Why We Fall For Doomsday Dates (And How To Never Again)
Oct 28, 2014 15:18:56 GMT -5
Post by Berean on Oct 28, 2014 15:18:56 GMT -5
Not that anyone who posts regularly here would fall for this kind of thing, but this is a good article to refute friends and acquaintance you might have who try to figure out the date of the rapture. Franky, I don't think God would give Satan any warning, and if a man could figure out when the rapture is, Satan surely could as well!
Why We Fall For Doomsday Dates (And How To Never Again)
Believers look forward to Jesus’ Second Coming and hope someone can figure out when it will be. Perhaps the Bible has the timing hidden somewhere there among all its numbers? But it’s clear that date setters have been missing something important if you study their long track record of failure. The key is to understand the true purpose of Bible prophecy that Jesus explained which date setters miss. Find out how to never fall for a doomsday date again and how to correctly use end times Bible prophecy.
By Tim McHyde
Recently, I was considering a question for a Bible prophecy video project. The question was, if I had to identify what today was most responsible for keeping people from achieving real understanding of end time Bible prophecy, what would it be?
Before long time readers answer, be aware that this is not the same question covered in my site's main article about the two teachings of Jesus that are key for properly interpreting Bible prophecy. Rather, this question would be what is it that is mainly responsible for preventing people from learning such keys. What's distracting them?
I am convinced that the main reason Bible prophecy aficionados keep missing true understanding of Bible prophecy is because of the all too common practice of date-setting. Unfortunately, most will only figure this out after the end times begin to happen—when they don't expect it, of course. Nevertheless, I hope in this article to help some learn how to debunk doomsday dates and never fear or regard another one again.
“Date Setting” Defined
Predictions about when things will happen have been with us from time immemorial. Today, the practice of date setting has become only more rampant. Since the world wide web broke out in 1995, it has been possible for anyone to get their own website and publish their ideas to the world. As well, it's become even easier still for others to help spread them. With the floodgates open, every conceivable theory for when the world might end has been unleashed—from both Christian and secular theorists. These theories then quickly find people who are not equipped with the necessary experience and critical thinking skill to resist them, causing unnecessary anxiety.
But what is date setting, exactly?
Date setting, as I use the term, is any type of estimation of when an event must or should occur. Typically it comes in the form of a date or year. However, it may be more vague such as “Damascus will be destroyed in the next 12 – 18 months.” That's date setting, too, because the person still claims some kind of special precognition for what the future will hold, even if their crystal ball is less exact.
The basis for these dates comes in several forms. Most popular is the use of the Bible. You've no doubt seen the many permutations of time calculations derived from numbers in the Bible. Such schemes include day-year/day for a year, “360 day prophetic years,” or even “week for years” (e.g. the idea that Daniel's 70 Weeks also work as 70 years). It is not off limits to claim a “word from God” or use Nostradamus, ancient calendars like the Mayan, or eclipse charts. I have even seen a stock market average at closing on some day made to be prophetic. (I'm not making this up, and I'll give one guess what the number was.)
Whatever the basis of the argument, date setting as I define it, always comes with a sense of inevitability. In other words, given all the evidence, it would make no sense if nothing happened by the end of the time period. The proof is usually so compelling, unique or special that few people can categorically say it's wrong or for sure won't happen. For example, sometimes date setters will say that no other similar celestial alignment happens again for hundreds of years...so this must be fulfilled in our time. Since every generation has prognosticators arguing that “things are so bad that they can't go on much longer like this before the end,” it all seems reasonable that we should be the generation to see the end come.
Why Unlikely Doomsday Dates Spread
And therein lies their appeal and the key to their viral nature. A person studying Bible prophecy does it fully or partly because he hopes to find out when Jesus is coming back or when some other prophesied end times event will happen. Dates setters come along and offer hope that this is indeed possible. Unfortunately, just as a typical prophecy aficionado does not have the ability to work out a date himself, likewise he does not have the ability to debunk a typical doomsday date he hears. It is sufficiently complex and compelling that he cannot absolutely prove it wrong.
Since he cannot be sure it is wrong, he also feels that he cannot safely ignore it. After all, what if it is right and he foolishly ignored it? Maybe this would have been his only warning from God and he would be held accountable for such hardheartedness like those cursed in the Bible when they disbelieved a prophet (2Ki 7:2;19-20)? Better to be safe than sorry.
So what is he to do? He asks someone else what they think, if they can say if it is right or wrong. In this way the doomsday date gets repeated to others. Most commonly today this happens by email forwarding. Easy, free, and fast. This is why doomsday dates spread and become so rampant.
By the way, it's worth noting that most of the people spreading a doomsday date are not convinced by it. In fact, they probably seriously doubt it. They just cannot for sure rule it out due to some reasonable plausibility to it.
The Overlooked Track Record of Date Setting
It does seem somewhat reasonable as Jesus or other prophesied doomsday events must come at sometime. So why not at some proposed date? Anything is possible, right?
Sure, but is mere possibility enough? What I like to remind people is that something being possible does not make it worthy of our attention. For example, it's possible that a meteorite can smash through the roof of your house and cause massive damage or even kill you. Should you therefore invest in steel plating for your roof? Of course not, because you know that the chance of it happening is too remote to justify such expense. It's just not probable enough.
Similarly, a specific disaster happening on the same date someone picked is highly improbable. It's even more improbable than a meteorite hitting your house. We can know this because if we look at the history of date setting. The track record of someone or something is a very good “predictor” of the future results or behavior. Let's review just a few of the dates that have been set in recent history to get a sense of the nature of date setting.
1843 – The Millerites
William Miller was a true forerunner of the modern part-time Bible prophecy aficionado who shares their ideas on the Internet. He was a prosperous farmer from New York who became convinced through his Bible study that the Bible revealed the timing of Christ's Second Coming. He wrote a paper in 1822 that “proved” that 1843 would be the year of the Second Advent. Through much preaching and publishing in periodicals he developed a large following of “Millerites.” It was reported that some sold all their possessions, dressed up in white robes and ascended the highest peaks around them so they would be closer to heaven. When nothing happened, the Millerites came up with a revised date for six months later. After that also failed they eventually disbanded. A little bit of trivia is that some of them formed what became the Seventh Day Adventist Church. (Note that this is not a slight against the SDA church at all as the point of this article is that Christians in general create and fall for doomsday dates until they learn better discernment.)
