The Rapture Prophecy and Why It Failed

Once again as expected yet another prophecy of the return of Christ and the rapture has failed to come to fruition. Harold Camping prophesied that on May 21,2011 this incredible event would without fail become a reality, and as we all know this did not happen. So, what went wrong?

The very first thing that went wrong is that since the bible in its entirety is nothing but a book of myths it is logical that myths aren't real and thus we can never expect them to come true. But for this post and for the sake of argument I would like to explain to everyone from a Christian perspective why this prophecy and any others made in the past or in the future will not come to fruition ever!

As always I will be using the New Jerusalem translation of the bible for any and all text citations. In referring to the end times Jesus gave his apostles a list of signs that would indicate to the believers that his imminent return was near and in closing he added :'But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.'Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. (Mark 13:32,33).

Camping in his justification for knowing when the rapture would be to the date, was based on his clever manipulation of old and new testament texts quoted out of context. He stated on his web site that those that were saved and walked in the spirit would know because of their standing with God. He also stated that because of this the above mentioned quote did not apply to them. But as you can see Jesus was speaking to his followers directly and the very last sentence confirms that this was an admonition to the church specifically.

The specific scripture that refers to the rapture is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 it basically states that the dead in Christ shall rise first and then those that remain shall be taken up to meet the Lord in the air give it a read when you get the chance. Putting aside the stupidity and not to mention impossibility of this event ever occurring let's continue proving that the bible teaches that even the "saved" will be caught unawares.

In Luke 17:33-37 Jesus once again referring to the rapture states basically that two people will be in a field and that one will be taken and the other will remain. Obviously the ones taken are the believers and true followers of Christ. I have shown that according to the very scriptures themselves that the Christians claim to believe in no man be he believer or unbeliever will ever know the date of the return of Christ or when the rapture will occur.

Harold Camping claimed that believers had the inside track on this information but the various texts that he quoted on his website were all referring to so called "spiritual truths" and did not apply to the rapture or the return of Christ. Believers are told in the scriptures to be watchful for the signs of the times and that those signs would signal that he is near but they are never given a specific date.

In closing if you as a believer choose to accept the nonsense that is written in the bible as fact, at least have the decency to read your bible so that you know what it is you are believing in. Stop following so called prophets speaking of things they no nothing about. I was surprised to see on Harold Campings page that he claims to have diligently studied the bible for over 50 years yet he could not get this simple teaching through his head.

'Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. (Mark 13:33).