The End of the World?

The Bible and Camping

You may be thinking of your summer holidays, but that’s not the Camping I am thinking about. No, what I am concerned about is the media attention that was given to one Harold Camping and those who followed his teaching through Family Radio Worldwide. It was his prediction that there would be earthquakes round the globe on May 21. Believers would be taken from the Earth by Jesus and five months later, the world would end. Clearly these events did not take place on that day. On the basis of that single piece of information some may be inclined to discredit or ignore the Bible and its message.

So the key question is – Did Camping prove the Bible to be wrong, or does the Bible prove Camping wrong?

The Answer of Jesus

When Jesus answered a question from his disciples who asked of his coming as king and when it would be, his answer included this comment:

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

Later, after Jesus had been crucified and then raised from dead on the third day, there was another occasion when his disciples asked about him being king over Israel (wanting it to be”Now”) and the answer was similar:

He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority."

Acts 1:7

So pinpointing the day and hour is not something that is given to us. Surely this is fair and reasonable, for if we are asked to do something in preparation for it, to live by Jesus teachings, how many might put off doing anything about it until the last minute – and some would leave it too late?

Destruction of the Earth?

What then about the future destruction of the earth? Is this consistent with a fair reading of the Bible?

For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD, and there is no other."

Isaiah 45:18

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:14

… so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11

So God has a purpose with the Earth – destruction is not an option. The world today is not filled with knowledge of God’s glory. Yet, what God has said, will happen. So things have yet to happen to bring that about.

God’s Kingdom – Jesus as King

Further clear evidence of God’s purpose with the Earth and mankind is laid out in the book of Daniel. God revealed to him what was to happen with regard to the dominant global empires which would give way to an unstable mix of smaller political powers co-existing in the world. But that would then be removed and replaced:

And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever...

Daniel 2:44

It is at this time that we can see other parts of God’s plan fitting into place. God’s kingdom will involve teaching and development – those who are alive when God intervenes by sending Jesus back to establish the kingdom will be given opportunity to learn His ways:

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established …; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Isaiah 2:2-4

The Bible or Camping

Returning to our initial question – Did Camping prove the Bible to be wrong, or does the Bible prove Camping wrong? What can we conclude? On the basis of the evidence we have shared with you from the Bible, the answer is that Camping is misguided in what he said. His statements are not in agreement with the Bible. We firmly believe that the Bible is true and that it is for each of us to read – to find the truth in its pages and the hope that God holds out for this hopeless world.

The Basic Bible Message about Jesus

Jesus promised to return to the earth to restore on earth the kingdom of Israel. That kingdom will involve replacing human rule by divine rule (God’s standards) globally, so that the world fulfils the promise inherent within it ever since Creation. Men and women who are living at Christ’s return will be given wonderful opportunities to learn God’s ways and appreciate His government – not torment. Of course we should not delay our response to God’s call to learn of His ways now. Although we believe that the day of Christ’s return is near – God gives us clear pointers indicating when the time is ripe - we do not know when we will die and our opportunity comes to a natural end.

Our appeal to you is that you do not dismiss the Bible because Camping got it wrong, but that you read the Bible and let the evidence within its pages demonstrate its truth and the wonderful hope it can give you.