I wouldn’t believe this if I hadn’t heard it, but out here in D.C., there’s a fringe Protestant radio station that combines some pretty standard programming (worship music, people talking about the Bible, etc.) with repeated claims that the world ends next year. The station, Family Radio, has this greeting visitors to their webpage:
Just going to point out that the only two choices were 2011 and 2012.
Yup. Family Radio believes that Judgment Day is May 21, 2011. This is based on a five-step train of “thought”:
- Family Radio decided the Flood from Genesis is a prefigurement of the End Times, and that the countdown to Armaggedon begins with Noah. This is based on Luke 17:26-27, while conveniently omitting Luke 17:28-30, which ruins the entire thesis.
- From here, Family Radio somehow decided that the Flood occurred in 4990 B.C. Not “circa 4990 B.C., ” but exactly, to the year, 4990. They don’t explain where this number comes from, but do tell us it was “careful study of the Bible.”
- The flood occurred on the seventeenth day of the second month of the year (this, the Bible actually does say: Gen. 7:10-11).
- Genesis 7:4 says God gave Noah seven days warning of the Flood.
- 2 Peter 3:8 says that to God, a day is like a thousand years.
Conclusion: seven thousand years from 4990 is 2011, and the corresponding anniversary (using the Jewish calendar) is May 21st. Thus, Judgment Day must be May 21, 2011. Voila!
Now, there are some pretty glaring problems with this theory, and I do mean glaring:
- Jesus never says anything about how Noah is the beginning of the countdown to the eschaton. There aren’t even any clues that this is true. He just says that people won’t be ready for the coming of the Kingdom, just as they weren’t ready in the days of Noah or Lot.
- This 4990 date seems incredibly suspect, since it just happens to mean the world ends next year.
- 2 Peter 3:8 is alluding to Psalm 90:4, which says to God, “a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” If I’m not mistaken, a watch is three hours long, and there are four watches in a night (Jesus is out in the fourth in Matthew 14:25, for example). If a thousand years is a watch of the night, this would mean that a day was equivalent to eight thousand years. Of course, neither 2 Peter 3:8 nor Psalm 90:4 are meaning to give a precise conversion rate of OurTime to GodTime. They’re just talking about how the Creator of Time isn’t bound by our temporal settings, which is how Genesis 1 makes sense.
In other words, there’s no reason to (1) think God’s giving us seven “days” from the time of Noah. And even if this were true, there’s no reason to think that (2) these seven “days” should be measured from exactly 4990 B.C. And even if both these things were true, there’s no reason to think (3) that seven “days” means seven thousand years, and not, 56,000 years (seven days at eight thousand years each, using Psalm 90:4’s other example), or any other length of time. So at most, if you bought into (1) and (2) for some reason, you could at most say the coming of the Kingdom was going to be seven eras of unknown length from the time of Noah. Which puts you in little better position than those people in the days of Noah or Lot.
I’m incredibly excited to see what’s going to happen to the station come May 22. Do you think that they have a long-term station license? Is there programming planned? If you’re able to listen in, the surreal experience may be worth your while.
Do those who say, “Lo here, or lo there, are the signs of His coming”, think to be too keen for Him, and spy His approach? When He tells them to watch lest He find them neglecting their work, they stare this way and that, and watch lest He should succeed in coming like a thief!
George MacDonald
Yeah this Harold Camping chap sounds a bit loony. The sad thing is – they’ll be proven wrong, they’ll come up with another date after some miscalculation excuse … and …people will still follow him. Sad.
Mary, great quote.
LaSalle, you’re right. He was predicting that the world would end in 1994, which it didn’t. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen next year, but it could be like the Great Disappointment of 1844.
The Millerite movement had sworn up and down that the Second Coming was October 22, 1844, and when it didn’t happen, the Millerites broke up into three camps, two of which still believed that the Second Coming had actually occurred. Those sort of obvious delusions did nothing to engender sympathy for the Millerites, or Christianity more broadly. Descended from the Millerites are the Seventh-Day Adventists, who still claim that “Rome” is going to take over the United States and try to kill all the “Sabbath-keeping” Adventists [the irony of this, given that most Protestants claim we have too much deference for the Mosaic Law, is stark].
As bad off as the delusional Millerites were, even worse off were those people who lost faith completely as a result of the false prophet Miller. While I poked some fun in the post, I’m actually concerned about what’s going to happen to those well-meaning Christians who followed this new false prophet.
I pray that God will open your spiritaul understanding. God will not come as a thief in the night for those who are teh true believers, and because the Bible has given us so many proofs, we shouldn’t doubt what it says. God is coming quicker then you know and the world will be in sudden destruction. Pray to God so he may have mercy on your souls,God’s salvation plan is still going on today. God Bless
I know we poked a bit of fun, but in all seriousness, I don’t question your faith or your good intentions. We do disagree on how to understand these Scriptures, though.
There’s a reason that the overwhelming majority of the two billion Christians on Earth don’t see anything about a May 2011 Apocalypse in Scripture. God never requires (anywhere in Scripture or history) mankind to use calculators and complex charts to determine the exact dates of events.
Tell you what: if May comes and goes, and you’re still here, just know that God remained faithful, and kept His word that no one but the Father knows the day or the hour. God bless you.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
i ask myself. y was my comment erased? is it because of the reality? because you know that in some parts of what i have said it is true? well who knows but your own self. i am not some random person who decides to write dumb imature stuff. this is reality and if you dont cut this crap up you will go to hell. i hope that your predictions are true. because if they dont happen you will loos all credability. then your empire will fall(empire as in the people you have gained who trust you and folow what you say. good day
It was deleted, because you advocated killing people who took a wrong view of prophesy. That’s disgusting, and unworthy of a religious blog.
If you’d bothered to read the post, you’d realize that your other attacks (that I believe the world will end on May 31) are completely wrong. I said the exact opposite.
The wise men knew the times. As Abraham came out of Chaldea (well known for astronomy) so did the Magi understand God’s big clock in the sky. This last winter solstice we had a once in 456 eclipse. This is one of God’s big days (19×24). Trace 456 cycles back in biblical history and see the amazing events that happened. Abraham died 8 of these cycles ago. The promise of circumcision (cutting away of the carnal flesh) was given after 8 days. This May 21st is off by a year and 10 days. Noah already went into the ark last year. He comes out on the 27th of Iyyar. Jehoiachin story says 25=27. So May 29,30, and 31 is the time. Planets are lining up in the sky to celebrate the event.
yup…november 2015 still here 😀 gonna be here for quite some time….god religious people are nuts