What JWs think of Harold Camping

As promised in this week’s podcast I decided to post some of the opinions of active JWs regarding the recent end-time predictions of familyradio. While my post is awaiting approval of a moderator I did find a couple pages of responses to a thread titled “Christian groups says Armageddon coming May 21, 2011. What follows is a compilation of JW brilliance.

I tried to keep make this post easy to understand since it gets a bit complicated with people quoting others who are quoting others.  I didn’t edit any of their posts so don’t blame me for misspelled words or pathetic grammar.   

Names of posters are BOLD black

My thoughts are italic

First post May 10th, 5:12 pm

Leannsmarie:

These kind of predictions come and go, of course.

Whats interesting is the amount of money this group has spend advertising their belief.

I feel sorry for those who are misled by them and have already sold or given away their belongings.

Whats worse is this sort of thing is what apostates and enemies of the kingdom latch onto about what happened within Jehovah’s organization in 1975 and they bring it up again.

Case in point: Sheri Shepherd on The View (U.S. chat show) today mentioned 1975 and Witnesses when discussing this very story.

First Response May 10th, 8:10pm

Faith84:

Wow,I hope they’re wrong I’m going to an amusement park with my family on May 21st.

But seriously the end is coming.That is true.

Yesterday I was speaking with a 92 year old brother who’s been in the truth for 60 yrs and he said to us

“Time has changed,things are going faster and there is an anxiousness in the air.”

This systems panting on to the end .

Dages:

Yes, they calculate this date because, God said to Noah that, in 7 days, he will start the flood.

7 days => 7000 years. The flood was, according to them, in -4990… +7000 = 2011

21 may because, the 17th of the second month (hebrew calendar).

Anniebea:

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faith84

“Time has changed, things are going faster and there is an anxiousness in the air.

This systems panting on to the end.”

 

So very true, the anxiousness is very obvious even to non witnesses

Clarak:

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anniebea

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faith84

“Time has changed,things are going faster and there is an anxiousness in the air.

This systems panting on to the end .

So very true, the anxiousness is very obvious even to non witnesses”

 

Some people have even stopped congregating because they feel the end is not coming soon. But now is not the time for us to be like Lot’s wife.

Jabriol:

I attended my SAD and our gust Speaker Felice Episcopo, said the following in Spanish: “this year the US is planning on celebrating 9/11 1oth anniversary…If we make it…”

Armaggedon can happen any day now..so………..

Jabriol then quotes leannsmarie

 

Dages:

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clarak

Some people have even stopped congregating because they feel the end is not coming soon. But now is not the time for us to be like Lot’s wife.

 

This is really the worst moment to stop attending meeting.

Even if the end would be not soon, this world is critical and we do need the spiritual encouragement we received every weeks.

My wife and I have our SDA this saturday… can’t wait for it!

Joel then started a new topic about the same subject and the two topics are tied together.

Joelferr:

I saw a HUGE sign that says Judgement day May 21 lol hahaha what are you thoughts on this?

The next guy Jeremy used to be a moderator for the site but he has recently resigned and deactivated his membership. Hopefully he went rogue but he probably just sank further into the org and decided the site wasn’t society approved.

Jeremy:

Hi Joel. some of us shared our thoughts on this over here THE END: – Does Jesus know the day NOW? It would seem the May 21 parody is all over the place. Sad thing is, although we might see it as funny, so many are confused.

Miro:

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Joelferr
I saw a HUGE sign that says Judgement day May 21 lol hahaha what are you thoughts on this?

well i know that some people say that the world will end at 21/12/2012 acording with the maia callender. so it maybe that.
i found it amussing to see here in portugal so many people beliving in that but when we say the end is near?!? (He then posted a whistling smiley face)

Ava:

I saw on the news couple months back that there is some religious group touring the country and telling people the world is going go end on May 21, 2011. Can’t think of their name, but if I remember, I’ll post it.  

