At this point, I'm not going to say anything more about the Left Behind series. I prefer today to focus upon the matter of false prophets in general. Here's what the Lord Jesus and the Bible says about them.
First Jesus:
15"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15).
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness' (Matthew 7:21-23).Then the Apostle Peter commenting about the children of Israel and then the false teachers of his day:
1But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep (2 Peter 2:1-3).And finally, Moses' warning to the Israelites about to enter the land of promise:
1"If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them,' 3you shall not listen to the word of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.4You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. 5But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst (Deuteronomy 13:1-4).The false prophet, the dreamer of dreams talks about some sign or wonder that is coming to pass. It does not. This was the case with Harold Camping. It has happened again and again in the past. All this causes great confusion, loss and suffering. In Camping's case, his followers sold their possessions, wasted millions to advertise his false prophecies and lost their livelihoods. And where is he? Hiding in some motel, proclaiming, "I never said I was infallible. Its still going to happen."
All this draws Christians away from the Gospel and from the gift that is ours in Christ. He has not asked us to do anything other than to be about our daily tasks, witnessing to Him with our lives and our words. We do this by being faithful husbands and wives, obedient children, diligent students and workers, honest business men and women and humble servants wherever He has called us to serve Him. We remain prepared for His return at any time and yet we go about our work, doing what is necessary to demonstrate that Christ lives in us and that His love and care is for all. We ask for no more.
Notice the deep concern echoing in Moses' words. This is so serious that Moses says false prophets deserve the death penalty. Of course, we are not in a position to carry out such a sentence. We Americans live in a land of religious freedom. And yet this warning does underline the terrible importance of true and faithful teaching. The eternal destiny of us and our children is at stake. Let this be a sober warning for us all.
Harold Camping uses a false exegesis. He doesn't understand that the Holy Spirit used holy men of God who wrote as most writers did, using human language in all its many forms such as simile, metaphor, parable,narrative, etc. Camping's teaching is based on his often-declared tenet that much of the scripture is "parable" and parabolic language. And he misses the actual metaphoric language and similes that ARE found in the Scripture. For instance, he teaches that "one day IS a thousand years", using 2 Peter 3:8 as his basis. He does not understand that this is a simile. It is not stated that ONE day IS a thousand years! The simile is found also in Psalm 90:4, to which Peter was obviously referring.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that Camping has brought himself and his followers this shame through his faith-destructive scam sham.! , , , h.a.h.
Harold Camping has a problem with Biblical interpretation. He does not understand that the inspired Biblical writers used the way of speaking and writing that writers use -- metaphor, simile, parable, narrative, etc. As an example: He does not treat 2 Peter 3:8 as a SIMILE. He translates it in this way: "with the Lord A day IS a thousand years...!" , and does his so-called 'calculations' on that basis.
ReplyDeleteJesus said,".....it is NOT for YOU to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority....."" The Lord wants us iust to live one day at a time, "seeking first His kingdom, and His righteousness..."
(Matt. 6).
If someone asks you," What would you do if you knew that the end of the world was coming tomorrow?", like Luther, answer, "I would plant an apple tree today!"
. . h.a.h.