Harold Camping

Summary:

Not 2012 related, but definitely a hoax.

Harold Camping

MamaBear (guest) 13 Oct 2010 17:37

I was just driving home from the mall as saw signs plastered all over about May 21, 2011. I am very familar with Harold Camping and his non-sense, but I was just shocked to see the sign live in person. So, if someone could answer a few questions I would appreciate it! Where does Camping get the basis for his claims? For example, why does he say 5, 10, and 17 mean what they do? Is this some secret Bible code only revealed to him? Also, why did he pick April 1st, 2011? It's seems odd that, that would be the magic number when he still has to add 51 to get his equation to work out in his favor, hence giving us May 21st. I know it's all just crazy mathmatics worked in a way to make him look like he knows what he's taking about, I am just curious where he came up with it all. It seems so bizzare to me that people would look at these numbers and find any correlation.

Re: Harold Camping

bikenbeer2000 13 Oct 2010 18:46

I posted this in another thread, but it's probably not been seen by many because of the number of other postings in that thread, so I'll repeat it.
This is from: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/01/BA8V1AV589.DTL

"The number 5, Camping concluded, equals "atonement." Ten is "completeness." Seventeen means "heaven." Camping patiently explained how he reached his conclusion for May 21, 2011.
"Christ hung on the cross April 1, 33 A.D.," he began. "Now go to April 1 of 2011 A.D., and that's 1,978 years."
Camping then multiplied 1,978 by 365.2422 days - the number of days in each solar year, not to be confused with a calendar year.
Next, Camping noted that April 1 to May 21 encompasses 51 days. Add 51 to the sum of previous multiplication total, and it equals 722,500.
Camping realized that (5 x 10 x 17) x (5 x 10 x 17) = 722,500.
Or put into words: (Atonement x Completeness x Heaven), squared."

It's just numerology, in other words, playing with numbers until they give the result you want. As always, there's no reason given for the choice of certain numbers in preference to others. There can be no possible connection with this and any future event in the real world. Bear in mind that Camping's got previous form. He predicted the end of the world would be in 1994 after another numerological flight of fancy. I'm sure he was just as convinced that time.

Of course, it's all nonsense, but is it harmless? Not necessarily. Read about what happened to Reggie Wiggins: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/eastbay/quit-your-church/Content?oid=1070870

MamaBear (guest) 13 Oct 2010 19:24

Trust me, I definitely believe it's all mumbo jumbo, hocus pocus junk! I was just more or less curious if Camping ever explained why 5 equals atonement and so on. Or why a span of 1,978 years. I figured it was just what fit inot his "calculation".

And I apologize, I saw the other post after I posted this one. Ironic huh? (cue spooky music)

bikenbeer2000 13 Oct 2010 20:47

I've had a look for 5 - atonement, etc. and can't find anything, except for Heaven 17, an 80s group from Sheffield, England. Maybe Camping's a fan of synth pop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_17

Mike Poulin (guest) 13 Oct 2010 21:21

Alright here's a brief history a very brief history of Camping's failed claims from ABHOTA.com

Sept 27th 1994 Harold Camping predicted Christ's return through calculation from his book 1994.?

Sept 29th 1994 Camping's failed doomsday prophecy 2

Oct 6th 1994 Camping's failed doomsday prophecy 3

March 31st 1995 Camping's failed doomsday prophecy four. He stopped setting dates apparently after this one

So he's failed four times at this point with his doomsday predictions. There's no reason to believe this man. Not to mention the Bible clearly states that No Man Knows when the day will come so his predictions clash with the teachings of the Bible.

Natalie (guest) 10 Dec 2010 18:56

He seems to have found a way around that, claiming the "No man knows" quote only applied to the church age.
http://www.familyradio.com/graphical/literature/nomanknows/nomanknows.html

mike1986 10 Dec 2010 19:54

Well the Church age can't end until Jesus comes back at Pentecost which oddly enough doesn't fall until June 12th 2011 and his math also says that Passover is April 1st 2011 when it is really April 18th 2011.

mike1986 10 Dec 2010 19:58

Of course Camping would say something like that because he believes the Bible is a lie and that God is a liar and that the Bible is the interpertations of man and not the writings of Jesus and God. Natalie check out this article www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/harold_camping.htm
It gives some insights on the Heresies and some of the false teachings of Harold Campin.

