Harold Camping Is Anti-Pentecostal
written by
Kraig J. Rice
Bread On The Waters (BOW)
www.breadonthewaters.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS
(Clicking on these internal links will move you down this page)

Introduction A Visitor From His Organization
Harold Camping Is Anti-Pentecostal Family Radio Is Anti-Pentecostal
God the Holy Spirit in the Pentecostal Churches The Pentecostal Churches
Other Non-Pentecostal Beliefs of Camping Conclusion

Do not wait for the hearse
To take you to church

Introduction

I have been a Bible teacher for many years. I am a Pentecostal. I am pre-trib and pre-mil in my theological persuasion. I disagree with Harold Camping. I don't disagree with him on his love for the Lord, or for his love for the Bible, or for his evangelism efforts, but I disagree with him on some of his ideas. One of the ideas I disagree with him on is how he interprets the Bible. I also disagree with him on his Bible doctrine. In this writing I attempt to expose some his false teachings.

Let's look at how he interprets the Bible. In Bible College or Seminary a student of God's Word has to pass a strict and very hard course called hermaneutics. If you don't correctly pass this course then you don't graduate. Hermaneutics is a big word that simply means "the science of interpretation." A course in hermaneutics simply teaches one how to correctly interpret the Bible. Harold Camping's college degree is in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1942. He does not have a Bible College degree and to my knowledge has never studied hermaneutics or the science of how to properly interpret the Bible. Therefore, his lack of knowledge in this field has caused him to make some serious and confusing interpretations of scripture. This does not mean he is not sincere. He is just mistaken.

Anyone can twist the Bible to make it say what they want it to. Here's an example:
Let's say bible teacher X tells you to turn to a passage of scripture. In Matthew 27:5 we find, "Judas hanged himself." In comparing scripture with scripture we find in
Judges 7:17 "look on me and do likewise." Teacher X puts these two verses together and teaches us that God's Word tells us that Judas hanged himself and we are to go out and do likewise. God's Word is true so now it is God's will for you to go out and hang yourself.

You know that it is really not God's will for you to go out and hang yourself because self-murder is also against God's word. So where is the error here? The error is not God's word- it's in the wrong interpretation of God's word by false teacher X. I think you get my point that a good Bible teacher is to follow sound hermaneutics to rightly divide the Word of Truth. A false teacher will NOT rightly divide the Word of Truth. He or she will twist the Word of God to make it fit their own agenda.

One cannot build a church with stumbling blocks

A Visitor From His Organization

I really compliment the folks at Family Radio for airing the Radio Reading Circle and Bible Reading Fellowship programs. I was driving an 18 wheeler truck a lot in 1994 and enjoyed listening to the reading of the Bible- so much so that I sent a financial contribution to Family Radio in the form of a personal check that had my name, address, and telephone number on it.

At this time Harold Camping was teaching that the month of September of the year 1994 was to be the time for the end of history. The Bible strictly warns us not to set any dates for the second return of Christ and for the end of the world as this is only reserved for God Himself
(Matthew 24:36). But Harold Camping committed the sin of presumption and did it anyway. And did he have the wisdom and knowledge of God in this teaching? No. He was wrong. It was not the end of history. This hurt his credibility as a genuine, truthful, and accurate teacher.

But before September 1994 came I received a telephone call from a man in his organization. He wanted to meet with me on Saturday morning at my house but he didn't say why. So I said sure- come on over. He came Saturday morning and I invited him into my house and he sat down in a sofa chair in my living room. We said a few preliminaries and I complimented him on the Family Bible Reading Fellowship program on the radio. He asked me what other gospel radio programs I liked. I answered, "I like Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, and Focus On The Family (with Dr. James Dobson)." He answered, "We will never have those programs on our radio stations." Then he asked me and my wife if we were true Christians. We assured him that Christ lived in our hearts- that He had forgiven us of our sins, and that we were living for Him. He didn't seem to think that was enough. Then he wanted to know if I could prove to him out of the Bible if we were true Christians. I quoted to him Romans 10:9 & 10. By this time I was feeling uncomfortable with him judging me and questioning my salvation and I told him so. He said he was just wanting to make sure. He believed the end of the world was coming and he wanted to make sure all true Christians were ready. Then he left and I never saw or heard from him again.

