Daily Devotional, Year 2 – JUNE 13 (Why The World Didn’t End on May 21, 2011)

By admin On July 11th, 2023

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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – JUNE 13

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Why The World Didn’t End on May 21, 2011

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There was a prediction which sent shock-waves around the globe, that the world was to end on May 21, 2011.

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The epi-center of this shock-wave was a humble little radio station based out of Alameda California, owned by a dedicated Bible teacher, one Mr. Harold Camping.

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And this message became a much-watched and much-anticipated event, right up to the very day of May 21, 2011. But when that day came and went, the world sighed a breath of relief, and the skeptics immediately began throwing verbal rocks at Mr. Camping, putting his face on the Internet to mock and deride, calling him a false prophet, etc..

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Judgment Bus New Orleans 2011 – cropped – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

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NOT YOUR AVERAGE TELEVANGELIST

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But what most people do not realize is, that Harold Camping was a very careful and very serious Bible student and teacher, devoting himself to about 5 or 6 hours of Bible study each day, on the average.

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And we’re living in a day when popular evangelists quite often live in luxury and opulence.

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But to those who accused him of being “in it for the money” do not realize that, in his own words, “In all these years, I have served Family Radio as an unpaid volunteer, and have never taken even a nickel in wages”.

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Yes, instead of gathering to himself the many luxuries which many other evangelists enjoy, Harold Camping lived on money he wisely invested as a young man. He wore old suits, owned two 25-year-old vehicles, lived in the same house for over 60 years, and took no vacations. If he had to fly to meetings, he no doubt would fly “coach class”. And his station was very frugal in their use of money, during his administration.

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Jefferson- Nickel – Courtesy CCF Numismatics – Wikimedia – Share-alike license

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LOVE AFFAIR WITH BIBLE & HEAVEN!

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And because of these factors, and with his wonderful daily Bible studies, Camping’s radio station steadily grew to a worldwide station over a 50+ year period.

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Another mistaken notion that the world wasn’t aware of, is that in his teachings through those 50+ plus years, he engaged in very thorough Bible studies, never quoting this theologian or that Bible commentator, or even the various well-known Reformers like Luther, or Calvin, or anyone else. No, “the Bible only” was Camping’s mantra for over 50 years of his ministry. He went verse-by-verse through the Scriptures, often cross-referencing other passages which added to a greater understanding of the Bible.

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Harold Camping – Wikipedia – copyrighted, not for free use

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WHY THE WORLD DIDN’T END

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Now, as to the question of why Mr. Camping mistakenly believed the world would end on May 21, 2011 with the return of Jesus Christ, one only needs to consult the Bible.

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For the first reference it would be well to look to the prophecy of Habakkuk…

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Listen… “And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: THOUGH IT TARRY, WAIT FOR IT; BECAUSE IT WILL SURELY COME, IT WILL NOT TARRY!” Habakkuk 2:2, 3

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You see, Habakkuk was given a vision of God’s people in these last days, being flooded by unbelievers (Chaldeans), to the point that wrong judgment proceeded forth from God’s people. And when the prophet complained to God about this horrible situation in the church-world, God told Habakkuk to write the vision and make it plain upon tables, “that he may run that readeth it”.

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Habakkuk by James Tissot – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain

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THE BEGINNING OF THE END

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But then notice that God said, “Though it (the vision) tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry!”

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And so, this vision of Habakkuk will begin to speak at the end of time. But the vision will tarry, and yet it doesn’t tarry. How confusing! A vision that tarries, and yet doesn’t tarry! What odd language!

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The fact is, Mr. Camping was indeed correct!

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Oh no, the world didn’t totally end on that day, as was predicted. But it was indeed “the beginning of the end!” And the ever-increasing flood of wickedness overflowing the world certainly did not tarry either!

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The Great Day of His Wrath – John Martin – 1853 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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WHY ADAM DIDN’T DIE

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It’s just that we don’t understand how God works, and how God speaks.

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To see how God works and how He speaks in these end-times, we need look no further than how God worked and spoke at the beginning of Creation…

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Listen… “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:17

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You see, when Adam and Eve ate that forbidden fruit, whatever it was, they did not physically die (though they died spiritually that day). As a matter of fact, Adam lived for another 900+ years. So what happened? Did God’s prophecy fail? No, but death began its process within Adam and Eve on that very day.

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Gustave Dore – Adam And Eve Driven Out Of Eden – www.creationism.org – Public Domain

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A DAY NOT NECESSARILY 24 HOURS

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And so it is with God’s prophecy of the end of the world on May 21st, 2011. When God speaks of the Day of Judgment, He is not speaking of a literal 24 hour period! We are now in the Day of Judgment.

