Here’s a letter to the editor of the Herald Argus, in which a follower of Harold Camping briefly lays out the case that May 21, 2011 will be the day of the rapture. I’ve cut out the proof-texting to focus on the bizarre math. Also note the passing shot at competing apocalyptic preacher Tim LaHaye.
God in his great mercy (Romans 9:15-18) has given proof May 21, 2011, will be the day of the rapture. Those who have refused to leave their church (Revelation 18:4) and have followed pastors such as Dr. Tim LaHaye, who helped author the book “Left Behind” ironically will be those left behind.
[...]
There are exactly 722,500 days from April 1, 33 A.D. the day Jesus died on the cross until May 21, 2011. Astronomers have known there are 365.2422 days in a complete year. A day is added every fourth year (leap year) and every 128 years a day is dropped to maintain accuracy.
In order to find the spiritual meaning of these days, we must multiply the years between these events by the number 365.2422 to know the days between them. April 1, 33 A.D. to April 1, 2011 equals 1978 years. This equals 722,449 days. From April 1, 2011 to May 21, 2011 inclusively is 51 days. To this number is exactly 722,500 days.
Some numbers in the Bible can convey a spiritual truth and each number is a word. The 722,500 days is made up of 5x10x17x5x10x17.
The atonement demonstrated on April 1, 33 A.D. (the number 5) is 100 percent completed on May 21, 2011 (the number 10) when all the true believers are raptured into heaven (the number 17). Remarkably, this number sequence is doubled to indicate that it has been established by God and will shortly come to pass (Genesis 41:32, Pharaoh’s dream).
Read your Bible and beg God for his mercy from outside of your church. See Luke 18:13-14. No pastor, priest, temple or church can save anyone.
(via Slacktivist)
On one hand, we’re frequently told that the Bible is to be read “literally,” or in the “plain sense.” On the other hand, your see examples like this where the Bible is treated like a puzzle book.
So, Jesus was crucified on April Fools Day? There’s a joke in there somewhere. . . .
Whole bloody thing’s a joke. Or a farce anyway.
They got it wrong by 8 days, we should notice that
722.492= 666.666+666*666*0,1666*0,666+6660-6,66*(6,66+0,666) proving that at the end of times Satan’s number will govern us all.
Also, 5x10x17x5x10x17? Why not 2^2*5^4*17^2? Only we could have a god that doesn’t know how to factorize, we are soo doomed…
I stand corrected:
722.500=(6,66+0,666)^6,66 *(0,666+0,666)-(666-6,66+0,666+0,666)*66,6-6,66*(0,666+0,666)-0,666*0,666
I suppose he adjusted for all the calendar reforms that have occurred since 33 AD.
Not.
That’s the get-out he’ll use on 22 May.
Just remember the whole cognitive dissonance thing. When the day after the supposed rapture occurs, the people who devoted the most to this stupidity will claim that they were correct or slightly off, that the guy who made the predictions is still awesome, and they will continue their lives in a bizarre blissful ignorance thinking they were always and still are right. Those followers who have invested less MAY become disillusioned and go back and restart their lives seeing the prophet guy for who he is: a showman making a crazy ass gas.
This has happened before and will happen again, and again, and again, etc…
When as what their holey books say
ever stopped them from inventing any old schite they want?
Not only can you pick a bunch of “spiritual” numbers more or less at will to achieve a desired result, you also have free choice in how you combine these numbers (addition, multiplication, digit concatenation, etc).
And if it still doesn’t fit you introduce a fudge factor. I notice that the number 51 is pulled completely out of the blue in order to get to the number 722,500.
Hey Camping, what is the spiritual significance of 51?
Pathetic.
If you were Brazilian, you’d know 51 is a brand of cachaça, which is a very strong alcoholic beverage. Their motto is “uma boa ideia” (a good idea). So there’s your significance.
Yes – they’d probably drunk quite a lot when they thought up the date.
Spiritual indeed.
Jesus: “Me? Go back there? LOL!”
Looks like a WIN to me.
I’d be much more impressed if the answer required the use of integral calculus, which hadn’t been invented when the Bible was compiled.
That would be interesting.
I’m sure if you look hard enough you’ll find it somewhere …
I guess the time line keeps more xians from arguing among their many radical cults about *which* day the world ends, since so many specified dates in their predictions about the world ending have already come and gone.
Can someone tell me if this is the same numerical logic he used when he predicted the end of the world in ’94?
Cuz if I’ve been dead for the past seventeen years death has really sucked.
But at least it proves there’s life after death.
Let me some hope, please. On May 21, 2011 the world will be Bible math free.
I’ve always sort of thought having the rapture be true might be a very good thing for the earth.
It’s remarkable that, from this guy’s perspective, Tim LaHaye and others will be left behind just for being wrong about the date. Apparently, lack of mathematical acumen is the unforgivable sin. Does he imagine heaven as populated by the followers of Harold Camping only?
That’s a pretty standard attitude to most Christian sects, yes. The Jehova’s Witnesses are just the most obviously ful of shit about it.
This guy isn’t a JW.
That’s what he wants you to think . . . nudge, nudge . . .
You’re nuts.
Am NOT!
I hope he will give me all of his possessions after the 22nd of May!
Yeah but their stuff is probably lame. They don’t seem like the kind of people who have big screen tellies and awesome houses.
Hmm….that’s one of my kids’ birthdays – what does that mean?
Jesus said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.”
You can get the straight dope at the Reverend Camping’s website, May 21, 2011—Judgment Day. It includes this YouTube video, for which commenting has been disabled. Here’s a choice passage, in which the reverend explains why he is not just another lunatic :
You may also want to have a look also at the page “How Do I Know the Bible Is True?“, especially the material under the heading “External evidence, that is, facts outside of the Bible demonstrate that it is a reliable and trustworthy source of information,” which begins: “No scientific fact has ever disproved the Bible in any way.”
Oops! This is just to correct an error that I made in my e-mail address in my previous comment.