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Prison Fellowship's Roberto Rivera was also reminded of Y2K to such a degree that he has dismissed Wilkerson's comments as (borrowing from philosopher Jeremy Bentham) "simple nonsense … rhetorical nonsense — nonsense upon stilts." "Check your thorazine, because you're probably hallucinating," Rivera wrote.

How has Wilkerson responded?

He posted a follow-up note on his blog: "I can only answer by sharing what the Holy Spirit is speaking to my own heart and what I am to do. I shared that I was led in a practical way to lay aside a month's supply of food — because I have witnessed the panic in the wake of terrorism. That has to be a personal word for every individual."

Wilkerson's son, Gary, says it sounds less like Y2K to him than pastoral advice resonant with the Bible: "Joseph heard God say to store up food for the season to come (Genesis 41). Moses heard God say to receive gifts from the Egyptians for their journey (Exodus 12). We as well can hear from God for our situation."

Are mainstream media paying attention?

So far coverage has been very low-key. Tampa's WFTS ran a piece essentially just quoting a few excerpts from Wilkerson's original blog post. Hartford, Connecticut's WVIT, meanwhile, openly mocked Wilkerson: "Perhaps Wilkerson has stock in some company that makes toilet paper and this is his plan to replenish his 401k," wrote LeAnne Gendreau. "Anyone who cannot sleep at night knows you can find Bible thumping doomsdayers on television." Illustrating the photo is a goblin-looking creature in front of a bonfire.

Does anyone agree with him?

He seems to have a number of supporters in various blog comment boxes. Among the more prominent defenders (of sorts) is Focus on the Family's Ted Slater. "I honestly don't know what to think of Wilkerson's vision," he said. But regardless of "earth-shattering calamity," Wilkerson's advice just seems "fairly reasonable. For example, the U.S. government recommends that we keep several days' worth of food and water on hand, in case of emergencies. And it's always the right time to place your faith in the Lord."

Are there critiques other than the echoes of Y2K?

Several online critics are pointing to an Internet list of visions and prophecies Wilkerson has had that have not come true. Among them: a prophecy that the stock market would crash in 2000, and a 1994 statement that "I sense in my spirit that there will be no more so-called gospel television networks. They will all fall into bankruptcy and absolute ruin."

But even the author of the now widely circulated critique credits Wilkerson's humility. "In prayer, I have told the Lord I am ready at any time to confess I am wrong — that I must have spoken from my own fears or that I have spoken unadvisedly," Wilkerson said after the market climbed in 2000. "Recently, when the market reached record highs, I wondered if those calling me a false prophet were right."

So should we listen to Wilkerson?

Not surprisingly, it depends on whom you ask.

"Wilkerson is not like the Old Testament prophets who spoke, 'Thus says the LORD,' " pastor Dave Watson wrote on his blog. "If anything, he is like those of whom Paul says 'for we know in part and we prophecy in part' and 'we see in a mirror dimly' (1 Corinthians 13:9-12) 1 Corinthians 14:29 says 'let two or three prophets speak and let the others judge.' "

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March (Web-only) 2009, Vol. 53