1910 – Halley's Comet
Comets have long been superstitiously considered a bad omen by mankind. The discovery in 1881 that comet tails contain a deadly gas related to cyanide (named cyanogen) added a scientific dimension to comet loathing. When it was realized that the earth would actually pass through Halley's tail in 1910, people speculated that we all might be poisoned. Several newspapers including the New York Times published this theory, causing widespread panic. People even bought “comet pills” and bottled air to survive the fated day of May 20, 1910. It turned out as most scientists had said. The gas would be too dispersed to do anything.
1982 – The Jupiter Effect
In 1974 John Gribbin, Ph.D., and Stephen Plageman wrote a best-selling book The Jupiter Effect about the coming planetary alignment of 1982. With seven of the planets including Jupiter aligned on the same side of the sun, they predicted that tidal forces would bring a number of catastrophes including a great earthquake. Twenty-five years later, Gribbins wrote of his failed theory, “...I don't like it, and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it."
1982 – Pat Robertson
Television evangelist Pat Robertson, like many Christians, believes that God gives him words or revelation on a continual basis. Based on one of these words, he proclaimed in a 1980 TV broadcast that, "I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world.” He expected the Gog-Magog Russian invasion of Israel to kick off the Great Tribulation that year, preceded by the rapture of the just. This failed false prophecy did not seem to deter him as he ran for president six years later.
1988 – Edgar C. Whisenant's 88 Reasons Book
Whisenant was a former NASA engineer and Bible student who became convinced that the rapture would happen on Rosh Ha-Shana 1988. How convinced? The title of his book sums it up well: 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. It sold 4.5 million copies and 300,000 more were sent to ministers across America. TBN even interrupted its programming for the three days that Rosh Ha-Shana covered that year with special programming on the rapture (including what to do if you were left behind).
When nothing happened, Whisenant did what the Millerites did and most every failed prognosticator does: he found a previously unnoticed flaw in his calculations and issue a new corrected date. Due to the “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” effect, he had much less success with getting people to pay attention. He kept going on creating dates every year or so for a several years until he finally seemed to give up before he died in 2001.
1997 – Comet Hale-Bopp
Another comet, another panic. This one did end in disaster—but not the one expected. Instead of the threat of cyanide gas, this time an amateur astronomer claimed to have photographed an alien spaceship following the comet. Although refuted by professional astronomers, the Coast to Coast A.M. show with Art Bell perpetuated the rumor by offering further evidence from an anonymous astrophysicist. A few months later the Heaven's Gate cult interpreted these rumors as a sign the earth was doomed to perish in “apocalyptic flames.” To escape this fate they decided to commit suicide when the comet was at its closest approach, thinking this desperate act would hitch them a ride on the spaceship. Thankfully outside of the cult, the earth was unaffected by the comet's passage.
2000 – Y2K
In the late '90s alarmists began to sound the trumpet about a computer problem first noted in the early 1970s. Many computers had a bug that would treat the dates past the year 2000 as 1900 dates. No one was really sure how bad the result would be, but many predicted serious problems such as power grid failure or nuclear war. In response, sales of guns, ammo, survival foods and goods, gold and silver spiked and some people moved out of the cities and prepared bunkers there.
Many Christians got caught up in the speculation. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and many other ministries suggested that this date could be the fulfillment of major Bible prophecies such as the return of Jesus or the destruction of America. January 2000 came and went with only minor disruptions. It is still argued whether this is because billions of dollars were spent worldwide to fix the problem or because the problem was overrated.
May 5, 2000 – “Menorah” Planetary Alignment
May 5, 2000 marked a rare planetary alignment of the sun, moon and five planets (see NASA chart) dubbed a “Menorah Alignment” (a menorah has seven lamps). Such cosmic alignments are perennial inspirations for doomsday dates (2012 is based on another rare alignment) and this one was no different. Richard Noone was one person so concerned about it that he authored a book in 1997 titled "5/5/2000 Ice: the Ultimate Disaster" to explain why. Noone believed that the Antarctic ice mass would be three miles thick by May 5, 2000 and this ice would be shifted by a pole shift right to the equator. Noone argued that previous pole shifts had caused previous ice ages and "almost unimaginable results" would happen again.
I never read the book, but I wonder if he addressed why the stronger alignment of all nine planets in 1982 as detailed The Jupiter Effect did not cause any catastrophes.
2003 – Planet X
May 15th, 2003 was a doomsday date based on a very unique source: extraterrestrials. Nancy Lieder of Zetatalk claimed to be channeling aliens that told her Planet X would pass earth bringing disasters on that date. If you were active on the Internet or had friends who were (like me) you might of heard of this one.
Since nothing happened, other dates for Planet X have been set by the "Planet X Community" since then. The latest they have picked is 2012. That's right, the date of the Mayan calendar's long count cycle end. Any guesses as to how successful this one will be?
BTW, if it was not for this doomsday date, this article might not exist. The reason is due to the silver lining of date setting. It is provocative and gets attention. It forces people to stop and look into some big questions and open up their Bibles (something most Christians normally don't do much). Myself, I was already studying the Bible intently by 2002, but this date for a doomsday Planet X to come (May 15, 2003) got me wondering if the mysterious Wormwood of Rev 8 was not a prophecy of the same thing (instead of the Chernobyl disaster)? The rest is history and I wrote my first book Planet X in Bible Prophecy (later expanded to Know the Future).
2008 – Ron Weinland
Ronald Weinland, pastor of the Church of God - PKG, claimed to not only be a prophet of God, but also, along with his wife, the Two Witnesses (of Revelation 11). In his book 2008: God's Final Witness he stated that “By the fall of 2008, the United States will have collapsed as a world power, or it will have begun its collapse and no longer exist as an independent nation within six months after that time." His book was a free download read by many. 2011 – Harold Camping
People began emailing me about Harold Camping and May 21st, 2011. Camping predicted “Judgment Day” and the rapture on that date. Camping's claims (“THE BIBLE GUARANTEES IT”) were easy to handle because he was a repeat offender date setter. In 1994 he predicted Christ's return for the end of the eight day Jewish festival of Sukkot (on September 27). So all I have to do is direct people to a link documenting this and instantly his prediction loses its allure because it comes from a failed prophet of doom.
Thus, it's no surprise that his prediction failed. As covered below, a big reason that doomsday dates get a hold on people is because they seem new and reasonable (even when they are not). When you find out this is not the first doomsday date this person has tried, you become negatively biased against whatever they are predicting now. Harold Camping's prediction was in opposition to what Jesus taught about figuring out the date of the end. Nevertheless, I personally received many inquiries from people wondering whether to believe it or not. What I said to reassure them and get them to not worry about that date is what the rest of this article will teach.