How did my wife and I feel about this man's visit? We were insulted- mainly that he didn't believe us. We knew that we are saved and children of God. But this man was only following the teachings of Harold Camping. Harold Camping was teaching that Pentecostals and other church goers were followers of Satan- we may call themselves believers but were not true believers. We may call ourselves Christians- but were not true Christians. My wife and I didn't know how toxic Harold Camping's teachings were until we got our nose rubbed in it that Saturday morning in our own living room in 1994. In my opinion, his teachings make salvation very difficult and hard to obtain for most common church goers.

Peace is the presence of power
not the absence of trouble

Harold Camping Is Anti-Pentecostal

Here is what Harold Camping believes about Pentecostalism. I now quote him from one of his writings:

The Success of the Tongues Movement
"An ever-increasing number of individuals and congregations all over the world fail this end-of-time testing program. The tongues movement, also called the "charismatic movement," is sweeping through churches like wildfire. Virtually every denomination has churches that have welcomed it with open arms.

For generations, attempts have been made to unify various faiths and denominations; however, no attempt has made progress like the charismatic movement. Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, all gospels that identify with the Christian ethic, find brotherhood under the charismatic banner. To those who embrace the tongues phenomenon, it appears to be a wonderful demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible guides us into truth; we can know the facts. The church has become increasingly apostate. Consequently, God is blinding people so that they believe this movement is of the Holy Spirit. They do not realize that it is of Satan. By means of this phenomenon, Satan appears to be defeating the true Gospel to a degree never before realized.

God has established the phenomenon of tongues, recorded in I Corinthians 12, 13, and 14, as a testing arena for the end-time church. God gave the true gift of tongues briefly in the church at Corinth so that the end-time churches' fidelity or infidelity to the Word of God could be discovered.

Satan Uses Tongues to Destroy

Satan uses this testing arena as his final opportunity to win a decisive victory over Christ by defeating the external church. He defeated Adam and Eve by encouraging them to eat of the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. Likewise, he encourages the end-time church to enjoy the forbidden gift of tongues."
Quoted from
http://www.familyradio.com/graphical/literature/tongues.html

Harold Camping sees the Pentecostal church as being overrun by Satan and some of the evidence for this is Christians using birth control, divorce, armenianism, the social gospel with its concern for feeding the hungry, not all observing Sunday as God's Holy Day, and lack of preaching on hell- although, Camping does not now teach eternal punishment for the wicked. Camping devotes chapter five of his book, 1994, to how God will destroy the external church by Satan mainly through the charismatic movement.

But what does the Bible say? When one reads the signs of the end of the age in Matthew chapter 24 none of the above things mentioned by Camping are listed there. Therefore, it's his opinion.

Write your plans in pencil
Then
Give God the eraser

Family Radio Is Anti-Pentecostal

Here is what Family Radio believes about Pentecostalism. I now quote from one of their writings:

"Family Radio has an intensive desire to be altogether faithful to the teachings of the Bible, both in the conduct of its employees, and in the biblical messages it sends into the world.

At Family Radio, we emphatically teach that the whole Bible is the Word of God; so that, in the original languages in which the Bible was written, every word was from the mouth of God, and consequently, is never to be altered and must be obeyed. The Bible alone, and in its entirety, is the Word of God. Therefore, we reject the phenomena of tongues, visions, voices etc. as having any part in the true Gospel since the scriptures have been completed."

Are you wrinkled with burden?
Come on into Church for a faith lift!

God the Holy Spirit in the Pentecostal Churches

Harold Camping teaches that the Holy Spirit is no longer working in the Pentecostal church! Harold Camping is teaching his opinion. God is alive and well and moving in the hearts and in the lives of countless thousands of His followers both on the foreign mission field and at home. He saves, He baptizes His followers in the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:4), He heals, He hears prayers, He answers prayer, and sometimes He works miracles. God the Holy Spirit is very active in the Pentecostal churches and is delighted with His followers who love Him and who are obedient to Him. But He deals with His disobedient sheep when there is sin in their lives to bring them back into fellowship with Him after repentance and restoration is forth coming from them.

There are some whose faith is not strong enough to bring them to services
But they expect it to take them to heaven

The Pentecostal Churches

Why do you go to church? You go to church to worship God and to receive a blessing. Or, as one lady put it, "You go to church to worship God and to be a blessing."

Camping's distinction between "the corporate external church" and "true Christians" ("spiritually minded" believers) cannot be sustained nor can his claim that "true Christians" should now leave their churches and form "fellowships" that have no church officers. He teaches that God has eliminated the church as an institution for the teaching of the saints and for the evangelization of the lost! Camping is admonishing his followers to "Flee the churches!" in order to be in the will of God.

