Do you believe the world will end on May 21, 2011?

Harold Camping is either a liar or one of the most severe fools in history.

I believe Harold Camping is a liar, and one of the strongest reasons I have for believing he is a liar is that he persistently and strongly does his best to persuade people to abandon all organized churches. He actually claims that The Bible says the "age of the corporate church" was only supposed to be temporary. Camping, of course likes to use the word "corporate" in this capacity to paint all organized churches as cold business-like entities that have no lasting spiritual importance.

Harold Camping wants people to believe him and his cohorts alone. Harold Camping behaves much like other cult leaders behave in matters of doctrine. He tells people to abandon, reject or ignore all other sources with which they might verify Harold Camping's lies.

Camping's attempts to isolate people from the whole Christian communion are an obvious primitive attempt at keeping people from finding out that Camping is a profound fraud. I personally have listened to his radio broadcasts several times, while I have been on long driving trips. He seems to me often to pretend not to hear callers clearly when a person plainly speaks an undeniable challenge to Camping's nonsense. He is nearly 90 years old, so maybe his hearing is impaired somewhat, but his hearing impairment - if he has any, seems to be most severe when he is confronted with a verbal challenge to his persistent lies.

I think it would be a grave mistake to take anything Harold Camping teaches as credible without first verifying it with other sources. He behaves like a typical cult leader, declaring traditional ways to be outdated or just plain wrong, and attempting to persuade people to abandon tradition outright. That includes the nearly 2,000 year tradition of Christianity practiced within a church.

I believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Catholic Church was established by Jesus Christ, and it was not established as a temporary institution to be disintegrated before the end of this world. Jesus did not establish multiple churches, but I do believe that many non-Catholic churches teach many important truths to their Christian members, and that those Christians often are sincere worshipers of God the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, even though their churches are wrongly willingly separated from the Catholic Church, and teach some things that are errors. In any case, organized churches, especially the Catholic Church founded by the Son of God, are the primary means by which faithful Christians gather as Christ told us to do - to pray, receive support from each other in our faith, and to receive the sacraments. Only the Catholic Church validly makes available all of the sacraments, but many other churches at least have valid baptism.

Harold Camping says that ALL traditional churches are bad things that can only lead people away from God. That is an utterly false claim. Camping teaches that individuals should interpret the bible all alone with guidance from God - and from Harold Camping! The cult-like leadership of Harold Camping is typical of cult leaders. He basically says, "Reject all Earthly authorities except me. Believe what I tell you, and not what others tell you because I have the Truth." Harold Camping has essentially set up himself and his organization as a church, even though he would deny that. He is an obvious hypocrite.

Besides my belief that Harold Camping is a fraud and a persistent liar or fool, I also reject his claims about the end of the world because Jesus Himself told us that it is not for us to know that particular thing. If anyone teaches directly contrary to Jesus Christ, it is not Jesus who is wrong. Having heard Harold Camping on the radio myself, I suspect that Camping would tell Jesus that Jesus just doesn't understand The Bible correctly.

I think Harold Camping is severely arrogant and very unlikely ever to admit his errors and lies and to accept The Truth in this world. That is tragic, since at his age most people have a great deal of wisdom. I am not nearly as old as Harold Camping, but I hope that if I do live several more decades that I will have more wisdom and honesty in me than I believe Harold Camping now has. I hope and pray that Harold Camping's apparent fraud and dishonesty is actually the product of a mental impairment of some sort, and not the result of willful deception. I pray for his salvation.

I am Roman Catholic.

I am praying as I write this for all people to accept the salvific Grace of God The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit through His One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, against which neither the gates of Hell nor any foolish radio preacher shall prevail.

May Peace be with you.

.

If you want to read more about Harold Camping's claims, you can try this website. It seems to me to be very clear and well-enough documented that you can check out the claims yourself if you so desire. If you ever hear Harold Camping on the radio, please keep in mind that he has a deceptively smooth voice that can easily make him sound like a thoughtful and wise old man. Listen carefully, if at all, and beware of his underlying teaching that your church should be dissolved and abandoned. The man teaches what is nonsense at best, and in my opinion he teaches flat-out lies and errors.

www.scionofzion.com/depart_out.htm

I did not find any Catholic websites that directly address Harold Camping's lies and errors. Maybe Harold Camping is not regarded as a sufficiently important liar or fool. The Catholic Church does not respond individually to every person who distributes lies and errors.

.

I agree totally... however for a much simpler reason.... The bible says we will NOT know the day nor the hour and that it will come like a thief in the night. SO, if the "Good Book" says we won't know... then I believe we won't know. Whenever the end comes.. it will likely be on a day, no one suspects... a day no more significant then any other day. Maybe 2PM on some idle Tuesday.

Secondly, as a Christian (Catholic) what does it matter? Aren't we as Christians suppose to be always prepared for the 2nd coming, Christ's return? Aren't we all suppose to be following God and in communion with him..thus what does it matter if the last day is today, tomorrow, or 30 years from now?