P.S. After May 21st date failed, Camping highlighted another date of Oct 21st, 2011 for the "destruction of the world" which he had waiting in the wings already. This same bait-and-switch response is how the Millerites handled their first failed date(covered below). I wonder if Harold Camping will ever figure out that the problem is not with his calculations, but with his entire premise about the Bible being a doomsday date generator. See below...
Review of Past Date Setting Attempts
What can we learn from a quick review of past date setting attempts? A couple important things that everyone new to date setting wishes they knew right up front:
1. It's All Been Tried Before – First, contrary to the impression that someone new to doomsday predictions has, claims of being able to predict when something will happen using the Bible or other methods are not new. Further, you may have noticed that date setters use just a few different approaches over and over. They have mostly used the Bible and other ancient writings, what (they thought) God told them, or the motion of the heavenly bodies. There is nothing new under the sun. Every approach has been tried before and given a chance to work. There is no need to suspend disbelief or give the benefit of the doubt anymore for these approaches. None of them work.
2. 0% Success Rate – The other obvious observation is that the success of date setting has been exactly what common sense would lead us to expect: catastrophic failure. It is really no surprise. For things outside his control, no man knows what will happen at any given time for sure, even using Bible prophecy. And no matter what he may know for sure, such as a comet's approach trajectory or that planets will line up on a certain day, there is still too much uncertainty and variability for mere humans to reliably predict the outcome with or without specifying the timing. Only God knows all the variables and the equation they fit into to know exactly what will happen when.
Sadly, it can take years of trial and error before a prophecy aficionado realizes the above two points. But once they do, date setting loses its appeal and its hold on them. Nevertheless, they may only reluctantly let go of it because we all naturally want date setting to work. We want to know when things are going to happen. We further expect that Bible prophecy should be able to tell us this if nothing else can. If it cannot, then what good is it?
Overlooked, Misunderstood Words of Jesus Against Date Setting
We cannot see what Bible prophecy is “good for” until we first completely let go of date setting and the expectation that Bible prophecy should tell us “when.” Now, if what I have said above was not convincing enough, then maybe what Jesus had to say will do the job. He told us what prophecy was for, including first telling us what it is not for—finding out when. In so many words, Jesus stated that no man could know the time of the end until it was upon them.
Matthew 24:36 (HCSB) Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son—except the Father only.
Matthew 24:50 (ESV) the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know
Matthew 25:13 (HCSB) Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.
To some people these words are pretty clear. To others not. To be sure, prophecy aficionados who set dates have all heard these famous words of Jesus. (People who disagree with what they are doing are sure to quote them.) So why do they not see or accept what the words plainly mean?
I can explain that from personal experience. I used to be one of those people who disregarded it. I had just started studying prophecy seriously in 1999 for the same reason that so many do. I wanted to see if all those numberings in Daniel and Revelation did not reveal the timing of the end of the age. I knew the above verses very well but I had twisted their words into a meaning that was detached from their immediate context.
Here's how. I had a very good pastor who I trusted. He gave a sermon once on prophecy in which he quoted that verse about no man knowing the day or hour. He commented, “...but it doesn't say no man knows the year.” Upon hearing that, I thought, “well I'll be darned, I never considered it that way, but he's right! So Jesus meant we can figure out the timing to some degree, just not with pinpoint precision.” This idea gave me the license to forge ahead and try to wring a date out of the Bible despite what Jesus had said.
In defense of my pastor, he was not alone in his thinking. There are other ideas people adopt which end up neutralizing Jesus' admonition to not treat the Bible as a doomsday date factory. For example, another common teaching today is that “of that day and hour knoweth no man” is a Hebrew idiom for the Feast of Trumpets. I think this could be true and can readily explain why Jesus used the complicated phrasing he did, rather than just “time” which is what the day or hour is equivalent to in its New Testament usage. However, the plain meaning of the words would still remain and could not be contradicted.
What “No Man Knows” Means In Context
The problem with any such theories that modify the meaning of Jesus' statement, is, as I mentioned above, that they ignore the immediate context and usage of this phrase. Jesus use the phrase three times: at the end of the Parable of the Fig Tree (Mt 24:32-36), the Parable of the Faithful Servant (Mt 24:42-51), and the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt 25:1-13). Every time Jesus used this phrase, it was in the same kind of context with the same implied meaning. He mentions the “no man knows” in the context of “stay alert,” “don't backslide,” and “stay ready.”
Matthew 24:42-44 (HCSB) Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. 44 This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matthew 24:48-50 (HCSB) But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and starts to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know.
Matthew 25:11-13 (HCSB) “Later the rest of the [unprepared] virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘I assure you: I do not know you!’ Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.
If you want it any clearer than that, Jesus spelled it out again to the apostles after his resurrection. That time he did not use the words day or hour but actually used the word “time”:
Acts 1:7 (HCSB) He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority.
Day or hour means time. We can't know the time.
What Bible Prophecy Is For (Not Ever Dates)
Notice also in Acts 1:7 the mention, again, that the Father alone knows timing information. People seem to doubt that is true even when this is stated also in the Olivet Discourse where Jesus added that even he didn't know. The Father only really means the Father only.
Now consider who Jesus is that he was left in the dark on this. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14). He is the one who transmitted the Book of Revelation to John (Rev 1:1) and is seen therein as the one who opened up the sealed scroll in Revelation (Rev 5:1-6:1). If he, being that great, could not know when, how is it that we have mere mortal men who think they can know what Jesus could not?
They forget that the Bible, compared to Jesus, is just a written subset of the entire Word of God that has ever been spoken or shared. If Jesus as the “full” Word of God did not know, it is illogical to expect to using a subset of the Word do him one better. (And the same logic applies to those who think God is telling them directly extra-Biblical revelation on the timing that Jesus himself was not told.)
By continually trying to do the impossible, they are missing what prophecy is really good for. The Olivet Discourse spells this purpose out right next to where it tells us to give up on knowing “when” far enough in advance to be useful. (I say “far enough in advance” because Daniel 12 says when the Abomination of Desolation happens we will know we have 1290 days until Christ's Second Coming. Unfortunately, Jesus said we will be fleeing by that point anyway (Mt 24:15-16), so the 1290 day warning allows no room for any of the apathy or backsliding that knowing the date far in advance would encourage.) The stated purpose is to give us a list of events to watch for that tell us when the end is finally near. It compares these events preceding Jesus' coming just as green leaves appearing on the fig tree and all the trees before summer arrives. Likewise if we don't see any of the listed end time events, Jesus' coming is not near and we do not have to worry about it being imminent. God loves his servants and is going to give them plenty of warning and plenty time to take action when the time comes. 2011 – Comet Elenin
Discovered by Russian astronomer Leonard Elenin in December, 2010, this 3-4 km sized comet will come closest to earth in October, 2011. But not that close; about as close as Venus comes to earth or 0.23 AU. Nevertheless, this comet has been the subject of much doomsday speculation and conspiracy theory for Fall, 2011.
