False teaching

When we hear what sounds false we can point to certain things that do not ring true and we must expose such inconsistencies. There is also sometimes the test of time and always of eternity.

When Harold Camping in the US said that Christ would return on May 21, 2011, and the righteous would be taken up to heaven and that five months of fire and plague would follow, with millions of people dying each day, culminating on October 21, 2011 with the end of the world we were fairly sure that it was a false prophecy before May 21 but after that date it became certain. The fact that he had predicted judgement days on May 21, 1988, and September 6, 1994 also counted against him.

Just by the by I notice that they now say that he has said that his attempt to predict a date was "sinful", and that his critics had been right in pointing to the scriptural text "of that day and hour knoweth no man". He added that he was now searching the Bible "even more fervently... not to find dates, but to be more faithful in our understanding." Let's hope so.

False Prophets and True

Arthur Frederics (illustrator) Jerome Klapka Jerome (author) J W Arrowsmith (publisher), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

I came across this in the hiarious novella Three men and a boat by Jerome K Jerome. The narrator is talking about weather and he says

“The prophet we like is the old man who, on the particularly gloomy-looking morning of some day when we particularly want it to be fine, looks round the horizon with a particularly knowing eye, and says:

"Oh no, sir, I think it will clear up all right. It will break all right enough, sir."

"Ah, he knows", we say, as we wish him good-morning, and start off; "wonderful how these old fellows can tell!"

And we feel an affection for that man which is not at all lessened by the circumstances of its NOT clearing up, but continuing to rain steadily all day.

"Ah, well," we feel, "he did his best."

For the man that prophesies us bad weather, on the contrary, we entertain only bitter and revengeful thoughts.

"Going to clear up, d'ye think?" we shout, cheerily, as we pass.

"Well, no, sir; I'm afraid it's settled down for the day," he replies, shaking his head.

"Stupid old fool!" we mutter, "what's HE know about it?" And, if his portent proves correct, we come back feeling still more angry against him, and with a vague notion that, somehow or other, he has had something to do with it.

Thsi well illustrates our wilingness to hear the false prophet if he brings good news and to ignore the true, if he brings bad news.