How Harold Camping & Family Radio Got it Wrong

One of the key passages that influence the estimated end times date of May 21, 2011 is taken from 2 Peter 3:8 "But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day."

However, what is faulty is the interpretation of this verse. The thousand years must be taken literally for the prediction to hold true in conjunction with this verse from the story of Noah:

For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground." Gn 7:4

The premise for the prediction is that the Noah story prefigures the end time story. So, 7 days for Noah = 7,000 years for us because of the verse in 2 Peter.

HOWEVER, there is a problem. If you look at the context of the thousand years in 2 Peter 3. It is not meant to be taken literally, but as a figure of speech warning against trying to judge God's time table based on our time table. Below, I've highlighted the key points in context.

2 Peter 3
1. This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you
2. that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles.
3. First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts
4. and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!"
5. They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water,
6. through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished.
7. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.
8. But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.
9. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
10. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
11. Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness,
12. waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire?
13. But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
14. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish;
15. and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,
16. speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.
17. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability.
18. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

As with most things up for interpretation, it would be easy to see the idea that we won't know the end until it is revealed, and that may be so. However, to take 1,000 years literally in this passage is quite a stretch.

Such a literal interpretation of the scriptures can be dangerous and in some cases, even silly. Does anyone really take seriously the visions of Ezekiel or Daniel? No, they are purely symbolic. Harold Camping would say the same thing. The same is true in 2 Peter 3. Only Camping & Co. would disagree.

Sunburn and the Spiritual Journey

For months we've been planning our outdoor garden.  We started tons of plants inside in March and have been waiting for the day.  Yesterday was that day.  With the raised bed filled with soil and broken up, we were ready to go, but we got off to a late start, and for all our plans we weren't quite ready when we stood in front of the plot. 

So, we grabbed a corner and started planting.  After a couple hours, the job was finished and all those tiny plants that sat in our windows looking impressive, now looking like tepid weeds waiting to be pulled up for their annoyance. 

Within hours of finishing a couple things were clear:
Carrots and peas don't transplant well.
Even on a cool day, the bright sun is hot.
That sun will, in fact, burn you.

I had forgotten sunblock, and so at the end of the day I was sore and tired and red.  So, skin burned and lesson learned.

In a sense, the same is true in the spiritual journey.   In my life, I have had the joys of a spontaneous conga line in church.  I've been part of worship teams, drama groups, prayer teams, bible studies, and a Sunday school teacher.  It is a part of my life that I really do love.  At the same time, I've felt betrayed by church leaders, disappointed with sermons, misled by church friends, and the odd person out of retreat four square.

Through it all, I need to remain hopeful.  The church is imperfect because people are imperfect.  To expect more is asking too much of the church and of ourselves.  I can't remember the last time I was perfect. The spiritual journey winds as maddeningly as pea vines planted too close together. At the end of the day the plants in the yard and the people in the pews are on a journey.  We don't know what will happen next.  Will there be frost this week?  Will there be rain?  Will we grow or wilt?  It all remains to be seen.

In terms of the garden, we know that it's May outside and the season is just beginning.  We have hope that the sun will shine and the rain will be steady, but not too windy.  It isn't the same with the spiritual journey.  What is our season?  We may be long-time members of the church, but stuck in February.  We could be young, but look ahead with August eyes.  It's not for us to understand.  All we can do is start the seeds, prepare the soil and remember our sunblock.