Update - Sep 19, 2011:
Sky & Telescope - Comet Elenin Self-Destructs
Universe Today - Comet Elenin is Now Fading Away
MSNBC.com - 'Doomsday' comet just fades away
Science 2.0 - Doomsday Comet Elenin Goes Out With A Whimper (Has animation showing comet images dimming over time)
We must remember, as shown from earlier comet examples, that this is nothing new. Nearly every comet approaching earth in the past has brought with it this kind of hysteria. Now in the age of the Internet, you can count on every future passing comet to be the subject of some kind of doomsday speculation or conspiracy theory.
Among the claims for Comet Elenin are that:
it was named Elenin as code for ELE or Extinction Level Event
its size is being vastly underreported
it is actually a brown dwarf star
it is responsible for major earthquakes of early 2011 such as the Japan earthquake when it aligned with the earth and sun
it has companion objects with it (just like Hale-Bopp) — in this case asteroids
the companion asteroids will hit us (if we survive all the predicted alignment disasters up until then)
From those of the Torah Messianic persuaion, claims are made like "it will pass directly between the Earth and the Sun on Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets, and will come closest to Earth on Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles." These seem significant until you stop and realize that we are never told in the Bible to look upon planetary alignments on holy days as prophetically significant or end times signs. It's conjecture to attach doomsday predictions to such events. The Bible plainly tells us what specific cosmic events watch for already without the need for inventing new things.
Others contend that they have scientific data to back up some of the claims above. The problem with this is that none of it is confirmed by trusted scientific authorties like NASA. But some argue that NASA can't be trusted. They might not be trusted to tell us about a future hidden or obscured doomsday object (like Wormwood below) but Elenin is plainly visible, tail and all, to amateur astronomers. And by, the way, if it was as large as a dwarf star, not only would lots of astronomers notice NASA's discrepancy, but it would have no tail at all due to the strong gravity.
On top of that, some feel that Bible prophecy talks about this comet. The Bible does indeed warn us about a coming wayward star named Wormwood (Rev 8:10-11). Although it is only mentioned as being seen at the 3rd trumpet, Wormwood appears to be responsible for all the cataclysms listed from the 6th seal (Rev 6:12) to the 4th Trumpet (Rev 8:12). (I cover this key overlooked prophetic milestone in my book.)
The Bible lists several prerequisite prophetic milestone events (A and B) that must happen before Wormwood can come (C). If event B has not happened, then event C cannot happen, and likewise with B depending on A first coming. The problem is that event A has not happened yet; God has not warned and gathered his people to safety ahead of this global cataclysm (Rev 6:12-14 = Joel 2:30-32). Consequently, Comet Elenin cannot possibly fulfill the Wormwood death star prophecies in 2011; there is simply not enough time to fit everything in that must happen first.
If Comet Elenin cannot fulfill end time Bible prophecies in 2011, then we have to consider it just a normal comet passing far away as reputable science agencies tell us, with practically zero increase in gravitational pull when it aligns with heavenly bodies and the earth. Based on the track record of the many comets in history which have passed at distance without disaster, it's reasonable to expect Comet Elenin will follow suite and the claim that we should do anything special in response to it must be judged unreasonable. Bring on 2012.
By the way, even though I'm sure Elenin will pass with no effect in 2011 (just as Harold Camping's rapture predictions failed, ahem) that does not mean I judge or think evil of those who don't see this yet and spread this theory. They don't see what I do about these type of predictions and therefore they come to a different conclusion about whether the threat is credible and worth talking about. They must act in good conscience warning others about it. When those people come to me, I work to set them straight and dispel their fear. Job security!
2012 – Mayan Calendar
I already wrote in a previous article about the Mayan Calendar 2012. But Recently it got worse for 2012 as it came up in the news that 2012 may be based on an erroneous assumption causing it to be off by 50 or 100 years. However, other experts like Dr. Allen Christenson say there is no error. The date is confirmed through major historical and astronomical events. Nevertheless, he is not a believer in any of the doomsday speculation surrounding 2012, even if it is the right date.
Upcoming Doomsday Dates To Not Put On Your Calendar
One thing is for sure, doomsday dates will continue to be published by people until that end time finally does come upon us. Although the bulk of this article has plenty of ammunition against believing in all future doomsday dates that may come down the pike, sometimes a little bit of debunking specific to the date in question helps. For example, for Daniel's Timeline, I show that Dewey Bruton uses the wrong length of a Jubilee Cycle in his calculations. An error in your assumptions can only lead to an error in your conclusion.
Therefore, this section of the article will be continually updated with the latest dates people email me about. Feel free to bookmark the article and check back when you hear a new doomsday theory.
Here are the latest doomsday dates on the radar as of March, 2013.
2016/2017 – Daniel's Timeline by Dewey Bruton / The Jonah Code by Michael Rood
Although their names may be unfamiliar to Christians, many Messianic Jewish believers have seen Dewey Bruton's Daniel's Timeline DVD and Michael Rood's the Jonah Code DVDs. Both teachers posit that the 70 (7-year) "Weeks" of Daniel can be interpreted also as a 70 year countdown to the Millennium. They use the declaration of the nation of Israel 1947 as the starting point. It's a shame they engage in date setting as both DVD's are worth watching and the Jonah Code especially has good information you won't find anywhere else.
I covered Daniel's Timeline 2017 date setting already here. Since I wrote that article, we have now passed well into the time when 2010-2017 as the final 7 years should have begun to show evidence with prophetic fulfillments. Michael Rood's “confirmation of the covenant” (Damascus nuked by Israel) for this seven year period should have already happened Fall, 2010. Given nothing happened, his “3rd layer of Daniel's 70 Weeks” theory must be discounted.
Conclusion
Like I remind people all the time, the Bible is a difficult book with many confusing passages. It's therefore no surprise that people would miss its prohibition about date setting as they try their best to see what all those numbers in Daniel and Revelation might be able to tell us about the timing of the end times events. Yet when you look at it, it's much harder to ignore and deny the outrageously bad track record of date setters, even those using Bible prophecy. Of course, when you examine what Jesus said closely, he told us what prophecy was meant to do. To show us what was to happen (Rev 1:1-3) and to then watch for specific listed events (Mt 24:33) as signs to know when you the end is close or not close at all (Luke 21:9).
