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This Insight is about Harold Camping.

One of the saddest chapters in the history of the church has been the false doctrine of Harold Camping, a broadcaster whom God used mightily to turn many people to the truth for several years. Mr. Camping, however, has now turned aside from biblical teaching and is leading people away from the living church.

James R. White’s book entitled Dangerous Airwaves is a clear expose of Mr. Camping’s perverse biblical methodology. He shows how Camping uses an allegorical method of interpreting the Scriptures. His method makes his followers entirely dependent on him in order to understand the Bible because he alone knows the meaning of the biblical text.

Any church that has had people leave because of Camping’s teachings should have several copies of James White’s book on hand for study by church leadership and by other members. White concludes by helping churches prepare to receive those who have left because of Camping’s teaching back into the church. White believes that over time, they will see how corrupt Camping’s teaching is. They will then repent and return, and when that happens the church should be ready to receive them.

An example of Mr. Camping’s bizarre interpretation of the Bible is the way he handles John 21. In that passage, Jesus tells his disciples to throw their net on the right side of the boat because they will find fish there. The disciples do and take a huge catch of fish the boat could not take on board do it towed the net to the shore. And this passage, according to Camping, signals the end of the church age.

He comes to this conclusion on the basis of his allegorical interpretation of the Bible. He declares that the boat refers to the church, and since the fish could not be taken into the boat, the Bible is telling us that the time will come when people will be saved outside the church, not in it. And, says Camping, that time is now.

On the basis of allegorical interpretation of this kind, Mr. Camping now tells his followers that they should leave the church (even churches that still remain somewhat good), they should not use the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and they should gather in fellowships with other believers and listen to his station and to his teaching.

It is incredible that a person would use the type of interpretation James R. White describes to reject so many of the fundamental teachings of Scripture. The Bible contradicts the idea that the church will outlive its usefulness and God will reject it. The last book of the Bible, Revelation, says this: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” And who is the bride? The church is described as the bride of Christ in the Bible. Children in Sunday School know that. Here at the very end of time, the Holy Spirit and the bride, which is the church, are together calling people to repentance and faith.

There are hundreds, likely thousands of churches right now that are dismayed as people who had been attending have discontinued doing so. These are people who often have been the most dedicated members of the church, attending prayer meetings and Bible study groups. What an unspeakable sadness this is! And it is happening because one man refuses to receive correction from his brothers and insists on interpreting the Bible as if it is a codebook and he alone knows the code.

Religious leaders are very dangerous people. It is essential that Christian leaders who know the Bible well are always supervised by a broader body. Anyone who feels called to the ministry of the Word of God is obligated to insure that his teaching will be true by submitting to those who continually examine his teaching. No single individual may ever set himself up as the last word on biblical teaching.