False Prophets
When the disciples of Jesus came to him privately, asking when the sign of his return and of the end of the world would be, he responded by warning them not to be deceived. He said that when the time of the end came, many would be misled by people claiming to know the truth, but who would in fact be false prophets. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11)
As we have seen, Harold Camping, 89 year-old founder of the California-based ministry known as Family Radio, predicted that Judgement Day would occur on May 21, 2011, and that the earth would be ravaged by a series of world-wide earthquakes. Notwithstanding the failure of this prophecy, Camping was quick to follow up with another date, this time October 21, 2011.
For those of his followers who had believed implicitly in his words, Camping’s false prophecy was not just a matter of minor consequence. These were people whose lives had been dramatically changed, and in some cases ruined. Some members of his ministry had been so convinced of the truth of his predictions, that they had quit their employment. When the appointed Day of Judgement failed to arrive, they had no jobs to go back to.
Others had simply walked out of their homes, leaving all of their possessions behind for anyone who cared to take them. Yet others had abandoned family and friends, isolating themselves in the expectation that they would soon find themselves safe in the arms of Jesus. No doubt these unfortunate souls should have paid more heed to the actual words of Jesus, rather than to the ramblings of Harold Camping.
But while it is easy for skeptics to attack Camping after the event for his erroneous beliefs, and blame his followers for their own gullibility and misfortune, there remain many millions of other people in the world who are equally guilty of allowing themselves to be misled by other false beliefs associated with the time of the end. They form part of the multitudes predicted by Jesus who would be deceived.
We live in an age of rumor, innuendo, gossip and tall tales. The Internet and the Media serve as launching pads for these stories, until they circle the globe in a viral embrace. Before long, almost any story will attract a following, and over time some can become so ingrained in the public mind that millions of people come to accept them as gospel truth. The Camping campaign is merely one example among many.
This surge in wild ideas leading to even more wild belief has increased dramatically in recent years, and now threatens to engulf millions more as the long awaited year of 2012 approaches. It is almost as if every doom-laden cult has emerged from the woodwork to attach its own omens to this fated year of the Mayas, and the world waits fearfully for whatever baleful events the coming year will bring.
Already, vast numbers of people have been caught up in predictions ranging from catastrophic solar flares that will wipe out life on earth, to the arrival of another world (Planet X) which will have equally dire results. The digital world is awash with these and other stories, and every month brings new recruits. Perhaps more than at any other time, now is the time for clear thinking, for as Jesus warned:
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat.” (Matthew 7:13)
While not every believer of false ideas may be willing to imperil their livelihoods or their careers in support of their chosen prophet, there is nevertheless a sinister aspect to this growing scourge of false prophecy. As more and more people become caught up in movements that spout demonstrably false ideas, it is likely that many people who might otherwise be open to true prophecy will become totally disenchanted with the entire subject.
As has been pointed out in an earlier instalment, the purpose of prophecy has always been to warn the unwary, and prepare those who would listen for events that lie in the future. And the test of prophecy has always been to try to differentiate, in advance, between those people who propagate false ideas (false prophets), and those whose warnings turn out to be correct.
In the following instalments, we will comment on some of the more prominent of these wild prophecies, in an attempt to warn their adherents why their beliefs have been misplaced, and why they run the risk of failing to see the real threats that lie ahead, because they have been blinded by these false beliefs.
