I had heard that perhaps Harold Camping repented and that he is no longer teaching at Family Radio. I took the latter part as possibly the exercise of discipline in response to Camping’s errors. I was hopeful. Love believes all things.
As for the latter, alas, Camping retired on October 16, as reported by the Christian Post. He was not, by the sound of it, disciplined. Family Radio’s homepage does not have any statement correcting Camping’s heterodoxy. Their continued silence sounds like complicity.
Worse than that is the emptiness of what some have mistakenly called his repentance. Camping’s message, posted at Family Radio’s website on October 28 was not a profession of repentance in any meaningful way.
There was one small detail of apology.
Incidentally, I have been told that I had said back in May that people who did not believe that May 21 should be the rapture date, probably had not become saved. I should not have said that, and I apologize for that.
Those who fell for his heresy and lost all their earthly possessions are left with only these words of non-apology:
In any case, we do not have to have a feeling of calamity or a feeling that God has abandoned us. We are simply learning. And sometimes it’s painful to learn. We are learning how God brings His messages to mankind.
True, perhaps. But it is not a message that Camping is qualified to bring. Shall a thief be permitted to explain to his victim that riches are a snare? Camping denounced the Bride of Christ and assaulted her. Shall he be permitted to teach the Church that his crimes against her shall ultimately redound to her good? No; he is not fit to teach that or anything. He is fit to repent.
If Camping repents, let me know. In the meantime, I will be praying in the words of Psalm 10:15, “Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.”
Here is an accurate transcript of Camping’s message.
We’re living in a day when one problem follows another. And when it comes to trying to recognize the truth of prophecy, we’re finding that it is very, very difficult.
Why didn’t Christ return on October 21? It seems embarrassing for Family Radio. But God was in charge of everything. We came to that conclusion after quite careful study of the Bible. He allowed everything to happen the way it did without correction. He could have stopped everything if He had wanted to.
I am very encouraged by letters that I have received and are receiving at this time concerning this matter. Amongst other things I have been checking my own notes more carefully than ever. And I do find that that there is other language in the Bible that we still have to look at very carefully and will impinge upon this question very definitely. And we should be very patient about this matter.
At least, in a minimum way, we are learning to walk more and more humble before God. We’re ready to cry out and weep before God: “Oh Lord, you have the truth, we don’t have it; you have the truth.” And this is another place where we have to cry out for this. There’s one thing that we must remember: God is in charge of this whole business, and we are not. What God wants to tell us is His business. When He wants to tell us is His business. In the meanwhile, God is allowing us to continue to cry to Him for mercy—oh my, how we need His mercy—and continue to wait on Him. God has not left us. God is still God. But we have to be very careful that we don’t dictate to God what He should do.
In our search in the Bible, we must continue to look to the Bible—look to the Bible—because there is where truth comes from. And God in His own timetable and in His own purposes will reveal truth to us when it’s His time to do it. In any case, we do not have to have a feeling of calamity or a feeling that God has abandoned us. We are simply learning. And sometimes it’s painful to learn. We are learning how God brings His messages to mankind. And, my my, we have claimed to be a child of God, and therefore as we search the Bible, we’re bound to feel the darts of the Lord as sometimes He gives us the truth and sometimes He gives us something that causes us to wait further upon Him.
Whatever we do, we must not feel for a moment that we have been abandoned by God, that He has no longer helping us or interested in us. Oh my, what an encouragement it is to be able to go to the Lord again and again: “Oh Lord, I don’t know anything; Lord, you teach me.” And that’s the attitude that has to be a part of each one of us. And God will not abandon us; He will provide; but we have to be just very careful that we don’t dictate to him when that has to happen.
Incidentally, I have been told that I had said back in May that people who did not believe that May 21 should be the rapture date, probably had not become saved. I should not have said that, and I apologize for that.
One thing we know for certain, that God is merciful, merciful beyond anything that we would ever expect and so, we can pray constantly, and should be praying constantly: “Oh Lord, we look to Thee for Thy mercy and we’re so thankful that we know that Thou art so merciful.”
How wonderful to know, that God is still on the throne, that He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and that He hears every one of our prayers. And let’s not hesitate, let’s be, if anything, let’s be pray more than ever for God’s mercy, and keep praying and God will provide. But God is in charge, and we must always keep that in mind.