It seems like the Internet traffic is picking up about May 21! Here’s what Greg Stier from Dare2Share had to say:

Is It All Going Down on May 21?

Get the discussion questions for Is It All Going Down on May 21?

“And now, we have no option. We can’t say ‘maybe’ ‘it’s possible’ ‘it looks very probable…’ No way! We have to say this is what the Bible teaches! This is fact! May 21, 2011 is the day of the Rapture, it is the day that Judgment Day begins…” —Harold Camping

It would be nice if Harold Camping was written off as yet another Bible math junkie with way too much time on his hands, but unfortunately the May 21, 2011 Rapture Day billboards and pamphlets have way too many people camping out on Harold’s prediction.

Of course someday someone might get lucky enough to make an accurate calculation for Judgment Day, but in my humble opinion, that someone is definitely not Dr. Camping, and here’s why:

You may be wondering among yourselves, “How can we tell the difference, whether it was God who spoke or not?” Here’s how: If what the prophet spoke in God’s name doesn’t happen, then obviously God wasn’t behind it; the prophet made it up. Forget about him (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).

The Bible teaches that any and every prophet from God will predict future events with 100% accuracy.  If there is even a hint of inaccuracy, the dude was discredited as a fraud.

How’s this for a *hint* of inaccuracy?

“When September 6, 1994, arrives, no one else can become saved. The end has come.”
—Harold Camping (1994)

Yep, 1994 rolled around and the main thing I remember from that year was Tag Team’sWhoomp! (There it is)…but definitely no Rapture that year Harold…

Whoomp chak a laka chack a laka chak a laka chak a!!!

So we forgot about him…until I was driving down the street a few weeks back and saw the second coming of Harold’s predictions, which AGAIN directly contradict some clear statements by Jesus:

Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows (Matthew 24:35-37).

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:6-8).

According to Jesus – (you know, the One who will be commanding the actual Rapture), no human being will know the “day or the hour” of His return.

Now I’m no prophet, but I think I have it on good authority to encourage you NOT to worry about the end of the world on May 21.

Perhaps even better, I would counsel you not to worry about the end of the world on any day!  The Biblical teachings about the Rapture are designed to cheer you up – not freak you out:

So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching (Hebrews 10:22-25).

The “Big Day” of Jesus’ return is a reality to be sure, but instead of frittering away priceless time in an attempt to make money warn people that they best not make dinner reservations on May 21, why don’t we treat every day as the one where Jesus might call us home?

And why don’t we fulfill our God ordained mission to be Jesus’ witnesses in whatever little corner of the planet He has planted us instead of obsessing about the world looking like one of the “are you kidding me” scenes from the movie 2012?

Here’s my unbiased and totally non-mathematical prediction for you my friends.  If you decide to take your salvation and calling seriously, you will live as though Jesus died yesterday, walked out of His grave today, and is returning tomorrow.

Living like that probably won’t get you interviewed on radio and television, but it will make an eternal difference in the lives of the people you love as you live out THE Cause by sharing the message of the gospel!