Thirdly, as a Catholic Christian, I am SEVERELY skeptical of ANY new interpretations or analysis of scripture which seemed to elude the first 2,000 years of Christianity. Particularly one's which only the author discovered and are not supported by the mainstream. IF this information was TRULY intended for us to know... how, why did it go unnoticed by all previous generations? Why didn't the Apostles directly teach on this? Why was it embedded for only Harold Camping to discover?

Does this glorify God or Harold Camping? Does the person presenting this information have anything to GAIN from it? (speaking engagements, books, websites, local ministry, etc. ??)

Lastly, the number of predictions regarding the end times which have been wrong, so far, is 100%. So far, there has not been a single RIGHT prediction, thus the chances of any of these being right is slim.. statistically.

His prediction seems vary much like a Jehovah Witness prediction regarding the "last generation" which has been predicted and proven wrong at least 2 times, if not more.

PERSONALLY - As a Christian -- A) what does it matter? B) what makes us think THIS guy is right, verses everyone else, all previous generations, and the Apostles themselves? C) What is the statistical likelihood that he is right given previous "end of days" predictions?

It seems to me that you have answered to your own question very well ; the only thing I might be presumptuous enough to add are the following considerations:

1) While it is true that no one knows the day or the hour one might wonder why so many announcing signs and mathematical clues are given in the Bible to discern when the time is becoming near... God did not put these clues there for nothing... could one be so accurate in his discernment as to predict the year ? This is certainly out of my league... But just because this is not my cup of tea does not mean that Harold Camping did not find something ; sure he blew it in 1994 but this is not an exact science and back then he never claimed it to be.

2) Harold is an impressive biblical authority and not the kind of prophet you just brush off on a legalistic technicality just to get rid of some inconvenient claim ; having said that I so happen to disagree with him on a number of far more important issues where the Catholic Church and Protestants typically disagree ; and while I do admire and respect his ministry and even praise the Lord for all the good that God has accomplished through him, I cannot overlook this stronghold of heresies that protestants are tragically very consistent in bringing to the forefront of their proclamation of the Gospel.

3) Just because a prophecy does not come to pass does not necessarily mean that the Prophet is fake ; take Nineveh for instance, it did not get destroyed precisely because it's inhabitants repented as a result or good fruit of the prophecy ; who knows the number of people Harold brought closer to the Lord as a result of his prophecy and who knows how that might have changed our fate in 1994 ; I am not endorsing the 1994 or 2011 prediction but I think there is as much presumption in predicting as there is in claiming the prediction to be invalid.

My personal take on the End Times (through my readings of the works of Vassula Ryden) is that it is not a punctual event but rather a long purification period that we are currently living which is different and distinct from the actual end of the world. Much is happening during this period of time that comes to fulfill Scriptures in a way that is far more impressive or critical than the actual end of the world will be ; this is a time to discern, remain alert and open minded.

In one biblical word: Keep these lamps filled with oil and watch for the coming of Bridegroom !

Like you, I, too, am a Roman Catholic, and I agree with you, for the reasons that you have given above.

Camping is not the first to have made false prophecies regarding the end of the world and set it to a definite date that quickly passed without the world ending. A prominant example is the Jehovah's Witnesses, who have given such statements as these:

1889- "The 'battle of the great day of God almighty' which will end in AD 1914..." (They repeated 1914 again in 1891 and 1894).

1897- "Our Lord is now present, since October 1874 AD"

They also made false prophecies in 1917, 1918, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1931, 1939, 1941, 1946, 1966, and 1968. (And if any JW wants to dispute this, I can tell them where in the WTS publications to find these.)

The idea that the world will end on May 21, 2011 is just as absurd as the idea that the world will end on December 12, 2012. For that matter, the idea of the rapture, as taught by Fundies and Evangelicals, is also absurd, seeing as how Scripture tells us something completely different. First, in John 6:54, Christ tells us that the dead in Christ will rise on the last day, NOT 7 years before the last day, as many subscribers to the Rapture theory will tell us.

Second, we have 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Chrsti will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord." In other words, Scripture indicates nothing secretive. It would obviously be very hard to not notice something like that.

In Matthew 24:37-42, Christ tells us that His return shall be as in the days of Noah. Now, anyone familiar with the Noah story knows two things. 1) It was those who were left behind who were saved and 2) it was those who persevered TO THE END who were saved.The righteous are the ones who are left behind, alive, and it is the unrighteous, those who scoffed at God and lived in unrepented sin, who are suddenly gone. In fact, in Matt. 24:13, Christ says quite literally: "He who endures to the end will be saved." He is telling us that His followers will have to endure the tribulations during the times of the reign of the anti-Christ.

Camping is an Evangelical, which tells us that he believes in the unbiblical concept of the rapture. He is a false prophet who follows other false prophets.

It is a novelty within the Christian tradition, as is predicting the end times, let alone the exact date. For the first 1800 years of Christianity, the idea of setting a date was completely unknown, as was the rapture theory.

No.

This guy has already been incorrect once. If he had lived in Old Testament times, he would have been stoned to death for being a false prophet. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2...

