Numerology.
From '1994?' by Harold Camping
"In John 21:114, we learn that Jesus disciples were about 200 cubits out from the Sea of Galilee engaged in their trade as fishermen. On this day the disciples catch 153 fish."
According to Camping the Bible is teaching that the 200 cubits represent about 2,000 years between the first and second comings of Christ. Since Jesus was born, according to Camping, on October 4, 7 B.C., one needs only to add 2,000 years minus one year for the year zero and presto change-o, out comes 1994! What about the 153 fish? The number 153 equals 3 times 3 times 17:
The number three signifies the purpose of God whereas the number seventeen" signifies heaven. Thus we learn that the purpose of God is to bring all believers that are caught by the Gospel into heaven.
Numerology and Kabbalah like hermeneutical principles of finding the "hidden" messages are Pseudoscience.
From 'We are Almost There'
"The man-made, historical, grammatical hermeneutic method of Bible interpretation that is held by virtually every church, denomination, seminary, etc., is to be totally rejected. The true Biblical method of Bible interpretation is based on the fact that the Bible teaches that the Bible is a spiritual book written in an earthly way. Because it is written by God, every historical event, and every conversation, and every incident recorded in the Bible is absolutely true and trustworthy. However, because these literal, historical statements also must be understood spiritually, the true ultimate message that God is giving to mankind in the Bible will not be understood until the spiritual teaching of the verse being studied has been found. "
Using the same hermeneutic methods he says "is to be totally rejected"?
Using "man-made" numerology?
From '1994?'
"Likewise, the Bible apparently assures us that there were to be 12,000 years in the duration of the earth. That is, creation occurred 11,000 years (remember 11,000 + 6 years) before Christ [Jesus was born in 7 B.C.]. And Revelation 20:13 teaches that Satan was to be bound a thousand years. Since it can be readily shown that Satan was bound at the cross so that Christ would not be frustrated in His program of salvation for the world, the duration of the earth should be 11,000 plus 1000 years for a total of 12,000 years. Moreover, you recall that God told Noah in Genesis 6:3: Then the LORD said, `My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years. While this 120 years could be the 120 years during which Noah constructed the ark, it apparently could also be a reference to the fullness of time for all mankind. The number twelve does signify the fullness of whatever God has in view. Then the 120 years could also signify 1200 12,000 years or 120,000 years for the duration of mans existence on earth. Given all the other information in the Bible, we know that 12,000 years is the only number that can relate."
BTW, despite what Camping preaches, there was no year zero. 1BC was followed by 1AD. dooohh:foot: