I appreciated the observations that brother Fultz made in the above article regarding Harold Camping's prediction that the rapture would take place on May 21st. While brother Fultz was reminded of the lyrics of a song, I was reminded of the truth contained in Hosea 4:6 - "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge." The fact that Camping had any kind of a following at all is evidence that these individuals did not know the word of God.

First, this lack of knowledge is seen in the fact that Camping convinced people that he knew more than the Lord knew. When asked about the time of His return, Jesus responded, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only" (Matt. 24:36). "No one" includes Harold Camping.

Camping side-stepped the truth contained in this passage by claiming that God had revealed to him the means by which he could determine the date of the rapture and the end of the world. If God did tell Camping about His hidden Biblical numerology, it is apparent that He forgot to tell him how to use it!

As brother Fultz indicated in his article, this is the second time Camping has attempted to predict the return of Christ. According to the Bible, Harold Camping is a false prophet. "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' - when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him" (Deut. 18:21-22). If the Law of Moses was still in effect, Camping would have been put to death after his failed prediction in 1994 (v. 20). The fact that people still listen to him is evidence that they neither know or care what the Bible really says. They are more interested in a fantastic story about the possibility of the end of the world than they are in a "thus saith the Lord." Such an interest is an indication of the spiritual shallowness of mankind, but unfortunately such shallowness is not limited to those who are outside the body of Christ. There are other areas in which man can manifest his lack of Biblical knowledge. Let us be diligent in our study of God's word so that we are never swept away in the errors of men (Eph. 4:14).

The truth is that no man can know when Jesus will return. Because of this, the Lord said that we are to "watch" and "be ready" (Matt. 24:42-44). Are you ready?