Last edited on 10 Dec 2010 20:03 by mike1986 Show more

mike1986 10 Dec 2010 20:10

The only poor people here are the ones that believe Harold Camping because he has many things wrong amoung them are these.

The Church Age does not end until Jesus comes back.

The Great Tribulation did not begin on May 21st 1988 and is not 23 years long.

Passover is April 18th 2011

The Pentecost is on June 11th 2011

He also believes the Arch Angel Michael is actually Jesus.

Astrogeek 13 Oct 2010 22:01

There is a history of numerology in Hebrew literature, because the ancient Israelites did not have numerals, but rather the letters served as numerals as well. This produced a phenomenon known as gematria where a word written in Hebrew was assigned a numeric value, and that numeric value was compared to the numeric values of other words, and where they equaled, or where there was a mathmatical relationship between the two numeric values the claim was made that a relationship existed between the words.

Complete nonsense, of course, but then thats what the ancients believed.

In addition there was embedded in ancient Hebrew culture certain 'magic' numbers, which signified certain things. None of them appear to match up with Camping's numerology, but, hey, its all bogus anyway.

---

"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind

mike1986 27 Nov 2010 23:25

Something i find interesting about Camping who is an obvious False Prophet is his timeline for these events. May 21st 2011 is the rapture he is predicting is a secret rapture which is not biblical and is basically sort of a modern idea from the early 1600s not taught in the Bible is probably why the Rapture prediction has always failed. Oct 21st 2011 5 months later the world is destroyed by fire. So somehow the Biblically Prophicised Great Tribulation the most horrible time in Human History only last 5 months when the Bible distinctly says it lasts 3 and a half years.

Last edited on 07 Dec 2010 23:52 by mike1986 Show more

obaeyens 27 Nov 2010 23:53

Naaaah, the rapture already happened last year and you did not notice it.

mike1986 27 Nov 2010 23:57

So did we somehow skip past the Tribulation and the opening of the 5th seal.

mike1986 28 Nov 2010 01:22

Just thinking even though Harold Camping isn't involved in the 2012 thing he should have a page here.

obaeyens 28 Nov 2010 02:22

Yep, we are the last ones left on this earth.
I am planning to have a big party.

mike1986 02 Dec 2010 20:39

Check out this article i found on Harold Camping. www.jesus-is-savior.com/wolves/harold_camping.html might be wrong link and the website name might offend people but it prettty much puts Camping in perspective as a False Prophet.

Astrogeek 02 Dec 2010 23:41

Hi Mike;

I appreciate what you're trying to do, but Camping is not really connected to the 2012 doomsday, which is why we haven't put up a page on him.

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"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind

mike1986 03 Dec 2010 20:36

Totally understandable.

mike1986 07 Dec 2010 23:53

And yet no Tribulation that's weird.

Re: Harold Camping

obaeyens 11 Dec 2010 01:58

It is just numbers.
I bet that they also find that Yoda is coming back at 20 May 2011to fight Darth Vador.

Natalie (guest) 03 Dec 2010 17:50

Here's a great article thoroughly debunking Camping's claims -
http://www.cogwriter.com/harold-camping-may-21-2011.htm

Not to mention the fact he made several predictions before (1994), which obviously failed.

MamaBear (guest) 03 Dec 2010 18:42

Awesome article!

mike1986 03 Dec 2010 20:42

Yeah i happened to Google the same article earlier as i googled Harold Camping false teachers and that came up. I suppose at least a few of Camping's followers will wake up to that reality when the rapture doesn't occour on May 21st 2011 and they sit at home wondering why they weren't saved.

