Posted on 11/25/2007 8:12:59 AM PST by dangus
I sometimes listen to "Christian Family Radio" simply because there isn't any better Christian Radio on. An occasional guilty pleasure is listening to Hank Hanegraaff, as his slow, deep, voice makes him fun to mimic... and I'll admit, to satirize, especially since everyone who disagrees with him is no Christian at all, in his eyes. Also fun to satirize is his penchant for tying completely unrelated bible passages, often condemnations, into any topic.
But I was stunned to hear him last Tuesday, as I drove home for Thanksgiving: He definitively declared, through the use of preposterous numerology, the exact date of the end of the age: May 22, 2011.
This was not "The Bible Answer Man." But the voice was unmistakably Hank Hanegraaf's. He was doing a scripture study, part 595 of his study of Jeremiah. Now, I think 595 parts to a bible study of a single book is funny, especially Jeremiah, especially by Hank, since Jeremiah has so much condemnation in it. But I'm not kidding about that number, if maybe I'm a few numbers off.
When did the Bible Answer Man get involved in numerology, and such a falsifiable field as predicting end-times dates? Or is there someone ELSE on Christian Family Radio who sounds EXACTLY like Hank, who's doing a study of Jeremiah?
Tell him about William Miller and 1844 and The Great Awakening, and The Great Disappointment.
No one knows the hour, except for the Father in Heaven, as you no doubt know and this man’s no doubt neglected to remember.
Let’s not forget that great classic, “88 Reasons Why Jesus is Coming in 1988.”
And the sequel, “89 Reasons Why Jesus is Coming in 1989.”
Are you sure it was Hanegraaf who gave a specific date? Could he have been talking about someone else in mentioning this date? I haven't listened to Hanegraaf in several years, but this is so outside what he has always said that I find it hard to believe. I'm going to do a little research on the Internet and see what I can come up with.
I think you’ll find that you heard Harold Camping, who happens to be the president of Family Radio, and not Hank Hanegraff. Here in the SF Bay Area where the Family Radio flagship station KEAR is located, Hank Hanegraff the Bible AnswerMan is not in their programming. On the other hand, Harold Camping is well known for making the 2011 prediction. He also preaches that the Church age is over, and that Christians should leave their churches. For this reason, much of the church programming that used to be carried on Family Radio has been pulled.
Harold Camping. hoot!! I’ve seen him late at night on TV before. What a misguided old man he was. I learned fairly quickly that I could just turn the channel instead of listening to error.
Although I didn’t post this or hear either of them.
I haven’t been able to stomach Hannegraf since he started talking like Jimmy Carter visa-vis the Palestinians and Israel. I’ve e-mailed him concerning this and have yet to receive a reply, just as I did the Carter Center concerning Jimmy’s anti-Israel bloviations (and received no reply from them either).
Are you sure that wasn’t the late Dr. Gene Scott? I’ve never seen Camping on TV in the SF Bay area.
I lived in Memphis (i think) when i used to see him.
I didn’t post this though, ask the original poster.
I don’t think that was Hannegraf. He’s a post-mil.
Then again, if he spent the entire show bashing other ministries, maybe it was him after all.
From the quick research I've done on the Internet, I'd bet Harold Camping too.
This bothers me too. And wasn't there some mishandling of money at CRI? It's all very troublesome. I miss the good old days of Walter Martin.
Ping.
Thanks for the clarification. I think the post was about Harold Camping who does have a call-in show and does speak in a slow manner.
I’ll third that,..Camping was the first name that came to mind. IMHO, Hank might express his views but is usually very cautious to well communicate that other denominations/interpretations by sincere believers exist, but as he understands it,...then he presents his views.
Harold Camping though is a bit more dogmatic and unrepentent in his legalistic perspectives, IMHO.
Harold is also of the the Reformed school of thought, is he not?
I've never listened to Camping. Never had the opportunity to do so, and I probably wouldn't considering the criticism I've heard of him from scholars I trust. Hanegraaff's views (he calls himself a partial-preterist, I think) these days bother the heck out of me, and I just don't listen to him. Though I have to give him credit for illustrating the heresy of the "name it and claim it" and "health and wealth" preachers.
True. I also admire his restraint and discipline when handling adversarial callers.
IMHO, my perspective on some of his positions differs from his, e.g. I don’t think the Church Age is over in God’s Plan, yet, nor am I as quick to judge others regarding divorce and adultery.
I don’t believe Camping is Reformed in theology. Seems to be more a mix of his own choosing.
Cvenger, I thought you were Reformed also.
Good assessment.
Al;thought I am fairly new to FR, I don't get that impression; at least not a double predestination adherent
Better regenerate than reformed. 0;^) Nondenominational closer to dispensational. More recently I’ve enjoyed studies by some Hebrew scholars. I want to pick up Fruchtenbaum’s Israelology and Footsteps of the Messiah. I hear they are both fairly good studies.
I’ve found some outstanding doctrinal studies in Catholicism regarding doctrines of kenosis and hypostatic union, the Creeds, the Trinity, and angelology.
Reformed or Calvinist doctrines regaring His Sovereignty, and decrees are well studied, concur on total depravity but I’ve found doctrines of unlimited atonement and sternal life from the dispensational perspective to be more accurate and God breathed.
Dispensational timelines and pretrib premil eschatology make good sense to me, while others are problematic IMHO.
