The alleged “Judgment Day” has come and past and life goes on. It’s been a few weeks and while I haven’t normally done an article on the website regarding a specific current event, I will make an exception this time because of the ramifications of this entire false prophecy situation involving Harold Camping.

If you haven’t read about Mr. Camping, please do a Google search and read through the articles and watch the videos. You can especially find some good coverage on Christian Post.com. But before you continue reading this article, take the time to familiarize yourself with the stories surrounding his May 21st prediction and even his prediction of the world supposedly ending on October 21, 2011.

The false prophecy of this man has been confirmed and he does not stand up to the test the Bible gives us in Deuteronomy 18. So now that this is the case, what should be the response to his failed May 21st prophecy and how should we move forward as believers in Christ?

Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
(Matthew 18:21-22 - NASB)

The first thing that we must do in order to really move on from the damage that Mr. Camping and others who follow him have done is to forgive them. If you believed in what Mr. Camping said and still do, I pray that you will repent but even after that, we must forgive. To see the importance of why we must forgive, check out an article I wrote entitled FORGIVENESS IS NOT AN OPTION. This is an important place for us to start because it gets our hearts to be right with the Lord as we continue in faith. And without forgiving Mr. Camping and his followers, we will not be able to pray that God will have mercy on them and give them the possibility to repent. If you are wishing Mr. Camping and his followers to be sent to hell or God to fully judge them, consider the position that we were all in before we can to Christ.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
(Matthew 10:16 - KJV)

Have you ever thought about what this verse means practically for us today? To be wise as serpents means to know what is going on, to have discernment and not to be ignorant. To be harmless as doves means that we as believers have lives that are characterized by holiness, purity and righteousness--being lights in the world. Putting the two together, it means for believers to have a combination of both holiness and wisdom working in their lives.

Unfortunately, many professing Christians do not take caution because they are of the belief that every single so-called preacher and every single professing believer would never lie or harm them. But brothers and sisters, the fact is that there is no person who is above scrutiny and whose words we are forced to obey even when it clearly goes against what the Bible says and the very heart of God.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
(John 10:27 - KJV)

Mr. Camping is just one of many false prophets out there. We can list a whole line of false prophets (Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, Fred Price, Joyce Meyer, John Hagee, Creflo Dollar, Paula White to name a few) whose voices do not match Jesus’ voice. And that’s the key--whether or not the voices you hear actually came from God or another source altogether. Knowing the difference between Jesus’ voice and a false prophet’s voice is crucial in order to avoid deception.  Remember that Jesus’ voice will go with what the Bible says.

“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
(Matthew 10:37 - NIV)

If Jesus isn’t our true Love (not romantic but who we live for), then we will run the risk of being led astray by those who seek to provide a gateway for us to worship the things and people we make idols in our lives. This is why in America, the “prosperity doctrine” is able to get over on so many professing Christians because in many cases, their god is money and possessions. That’s just one example of many but the need to be careful will always apply to any situation.

We must break free of this notion that “pastors” can never be wrong and that our faith in Jesus is dependent on them. Nothing or no one should ever come between you and Christ. So if anyone, including me, would try and set himself or herself over you in the rightful place of Christ, do not allow it. Remember that though Christians are the church collectively, we are each to have our own individual relationship and journey with the Lord.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
(Acts 20:28-31 - KJV)

So many are looking outside for deception and do not recall Paul’s words in Acts 20 that false prophets and teachers can come from within. Be mindful of this so that you will never accept something blindly but will always put everything to the test like the Bereans did with Paul’s words in Acts 17. Let’s not depend on emotions to tell us whether something is right or not but let God reveal the truth to us through the scriptures.

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.
(Deuteronomy 13:1-5 - NASB)

In this life brothers and sisters, we are being tested. To not follow lies and deception is proof that we love God and His truth. And if you have followed lies and deception, turn away from them and repent. In the Old Testament, false prophets were put to death. We do not do that as the church today but one thing we can do is separate ourselves from false prophets, stop listening to them and stop supporting them. If you have to leave their church institution then leave for if we are being tested, then we must pass the test.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
(Colossians 3:12-14 - ESV)

The best thing to do within all of this is love. Reach out to those who are deceived with compassion and pray for them while loving them. While ultimately their decision to follow the truth rests in their hands, let us remember that love can be the difference in someone eventually coming to repentance.