Ksg55:

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ava
I saw on the news couple months back that there is some religious group touring the country and telling people the world is going go end on May 21, 2011. Can’t think of their name, but if I remember, I’ll post it.

I think the man’s name is Harold Campy or Camping, something like that. He has a radio program and it is on billboards in the Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and other counties around in Ohio. He believes he will be going to heaven on May 21st as will all “true believers.” He does use the name Jehovah, but believes that Christ Jesus is Jehovah…..so no true enlightenment here.

(This zinger is followed up by a face that’s shaking its head…no…)

Dages:

This is because of Revelation 22… last verse : 21 May

Precision:

Sounds like 1999 just before Y2K

Catalyst:

In Matthew 24:44 Jesus said . . .
On this account YOU too prove yourselves ready,
because at an hour that YOU do not think to be it, the Son of man is coming.
*** w04 3/1 p.16 says:
The coming (or, arriving) referred to a number of times at Matthew 24:29-44 is at “the great tribulation.”
So does this mean that if I think “OK it is not coming on such and such a date ” then that means that it might be that date.
It could also mean that as far as we can see with out limited perception it is not the time for it.
But that could mean that it is the time, because we don’t think it is.
The best advice is here

*** w03 12/15 p. 20 par. 2 Prove Yourself Ready for Jehovah’s Day ***
Since we do not know the precise time, it is vital that we take to heart the words of our yeartext for 2004: “Keep on the watch . . . Prove yourselves ready..
Are you ready !  

Micah:

Why this year???? That is the only part I am confused about?  

(I kind of feel bad for this guy, he posted a thread asking for people’s opinions on college. While a couple witnesses said that he should go to school, the majority told him it was a bad idea. According to his post he is married with a few kids and is working for minimum wage. This is the unfortunate story of the Witnesses. If you try to better yourself and your family, they look down on you because you aren’t living a simple life and “throwing your burdens on Jehovah.”)

Trottigy:

“Haubert says the Bible contains coded “proofs” that reveal the timing. For example, he says, from the time of Noah’s flood to May 21, 2011, is exactly 7,000 years.”

He should get an “All Scriptures is Inspired Book” and look at page 286 –

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SI book (A JW publication)
Adding 427 years to 1943 B.C.E. brings us to 2370 B.C.E. Thus the timetable of the Bible shows that the Deluge of Noah’s day began in 2370 B.C.E.

Um 2011 + 2370 = 4381 – 1 for no zero = 4,380 years from flood not 7,000. Humans have only been here for a little over 6,000 (4026+2011= 6037-1=6,036 years). It is crazy reasoning like this that got people to the 1975 date. (Cognitive dissonance…………)

I wonder what he will be saying 2 weeks from now – May 24th?

Lunaglobal:

Mathew 24:42
He does not know the date

Trottigy:

He looks like a good Christian. (A laughing face follows this witty line)

Blaquerose19:

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 trottigy

wonder what he will be saying 2 weeks from now – May 24th?

my bad we made a mistake…it’s 2012 not 2011

Trottigy:

You know, isn’t this just like the devil – to make fun of what is really coming. He is the master at distraction.
Now when we talk about the end coming – they will be even less likely to believe us. They’ll think we are jokes – just like this group. (Yea….people already feel that way)
Especially, since he says – “The Bible Guarantees it”. Making a joke out of God’s Word too. Boy some days you wake up and you are even more upset at the devil then the day before ….. OK, that is like everyday!

Sunshine:

Three things come to mind…
One is that there must be SOMEbody making some money out of this somewhere.
Two that it’s just another way Satan is trying to discredit the bible (because lots of people will believe it says something along those lines somewhere)
and three…
We’ll probably be blamed for the whole thing on Wikipedia (Yes, because people are just looking for random stupid shit to blame witnesses for…………..persecution complex?)

LunaGlobal:

When I see this man this verse stands out at me….And I quote” LOOK! There is one that is pregnant with what is hurtful,
And he has conceived trouble and is bound to give birth to falsehood.
Psalms 7:14 In this weeks bible reading for Thurs night meeting.