So you see there really is no need for date setting. Jesus gave us all that we need. Now we just need to trust the plan that God revealed for his servants in the end times. Wait and be so doing when he finds you, and you won't have anything to worry about.
link
Why We Fall For Doomsday Dates (And How To Never Again)
Believers look forward to Jesus’ Second Coming and hope someone can figure out when it will be. Perhaps the Bible has the timing hidden somewhere there among all its numbers? But it’s clear that date setters have been missing something important if you study their long track record of failure. The key is to understand the true purpose of Bible prophecy that Jesus explained which date setters miss. Find out how to never fall for a doomsday date again and how to correctly use end times Bible prophecy.
By Tim McHyde
Recently, I was considering a question for a Bible prophecy video project. The question was, if I had to identify what today was most responsible for keeping people from achieving real understanding of end time Bible prophecy, what would it be?
Before long time readers answer, be aware that this is not the same question covered in my site's main article about the two teachings of Jesus that are key for properly interpreting Bible prophecy. Rather, this question would be what is it that is mainly responsible for preventing people from learning such keys. What's distracting them?
I am convinced that the main reason Bible prophecy aficionados keep missing true understanding of Bible prophecy is because of the all too common practice of date-setting. Unfortunately, most will only figure this out after the end times begin to happen—when they don't expect it, of course. Nevertheless, I hope in this article to help some learn how to debunk doomsday dates and never fear or regard another one again.
“Date Setting” Defined
Predictions about when things will happen have been with us from time immemorial. Today, the practice of date setting has become only more rampant. Since the world wide web broke out in 1995, it has been possible for anyone to get their own website and publish their ideas to the world. As well, it's become even easier still for others to help spread them. With the floodgates open, every conceivable theory for when the world might end has been unleashed—from both Christian and secular theorists. These theories then quickly find people who are not equipped with the necessary experience and critical thinking skill to resist them, causing unnecessary anxiety.
But what is date setting, exactly?
Date setting, as I use the term, is any type of estimation of when an event must or should occur. Typically it comes in the form of a date or year. However, it may be more vague such as “Damascus will be destroyed in the next 12 – 18 months.” That's date setting, too, because the person still claims some kind of special precognition for what the future will hold, even if their crystal ball is less exact.
The basis for these dates comes in several forms. Most popular is the use of the Bible. You've no doubt seen the many permutations of time calculations derived from numbers in the Bible. Such schemes include day-year/day for a year, “360 day prophetic years,” or even “week for years” (e.g. the idea that Daniel's 70 Weeks also work as 70 years). It is not off limits to claim a “word from God” or use Nostradamus, ancient calendars like the Mayan, or eclipse charts. I have even seen a stock market average at closing on some day made to be prophetic. (I'm not making this up, and I'll give one guess what the number was.)
Whatever the basis of the argument, date setting as I define it, always comes with a sense of inevitability. In other words, given all the evidence, it would make no sense if nothing happened by the end of the time period. The proof is usually so compelling, unique or special that few people can categorically say it's wrong or for sure won't happen. For example, sometimes date setters will say that no other similar celestial alignment happens again for hundreds of years...so this must be fulfilled in our time. Since every generation has prognosticators arguing that “things are so bad that they can't go on much longer like this before the end,” it all seems reasonable that we should be the generation to see the end come.
Why Unlikely Doomsday Dates Spread
And therein lies their appeal and the key to their viral nature. A person studying Bible prophecy does it fully or partly because he hopes to find out when Jesus is coming back or when some other prophesied end times event will happen. Dates setters come along and offer hope that this is indeed possible. Unfortunately, just as a typical prophecy aficionado does not have the ability to work out a date himself, likewise he does not have the ability to debunk a typical doomsday date he hears. It is sufficiently complex and compelling that he cannot absolutely prove it wrong.
Since he cannot be sure it is wrong, he also feels that he cannot safely ignore it. After all, what if it is right and he foolishly ignored it? Maybe this would have been his only warning from God and he would be held accountable for such hardheartedness like those cursed in the Bible when they disbelieved a prophet (2Ki 7:2;19-20)? Better to be safe than sorry.
So what is he to do? He asks someone else what they think, if they can say if it is right or wrong. In this way the doomsday date gets repeated to others. Most commonly today this happens by email forwarding. Easy, free, and fast. This is why doomsday dates spread and become so rampant.
By the way, it's worth noting that most of the people spreading a doomsday date are not convinced by it. In fact, they probably seriously doubt it. They just cannot for sure rule it out due to some reasonable plausibility to it.
The Overlooked Track Record of Date Setting
It does seem somewhat reasonable as Jesus or other prophesied doomsday events must come at sometime. So why not at some proposed date? Anything is possible, right?
Sure, but is mere possibility enough? What I like to remind people is that something being possible does not make it worthy of our attention. For example, it's possible that a meteorite can smash through the roof of your house and cause massive damage or even kill you. Should you therefore invest in steel plating for your roof? Of course not, because you know that the chance of it happening is too remote to justify such expense. It's just not probable enough.
Similarly, a specific disaster happening on the same date someone picked is highly improbable. It's even more improbable than a meteorite hitting your house. We can know this because if we look at the history of date setting. The track record of someone or something is a very good “predictor” of the future results or behavior. Let's review just a few of the dates that have been set in recent history to get a sense of the nature of date setting.
1843 – The Millerites
William Miller was a true forerunner of the modern part-time Bible prophecy aficionado who shares their ideas on the Internet. He was a prosperous farmer from New York who became convinced through his Bible study that the Bible revealed the timing of Christ's Second Coming. He wrote a paper in 1822 that “proved” that 1843 would be the year of the Second Advent. Through much preaching and publishing in periodicals he developed a large following of “Millerites.” It was reported that some sold all their possessions, dressed up in white robes and ascended the highest peaks around them so they would be closer to heaven. When nothing happened, the Millerites came up with a revised date for six months later. After that also failed they eventually disbanded. A little bit of trivia is that some of them formed what became the Seventh Day Adventist Church. (Note that this is not a slight against the SDA church at all as the point of this article is that Christians in general create and fall for doomsday dates until they learn better discernment.)
1910 – Halley's Comet
Comets have long been superstitiously considered a bad omen by mankind. The discovery in 1881 that comet tails contain a deadly gas related to cyanide (named cyanogen) added a scientific dimension to comet loathing. When it was realized that the earth would actually pass through Halley's tail in 1910, people speculated that we all might be poisoned. Several newspapers including the New York Times published this theory, causing widespread panic. People even bought “comet pills” and bottled air to survive the fated day of May 20, 1910. It turned out as most scientists had said. The gas would be too dispersed to do anything.
