That said, I think Camping's interpretations are questionable. Here's why:
According to Camping, 23 means destruction, based on two scriptures (23,000 killed in one day as judgment; 2,300 days of misery mentioned in Daniel). Two scriptures seem tenuous for making this connection.
According to Camping, 17 means Heaven, based on connections with that number.
According to Camping, 10 means completeness.
According to Camping, 5 means atonment, based on .5 sheckles for sin offering.
3 means from God, God's will, etc.
Why do hese numbers apply to number of days from the flood? According to Camping, 5 x 10 x 17 x 5 x 10 x 17 = 722,500 days from the flood on May 21st, 4090 BC (according to our calendar).
Why was the flood in 4990 BC? Why is the earth 13,000 years old, as Mr. Camping believes? So you see, even WITH the numerology this kind of thing is rife with error.
Probability-wise, based on strength of correlation between the numbers and their associated conceptional meanings, and a semantical unpacking of them to mean days... I guess Camping's interpretation is as good as any other in its situation at a statistical spike in the probability domain.
It's best, though, to try to be ready in season and out of season, and to live every day as though it were our last.
With that, I agree wholeheartedly!
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IF tomorrow, the 21st, were the Rapture, that would be fine with me (especially since today, May 20th, my wife and I are celebrating the long-anticipated 50th anniversary of our Christian marriage!) :-)
However, I accept no man's authority to place arbitrary and inflexible interpretations on the "meanings" of "numeric values" within Scripture -- particularly whimsical ones like the decimal [Arabic] fraction mis-applied by Camping to force the number 5 to have a particular significance. That is nothing but pure, personal, sinful vanity!!
And I abhor the audacity of anyone who would insist that they have special insight to place authoritative interpretations on such vanities!
God's Word is exactly that; His WORD (not His number[s]).
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"I guess Camping's interpretation is as good as any other in its situation at a statistical spike in the probability domain."
"as good as" = "as bad as" = WORTHLESS (if not actually evil and sinful hubris...)