"But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come." (Mark 13:32-33)

Jesus told us in no uncertain terms that we were not to know when the end of the world would come but that we were always to be ready.

Each new Christian denomination seems to worry about the end of the world a bit too much. Then after a couple of centuries, they realize that there are always wars and rumors of wars, etc.

I won't even mention the hundreds of false predictions of the end of the world over the centuries, all of which were based on individual interpretations of biblical prophecies.

The first century Christian Church thought that Jesus was going to return at any moment. Only after a couple of centuries did the Church realize that it may be 2,000 or 4,000 or 8,000 years before Jesus returns.

The Catholic Church wisely follows Jesus' advice and teaches that each of us should live as if we will meet our maker in the next ten minutes and that we need to work to make the world a better place for our 100 X great-grandchildren.

Do not worry about the end of the world. Trust God to make sure everything happens to plan. Just be ready to meet God at any time.

For more information, about what Catholics believe about the end of the world, see: http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0...

With love in Christ.

Unless this Camping guy has some kind of in with God, which he probably doesn't. I highly doubt it.

Anyway the world will not end, it will be different than we know it today. And I would have to say worse than it is today. Because of all the terrible things that have been happening right along.

God wants us to live by His rules and not pass laws that are against them. God wants us to put our trust in Him and He will do the rest. But none of us live this way unfortunately.

It will be a struggle between good and evil, I think. Stay close to God and don't worry about what some Camping guy says, you said he's been doing this about 70 years, he must be close to the end of his term here on earth. No one knows when the world will change, but God the Father. Isn't that what Jesus said when he walked on this earth. Try to have a Happy New year and God bless you.

It seems that men have been predicting the end of the world since time began and no-one has ever been correct in their so-called predictions,this morbid fascination with end time prophecies is firstly anti-christian and secondly flies in the face of God Who alone, knows when the end will come.

We have been inundated with the Mayan prophecy for some time now and this too is nothing more than superstitious nonsense, a quick check on the web about religious nuts putting forth their predictions soon reveals that these are nothing more than gut feelings taken to the extreme.

Jesus gave us the signs/indications of the end times but not a particular date and so we should continue our relationship with Him one day at a time.

(Matthew: 6:25-34) is the way to conduct our daily lives while quietly looking forward to the second coming of the Lord, but certainly not by giving credence to these so called modern day prophets!

God bless.

So many end times prophets these days, who knows, maybe we are in the last days. One thing I know for certain, is that there have been end of the world predictions going on for a long time. We have had men and women give us dates before using their "mathematical formulas" and the dates for the end of the world have come and gone. I don't believe him, the Mayan calendar, or any of the others who say they know the date for the end of the world, for the same reasons everybody else has given, if Christ and the angels don't know, then these guys don't know either. Pax Christi

In the Douay-Rheims Version, it reads:"But of that day and hour no one knoweth, no not the Angels of heaven, but the Father alone." Verse 37 goes on to read: "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Now, since this is Jesus Himself talking, and He has identified Himself and the Father as one, and He has also been identified as the Son of Man, among other titles, it seems pretty open and shut that Jesus knows, and the Father knows, but NO ONE else knows, even the angels, so to waste one's time speculating on when the end of the earth will come is a total waste of time and an attempt to steal knowledge from God. Let's see how far anyone gets with that hijacking! One with even a modicum of maturity in their faith in Jesus our Christ won't even waste time with this issue. I do hope this has shed some light on the subject. God Bless you.

It is not for us to set a date as to when the end of the world as we know it will end.

It is forbidden by the Lord Jesus, and discouraged by the Apostles.

No one knows when the end will be. Scripture teaches us that "there will be all kinds of signs" Matthew 24,25, and in I Thessalonians 4 it tells us that at a certain point, the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ Himself will come and take the Bride, the Believers home to Heaven with Him. He told the disciples in John 14.1-3 that he would come back for them.

As to the end of the Age, that will end, we do not know when. There will 7 years of Tribulation, during which the Believers are in Heaven with Jesus. At the end of that time, they will return with Christ to rule and reign with Him for a thousand years here on earth. Many people will be born during that time. No one will die.

Satan will be loosed for a short time, and he will gather the Nations against God's People. God will fight for them. And then Time will end. Eternity will begin. The False Prophet, the Dragon, and the Beast will all be in the Lake of Fire for eternity.

The New Jerusalem will come down from Heaven, to be the New Capitol of the Earth.

I do not support anyone who says that the time of this earth is "at such and such a time" Jesus forbade his followers to do that.

You have just answered your question, only God knows when Jesus will return, no one can say what time or date or day he will come, the real answer here is that we have got to be ready at all times, and Christ is going to come as a thief in the night, and be on the alert and knowing in your heart, whether if your ready for him or not! God is our only hope and taking the Bible for what it is, this is Gods word nothing false about it, if we doubt Gods word, we have no hope, God want us all to come to him in repentance, keep reading the bible, it will be of great help to you in God leading guidance to lead you to his heavenly Kingdom!

I wish you well and Gods Great love shine upon you!