The Hangover

Dan Stevens is much more sober now than he was in the days leading up to May 21st and October 21st, 2011, but it was a long binge and recovery doesn't happen overnight. I think that Dan and a few other followers of Harold Camping may still have a long road to travel to reach sobriety. The house's cards are in the process of slowly crumbling, but it takes a lot of time.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Latter_Rain/message/55194

Dan writes in the above message to Darrell Lockridge:

"Well, here we are, still clinging to those numbers, but still with no verses which state the latter rain is 6100 days. I know I've brought this up before and you said you only meant this in regard to May 21, but yet the problem you identified still remains, there are no verses which state the latter rain is 6100 days or the great tribulation is 8400 days, period, so it's not an end date problem, it's a duration problem, no verses tell us the duration!"

Some of Harold Camping's followers who are gradually climbing out of his highly intricate web of deceit still struggle with the idea that they just need "correct" dates. However, a fundamental remedy for the whole phony scheme is to completely reject the entire notion of a biblical calendar and just about everthing that Harold Camping ever taught in his entire lifetime. Life is hard enough without the needless concern over which day will start the final judgment process. That is why we cannot know.

First things first. First learn what concepts like "latter rain" really mean. No "rain" in the Bible ever refers to an historical event that lasts from one date to another. We have to be as little children when reading the scriptures. The early and latter rains are simply metaphors for the blessing of this life and the new life. Just keep it simple and forget every timepath you ever heard. For example, you can think of it this way. The early rain is all the wonderful things that Job (believers) received from an ordinary life as an ordinary man (children, houses, possessions), but as a child of God, he traded in that early life when he began a new life, or a latter life. The scriptures state plainly that Job's latter end was better than his beginning. However, he still needed that beginning, or "early rain" part of his life in order to be blessed by his latter end. Both "rains" are necessary before the harvest. The harvest, as I see it, happens at the resurrection for everyone. Either we will have received both rains by then, or not.

The "latter rain" is not a time duration in history. This is the type of basic principle that has to be dealt with, not just dates that turned out to be wrong. They will all turn out to be wrong, so you might as well completely abandon the biblical calendar right now. Cold turkey. Today. Don't stash that bottle of kool-aid in the back of a cupboard for a weak moment.

De 11:14  That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

Think about Deuteronomy 11:14, above, for just a second. What spiritual blessing is illustrated by the surface promise? A time period that extends from one date to another? A group of end-time believers called "the latter rain"? Hogwash! The blessing is for a harvest. Who is the promise made to? If you correctly say "all believers", then in what way could all believers possibly experience such an alleged historical event? Harold Camping's "latter rain" theory was a terrible hoax, but it's certainly not the only one. Each lie or perversion must be dealt with separately, one by one. It is a painful process, but it must be done. The pain leads to more humility and that is never a bad thing. The problem Dan doesn't seem to see yet is that it is not a matter of no one being unable to figure out accurate durations of an historical latter rain period and other so-called timepaths. It is a matter of understanding what the Bible is saying instead of what man is saying and of accepting the fact that "No man knows". The therapy in Bible rehab would be to recite this truth out loud every six hours, along with, "The churches were right, and so were the synagogues and mosques". Now that is strong medicine for departed out date-setters who are ready to be healed.

There are many other aspects of the gospel that have nothing to do with dates or durations of events, such as "great tribulation". All believers experience great tribulation. Great tribulation, is, very simply, great affliction. Great affliction or tribulation is not a time period or a group of believers who departed out after listening to Harold Camping. Every believer goes through it in one way or another, just as Jesus went through it.

Ac 7:11  Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great <3173> affliction <2347>: and our fathers found no sustenance.

Oftentimes, history repeats itself because there is nothing new under the sun. There is always "time and judgment". There is always "great tribulation" or "great affliction".

Mt 24:21 For then shall be great <3173> tribulation <2347>, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

"For then shall be great affliction". The verse does not say "For then there will be worse tribulation, such as was not since the beginning...". It is still great tribulation, but a different type, at a different time. Jezebel and also those who commit adultery with her will also experience great affliction. There will be a whole lot of great tribulation, or torment, on the day of reckoning when Christ comes as the Judge of all the earth.

Re 2:22  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

Dan continues to console himself and others with his reminder that Camping's rationale (a/k/a "Biblical Timeline of the History of the World") was compelling.

DAN:  "I think we all realize there isn't a verse that says the great tribulation begins on day X of month Y in year Z, or which says the 2300 days begins on such and such a date, and for that reason there is a lot of subjectively involved. For example, we all bought into Mr Camping's timeline for the most part, not because we were infatuated with him as a teacher, but because we found his rationale compelling."

This is exactly why we have many warnings about "grievous wolves" in the Bible. We are always infatuated with men when they tell us stories we want to hear because they make us feel better in some way. Weren't there many overt signs that there was a serious infatuation with Mr. Camping going on while many Latter Rain group members (including Dan) tolerated the most extreme, cult-like praises of him by men like Tom Holt? Why was Tom never banned from that group, but rather allowed to continue on as a proud "charter member" with full teaching rights? Let's be real. It wasn't all about compelling timepaths. All these factors related to deception need to be faced and completely acknowledged in order for correction to sink in.

Dan and many other believers in May 21st, 2011 also found Mr. Camping's rationales compelling in regard to other doctrines, such as the cross being a mere demonstration of a pre-creation atonement. That is wild and outrageously unbiblical teaching. And what about the other, smaller, Camping revelations that were tossed in, like the authorship of the gospel of John? There was a time when it seemed like Harold was so on fire with one regressive revelation after another that he had to borrow conspiracy theories in order to keep his audience satisfied in between the latest amazing timepaths.

I think that what was compelling was revealed by the date setters' headline, "We Can Know!". Harold Camping made himself very special and in turn, his followers could also feel very special (at least until the day of the rapture) by touching the hem of his garment. For a while, they thought they had something over on the mainstream churches. It was a very strong selling point. During my own lapse into being 'sure enough' about the first major 1994 prediction, I shared my belief with just one other person outside my safe group of Family Radio supporters. It was someone I knew, but also someone I felt comfortable sharing my borrowed dream with. I did it and learned to never do it again. I decided that my suspicion about a calendar date could not possibly serve any good purpose. In retrospect, I see that I had to engage in that false witnessing in order to experience and learn from my own flirtation with "I can know!". Who can doubt that many 1994 and 2011 true believers never dared to share the juiciest news imaginable with anyone at all outiside of their Family Radio support groups? It was comforting, like a soft blanket and warm cup of milk on a cold winter's night, to think that our little group was so special because we were connected to this great man who knew something no human being ever knew before. Needless to say, I only understood Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 very superfically in those days.

I'm able to talk because I once walked in Dan's shoes and Darrell's shoes. I had to learn and accept the fact that much more time must be invested in un-learning things than the time invested to learn them. I was overwhelmed by an avalanche of correction when many red light warnings suddenly returned to assault  my conscious awareness all at once. It was a sudden correction bomb. In a total state of shock, I cried, I laughed, and I thanked God for His amazing love for me. I realized that He would continue to correct, correct, correct, and the hell with my stinking pride. I was going to become sober and stay that way. Not perfect or sinless, but sober and awake. Sober enough to know that my Shepherd will never forsake me, no matter how far I might fall into traps laid by crafty wolves in sheep's clothing. The possibility is slimmer these days, but I am always subject to falling. Hence, the need to watch. And lest anyone feels holier than me or anyone else, believe me when I say, you too, have surely had your own serious lapses, especially if you have ever been exposed to any church preacher with a following. Being lost and found, sick and healed, are rites of passage.