Stephen Meyers says this about Camping:
"According to Camping most churches and pastors have gone apostate, therefore one must separate from apostate churches. Apostasy according to Camping is anyone who does not agree with his interpretation of the Bible. This super sensitivity to the slightest challenge to authority by crying apostasy is just another ploy of legalism."

I do not see anywhere in scripture from Genesis to Revelation that there is even a hint that we should stop attending worship in a designated place, or on a certain day or at any specific time or with any particular group. House church may be necessary for a church starting, but for worship- having a leader called of God and anointed with the Spirit of God to preach and to teach us, to lead us, in church, just as Paul did, and Peter, and John is wonderful. We must never forsake our God called duty to the body of Christ.

Attend Church...and give Glory to God.

Harold Camping House Fellowships:
In these fellowships there is to be no discipline, no baptism, no communion, no authority, and no teaching apart from Mr. Camping's interpretation of the Bible.
Mr. Camping tells "true believers" to abandon the elders whom Christ has provided to watch over our souls
(Hebrews 13:17), to abandon pastors who shepherd His flock (1 Peter 5:1-3), and who feed his sheep
(Acts 20:28-31).

Does the New Testament teach that the church will be destroyed by Satan?
Jesus states in Matthew 16:18, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

"Don't doubt in the darkness
what you knew to be true in the light"
- Alene Hawkins

Other Non-Pentecostal Beliefs of Camping

In my opinion Harold Camping teaches the theory of double predestination. What kind of teaching is that? That's an old radical Calvinistic teaching that went around many, many years ago that states that some folks are predestined to go to hell while other folks are predestined to go to Heaven. This teaching isn't credible because it by-passes the free will of mankind. Camping calls the folks who believe in mankind's free will "free willers." But here is what the Bible says:
"The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Let each one who hears them say, "Come." Let the thirsty ones come- anyone who wants to. Let them come and drink the water of life without charge."
(Revelation 22:17).

Salvation is intended for everyone. Selective redemption is a false idea. If you want the true balanced teaching on salvation click here.

Confusion About the Elect
Who are the elect of God? Harold Camping will tell you it is him and his followers. But what does the Bible say? The Bible teaches that the elect of God are the Jews and those promises to God's elect are for them only. God made a covenant with His chosen people long before Harold Camping and his followers came on the scene.

Confusion About the Church and Israel
Is Israel the church? Is the church Israel? If you ask Harold Camping he will give you scriptures that pertain to each. Harold Camping should go to the nation of Israel and ask the religious scribes there if God's promises to Israel are for Camping and his followers. What do you think the Jewish scribes will tell him?

Confusion About the End Times (Escatology)
Camping states that the Rapture will happen on May 21, 2011, and the End of the World will happen on October 20, 2011. Camping is an amillennialist. What is that? It's a person who does not believe in the millennial reign of Christ on earth for 1,000 years as the premillennialists do. Camping does not believe the scriptures that prove the premillennialist point of view.

The Apostle Paul had to deal with some of the same kind of wrong teaching in the church in his day. A false teacher had spouted that the Rapture of the Church had already taken place. Some church folks were worried. Was this true? Harold Camping states that the Great Tribulation began in 1988. Some church folks are worried. Is this true? Paul had to write his letter of comfort to the Thessalonian Church saying that this kind of false teaching was a lot of hog wash. And Harold Camping's false teaching that the Great Tribulation began in 1988 is also a lot of hog wash. You can read about this in the Bible in
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.

Pentecostals believe that we are now living in exciting times. It's the time of great world-wide evangelization of the lost. The rapture of the church will take place sometime in the future but only God knows when. The rapture will take place before the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation will last 7 years followed by a literal 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on His throne in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

Camping Is Subjective In Use of Biblical Numerology By Gary De Mar
I now quote from Gary De Mar about Camping's interpretation of Biblical Numerology:

"In John 21:1–14, we learn that Jesus’ disciples were about 200 cubits out from the Sea of Galilee engaged in their trade as fishermen. On this day the disciples catch 153 fish. According to Camping the Bible is teaching that the 200 cubits represent about 2,000 years between the first and second comings of Christ. Since Jesus was born, according to Camping, on October 4, 7 B.C., one needs only to add 2,000 years minus one year for the year zero and "presto change-o," out comes 1994! What about the 153 fish? The number 153 equals 3 times 3 times 17: "The number three signifies the purpose of God whereas the number seventeen signifies heaven. Thus we learn that [the] purpose of God is to bring all believers that are "caught" by the Gospel into heaven."

