The End of the World as We Know it!

On this dreary Monday morning, I pose a question to all my loyal readers:

Is 6:00 PM local time, Saturday May 21st, 2011 the end of the world?

I do not know.  I really don't want to know.  All I know is that Jesus says in Matthew 25
   “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids^[a] who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, ⁴ but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. ⁵ When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
   ⁶ “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’
   ⁷ “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. ⁸ Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
   ⁹ “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
   ¹⁰ “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. ¹¹ Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
   ¹² “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
   ¹³ “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return."

 It would appear to me that Mr. Harold Camping, the man who predicted 6 Pm on May 21st, has just tried to predict the day and the hour.  Jesus Himself said that we will not know.  Also, Mr. Camping first predicted the coming of Christ on September 6th, 1994.  Obviously, that did not happen.  Since then, he attributed the mistake to a mathematical error in his calculation of the timeline of Biblical History.  You see, he believes that the flood began exactly 4990 BC.  Mr. Camping also thinks that the Lord means 1,000 years when he talks about days because of a verse in 2 Peter 3:8:

   ⁸But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

So, this preacher determined that God would take "seven days", or seven thousand years, between the beginning of the flood of Noah and now to destroy the earth.  His formula looks like this:

4990 BC + 2011 - 1 = 7000

The minus one came from the fact that the calender does not have  a 0 BC.  It just went straight into 1 AD.  So, in other words, this man has decided that the Lord encrypted the Bible with a mathematical formula to predict the rapture.  Camping also believes that according to Revelation 9: 5

   ⁵And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 


...that people who are not raptured this Saturday will be tortured for exactly five months until October 21st when God will judge everyone according to their actions and the earth will be destroyed.

So do you think this man is a false prophet?  Personally, I do.  I am not too worried about whether he really is right, though, because I believe in the Lord and I know that He has saved me.  However, something to consider is this verse in Deuteronomy 18:
 ²¹ “But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ ²² If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.
In other words, Mr. Camping was wrong once already.  By the standards God gave Moses in the Old Testament, Mr. Camping did not truly hear from the Lord on that one.  My opinion is that this is no different.  However, should the world really end on May 21st or June 22nd or September 13th (just making up random days here to get my point across), don't be afraid.  Follow Jesus's advice in Matthew 25.  Don't be the bridesmaids who were not prepared for the groom's return.  Be ready!  But don't be worrying too much about when Jesus is coming back.  Do your best to follow his commands and learn to be more like Him each day on this earth.  Smile at someone, let them know God cares for them, invite them to church or Bible study, but don't abandon your daily life as though it will all be gone on Saturday.  Just enjoy the life the Lord has given you on this earth and be ready and waiting for the day he comes to take you home, whenever it may be!

Hope that gives you a little peace if you were concerned about Saturday.  For now, just worry about today.  God says to think about today because tomorrow (and saturday!) will worry about themselves.

Peace out!
Julia