Will May 21, 2011, Be the End of the World?

Will May 21, 2011, Be the End of the World?  

According to Harold Camping with Family Radio out of Oakland, California - the answer is yes.  Mr. Camping has apparently used the events in Genesis and other "clues" from the Bible and has successfully calculated the exact date for Judgement Day!

Yet for some reason, I am not convinced.  

First of all, let's take a look at the credibility of the man making the bold predictions - Mr. Harold Camping.  Camping previously predicted the end of the world would come in September 2010.  He also claims God no longer uses local churches, and says that Christians should come out of the churches and not submit to the authority of any church body.   

Camping also believes that God has established Family Radio as the "sole beacon of truth" and he denies the truth of the trinity.  His method of reading and interpreting Scripture is flawed and leaves him lacking any credibility as a Bible teacher.

Secondly, let's take a look at the claim itself.  He claims to have unlocked some sort of secret code hidden in the Scripture by which God revealed the exact time of the final judgement.  

Yet the Bible, in Matthew 24:35-36, says "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only."  Verse 44 goes on to say "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

I often joke with friends when such predictions like Mr. Camping's are made that I may not be able to predict when Christ will return, but I have a good shot at predicting some of the days he will not return.  There is no credible reason to believe the end of the world is any more likely to be May 21, 2011 than to believe it will be any other random day.

The Bible makes it clear that God did not intend for us to know the day Christ would return and set into motion the final days but rather wanted us to focus on walking "in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10).

I wouldn't treat May 21, 2011 any different than any other day.  Walk worthy each day, whether it is your first or last day on earth.