsible for the rash of billboards across the US.Camping reveals the secret to his calculations in an article in The Independent.
He says the world will end on 21 May, because that will be 722,500 days from 1 April AD33, which he believes was the day of the Crucifixion. The figure of 722,500 is important because you get it by multiplying three holy numbers (five, 10 and 17) together twice. "When I found this out, I tell you, it blew my mind," he said.
This blows my mind too, but for different reasons. First of all, there are a lot of holy numbers: 3, 7, 12, 40, 666 (well, its in the Bible right?). And he multiplied the numbers by 2. Is 2 a holy number? WELL IS IT? Second, (assuming that Jesus was a real person). How do we know that April 1st AD33 is the actual day of his death? The Calender of Jesus (first find on a google search) says:
Jesus was crucified at 9 AM on the Passover, 14 Nisan 3791 [Mark 15:25], which was Wednesday, April 25, 31 AD; suffering pain-unimaginable, Jesus died shortly after 3 PM that dark afternoon [ref. Mat 27:45-50; Mark 15:33-37; Luke 23:44-46].
I am not pointing this out to discredit Camping's calculations. There is no point to doing that. I didn't even verify his math. I just want to call attention to the very high probability of Camping coming to any other date.
Third, is the money. The ridiculous number of followers who are giving their last cent to this man and his delusional campaign with literally no concern for their future. Does anyone think these people are starting college funds for their children? Or having mammograms? Are they making mortgage payments on their homes? In a struggling economy, can America afford this brand of madness? Mark my words: within 7 days of May 21st, someone is going to kill their child, or themselves, or both. It will be either in preparation for the Rapture, or in the aftermath when they realize that they are now homeless or poverty stricken.
Obviously this is batshit. That is not up for debate. Even the vast majority of Christians agree because most reasonable people know crazy when they hear it. The media attention is about on par with Balloon Boy (another hoax). This is an example of theology gone off the rails. Very few people are taking it seriously but it's still dangerous. There are real world consequences. Do I think he should be silenced? Of course not. I think there should be a criminal investigation if Mr. Camping profits financially from this charade. I don't expect one, because my belief system is based on evidence and precedence. This is not extremism. Its fundamentalism. It should not be exempt from, or immune to --ridicule. Check back with us on May 22.
5 comments:
More accurately he squared the total. so it was like (50x17)^2 ... Still doesn't make any sense, just saying for the sake of mathematical accuracy. :P
I was going to blog about this, but you've summed it up beautifully.
Thanks. I see you had some insight on the topic as well.
http://www.martinspribble.com/2011/04/27/its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-i-feel-fine/
Outstanding.
Simply put Harold is wrong.
The woman of Revelation 12 is now here… God is very precise: A woman delivers the true word John1:1, Rev 12:5, Rev 12:13 who restores Acts 3:21 all things to the world before Christ’s return. This woman exposes the lies of Satan who has deceived the whole world Rev 12:9. This woman creates a new thing in the earth by fulfilling God's promise to Eve Gen 3:15, Jer 31:22, Isa 14:16. She is like unto Moses Acts 3:22, Num 12:3 and she is also like Elijah Matt 17:11 for her witness alone turns the hearts of the fathers to the children Mal 4:5-6 to prepare a people for the Lords return before the great and dreadful day of the Lord Matt 17:3, Luke 9:30. Moses and Elijah are together with the word Matt 17:3. They are all three in this one woman. Woe on those who will not hear Acts 3:23 the true word of God commanded to be written and delivered to the world free of charge, as a witness, at the heel of time from the wilderness Rev 12:6. This true word delivered turns the hearts of the fathers to the children of God by giving the truth that not one child of God will be put in a hell fire no matter what their sins. It never entered the heart or mind of God to ever do such a thing Jer 7:31, Jer 19:5. God created evil Isa 45:7 to teach his children the knowledge of good and evil Rom 8:7, Gen 3:22 so that at their resurrection they become a god Matt 22:29-30, Ps 82:6. Prove all things. Be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. You cannot rightly judge this unless you read all that has been written first Pro 18:13 http://minigoodtale.wordpress.com Time is short, the world will end but not yet.
Well, thanks Val for reading. If I had more time I suppose I could shuffle bible verses around like magnetic poetry to say anything I wanted about the end of the world or anything else. But I find it ironic that your only coherent (or original) sentence here is: "God is very precise".
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