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And even though Mr. Camping was well aware of this principle, the Lord closed Camping’s eyes, so that he thought of it as only a 24 hour literal end of the world.

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Harold Camping – courtesy Family Radio

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GOD’S PEOPLE IN DRUNKEN SLUMBER

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“Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.” Joel 1:5

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And it’s a good thing that it didn’t fully happen on May 21, 2011. Because most Christians were not prepared to meet Jesus!

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We were steeped in worldliness and even idolatry as we sought after the worldly pleasures and earthly treasures of this, Satan’s kingdom of selfishness!

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And so, God, in His great mercy, allowed that delay, to wake up His sleeping saints from our spiritually drunken slumber! God has allowed just enough time for us to get ourselves prepared for that Day! And He allowed this world of sin to sink into the fearful condition it has now is in, to remove any lingering love for this world which we may still have!

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Hands Toasting Drinks – Cheers! Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

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TITANIC: A METAPHOR

OF THE WORLD

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But Harold Camping’s calculations from the Bible were correct!

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God’s judgment upon the world did begin on that fateful day, and now we are beginning to take on water just as surely as that supposedly “unsinkable” ship, the Titanic did, after she silently scraped that iceberg!

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Yes, the world has likewise scraped an iceberg in a metaphorical sense! And unbeknownst to most of us, our good ship, Planet Earth is now taking on water. And just now we are beginning to see God’s judgments falling all around the world! Yes, God is allowing this world to become insanely evil! This is an integral part of His divine judgment!

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Titanic – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

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***ARK OF SALVATION* *READY TO LEAVE***

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But in the meanwhile, God is using this apparent extension of time, to make a last call, for anyone and everyone to get on board another ship, which will take us to our Promised Land of everlasting joy!

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Yes, for thousands of years, the doors of mercy have been open to all who would come aboard and be saved. And God used Harold Camping to sound the trumpet that the world has come to its end. A great fiery deluge is about to destroy this world! And along with Camping’s warning, Habakkuk’s vision likewise warns us that the time has fully come to “RUN!”

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DO NOT DELAY!

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Isn’t God so merciful, that He cares enough to give us some extra time to flee from the wrath to come?

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But don’t get too comfortable! At this point, anybody who delays to run to the safety of the Ark of Salvation may be destroyed in the deluge of fire which is soon coming upon this earth!

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Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.

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A TARRYING TIME?

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The doors of God’s Ark are still open. But once they close, there may be a short time of delay, in which God’s people will wonder why, and maybe even feel a little foolish.

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And just as the earth’s inhabitants laughed and mocked Noah’s family as they waited inside the Ark, because there was a tarrying time of 7 days, there may be a tarrying time ahead for us too, even after those doors of mercy are fully closed!

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Yes, there always is a tarrying time in God’s economy. This is a time in which God tests and prepares His people. It happened to Jesus’ disciples when Jesus was nailed to the Cross. They all supposed that their hopes were utterly crushed. And they no doubt felt foolish in the eyes of all those scoffers and mockers.

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But when the appointed hour came, God and His people were vindicated. Jesus arose from the grave!

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And so it is with this present Judgment Day message. It seemed as though it was a complete failure when May 21, 2011 came and went. But it wasn’t at all a failure! Just a delay! Just a tarrying time!

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Noah’s Ark – Wikimedia Commons – Share-alike License

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ALL ABOARD!

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But the Good News is, that those doors of mercy are still open! And whosoever will, may come inside the safety of the heaven-bound Ark of Salvation! But don’t delay! Because once they do close, they will never open again for humanity.

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Then will come the fiery deluge, “in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2nd Peter 3:10

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Open my eyes to see this marvelous message written in the night sky! Open my ears, that I might receive the fearful warning from Heaven! Open my mouth that I may eat the heavenly Manna which is now falling all around. And open my heart to respond to all this…

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

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SIGNS IN HEAVENS PROMISED

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God promised that before the end, there would appear… “signs in the Sun…Moon, and …stars.” (Luke 21:25)

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This site is dedicated to revealing these Signs Of Heaven.

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If you will study just one article per day, you will begin to comprehend how to locate these heavenly messengers.

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**But more than this, these stars will shine light on our trail and guide us safely up the pathway of Bible truth, to our destination.**

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Sketch is of the Gospel Ship, “Castor and Pollux” (Click for link)

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TOMORROW…

Daily Devotional, Year 2 – JUNE 14 (What Will I Trade For My Soul?)

Question Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH

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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

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THIS STUDY #528 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

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ABOVE PAINTING: The Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.

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