MamaBear (guest) 03 Dec 2010 21:47

I have to admit, I was surfing the radio today and had to stop on Family Radio for a few seconds to listen. In the 2 minutes I listened I was appauled that people believe him. He was ranting about the great big sin of homosexuality and God would be sending a nice clear message of disproval. He was saying something about the emergence and acceptance of homosexuality in just the past 2 decades has lead God to cast his doubts on the human race. I missed what spurred the statement but I'm pretty sure it had something to due with NASA's discovery of the new bacteria. He went on to ask how science can explain such a beautiful world and vast universe. Science couldn't possibly adequate explain the existence of all there is and it must be the work of God himself. Very bizarre! He's a true crack pot.

mike1986 03 Dec 2010 23:39

If there is at least one Bible Prophecy that i believe in that holds true today it is the one of False Prophets as there are many Camping is just one in a long line of guys twisting the word of God to fit his own perversed image. Well when the rapture does happen weather it is on May 21st 2011 which it won't be or weather it's a decade from now for sinning against God and adding to the bible Camping will not end up in heaven.

obaeyens 04 Dec 2010 01:35

Have you seen poltergeist II?
There they go into this cave with this priest claiming the world would end and no one was allowed to leave.

I also recall last time the world ended, I saw news articles about people refusing to leave the caves where they were waiting the end of the world.

mike1986 17 Dec 2010 21:38

Something that is also interesting about Camping is that he claims to have "Special Knowledge" from God about May 21st 2011 this isn't the first person to do such a thing I.E. the Jahova's Witnesses and Charles Taza Russel or William Miller who predicted the end on Oct 21st 1844.

obaeyens 18 Dec 2010 02:29

Jehovahs witnesses are very bad in predicting the end of the world. They have a 100% failure history in predicting it.

But I am wondering if Camping already has his excuse ready why nothing happens on that day?

mike1986 18 Dec 2010 02:57

Well he says that he is 100 percent sure that something will happen that day Like we haven't heard that before but something interesting he's 88 years old what would happen if he were to die before his supposed date comes.

obaeyens 18 Dec 2010 12:06

Always the "something".

I predict that this "something" will be a really bad hair day for him.
Maybe this "something" could also be a blocked toilet in his home.

MamaBear (guest) 18 Dec 2010 15:08

I thought the same thing, what if he dies? He's not exactly a spring chicken. I also thought it was interesting that in his 1994? book he refrenced 2011 thirteen times. To me it kind of says, I was wrong about 1994, but not about 2011 because see, I already said 2011 back then.

mike1986 19 Dec 2010 01:15

Mamabear
Something i posted before is that Camping is 100 percent sure that the rapture on May 21st 2011 just like he was in 1994. He also believes that the No Man Knows the Day or the Hour only applies to the members of the church. Camping has no greater knowledge from God or anyone else and it's essentially BS Calculations that do not appear anywhere in the Bible at all.

mike1986 20 Dec 2010 03:55

I really feel sorry for the people that are buying Camping's garbage because their pouring their money in to something that won't happen and when it doesn't they'll hopefully realized they've been swindled. This is all kind of similar in some ways to the 2012 phenominon people throwing money they don't have away for no reason.

Natalie (guest) 20 Dec 2010 23:55

You're making a very good point.

If Camping truly believes 2011 to be the end of the world, why is he constantly asking his followers to send money to his radio program?

Here's another good website I found, refuting Camping's theories from a biblical point of view.
http://www.scionofzion.com/2002theses.htm

mike1986 21 Dec 2010 01:15

Good article Natalie. I found a few written by a guy named Robert Gianserra. http//exposingdarkness.com/2009/06/08/the_madness_of_Harold_Camping/
Hopefully this link is correct but there's at least 3 articles in here taking Harold Camping to task.

Last edited on 21 Dec 2010 01:17 by mike1986 Show more

mike1986 26 Dec 2010 23:31

Not to mention one of thse more famous and unfortunate ones Jonestown Massacre aka Jim Jones something tells me when May 20-21st 2011 comes and there's no rapture unfortunately we could have another Jonestown Massacre on our hands.

mike1986 31 Dec 2010 00:07

Or maybe more to the liking of the Branch Davidions in the early 90's where he came up with his own Doctarine and believed he was ordained by God much like Camping has been doing for years.
Also check out this blog
www.atheolous.blogspot.com