Friday, May 27, 2011

Reflections on Another Judgement Day Prediction Come and Gone


The link above was an interesting article that critiqued the "Apocalypse predictors" that thought May 21 would be the end of the world. The best of this article was found in this quote below:

"There is no point, they say, in trying to transform humanity, to lead people to the light, to heal wounds, to pray for the lost, or to proclaim a gospel of repentance. In other words, there is no point in doing what Jesus said to do. There is only a fervent need to be right, especially when everyone else is so obviously wrong."

This is the core problem with these types of people who are so focused on wishing some kind of apocalyptic judgement day. They have lost their focus on the true message of Jesus and how he has empowered us to be the light of the world. It is so much easier to judge people rather than get our hands dirty learning to serve and love people. It is much easier to find comfort in having a sense of superiority by claiming to be right or having the corner on all things related to "truth" rather than take a humble and loving approach towards people we may have a hard time relating to.

I am reminded of the passage in 1 Corinthians 13:2 that states, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." This is a harsh judgement. And let's not even consider what the Bible also says about false prophets, or how we are to test one who claims to be a prophet and what happens to one who is caught in a prophecy that ends up being false. The world that Harold Camping is living in right now has been much kinder to him with his false prophesies than others would have been during other periods of time. Also, considering his age, it is a shame that he does not use the last remaining years he has left to love on his family, his community, his church and those who are in need. Most people seem to mellow with age. Not Camping. Not his followers. With all the effort and money they put in to predicting the apocalypse how could all of that been better spent fighting against human trafficking, serving the poor, assisting those ravaged by the resent deluge of tornadoes, or helping to start an orphanage in Africa for children affected by AIDS. Instead they choose funnel all their energies to pedal their message of damnation. The reality is they will have to answer to God for that some day. But maybe, just maybe, their hearts of judgement and damnation will be touched by people of love and compassion and they will see the err of their ways and embrace a new path of grace, peace and love towards all.

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