1982 – The Jupiter Effect
In 1974 John Gribbin, Ph.D., and Stephen Plageman wrote a best-selling book The Jupiter Effect about the coming planetary alignment of 1982. With seven of the planets including Jupiter aligned on the same side of the sun, they predicted that tidal forces would bring a number of catastrophes including a great earthquake. Twenty-five years later, Gribbins wrote of his failed theory, “...I don't like it, and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it."
1982 – Pat Robertson
Television evangelist Pat Robertson, like many Christians, believes that God gives him words or revelation on a continual basis. Based on one of these words, he proclaimed in a 1980 TV broadcast that, "I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world.” He expected the Gog-Magog Russian invasion of Israel to kick off the Great Tribulation that year, preceded by the rapture of the just. This failed false prophecy did not seem to deter him as he ran for president six years later.
1988 – Edgar C. Whisenant's 88 Reasons Book
Whisenant was a former NASA engineer and Bible student who became convinced that the rapture would happen on Rosh Ha-Shana 1988. How convinced? The title of his book sums it up well: 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. It sold 4.5 million copies and 300,000 more were sent to ministers across America. TBN even interrupted its programming for the three days that Rosh Ha-Shana covered that year with special programming on the rapture (including what to do if you were left behind).
When nothing happened, Whisenant did what the Millerites did and most every failed prognosticator does: he found a previously unnoticed flaw in his calculations and issue a new corrected date. Due to the “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” effect, he had much less success with getting people to pay attention. He kept going on creating dates every year or so for a several years until he finally seemed to give up before he died in 2001.
1997 – Comet Hale-Bopp
Another comet, another panic. This one did end in disaster—but not the one expected. Instead of the threat of cyanide gas, this time an amateur astronomer claimed to have photographed an alien spaceship following the comet. Although refuted by professional astronomers, the Coast to Coast A.M. show with Art Bell perpetuated the rumor by offering further evidence from an anonymous astrophysicist. A few months later the Heaven's Gate cult interpreted these rumors as a sign the earth was doomed to perish in “apocalyptic flames.” To escape this fate they decided to commit suicide when the comet was at its closest approach, thinking this desperate act would hitch them a ride on the spaceship. Thankfully outside of the cult, the earth was unaffected by the comet's passage.
2000 – Y2K
In the late '90s alarmists began to sound the trumpet about a computer problem first noted in the early 1970s. Many computers had a bug that would treat the dates past the year 2000 as 1900 dates. No one was really sure how bad the result would be, but many predicted serious problems such as power grid failure or nuclear war. In response, sales of guns, ammo, survival foods and goods, gold and silver spiked and some people moved out of the cities and prepared bunkers there.
Many Christians got caught up in the speculation. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and many other ministries suggested that this date could be the fulfillment of major Bible prophecies such as the return of Jesus or the destruction of America. January 2000 came and went with only minor disruptions. It is still argued whether this is because billions of dollars were spent worldwide to fix the problem or because the problem was overrated.
May 5, 2000 – “Menorah” Planetary Alignment
May 5, 2000 marked a rare planetary alignment of the sun, moon and five planets (see NASA chart) dubbed a “Menorah Alignment” (a menorah has seven lamps). Such cosmic alignments are perennial inspirations for doomsday dates (2012 is based on another rare alignment) and this one was no different. Richard Noone was one person so concerned about it that he authored a book in 1997 titled "5/5/2000 Ice: the Ultimate Disaster" to explain why. Noone believed that the Antarctic ice mass would be three miles thick by May 5, 2000 and this ice would be shifted by a pole shift right to the equator. Noone argued that previous pole shifts had caused previous ice ages and "almost unimaginable results" would happen again.
I never read the book, but I wonder if he addressed why the stronger alignment of all nine planets in 1982 as detailed The Jupiter Effect did not cause any catastrophes.
2003 – Planet X
May 15th, 2003 was a doomsday date based on a very unique source: extraterrestrials. Nancy Lieder of Zetatalk claimed to be channeling aliens that told her Planet X would pass earth bringing disasters on that date. If you were active on the Internet or had friends who were (like me) you might of heard of this one.
Since nothing happened, other dates for Planet X have been set by the "Planet X Community" since then. The latest they have picked is 2012. That's right, the date of the Mayan calendar's long count cycle end. Any guesses as to how successful this one will be?
BTW, if it was not for this doomsday date, this article might not exist. The reason is due to the silver lining of date setting. It is provocative and gets attention. It forces people to stop and look into some big questions and open up their Bibles (something most Christians normally don't do much). Myself, I was already studying the Bible intently by 2002, but this date for a doomsday Planet X to come (May 15, 2003) got me wondering if the mysterious Wormwood of Rev 8 was not a prophecy of the same thing (instead of the Chernobyl disaster)? The rest is history and I wrote my first book Planet X in Bible Prophecy (later expanded to Know the Future).
2008 – Ron Weinland
Ronald Weinland, pastor of the Church of God - PKG, claimed to not only be a prophet of God, but also, along with his wife, the Two Witnesses (of Revelation 11). In his book 2008: God's Final Witness he stated that “By the fall of 2008, the United States will have collapsed as a world power, or it will have begun its collapse and no longer exist as an independent nation within six months after that time." His book was a free download read by many. 2011 – Harold Camping
People began emailing me about Harold Camping and May 21st, 2011. Camping predicted “Judgment Day” and the rapture on that date. Camping's claims (“THE BIBLE GUARANTEES IT”) were easy to handle because he was a repeat offender date setter. In 1994 he predicted Christ's return for the end of the eight day Jewish festival of Sukkot (on September 27). So all I have to do is direct people to a link documenting this and instantly his prediction loses its allure because it comes from a failed prophet of doom.
Thus, it's no surprise that his prediction failed. As covered below, a big reason that doomsday dates get a hold on people is because they seem new and reasonable (even when they are not). When you find out this is not the first doomsday date this person has tried, you become negatively biased against whatever they are predicting now. Harold Camping's prediction was in opposition to what Jesus taught about figuring out the date of the end. Nevertheless, I personally received many inquiries from people wondering whether to believe it or not. What I said to reassure them and get them to not worry about that date is what the rest of this article will teach.
P.S. After May 21st date failed, Camping highlighted another date of Oct 21st, 2011 for the "destruction of the world" which he had waiting in the wings already. This same bait-and-switch response is how the Millerites handled their first failed date(covered below). I wonder if Harold Camping will ever figure out that the problem is not with his calculations, but with his entire premise about the Bible being a doomsday date generator. See below...