Loginphp:  

Apparently this man also predicted “the end” would happen on September 1994.
Well me being interested in how he came to his conclusion(not overly interested) I decided to look him up on wikipedia. This is what I found about how he came up with the idea of May 11th 2011. Satan really has his mind set on misleading people today, it’s just strange, interesting new ideas have been popping up lately that I’ve never heard.

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Camping
Camping teaches that a Biblical calendar has been hidden according to Daniel 12:9, Revelation 22:10 detailing the imminent end of the world (with alleged Biblical evidence pointing to the date for the Rapture as May 21, 2011);[9] of the “end of the church age” (which asserts that churches are no longer the vehicle used by God for salvation, 1 Peter 4:17);[10] and of predestination (Ephesians 1:4-5), according to which God determined before the beginning of the world which individuals are to be saved.

Let’s just put this whole thing to rest so we don’t get sidetracked and lets focus on what Jehovah wants us to do NOW. Matt 28:19,20, and lets not forget the last part of verse 20 “I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things”. So let’s stay focused
(P.S. I can’t help but to notice Sian and Jeremy deactivated)

Trottigy:

loginphp
(P.S. I can’t help but to notice Sian and Jeremy deactivated )
They will be missed. Maybe, we will see them again.

Gordon:

He is right about one thing, there will be an end. (And wrong about so many things)

Janewadar:

I do hope not, I have a visitor that weekend!

Loginphp:

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trottigy

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(P.S. I can’t help but to notice Sian and Jeremy deactivated )
They will be missed. Maybe, we will see them again.

I sure hope so too! The forum feels just a tad bit empty for obvious reasons

Sorry to bring up another point on this topic, but just to drive our point home about all this before I’m done with this thread, I wanted to add my last bit of comment~

Not knowing the day or the hour is a GOOD THING. Let’s understand that

Here are 5 reasons why we don’t WANT to know the day or the hour. (unless Jehovah decided to reveal it)

1. Not knowing the day or hour allows us to reveal what’s in our hearts.
It teaches us long-suffering and since we don’t know the day or hour then we are allowing the REAL us to be revealed. We’re not focusing on time.

2. Us not knowing the day or hour makes Jehovah’s heart glad because we’re serving him out of Love, not a set-date.
Ephesians 3:17 “to have the Christ dwell through [YOUR] faith in YOUR hearts with love; that YOU may be rooted and established on the foundation” Imagine if we knew the day, how that could maybe even corrupt our spiritual focus, and imagine the disappointment it would cause if we based all of our energy on that, rather our focus is distorted intentionally or not.
Pro 13:12 tells us “Expectation postponed is making the heart sick, but the thing desired is a tree of life when it does come.”

3. Not knowing the day or hour helps us to set aside selfish goals.
Imagine if everybody knew that day or hour ahead of time; imperfect inclinations of wanting to carry out selfish goals before the day of Armageddon can ruin us. (Even now, we still need to be careful with that)

4. Not knowing the day or hour teaches us to rely more on Jehovah God.
Hebrews 10:36 says “For YOU have need of endurance, in order that, after YOU have done the will of God, YOU may receive the [fulfillment of the] promise.”
Matthew 24:13 “But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.” We can only rely on Jehovah and endure by prayer and the example of his Son.

5. Not knowing the day our hour acts as a refining for us.
Psalms 119:71 tells us “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, in order that I may learn your regulations.”
2Corinthians 6:4-6 tells us “but in every way we recommend ourselves as God’s ministers, by the endurance of much, by tribulations, by cases of need, by difficulties, 5 by beatings, by prisons, by disorders, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times without food, 6 by purity, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by holy spirit, by love free from hypocrisy,”

Sunshine:

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trottigy

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(P.S. I can’t help but to notice Sian and Jeremy deactivated)
They will be missed. Maybe, we will see them again.

really. oh I will miss them… still with the slaves encouragement to use our time wisely maybe they are just “economising”… (I know what you’re thinking, “Does JWtalk have spell check?” The answer is…….yes……but JWs must not use it)

Hammerhead:

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LuanaGlobal
Mathew 24:42

He does not know the date.

