https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/CanWeKnow.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Matthew 24:36-44<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. A massive advertising campaign has started claiming that Jesus’ second coming and the\nJudgment Day will be on May 21, 2011.\n A. Different billboard proclaim slogans, such as “The wise men knew, we can know”\nor “Noah knew, we can know.”\n B. Most of us understand that this is just another in a long list of failed prophecies\nconcerning the second coming.\n
1. Steve Rudd has a list of 220 of them on his web site, including this one.<\/p>\n
C. Yet, we are bound to be asked whether this one is real or not<\/p>\n 1. It was even on the front page of Friday’s paper (Omaha World Herald,\nDecember 3, 2010).\n
2. It is important that we have an answer – I Peter 3:15<\/p>\n 3. Fraudulent predictions like this one undermine the credibility of\nChristianity.\n a. If people think that this is what Christians believe and it doesn’t\ncome true, then the conclusion is that Christians are either liars or\ndeceived.\n
II. The source for this latest claim is Harold Camping<\/p>\n
A. Owns Family Radio broadcasting and it is featured heavily in all the advertising.<\/p>\n B. He published a book in 1992, titled “1994?” in which he claimed that Jesus would\nreturn in September, 1994.\n
1. Clearly he was wrong – Deuteronomy 18:20-22<\/p>\n 2. In a move reminiscent of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, he re-interpreted his\nprediction to say that September 7, 1994 was the start of the saving of\npeople outside the church.\n
a. Isn’t that what churches are about already?<\/p>\n C. Oh, in case you missed it, he also claimed that 1988 was the end of the church age\nand the beginning of the 23 years of great tribulation.\n D. “After Jesus’ return in May, Evans said, the people remaining on Earth will have\nonly until Oct. 21, ‘when the entire universe will be rolled up like a scroll and\ncompletely destroyed.” [Omaha World-Herald, 12\/3\/2010, p. 2A]\n
III. Can we know?<\/p>\n A. What is skipped in the claims that “Noah knew, so we can know” is that Noah\nknew when the flood would come because God told him – Genesis 6:3\n
B. Contrast this to Jesus statement regarding the second coming – Matthew 24:36<\/p>\n
C. To emphasis that point, Jesus gave illustrations – Matthew 24:44-51<\/p>\n D. For Mr. Camping to be right, you would have to conclude that Jesus didn’t know\nwhat he was talking about\n
1. Of the two, Mr. Camping doesn’t register on the scale of credibility<\/p>\n
IV. Playing games<\/p>\n A. To conclude that Judgment Day is May 21, 2011, Mr. Camping plays numerous\ngames with dates and numbers\n B. The Old Testament time line is stretched from 4 to 5 thousand years to 13\nthousand years.\n 1. He justifies this stretching, claiming that the biblical dates don’t match\ncommonly accepted archeological dates.\n C. Using God’s warning in Genesis 7:4, Mr. Camping claims that God wasn’t talking\nabout the flood but that Judgment is coming in seven thousand years.\n
1. How does a week become a seven thousand years? – II Peter 3:8<\/p>\n 2. Peter did not say one day equals a thousand years. This is a statement that\ntime doesn’t have the same meaning to the eternal God that is has to\nmortal man.\n 3. God is eternal so a short period of time (a day) and a long period of time (a\nthousand years) are much the same to the God who lives in eternity.\n
D. How do you get to 2011?<\/p>\n 1. It hasn’t been 7,000 years since the flood. The best estimate is that the\nflood occurred about 2,300 years before Christ.\n 2. That is where the stretched Old Testament time line comes into play. By\nclaiming that the flood actually happened 4,990 years before Christ, 7,000\nyears later ends up at 2011.\n
E. Why May 21st<\/sup>?<\/p>\n 1. Using Genesis 7:10-11.<\/p>\n 2. The Hebrew calendar starts about mid-March, so two months and\nseventeen days later is May 21.\n
F. The Genesis verses are not prophecy, they are historical accounts of the past.<\/p>\n
1. He connects the two because of verses like Matthew 24:37<\/p>\n 2. But Jesus was discussing the attitudes of people in the two periods, not the\ntime frames – Matthew 24:38-39\n G. Hence, we have a made-up time period being applied to a fudged calendar to\ncome up with the absolute date of Judgment!\n
1. The day of the end is not knowable – Matthew 25:13<\/p>\n
V. But there is more<\/p>\n
A. Camping even tells us how many will be saved:<\/p>\n 1. “We learn from the Bible that Holy God plans to rescue about 200 million\npeople (that is about 3% of today’s population). On the first day of the Day\nof Judgment (May 21, 2011) they will be caught up (raptured) into Heaven\nbecause God had great mercy for them.”\n 2. He doesn’t tell us how he came up with these numbers. I’m sure it is just\nas innovative as his date setting.\n B. The problem of the righteous being taken up six months before the dead and the\nend of the world – I Thessalonians 4:15-17\n
