There are many predictions about how the world will end. The two dominant religions in the world- Islam and Christianity- believe that when the end time is near, a lot of strange things such as wars, killings, rituals, pestilence and violence will be on the increase.? These are supposed to signal the end of time.
Although even the strongest men of God have not been able to predict the exact date and time when the world will end, Harold Camping, an American Christian radio broadcaster and? president of? Family Radio, a California-based radio station group, has been predicting the end of the world for years now.
His earlier predicted dates were: May 21, 1988, September 6,1994, May 21, 2011 and the most recent, October 21,2011.
Following the failure of his May 21, 2011 prediction, Camping claimed it only affected those in Heaven. He said: “The great earthquake didn’t happen because no-one will be able to survive it for more than a few days or let alone five months to suffer God’s wrath because everything will be leveled and destroyed after that earthquake and there will be no food or water to keep everyone alive.
“The great earthquake and rapture and the universe melting in fervent heat will be happening on the last day – October 21 2011. It’s all going to happen on the last day,” he claimed.
According to Camping, not only would October 21 mark the official end of the world on Earth, but also quicken the Rapture with no pain for those who do not believe.
Camping had reportedly based his theory of the end of the world on more than just divine revelations. According to the Doomsday prophet, the Second Coming of Jesus was destined to take place on May 21, an event that should have been accompanied by destructive earthquakes and the rapture of true Christians.
His theory was the result of five decades of Bible Study.
He claimed that Noah’s flood, mentioned in the book of Genesis, occurred in 4990 B.C. God had apparently given Noah a 7-day warning period. Using the scripture 2 Peter 3:8, which says “a day is as a thousand years”, Camping thus claimed that 7 days could be interpreted as 7,000 years. Thus May 21, 2011 was exactly 7,000 years after 4990 B.C.
He argued that May 21 was God’s spiritual judgment and that October 21 would mark the physical end of the world though, this time around he did not? publicise his claim as much as he did in May.
With another wrong? or failed prediction as the case may be, there is no word yet from Camping explaining why the world did not end again.
But a? Pastor, Uchendu C, says that such claim is not Godly because it is not backed by any known scripture. “One shouldn’t be surprised because when the end time is near things like these are bound to happen.
It is not Bible-based and the argument does not hold water. The Bible says that no one knows when the world will end.
But if somebody comes out today to claim that he knows when the world will end, maybe he is talking from another source that is definitely not biblical”.
The Abuja based pastor explains: “When the end time is near; there are signs to be seen like earthquakes, wars and so on. For instance, earthquakes have taken place in some parts of the world but it doesn’t mean the world will end automatically.
Some countries are also at war but it still does not mean the world will just end abruptly. What the bible says is that everybody should get ready because there is no date or time set aside for the world to come to an end”.
A missioner of the Nasrullahi-il-Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Alh. Saheed Mudashiru Olalekan, also doubted the claims by Camping, saying that the end of the world is not something that one can predict.? Olalekan explains: “Nobody knows when the world will end. People had in the past predicted and have continued to say that the world will end but these claims are unfounded.”
“What the prophet told us is that the world would end on a Friday but nobody knows the day, month or year except the Almighty Allah. The Quran also says that there will be a day of resurrection and judgment”.
He also pointed out that when the end time is near, the sun will come out in the night while the moon will come out in the afternoon, the stars will start dropping, the hills and mountains will move etc .All these are however yet to happen, but there is no doubt that the world will come to an end it’s just that no body knows.
“Whoever is claiming to know it should not be taken seriously,” he admonished.