Harold Camping Backpedaling on End of World 'Prophecies?'
Harold Camping, the 90-year-old founder of Family Radio who predicted that Judgment Day would occur back in May, is still ready to prepare his listeners for the Second Coming of Christ, this time on Oct. 21, although the California Bible teacher does not sound quite as sure about his so-called prophecies this time around.
Camping's previous prediction was that the rapture would take place on May 21, 2011. When no rapture occurred, Camping was forced to reconsider the biblical calculations he used to arrive at that date. He stated at the time that the May rapture was a "spiritual" one, and that a physical rapture would follow in October.
In an audio message recorded some time after Camping left a nursing home after suffering a stroke in late June this year (read: Harold Camping Still on Leave After Stroke) and posted on the Family Radio website possibly in September when a seperate "special message" was posted on the website, the California broadcaster revisits his assertion that the rapture will indeed "probably" occur by Oct. 21.
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Below is a full transcript of Camping's latest audio message to supporters:
Hello, this is Harold Camping with a few ideas or a few statements so that you can know where I am in this whole picture. I am very, very glad that God has been with me. I'm slowly getting healed, although I still have a long ways to go. There's been one big change, and that is that I have been able to leave the hospital and now I am able to live with my dear wife at home and that has been very, very comforting and very happy for me. I'm still a long way away from being healed but there is progress being made and at times it looks like it's very substantial progress, although I still have along way to go. I am particularly grateful when I hear about your prayers and your concerns for my health and well-being and I'm glad that God is answering those prayers.
I do believe that we're getting very near the very end. We [could not] have known… we've learned that there's a lot of things that we didn't have quite right and that's God’s good provision. If he had not kept us from knowing everything that we didn't know, we would not have been able to be used of Him to bring about the tremendous event that occurred on May 21 of this year, and which probably will be finished out on October 21, that's coming very shortly. That looks like it will be at this point, it looks like it will be the final end of everything. It also looks like that as God is developing the details for us we are learning from the Bible, God's details of the end. We find that God is not a respecter of persons. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, some of them most wicked in the world, like the son of David who rebelled against David and David cried out: 'I wish that you were me rather than he.' That was Absalom, of whom we read quite a bit about in the Bible, and it encourages us to believe that all of our unsaved loved ones will not receive special vengeance of God at all. God says 'vengeance is mine,' and that means that He's going to apply the vengeance that He wants to apply. And when we study the historical record of his application of vengeance, taking for example the prime illustration – the son of David who rebelled and wanted to take the throne and then saw David weeping and wailing over him. We must believe that probably there will be no pain suffered by anyone because of their rebellion against God. This is very comforting to all of us, because we all have children, and have loved ones that are dear to us that we know are not saved; and yet we know that they'll quietly die. We can be more and more sure that they will quietly die and that will be the end of their story.
Whereas the true believers will quietly receive the new heaven and the new earth. I really am beginning to think as I restudied these matters that there's going to be no big display of any kind. The end is going to come very, very quietly probably within the next month. It will happen, that is, by October 21.
In the meanwhile, oh my, it's been so good to hear about those who are continuing to be faithful. They, undoubtedly, are the elect of God, and we know absolutely that the elect will be saved. There is no question at all about that. And we know that there are in the Family Radio many who have been so faithful and are remaining faithful right to the end. Praise God for that.
And so we're continuing on. By God's mercy I'm able to do a little bit more in the movement, because I’m no longer in a hospital. But I'm still limited, but on the other hand, there is growth and things are getting better as we go along and maybe God will keep me till the end also so that together we can go to be with Him forever more, and I am very convinced that all of the elect will definitely end up with the Lord Jesus Christ in a very, very few weeks. Thank you so much for allowing me to speak to you. I am so grateful and I wish that I were well, but on the other hand, I know my work has been done and I can wait on the Lord knowing that He will complete it through others as He is so doing right now. Goodbye and may God bless each one of you."