Review of Past Date Setting Attempts
What can we learn from a quick review of past date setting attempts? A couple important things that everyone new to date setting wishes they knew right up front:
1. It's All Been Tried Before – First, contrary to the impression that someone new to doomsday predictions has, claims of being able to predict when something will happen using the Bible or other methods are not new. Further, you may have noticed that date setters use just a few different approaches over and over. They have mostly used the Bible and other ancient writings, what (they thought) God told them, or the motion of the heavenly bodies. There is nothing new under the sun. Every approach has been tried before and given a chance to work. There is no need to suspend disbelief or give the benefit of the doubt anymore for these approaches. None of them work.
2. 0% Success Rate – The other obvious observation is that the success of date setting has been exactly what common sense would lead us to expect: catastrophic failure. It is really no surprise. For things outside his control, no man knows what will happen at any given time for sure, even using Bible prophecy. And no matter what he may know for sure, such as a comet's approach trajectory or that planets will line up on a certain day, there is still too much uncertainty and variability for mere humans to reliably predict the outcome with or without specifying the timing. Only God knows all the variables and the equation they fit into to know exactly what will happen when.
Sadly, it can take years of trial and error before a prophecy aficionado realizes the above two points. But once they do, date setting loses its appeal and its hold on them. Nevertheless, they may only reluctantly let go of it because we all naturally want date setting to work. We want to know when things are going to happen. We further expect that Bible prophecy should be able to tell us this if nothing else can. If it cannot, then what good is it?
Overlooked, Misunderstood Words of Jesus Against Date Setting
We cannot see what Bible prophecy is “good for” until we first completely let go of date setting and the expectation that Bible prophecy should tell us “when.” Now, if what I have said above was not convincing enough, then maybe what Jesus had to say will do the job. He told us what prophecy was for, including first telling us what it is not for—finding out when. In so many words, Jesus stated that no man could know the time of the end until it was upon them.
Matthew 24:36 (HCSB) Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son—except the Father only.
Matthew 24:50 (ESV) the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know
Matthew 25:13 (HCSB) Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.
To some people these words are pretty clear. To others not. To be sure, prophecy aficionados who set dates have all heard these famous words of Jesus. (People who disagree with what they are doing are sure to quote them.) So why do they not see or accept what the words plainly mean?
I can explain that from personal experience. I used to be one of those people who disregarded it. I had just started studying prophecy seriously in 1999 for the same reason that so many do. I wanted to see if all those numberings in Daniel and Revelation did not reveal the timing of the end of the age. I knew the above verses very well but I had twisted their words into a meaning that was detached from their immediate context.
Here's how. I had a very good pastor who I trusted. He gave a sermon once on prophecy in which he quoted that verse about no man knowing the day or hour. He commented, “...but it doesn't say no man knows the year.” Upon hearing that, I thought, “well I'll be darned, I never considered it that way, but he's right! So Jesus meant we can figure out the timing to some degree, just not with pinpoint precision.” This idea gave me the license to forge ahead and try to wring a date out of the Bible despite what Jesus had said.
In defense of my pastor, he was not alone in his thinking. There are other ideas people adopt which end up neutralizing Jesus' admonition to not treat the Bible as a doomsday date factory. For example, another common teaching today is that “of that day and hour knoweth no man” is a Hebrew idiom for the Feast of Trumpets. I think this could be true and can readily explain why Jesus used the complicated phrasing he did, rather than just “time” which is what the day or hour is equivalent to in its New Testament usage. However, the plain meaning of the words would still remain and could not be contradicted.
What “No Man Knows” Means In Context
The problem with any such theories that modify the meaning of Jesus' statement, is, as I mentioned above, that they ignore the immediate context and usage of this phrase. Jesus use the phrase three times: at the end of the Parable of the Fig Tree (Mt 24:32-36), the Parable of the Faithful Servant (Mt 24:42-51), and the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt 25:1-13). Every time Jesus used this phrase, it was in the same kind of context with the same implied meaning. He mentions the “no man knows” in the context of “stay alert,” “don't backslide,” and “stay ready.”
Matthew 24:42-44 (HCSB) Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. 44 This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matthew 24:48-50 (HCSB) But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and starts to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know.
Matthew 25:11-13 (HCSB) “Later the rest of the [unprepared] virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘I assure you: I do not know you!’ Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.
If you want it any clearer than that, Jesus spelled it out again to the apostles after his resurrection. That time he did not use the words day or hour but actually used the word “time”:
Acts 1:7 (HCSB) He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority.
Day or hour means time. We can't know the time.
What Bible Prophecy Is For (Not Ever Dates)
Notice also in Acts 1:7 the mention, again, that the Father alone knows timing information. People seem to doubt that is true even when this is stated also in the Olivet Discourse where Jesus added that even he didn't know. The Father only really means the Father only.
Now consider who Jesus is that he was left in the dark on this. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14). He is the one who transmitted the Book of Revelation to John (Rev 1:1) and is seen therein as the one who opened up the sealed scroll in Revelation (Rev 5:1-6:1). If he, being that great, could not know when, how is it that we have mere mortal men who think they can know what Jesus could not?
They forget that the Bible, compared to Jesus, is just a written subset of the entire Word of God that has ever been spoken or shared. If Jesus as the “full” Word of God did not know, it is illogical to expect to using a subset of the Word do him one better. (And the same logic applies to those who think God is telling them directly extra-Biblical revelation on the timing that Jesus himself was not told.)
By continually trying to do the impossible, they are missing what prophecy is really good for. The Olivet Discourse spells this purpose out right next to where it tells us to give up on knowing “when” far enough in advance to be useful. (I say “far enough in advance” because Daniel 12 says when the Abomination of Desolation happens we will know we have 1290 days until Christ's Second Coming. Unfortunately, Jesus said we will be fleeing by that point anyway (Mt 24:15-16), so the 1290 day warning allows no room for any of the apathy or backsliding that knowing the date far in advance would encourage.) The stated purpose is to give us a list of events to watch for that tell us when the end is finally near. It compares these events preceding Jesus' coming just as green leaves appearing on the fig tree and all the trees before summer arrives. Likewise if we don't see any of the listed end time events, Jesus' coming is not near and we do not have to worry about it being imminent. God loves his servants and is going to give them plenty of warning and plenty time to take action when the time comes. 2011 – Comet Elenin
Discovered by Russian astronomer Leonard Elenin in December, 2010, this 3-4 km sized comet will come closest to earth in October, 2011. But not that close; about as close as Venus comes to earth or 0.23 AU. Nevertheless, this comet has been the subject of much doomsday speculation and conspiracy theory for Fall, 2011.
