Many A Broken Path

I was once in a church whose theology was fairly extreme. But I will say of them, they did not go to the length that Harold Camping had when he was alive. And yet, I had a real hard time coming out from under that teaching, once I realized they were quite off base, and I wondered if I was going to go to hell for leaving it. And so I sort of get why Camping's followers believed what he was saying because people do not study for themselves but just blindly follow as he leads them down quite a broken path.

If, we look to the Bible to prove that observation, we find this scripture in Mathew 7:13-14.

What makes intelligent people, especially those raised in Christian churches that believe the salvation doctrine whereby  we have to accept Christ and be born again, get involved into a cult where they cut out even the words of Jesus Christ and follow a man whose teachings do not line up with God's word and then come up with their own theories?

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Interesting what the remaining verses in that chapter say, with an emphasis  in verses 28-29.

 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Mathew 7:15-29

If each or any of those people had actually bothered to realize the authority of our Savior  Jesus Christ and not follow Harold Camping, they wouldn't have had to suffer the consequences of the non-existent up coming theories that he came up with when they didn't happen. I honestly say that sadly, not condemning any of them because I believe that 'there for God's grace, go I." I could have been misled to that extent myself.

And so my questions are, what happened to these people that had followed Harold Camping's teaching? What were they saying about it? What were they feeling in the days and weeks following.

Gary Vollmer is just one such example of what he felt at the time. Read what he had to say about it in an interview to Barbara Bradley Hargerty: 

As recently as two weeks ago, Gary Vollmer was absolutely certain that on May 21, 2011, God would send devastating earthquakes, raise believers to heaven in the "rapture," and then destroy the world five months later. Now that it hasn't happened, Vollmer is unfazed.

"God is God; God's going to do what he has to do," he says.

True, he says, believers got some of the details wrong. But the thrust of the message is right.

"Judgment Day has come and passed, but it was a spiritual judgment on the world," he explains. "There is no more salvation. Salvation is over with. The fact is we have 153 days, and on the 21st of October, the world will end." Doomsday Believers Cope With An Intact World : NPR

My notes: So what? Are they now passing the buck, so to speak. Where did they expect this all to end after Camping had at least two failed predictions? Sadly it got  nowhere. except,lost jobs and finances. Lost relationships. And what's saddest of all, some lost their faith in the the truth of what God was and is all about. Our final authority. 

How did Gary Vollmer end up when the Rapture did not happen even October that year?

This is what one news channel staff member reported December 13, 2013:

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Ex-listener Gary Vollmer, of Glenn Dale, Md., said he was drawn to Camping’s radio program several years ago. But by the time the preacher went public with another prediction two years ago, Vollmer said he was no longer interested.

“I turned him off in my mind,” Vollmer, 71, told NBC News on Tuesday. “I don’t believe any person can know the date or time (of Judgment Day).

Camping and his wife went into hiding following the prophets flop."

“If people want me to apologize, I can apologize,” he said in response to some listeners who gave away their belongings in anticipation of the Rapture. “I pray all the time for wisdom.”

Camping conceded in March 2012 that he was, in fact, wrong. He refused to make a new prediction.

Vollmer said he believes Camping will be “OK” in the afterlife.

“Technically, you’re judged by what you’ve done here,” Vollmer said. “He probably did more good than otherwise. ”Doomsday preacher Harold Camping dies at 92

My notes: Really? The way the Bible explains it, is narrow is the way that leads to life. By having watched the video Wheat and Tares, it doesn't look like that to me. It looks like he tore up more up then he did good, to too many people that put their trust in him.

I am not his judge so far as whose home he woke up in when he passed this life. Only God knows. I hope he truly repented for what he did and only He knew his heart during all those years.

It's been 7 plus years since that statement was made by Gary Vollmer. Where is he now? I have not found anything more about him and if I do, I will post it.

However, we aren't letting the deceased Camping off the hook here. Can we find anyone else that was willing to let their feelings be known about the false claims he made? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Hello Friends. I apologize for not getting here the last couple days. It turned out to be a very busy weekend. Have a blessed and peaceful day today