 

dont have my bible in front of me but if you are refering to Jesus not knowing date there have been articles or a questions from readers on the subject. Jesus was elevated in position to Gods right hand and also since becoming King of Gods Kingdom its logical Jehovah would have given him the information by the time he was instructed to go forth subduing in midst of his enemies. Also proving his faithfulness until death he could be trusted with that information and to further be used to carry out Gods purposes at the appointed time. Just my .02  

Lady Tee:

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sunshine

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trottigy

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(P.S. I can’t help but to notice Sian and Jeremy deactivated )
They will be missed. Maybe, we will see them again.
really. oh I will miss them… still with the slaves encouragement to use our time wisely maybe they are just “economising”…

 

l have noticed this too, but as a new person here l don’t know how to bring it up. Can anyone let us know what is happening to them? It has really affected the atmosphere here.

Trottigy:

Good article –
CNN  (Here is the link he was referring to http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/17/my-take-may-21st-doomsday-movement-harms-christianity/ )
I liked the analogy about the boy who cried wolf. This does desensitize people to what is really coming.

Ava:

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trottigy
You know, isn’t this just like the devil – to make fun of what is really coming. He is the master at distraction.

Now when we talk about the end coming – they will be even less likely to believe us. They’ll think we are jokes – just like this group.

Especially, since he says – “The Bible Guarantees it”. Making a joke out of God’s Word too. Boy some days you wake up and you are even more upset at the devil then the day before ….. OK, that is like everyday!

This is exactly how I feel.

When people here us, they think we are some crazy religious group like all the others and they don’t listen. Satan is the one behind it. (Or maybe you’re all just crazy religious groups)

Trottigy:

2 Cor 4:4 – He has blinded the mind of the unbelievers so the glorious good news about the Christ might not shine through – or something like that  

Loginphp:

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ava

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trottigy
You know, isn’t this just like the devil – to make fun of what is really coming. He is the master at distraction.

Now when we talk about the end coming – they will be even less likely to believe us. They’ll think we are jokes – just like this group.

Especially, since he says – “The Bible Guarantees it”. Making a joke out of God’s Word too. Boy some days you wake up and you are even more upset at the devil then the day before ….. OK, that is like everyday!
This is exactly how I feel.

When people here us, they think we are some crazy religious group like all the others and they don’t listen. Satan is the one behind it.

~Jerry
Great scripture Jerry, and the sad part is that when that time really does come, just as we as Jehovah’s people have been proclaiming, how will people react after being influenced by false predictions such as Harold Camping? We also don’t want to be influenced by such thinking of the world.
Read Genesis 19:14 “Hence Lot went on out and began to speak to his sons-in-law who were to take his daughters, and he kept on saying: “Get up! Get out of this place, because Jehovah is bringing the city to ruin!” But in th eyes of his sons-in-law he seemed like a man who was joking.”
Yes, they will have to know eventually, one way or another that Jehovah is the True God. (Read Jeremiah 16:21) Some of us also may get to thinking “Oh well, you know, the end won’t happen in my days, it’s far off!”, ok, but you know, the end will happen in SOMEONES days, SOMEONE in this Kingdom Hall is going to be here when the Great Tribulation starts. SOMEONE is going to see Armageddon when it starts. So the point is that we don’t want to let go of our urgency of the last days either. (1Cor 2:14-16)

And so concludes the JWs and their thoughts on Harold Camping. As more information is posted I will add it to this post. I personally thought it was funny how a few of them brought up 1975 but then brushed it off as if nothing really happened. I think this is because people are aware that something happened but most of them believe the society when they claim that people misunderstood the Watchtower Societies writings. It shocked me how many people were annoyed that this end-time prediction was wrong and since it was wrong it was going to water down their end-time prediction. I hope everyone enjoyed this opportunity to chuckle at some JWs.

 

Jesse