Harold Camping, R I P

The Official Blog of the End of the World Notes the Passing of Harold Camping. We would be remiss if we did not do so. Camping, 92, was one who predicted unsuccessfully (We note that we are still here) the end of the world, on three different occasions.

People may differ on his motivation for doing so, but the sorrow, hardship and poverty that followed in the wake of his misguided prophecies are indisputable. Camping's beliefs stemmed from the fact that he believed one shouldn't use commentaries to interpret the Bible, because those are the thoughts of men. He believed that the Bible should be interpreted by the Bible alone. Over the years, he wrote numerous study guides based solely on his own studies, that promoted his beliefs. Over time, ironically, those became a de facto commentary, but not the only spiritual blind spot in his life. One studies commentaries not because they are infallible, but because they give insight into what other believers believe, and counsel about the pitfalls of sin, such as pride, even though we might be blind to them ourselves.

Jesus said that no man would know the time or the date of his coming. Camping was not the only man to deceive himself into believing that somehow he was exempt from the rest of humanity in this. Whether or not you believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ bringing the world to an end, there is a sense in which every generation faces the end of the world, in that they experience the end of their own world. For Harold Camping, the world ended in December 2013.

Camping died from a fall in his home. One that was preceded by a fall in his public ministry, which was ultimately preceded by the fall of our progenitor Adam. As the old horn book says, "In Adam's fall, sinned we all."

Harold Camping was a sinner. Now it's up to his Boss to set him straight.