Can We 'Know?': A Hopkins Pastor Responds

There’s no end-of-the world date in the Bible.

That’s the conclusion of one local minister upon learning that Raleigh, N.C.-based WeCanKnow.com predicts that Jesus will come May 21—a claim the group is .

Joel Smeby is pastor of Lutheran Community of Grace, which is located in Minnetonka and has a Hopkins outreach center. He accuses WeCanKnow of selectively reading scripture instead of looking at the Bible as a whole.

“They’re taking scripture out of context—way out of context—and really abusing for their own predictions,” Smeby said.

Smeby is no stranger to the inspiration for this group. WeCanKnow draws heavily on ideas from Oakland, CA-based Family Radio Worldwide—a network of 66 stations steered by 89-year-old Harold Camping.

Camping made news back in the ’90s when he predicted that the world would end in September 1994—albeit acknowledging the possibility that he could be wrong. He’s now set May 21 as the date. Smeby recalls hearing Camping’s broadcast and thinking that the man claimed to have an answer for everything.

Smeby, by contrast, is open about his uncertainty. Like many in mainstream Christian churches, Smeby cites verses that claim Jesus will come “like a thief in the night.” And he said that’s OK because his belief is that Christ has taken care of everything so that believers don’t need to worry about when or where or how.

WeCanKnow’s website argues knowing is vital to being saved. Allison Warden, the group’s spokeswoman, brushed aside criticism from fellow Christians, saying that they just want people to dig deeper into their Bibles.

“The Christian faith has been through a lot since biblical times. I don’t think getting them into their Bible to compare Bible studies is a bad thing,” Warden said.

Yet Smeby thinks the group’s claims are harmful. He said he’d rather talk with someone who hasn’t studied the Bible than talk with those who’s twisting it to predict the end times because they must first unlearn everything they think they know.

“I think it lures people in who want easy answers and want to know a lot more about God and what his plans for the universe are than we have any business knowing or can know,” Smeby said.