Camping’s methodology is subjective. He picks and chooses only those numbers that fit his system. Numbers that contradict his conclusions, Camping arbitrarily reformulates to give them the needed meaning to force compliance to his already developed methodology."

Annihilationism vs. Eternal Damnation
For many years Harold Camping taught eternal damnation for unbelievers. Then in November, 2007, he suddenly recanted all of this in favor of the doctrine of the annihilation of the wicked. Why is this significant? Because his false teaching contradicts the Bible. Now he says there is no punishment for the wicked in hell. This is just what Satan wants everyone to believe so more people can sin without deterance. Camping's teachings contradict the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus repeatedly talked and warned of eternal suffering and torment for the wicked.
The true story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31, is one such example.

Is Harold Camping Cultic?
No, I don't believe he is just yet. Why? Satan moves people to deny 2 main truths about who Jesus Christ really is. One truth is that Jesus Christ is God. Camping affirms that Jesus Christ is God. The second truth is that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. Camping affirms that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven.

Other than that- Christians have the right to disagree with one another on many different issues, including the doctrine of the church, the doctrine of the Pentecostals, the doctrine of the last days, etc.

Harold Camping is the spiritual leader of Family Stations, Inc., a California religious, non-profit corporation. His corporation is in legal status with the State as I looked up his public records. He is the legal agent in charge of this corporation in Oakland, Calif. just as I am the legal agent in charge of my corporation (Bread On The Waters) in the same state. In such a position he has the right to run his corporation any way that he wants to. He can preach and teach any interpretation of the Bible his way and say what he wants to and can influence others to follow him down the Biblical pathway of his choice.

Personally, I have listened to him for years. I have seen him on television and any time I don't want to listen to him on the radio, I can change radio stations. That's my choice. That's also your choice. Listen to him if you want to. Don't listen to him if you don't want to.

You can believe him if you want to. You don't have to believe him if you don't want to. You can follow him if you want, or not follow him if you don't want to. You can send him money if you want to, or not send him money if you don't want to.

Is Camping believable? No way! Why? Because he gave a false prophecy. About what? He prophecied the end of the world between September 15-17, 2004. Did it happen? No. This is what the Bible says:
"If the prophet predicts something in the LORD's name and it does not happen, the LORD did not give the message. That prophet has spoken on his own and need not be feared"
(Deuteronomy 18:22).

That's just a nice way of saying that the person who gave a false prophecy is a quack.

Go ahead and sell your business, or sell your house, or quit your job if you think the end of the world will take place on October 20, 2011. Do I believe it? No. I think it is a lot of hog wash. Do I believe in the rapture? Yes. Personally, I believe the rapture will take place when the good Lord thinks it is time, not when Harold Camping thinks it is time.

What's my advice? Don't follow a man, rather follow God. Keep your eyes on Jesus, not on any earthly teacher whose mind is tainted with the sin nature who claims mystical revelation from God.

Where Is Family Radio Headed?
Harold Camping is very old, has had 2 open heart surgeries, and is going to die soon. Many ministries die with their leader and founder. How old is he? He was born on July 19, 1921, in Denver, Colorado.

But it appears to me that Camping is starting a religious movement- one that he has set up to exist after he is gone. A movement that will perpetuate his teachings because he thinks he is right. Where do I see this movement headed? Either the leaders of Family Radio will simply carry on the teachings of Harold Camping after he is dead and hope the contributions will continue to come in, or they will start a new church denomination with doctrine and creeds, or they will start a new cult based upon the false teachings of Harold Camping, or a combination of some of the above.

What's dangerous now is that Camping is changing his bible doctrine and becoming more un-orthodox in his teachings. The fear is that he may go cultic very soon. This may lead to a test of Camping's followers. Will the "true Christians" bow to his false doctrine which is a false idol or get out of Family Radio?

If you are a Pentecostal I recommend that you NOT follow the teachings of Harold Camping or his Family Radio personnel. Don't send him and his organization any money and don't volunteer to work for his group. If you are Assemblies of God I encourage you to give your tithes to the local Assemblies of God church so your pastor can eat, support his family, and pay his bills on time.

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom

Conclusion

It is comforting to know that our Father in Heaven has provided a way for us to know the truth of all things. May we remember to rely on Him and Him alone for answers, through the medium of prayer.

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him"
(James 1:5).

If you have not already invited Jesus Christ to come to live inside of your heart then click on the above banner if you want to learn how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and receive spiritual encouragement in your heart and soul.

In some small way I hope that God has been able to strengthen you through this writing.
shared with you by Kraig Josiah Rice
www.breadonthewaters.com

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