And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. ( Daniel 2:44 )
David wrote, in Psalm 104 ( 5 ), of our great God and Creator who 'laid the foundations of the earth, so [ that ] it should not be moved forever'. Whether you believe. as some, that he was writing of the physical globe, or along with Daniel, of God's Covenant Creation; it is clearly stated that it will stand, or be lively forever. David also wrote earlier, in his 78th Psalm ( verse 69 ), 'He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has established forever.' David's son, Solomon, wrote that 'the earth abides forever' ( Ecclesiastes 1:4b ). Why then do we hear, from these fear-mongering end-times prognosticators, that the world is going to end tomorrow? Well, the Scriptures do speak, most famously in Isaiah 65:17, of a 'new heavens and a new earth'. Actually, probably better known is Peter's reference to it, in II Peter 3:13!
In both these references, but probably more clearly in Isaiah 65:17, we can see, or at least we should be able to, that the referent here is not the physical globe, nor even the inhabitants of that globe, but rather to the covenant people of God! The writer of Hebrews says as much when he old his readers ( Hebrews 12:24-28 ) 'you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels', and then, in a form of literary parallelism ( which they would have been very familiar with ), that this was 'to the general assembly and church of the firstborn [ who are ] registered in heaven'. The writer here made the direct connection that this 'new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells', was the Church, the Body of Christ, or God's covenant people!
Will the physical globe, that we know as 'terra firma', actually, literally abide forever'? That is a question that may be up for discussion, although the verses that I've quoted above certainly seem to indicate that it will! The Scriptures are very clear though, that, as in Daniel 2:44, His Kingdom will stand forever.
When men like Harold Camping continually make predictions about things that never happen, and that we are told over and over in Scripture will not happen; you have to wonder at the reasoning behind these false 'men of God'. A look at Camping's bank records would likely shout the loudest! I'm not saying that this man's intentions are entirely material; in his own way, I'm sure he does want to see people come to Christ, and for the name of Christ and God to be exalted, but you can bet that Camping is not in it solely for the glory of God! I'm quite sure that he is, along with others like him, 'sure' that what he has prophesied will, at some point, come true, but you can be sure that the almighty dollar looms largest on his horizon. I do not know the man, and so cannot personally attest to his delusional truthfulness ( although I did hear that he had a stroke back in June ), but enough is enough! If you'll remember; back in May, he made his original prediction that 'the rapture' would occur on May 21st, followed by 5 months of 'fire, brimstone and plagues', followed by the actual end of the globe, probably the physical universe too, on October 21st. Although much chagrined that, on May 2nd, like his followers, he was still here, he tried to cover himself by saying that a spiritual judgment and rapture had taken place, and that the actual physical 'rapture' would take place, right before the earth is consumed, on October 21st, which is tomorrow. You can be sure that, not only will this not happen, but it will be even more cause for ridicule of the name Christian, and more blasphemy in the Face of God!
Maybe once America's Christians see this charlatan for the blackguard he is, and that people like him are only after their money, they will cease funding fear-mongers like this and turn toward a right and true relationship with their almighty Creator, who made this earth, His earth to endure!
In the love and fear of the true God,
Charles Haddon Shank
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