By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
The end is near …at least according to one eccentric Christian.
Many have tried to predict when the world will end, and many of those predictions have proven to be inaccurate. Family Radio evangelist Harold Camping of California is on his second prediction, and this one, unlike his last prediction, is indisputable, he claims.
Camping believes that the end of the world will occur on Saturday, May 21 at midnight, Jerusalem time, or Friday, May 20 at 4 p.m. local time, in which Christians around the world will enter Heaven, and those left behind will be forced to endure suffering for the next five months until October 21, when he believes the world is destroyed.
While the idea of the end has been a topic discussed since the beginning of mankind, none have been successful …clearly.
Camping used a specific equation in order to determine the end. He claims that Noah’s flood occurred in the year 4990 B.C. In the book of Genesis 7:4, it reads that God will destroy the world seven days after the flood. According to New Testament letter 2 Peter 3:8, it states that one day with God is equivalent to 1,000 years; therefore seven days, multiplied by 1,000 years, equals 7,000 years, and 7,000 years after 4990 B.C. is 2011, according to Camping’s math and biblical interpretation.
Yet, scholars have noted that if one were to take the entire scripture of the Bible literally, then that would mean that Jesus spent not 40 days, but 40,000 years in the dessert.
Originally, Camping had set the date of Christ’s return for September of 1994, yet there appeared to be an error in his calculations, allegedly. After re-calculating, he was able to determine that the date is in fact May 21, 2011.
While Camping is showing a strong campaign for the end (he has reportedly purchased approximately 5,000 billboards nationwide), many in the scientific and religious communities dispute Camping’s claims. Among them is Pastor Lynn Lubke of St. John Lutheran Church in San Benito.
“It’s just one in the long line of predictions throughout history,” said Lubke. “From what I understand, it’s this guy’s second prediction. He had another one in 1994, and we know what happened with that one. No one knows. The Bible tells us that if you believe God’s word, then there is nobody who can say anything about the end of the world that is believable because God says that no one will know.”
While news of Camping’s prediction has seen extensive coverage in national spotlight, Lubke said that he has not had many, if any, in his parish approach him with concerns regarding the said predictions.
“I taught my adult instruction class, and we had a section about the end of the world recently. That was one of the predictions that I mentioned,” Lubke said. “We probably talked about 30 or 40 different predictions to show the class how many there have been throughout history. That was actually just scratching the surface of the many predictions of the end times.”
Lubke cited many verses from the Bible which dispel Camping’s prediction, saying that nobody knows the day or the hour.
“We live with the breath that God gives us, but we also anxiously await his return,” Lubke said. “We want to live the lives that he has given us. For most people, the end of the world for them is going to be their last day of life on this earth.”
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the May 18 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
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