Even though his predicted physical Rapture didn’t take place on May 21, 2011, Harold Camping affirmed recently that the Apocalypse would “probably” take place October 21, 2011.
(Spencer Platt)
It started with Jesus himself in the Gospel of Mark, which most scholars identify as the earliest written canonical account of the life of Christ. In Mark 13, Jesus informed his disciples that the last days were at hand. He listed signs of the End of the Age: wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, and other calamities.
“I tell you the truth,” he predicted, “this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
The disciples must have gotten weird looks in their eyes. Maybe they started swapping gossip about warfare. Maybe they told tales of stars falling from the sky or distant famines, because Jesus dropped one more caution on them before moving along to the next topic. Be alert, he said, because no one knows about that day or hour. Not the angels. Not even Jesus himself. Only the Father.
In other words, fellas, prepare for it, but quit trying to put it on a calendar.
Christians have long been accused of taking biblical commands too literally, but this one-no one knows when the End of the Age will arrive-is one we routinely ignore. There are so many weird images and numbers and timelines in the Bible. It’s got to be some kind of code we can crack, right?
Too many of us try, digging into the Bible’s cryptic apocalyptic passages. Calculations in hand, a few stout-hearted souls eventually conclude they have figured it out.
They are always wrong. Always.
More than a century after the crucifixion, a new convert named Montanus let loose a series of ecstatic prophecies. He said Jesus will return during his lifetime and the New Jerusalem would descend upon Pepuza, an ancient village in modern-day Turkey.
It didn’t happen.
In the 4th century, Hilary of Poitiers published a list of possible candidates for the Antichrist. He predicted the end of the world for 365 A.D.
It didn’t happen.
In Spain in 793, on the night before Easter, an elderly monk named Beatus announced that Jesus would return before dawn. Everyone panicked. They spent the night fasting and praying.
It didn’t happen.
At the turn of the 13th century, a Cistercian monk named Joachim of Fiore proclaimed that God had revealed to him the mystical meaning of the New Testament book of Revelation. Joachim died in 1202, but not before predicting the end will arrive by 1260.
It didn’t happen.
In 1533, a German monk named Stifelius-an early supporter of Protestant Reformer Martin Luther-calculated that Judgment Day would arrive at 8 a.m. on October 3. He published a two-volume book about it. Anxiety seized the Bavarian countryside.
It didn’t happen.
In 1694, a group of Germans sailed to the New World, where they anticipated the imminent arrival of Christ in the deep Pennsylvanian wilderness. They set up a utopian community along Wissahickon Creek, where they fasted, prayed, and waited.
It didn’t happen.
In the early 18th century, famed preacher Cotton Mather warned his fellow Puritans that the end of the world was scheduled for 1697. And then 1716. And then 1736.
It didn’t happen.
In 1844, a Baptist preacher and ex-Army captain named William Miller set upstate New York aflame with the prediction that Jesus would return to rapture the faithful between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844.
It didn’t happen.
There have been many, many more. Herbert W. Armstrong in 1936. Billy Graham in 1949. Hal Lindsey in 1970. Charles Taylor in 1975. Pat Robertson in 1982. Edgar Whisenant in 1988. Benny Hinn in 1997. Paul Smirnov in 2002.
None of these end-of-the-world projections paid out. We Christians are exactly zero-for-every-prediction-ever when it comes to forecasting the Rapture, the Second Coming, or pretty much any apocalyptic event.
Years ago, a California radio broadcaster named Harold Camping declared that the Rapture was scheduled for May 21, 2011, followed by the end of the world no later than October 21. With billboards and broadcasts, he whipped his followers (and the news media) into a frenzy as the first date approached.
Camping revised his message but stuck to his guns. Judgment Day will still arrive on October 21, 2011, he says. Expect the end.
Call me crazy, but I predict it won’t happen.
Add one more name to the list.
Jason Boyett is the author of several books, including Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse. Find him at jasonboyett.com or on Facebook.
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