More recently, I find simple close study of his Word, book by book, with close attention to thoroughly understand the explicit meaning in each verse in the apostles and Gospels to be the best mechanism by which He grows the believer in faith at His pace. Accordingly, theologies might assist, but the bottom line is His work in us as we study His Word.
Thanks.
I would generally agree with your positions, but have not studied or even read much in the way of RC theology.
Man is totally depraved in the sense that he cannot save himself, but I would argue that God has provided men twith the grace necessary to enable man to chose or reject Christ.
Even when we chose, it is with simple faith alone in Christ alone, for all salvation is the work of God, including our believing in Him.
I agree, but one should keep in mind that a person can believe in God and still reject Christ. It is our faith in Christ that makes all the difference in whether or not we are saved.
Agree
in and through and of Him.
I've got the second book and have been meaning to order the first. Footsteps of the Messiah is one of the best books I've ever come across. You won't be disaappointed. And thanks for the reminder, I haven't browsed it in months and would like to get back to it.
Btw, Fruchtenbaum has a website with some of his studies posted. You might want to Google for it.
Hank is hard core Preterist. I used to listen to his answer man show until I read his latest work “The Apocalypse Code” which is the worst end times/Revelation commentary I’ve ever read.
It is after one thousand years of ideal conditions and environment that the Messianic kingdom ends with one last test for man . . . Satan will be released out of his confinement in the Abyss (Rev. 20:7) and will again do the work of deception among all the nations of the Gentiles in the earth (v.8). By this time a great number of unbelievers will exist, all of whom will be under one hundred years of age. The expression "Gog and Magog" points to the extent of the work of deception reaching the extremities of the earth and hints at a similarity with the invasion describes in Ezekiel 38:1-39, which will occur prior to the Great Tribulation. The work of deception will be massive, and a worldwide revolt will begin to form. (pages 511-12)
Will that be before the end of the world from Global Warming, or after? I have a hard time keeping all these doom and gloom predictions in order. Probably should start an Excel Spreadsheet or something.
Makes good intuitive sense, even without reading deeper into it.
Does Harold Camping talk in the same slow, very deep voice, with a come-and-go lisp that Hank Hanegraaf has? Are either doing an unending bible study of Jeremiah?
In DC, Hank’s Answer Man is on 105.1 WAVA. This was on two other stations as I was traveling north towards Philly.
MORE dogmatic than Hank?!!!
Everything in scripture has meaning, including the numbers. It’s a shame that numerology has gotten so much press because it cast doubt on other truths in God word.
Have you found a good scriptural study in numerology?
After 40 years of studying this subject, I am beginning to realize the depths of God's book. I would not be surprised if the Bible contains more information that a DNA molecule, but both are from the same author.
Seven
>> Everything in scripture has meaning, including the numbers. It’s a shame that numerology has gotten so much press because it cast doubt on other truths in God word. <<
I don’t think so. I think even militant atheists recognize numerologists as the lunatic fringes of Christians.
There are meanings to numbers, but the difference between recognizing a symbolic meaning to a number and numerology is that numerology involves number transformations. The numerologist can’t find the symbolic interpretation of the number that he wants, so he transforms the numbers.
Some symbolic numbers:
12: completeness (from Egyptian counting, it’s two handfuls of fingers and two feet). 12 tribes, 12 apostles, 12 stars in the Queen of Heaven’s crown. Also, 144 (12 times 12)
13: occultishness. (12 plus the outsider)
6: imperfection
7: earthly completeness. Also, 70, and 7 times 70.
8: divine completeness.
3: strength
I never did find the origin of the symbolic meaning of 40. (40 days and 40 nights of rain in the Flood of Noah, 40 days in the desert of Christ’s temptation, 40 years in the wilderness, 40 missionaries of Jesus’ ministry)
Wierd point: operating on the principle that in esoterism the meaning of a symbolic reference is contained within the very source, I tried finding a meaning for the number 666. I found two references previous to Revelations. One was a census count, and presumably was just not a meaninful number, as there are hundreds of such numbers and it makes sense that even out of randomness, one such number would be 666.
The other didn’t seem random at all: 666 was the size of the demonically-inspired tax Solomon put apon the people of Israel. (Yes, the bible says that Satan inspired Solomon to do this!)
Personally, I’m a partial preterist. I think there’s something prophetic and significant to the events of the first century, however I do support Israel, and I do believe much of the prophetic revelation still revolves around events there.
But I think we would do well to see the multiple layers of revelation in events that have already occurred. Too much of the church is ignorant of history, and too predisposed to a lazy approach toward revelation knowledge. This results in a very pop-culture approach to God in these times.
Certainly many of the prophecies from the NT are near-far prophecies that fortold immediate events to come as well as events in the more distant future. I believe the Olivet discourse is rife with such near-far prophecies. But I don’t for a moment believe the prophecies of Revelation were fullfilled and only related to the Roman empire. And this belief is based on a very extensive study of history, both Christian and secular.
Don’t these folks ever get tired of being wrong?
I doubt it was Hank.
You got that right. He continually puts down other pastors and ministries. Gets old after a while.
Welcome, SeaHawkFan. Hope you have a good time here.
Funny, after years of listening to Harold Camping, I had always envisioned him as African-American. Thanks for posting the photo.
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