06/02/2011
Author: John Powell
Into our West Michigan churches came Jack Van Impe, a young evangelist from Detroit. It was around 1963 and his message was that Christ would come back soon—and he gave a date.
Yes, Mary Lou and I both experienced this enlightening and frightening experience. And so did our families. It was enlightening because we hadn’t been thinking about the return of Christ much before that. It was important to consider whether or not we were ready.
But it was frightening because, going beyond what the Bible says, Van Impe declared confidently when Christ would return. In later years I decided to check on Jack’s approach again. With his wife Rexella he presents a TV newscast type prophecy program. As always, he quotes Scripture freely. He had the whole New Testament memorized over forty years ago! That makes his presentation more intense and difficult to question. But his overconfident date setting is clearly unbiblical and sets up a contradiction in his message.
So, while a proper fear of not being ready for Christ’s return should drive us to turn to Christ in faith for salvation, there is a fear that paralyzes. And there is a fear that turns to anger and disdain.
What is the difference? Is there anything we can do to assure that our fear is productive? I think about this because both my brother and Mary Lou’s sister were frightened and then repelled.
One clear difference is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing godly sorrow that leads to repentance. (2Cor. 7:10) Jesus tells us in John 3 that the Holy Spirit moves silently like the wind, stirring hearts and regenerating us (Titus 3:5,6). I have to conclude that was part of the difference in response.
So when Harold Camping told us that May 21, 2011 would be the day of Christ’s return, I was torn between conflicting emotions. First, I dismissed the date because in Matthew 24:36 Jesus tells us that not even He knew when He would return, but the Father only. Now I would say that since He has been glorified and returned to His place in heaven, Jesus rejoined the Father in the use of His omniscience.
Then, I felt disappointed because people would be experiencing anticipation, fear and then disappointment when the predicted day came and went. The Las Cruces Sun-News ran an editorial with the headline “Let’s give the last rites to “The Rapture”.
Of course the article was a combination of common sense, wishful thinking and semi-accurate paraphrasing of the Bible. The author’s main point was that people should not listen to Camping and those like him. He got it right that most people aren’t listening. That is sad. When someone calls “wolf” too often, no one listens and hardness and cynicism sets in.
The Sun-News editorial correctly assessed that Camping is using Numerology to develop his predictions. I will elaborate on what that means in sermons to come as I bring a few sermons from Matthew 24 and 25 to clarify Jesus’ exact words.
But one thing comes through loud and clear from this May 26 editorial and the conversations I have had with people around Las Cruces. People do believe there will be a last day! And many, many of these people believe that Christ is the one driving the Day!
This means that we still have opportunities for bringing a proper perspective to the subject of the Last Day. It means that we can be part of focusing on proper, biblical fear and help people avoid a cynical response. It means we can approach the subject with confidence that people are interested and are expecting a last day, even if they are denying it by their daily lives.
So, let’s take the initiative and be prepared as we approach October 21, Camping’s revised date.
