Cultic Parallels

Any time a person begins to tout false teachings, there is always going to be cultic parallels. Satan does not need to change his methods of deception, since the old ones work well. This applies to Harold Camping and the Depart Out Teachings. This is not say that Mr. Camping is unsaved but he as adopted cultic methods to deliver his error.
 
Seventh Day Adventists
A FRIGHTENING PARALLEL!
 
I was doing a little research into the Depart Out Heresy and noticed a striking parallel between Harold Camping and Ellen White.
Ellen White predicted that the Lord would physically return on October 20, 1844. When this did not happen, to save face, she immediately changed her prediction. No longer was Christ to come physically at that time, but instead He began to judge the church in the "Investigative Judgment of 1844." For those of you who do not know who Ellen White is, she is the founder of the 7th Day Adventists.
Now enter 1994. Harold Camping stated that the Lord would physically return between September 15 and 27th of 1994. Now this did not happen, so to save face he now teaches that the church age ended in 1994 and God is now judging the church.
 
This is a 100% parallel. Frightening isn't it?
 
Mormonism
When Joseph Smith received his supposed visitation from the Angel Moroni, one of the first things he did was to declare that all the churches were in error. He wrote the Book of Mormon from these visions and golden plates that have never been found. If you notice on the TV, or in magazines, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is offering a Bible and if you get that bible, you will get a copy of the Book of Mormon which is deemed by them to be as authoritative as the Bible.
 
Those who follow Harold Camping in this Depart out Fallacy, also do the very same thing. His book 1994? has become the companion to their Bible study. One of the Campingites has even declared a belief that the book 1994? was prophesied in the Book of Habakkuk.

(Hab 2:2-3 KJV) And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. {3} 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.

Now if it was a prophecy of the book 1994?, then the Lord would have returned on that date. To say that the Book 1994? is prophesied in Scripture is to say that the Bible contains errors since the prophecy did not come to pass. Based upon this person’s premise, should the Book 1994? be added to the Canon?  These Campingites are so obsessed with their leader, they have begun to find him in Scripture. This is an open sign of a Cult, where the leader is adulated to the point of deity. This is a portion of a the post which is a much longer one.

“I think I can say with some degree of certainty that, Mr. Camping would not have written 1994? if all though time paths did not exist. His conclusion was that it was the end of the world, and of course that conclusion was incorrect.

I submit 1994? was prophesy fulfilled. Every time God brought judgment in the past He not only told the people He was going to do it, but He told them when. Its a Biblical principle. God always warns the people.

Mr. Camping in 1994 sounded the alarm. (I believe this was a fulfillment of the prophecy in Habakkuk 2)

Habakkuk 2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that breadth it. 3 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.

The word "vision" in verse 2 is the Hebrew word for revelation. The watch man was told to write something that he understood about the end time, and to make it plain on tablets, that he who reads it may go and tell others. The Bible, by no means is written plain, anything but. Therefore it cannot be referring to the Bible as some have said. It therefore can only be referring to a commentary written about the end time. Many such commentaries have been written, but only the "true" one it is in view.

At the point 1994 was sounded the tarry begin. So the question is what happened in 1994. Did judgment begin on the church, or was it the warning that judgment was coming? Because God always gives warning!”

The word for vision in Habakkuk 2:2, is not the direct word for revelation. The word “chazon” means a vision which can indicate a reference to a revelation from God. Is this person also telling us that 1994? was a revelation from God? By stating that Habakkuk is speaking about an outside future commentary, and that being the book 1994?, he is stating that God endorses a book of false prophecies. In other words, in his mind, God is endorsing a lie. (Rom 3:4 KJV) God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Now this is a cultic attitude because if the book “1994?” was prophesied by God in Scripture, then we have a problem. If the end of the world was supposed to happen in 1994, and it didn’t, then this was the first time God was wrong and that would also mean the Scriptures would be corrupt. To equate the book “1994?” with prophesy in Scripture is a blasphemy. These people that follow Harold Camping cannot see beyond their own blindness because they are blind to it.

 
Islam
The following is a quote from “The Death of the Church,” from Harold Camping at the end of Chapter 4.
 
“This is so because now that the church as a corporate institution has no spiritual authority, each person must answer directly to God.”
 
In Islam, every devotee goes directly to Allah. There is no hierarchy in the Mosque as there is in the church with Pastors, Elders, and Deacons.

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