John Scott: Misinformed by God under a doringboom

Dear oh dear, Danie Botha, you really got it wrong, didn’t you.

Not to worry, many prophets before you have announced the date of the biblical Rapture, when all believers hope to be caught up into heaven, only to discover they had been misinformed by God.

Not that I don’t believe that you believe that God had chosen you, a 61-year-old South African gospel singer, to tell mankind the exact day, or days, when this cataclysmic event would occur. The Lord seemed a little unsure Himself whether it would be last Tuesday or Wednesday, but then I think He might have been taking planetary time zones into consideration. If 18:00 on Tuesday in South Africa was the precise time He had in mind, it would al-ready have been 03:00 on Wednesday in Sydney.

You’ve given us some idea how you received the incorrect information. You were sitting under a doringboom in Britstown, reading Revelations, the last book of the Bible. A bit like another biblical scholar, Sir Isaac Newton, who made his name while also sitting under a tree, except that apples kept falling on his head.

Wisely Newton said the world wouldn’t end before 2060, which was a safe enough bet in the early 18th century, and he is far better known for explaining what made the apples fall. But then wasn’t an apple the beginning of mankind’s fall in the first place?

Suddenly you heard a series of trumpet blasts. You cleverly counted 14 before calling your wife, and then you and she heard another seven. The Bible mentions only the last trump, but maybe the apostle Paul meant the last of 21 – a sort of celestial version of a 21-gun salute.

Thereafter one assumes God said to you: “Danie, I have big news for you. On 23 September and/or 24 September, whatever the case may be, the rapture will occur. Do with this information what you will.” (Or words of that effect.)

So after some thought you decided to make a public announcement, and claimed that thousands quickly converted to the Christian faith to avoid being left behind when the moment arrived. Now that it didn’t they can all relax.

Many millions – probably billions – would have “missed the cut”, as they describe it during a four-day golf tournament when half are axed from the final two days’ play. A huge majority would never have heard your prediction. I didn’t myself until I read about it later in Die Burger. We would all have been left to face the biblical Tribulation, a time of chaos and mass suffering. Though when I see what’s happen-ing in Gaza we’re already in it.

A couple of final questions: Did God speak to you in English or Afrikaans? A lot can get lost in translation. Or did He give you the right dates, then change His mind? You said afterwards it was a mistake to announce the date. Maybe you should have confirmed it with Him first.