Latest rapture message predicts jesus christ will return may 21, 2011

If you’ve seen a "Save the Date" message for May 21, then you probably already know that this is the day Jesus Christ is scheduled to return, according to a group that follows Harold Camping’s prophecy.

As the impending day approaches, the group has been spreading its message of God’s return, referred to as the “rapture” through billboards, bus benches, bumper stickers, online and over the radio all over the world, telling people to get saved and prepare themselves for the second coming.

Camping, 89, has told multiple media outlets that he came up with this specific date by using math based on biblical scripture.

However, this isn’t the first time he’s made the same prophecy of the messiah returning. He predicted that 1994 would mark the end of days, yet 17 years later, Christians and non-Christians alike are still occupying the Earth.

Before that, a Washington Post article said there was a similar prediction six years before that from former NASA engineer Edgar Whisenant, who wrote 88 reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.

MSNBC reported that one of the most famous “end of days” messages in history was by the Baptist leader William Miller, who predicted the end for Oct. 22, 1844.

Last time Camping’s incorrect prophecy fell through, he blamed it on the math. Still, he stands by his beliefs and uses the Bible as a cosmic calendar explaining when certain prophecies will be fulfilled.

Unfortunately, history shows that there have been life-changing consequences for followers who make irresponsible decisions based on such predictions.

“The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd admitted that in the 70’s, when another “Jesus is Coming” message was being peddled to Christians, she racked up a substantial amount of debt thinking it didn’t make a difference, because the world was ending anyway.

“It took a long time to pay that off,” she said, after dealing with the reality that her savior didn’t return on a specified date, and many Christians throughout the years have suffered similar fates.

However, this time around the “End of Days” merry-go-round, there is a wave of push back, challenging the prediction.

Members of religious communities are using everything from online publications to the pulpit to denounce Camping’s message.

Writer for Christian publication Charismamag.com, J. Lee Grady wrote, “As sincere as Camping's devotees may be, sincerity is no excuse for theological error. It is wrong-headed and irresponsible for any Christian to tell an unbeliever when Jesus is coming back or when the world will end.”

Grady says Camping’s message is flat out “ false prophecy .”

“How can I say this with assurance? Because Jesus Himself said all end-times date setting is strictly off-limits. He told His disciples on the day He ascended: 'It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority' (Acts 1:8)” he wrote.

Shepherd and many others have also been quoting the biblical scripture, Matthew 24:36, which states that “no man knows the day nor the hour” of Christ's return.

Despite opposing messages, Camping follower Allison Warden, who has dedicated her life and even her car to the latest “rapture” message whole heartedly believes that Christ is returning, she told MSNBC.com back in January.

But if the end doesn’t happen, she says her faith in Christ will remain strong.

“If May 21 passes and I'm still here, that means I wasn't saved. Does that mean God's word is inaccurate or untrue? Not at all," Warden said.