C. The problem that only the good are raised – John 5:28-29<\/p>\n
VI. Should we worry?<\/p>\n A. Not a chance. Mr. Camping will be proven wrong, just as the frauds that preceded\nhim.\n
B. Let’s heed Paul’s warning – I Timothy 1:3-4<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 24:36-44 I. A massive advertising campaign has started claiming that Jesus’ second coming and the Judgment Day will be on May 21, 2011. A. Different billboard proclaim slogans, such as “The wise men knew, we can know” or “Noah knew, we can know.” B. Most of us understand that this is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[478,1260,339],"class_list":["post-61905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-false-teachers","tag-judgment-day","tag-second-coming"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51883,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/coming-with-the-clouds\/","url_meta":{"origin":61905,"position":0},"title":"Coming with the Clouds","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Revelation 1:4-7 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is easy to make mistakes by assuming that a phrase always applies to the same event \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Revelation 1:7 - What is meant by \u201ccoming with clouds\u201d or \u201ccoming with the clouds\u201d? II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Clouds \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God rides clouds - Psalms 68:4 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Psalms 104:3 -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43374,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-god-hasnt-selected-a-day-why-did-paul-say-a-day-was-appointed-for-the-second-coming\/","url_meta":{"origin":61905,"position":1},"title":"If God hasn’t selected a day, why did Paul say a day was appointed for the second coming?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading \"If Jesus is God, how come only the Father knows of the second coming?\" because I wanted to know the answer to this question, but if the Father hasn't chosen a day, what about this verse? Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39607,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-second-coming-the-last-promise-to-be-fulfilled\/","url_meta":{"origin":61905,"position":2},"title":"Is the second coming the last promise to be fulfilled?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is the second coming of Christ the last prophecy to be fulfilled? Answer: The judgment comes after the second coming. Heaven or hell awaits after the judgment (II Peter 3:13; I John 2:25). Thus, there are other promises that happen after the second coming.","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34840,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-will-happen-on-judgment-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":61905,"position":3},"title":"What Will Happen on Judgment Day?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ricky Jenkins via Gospel Power, Vol. 16, No. 7, Feb. 15, 2009. \"The deeds we do, the words we say, into the still air they seem too fleet, we count them ever past; but they shall last, in the dread judgment they and we shall meet\" (John Keeble). On\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28807,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/parables-on-the-second-coming-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":61905,"position":4},"title":"Parables on the Second Coming of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:1-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The early disciples longed for the return of Christ \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I Corinthians 16:19-24 - The term \u201cmaranatha\u201d is a transliteration of the Greek, which was in turn transliterated from two Aramaic words. It literally means, \u201cOur Lord come!\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0II Peter 3:10-12 -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18286,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-seven-churches-in-asia-still-waiting-for-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":61905,"position":5},"title":"Are the seven churches in Asia still waiting for Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If what you speak is true in \"Peter can't be referring to the physical elements being destroyed, can he?\", then are the seven churches in Asia still waiting for Christ? Answer: I'm puzzled by your line of thought. Whether the churches in Asia are still awaiting Jesus or not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}