Update - Sep 19, 2011:
Sky & Telescope - Comet Elenin Self-Destructs
Universe Today - Comet Elenin is Now Fading Away
MSNBC.com - 'Doomsday' comet just fades away
Science 2.0 - Doomsday Comet Elenin Goes Out With A Whimper (Has animation showing comet images dimming over time)
We must remember, as shown from earlier comet examples, that this is nothing new. Nearly every comet approaching earth in the past has brought with it this kind of hysteria. Now in the age of the Internet, you can count on every future passing comet to be the subject of some kind of doomsday speculation or conspiracy theory.
Among the claims for Comet Elenin are that:
it was named Elenin as code for ELE or Extinction Level Event
its size is being vastly underreported
it is actually a brown dwarf star
it is responsible for major earthquakes of early 2011 such as the Japan earthquake when it aligned with the earth and sun
it has companion objects with it (just like Hale-Bopp) — in this case asteroids
the companion asteroids will hit us (if we survive all the predicted alignment disasters up until then)
From those of the Torah Messianic persuaion, claims are made like "it will pass directly between the Earth and the Sun on Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets, and will come closest to Earth on Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles." These seem significant until you stop and realize that we are never told in the Bible to look upon planetary alignments on holy days as prophetically significant or end times signs. It's conjecture to attach doomsday predictions to such events. The Bible plainly tells us what specific cosmic events watch for already without the need for inventing new things.
Others contend that they have scientific data to back up some of the claims above. The problem with this is that none of it is confirmed by trusted scientific authorties like NASA. But some argue that NASA can't be trusted. They might not be trusted to tell us about a future hidden or obscured doomsday object (like Wormwood below) but Elenin is plainly visible, tail and all, to amateur astronomers. And by, the way, if it was as large as a dwarf star, not only would lots of astronomers notice NASA's discrepancy, but it would have no tail at all due to the strong gravity.
On top of that, some feel that Bible prophecy talks about this comet. The Bible does indeed warn us about a coming wayward star named Wormwood (Rev 8:10-11). Although it is only mentioned as being seen at the 3rd trumpet, Wormwood appears to be responsible for all the cataclysms listed from the 6th seal (Rev 6:12) to the 4th Trumpet (Rev 8:12). (I cover this key overlooked prophetic milestone in my book.)
The Bible lists several prerequisite prophetic milestone events (A and B) that must happen before Wormwood can come (C). If event B has not happened, then event C cannot happen, and likewise with B depending on A first coming. The problem is that event A has not happened yet; God has not warned and gathered his people to safety ahead of this global cataclysm (Rev 6:12-14 = Joel 2:30-32). Consequently, Comet Elenin cannot possibly fulfill the Wormwood death star prophecies in 2011; there is simply not enough time to fit everything in that must happen first.
If Comet Elenin cannot fulfill end time Bible prophecies in 2011, then we have to consider it just a normal comet passing far away as reputable science agencies tell us, with practically zero increase in gravitational pull when it aligns with heavenly bodies and the earth. Based on the track record of the many comets in history which have passed at distance without disaster, it's reasonable to expect Comet Elenin will follow suite and the claim that we should do anything special in response to it must be judged unreasonable. Bring on 2012.
By the way, even though I'm sure Elenin will pass with no effect in 2011 (just as Harold Camping's rapture predictions failed, ahem) that does not mean I judge or think evil of those who don't see this yet and spread this theory. They don't see what I do about these type of predictions and therefore they come to a different conclusion about whether the threat is credible and worth talking about. They must act in good conscience warning others about it. When those people come to me, I work to set them straight and dispel their fear. Job security!
2012 – Mayan Calendar
I already wrote in a previous article about the Mayan Calendar 2012. But Recently it got worse for 2012 as it came up in the news that 2012 may be based on an erroneous assumption causing it to be off by 50 or 100 years. However, other experts like Dr. Allen Christenson say there is no error. The date is confirmed through major historical and astronomical events. Nevertheless, he is not a believer in any of the doomsday speculation surrounding 2012, even if it is the right date.
Upcoming Doomsday Dates To Not Put On Your Calendar
One thing is for sure, doomsday dates will continue to be published by people until that end time finally does come upon us. Although the bulk of this article has plenty of ammunition against believing in all future doomsday dates that may come down the pike, sometimes a little bit of debunking specific to the date in question helps. For example, for Daniel's Timeline, I show that Dewey Bruton uses the wrong length of a Jubilee Cycle in his calculations. An error in your assumptions can only lead to an error in your conclusion.
Therefore, this section of the article will be continually updated with the latest dates people email me about. Feel free to bookmark the article and check back when you hear a new doomsday theory.
Here are the latest doomsday dates on the radar as of March, 2013.
2016/2017 – Daniel's Timeline by Dewey Bruton / The Jonah Code by Michael Rood
Although their names may be unfamiliar to Christians, many Messianic Jewish believers have seen Dewey Bruton's Daniel's Timeline DVD and Michael Rood's the Jonah Code DVDs. Both teachers posit that the 70 (7-year) "Weeks" of Daniel can be interpreted also as a 70 year countdown to the Millennium. They use the declaration of the nation of Israel 1947 as the starting point. It's a shame they engage in date setting as both DVD's are worth watching and the Jonah Code especially has good information you won't find anywhere else.
I covered Daniel's Timeline 2017 date setting already here. Since I wrote that article, we have now passed well into the time when 2010-2017 as the final 7 years should have begun to show evidence with prophetic fulfillments. Michael Rood's “confirmation of the covenant” (Damascus nuked by Israel) for this seven year period should have already happened Fall, 2010. Given nothing happened, his “3rd layer of Daniel's 70 Weeks” theory must be discounted.
Conclusion
Like I remind people all the time, the Bible is a difficult book with many confusing passages. It's therefore no surprise that people would miss its prohibition about date setting as they try their best to see what all those numbers in Daniel and Revelation might be able to tell us about the timing of the end times events. Yet when you look at it, it's much harder to ignore and deny the outrageously bad track record of date setters, even those using Bible prophecy. Of course, when you examine what Jesus said closely, he told us what prophecy was meant to do. To show us what was to happen (Rev 1:1-3) and to then watch for specific listed events (Mt 24:33) as signs to know when you the end is close or not close at all (Luke 21:9).
So you see there really is no need for date setting. Jesus gave us all that we need. Now we just need to trust the plan that God revealed for his servants in the end times. Wait and be so doing when he finds you, and you won't have anything to worry about.
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