May 21......The end of the world according to Harold Camping

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  • Reno Paul
    SBR MVP
    • 02-11-10
    • 1647

    #1
    May 21......The end of the world according to Harold Camping
    This crackpot predicted the end in 1994 as well and some people are gullible enough to actually believe his horseshit.

    Is The End Nigh? We'll Know Soon Enough

    by Barbara Bradley Hagerty


    text size A A A
    May 7, 2011
    Brian Haubert grabs some pamphlets and marches toward the flea market in Palmyra, N.J. Armed with a poster that trumpets Judgment Day on May 21, 2011, he braces for rejection. Announcing God's wrath is not always a popular message.
    "I've been called a heretic," says Haubert, a 33-year-old actuary. "I've been told I read the wrong Bible. And then there's the occasional person who seems to be genuinely interested," he says.
    His friend and fellow believer, Kevin Brown, uses a gentler approach, not confronting people or engaging in conversation, just politely handing out Judgment Day pamphlets.
    Brown, who owns his own nutrition and wellness business, is soft-spoken and polished, not someone you'd imagine giving away doomsday tracts. But he says the clock is ticking.
    "People need to know," Brown says, "and God commands us to share the Gospel about the end of the world. He says if we do not share the Gospel then their blood will be on our hands, whether they believe or not. God's been moving me to do this."
    Spreading The Word

    Haubert and Brown are two of a small — or not so small, who knows? — army of Christians sounding the alarm. They drive caravans and put up billboards, hand out tracts and try to convince friends and family that Judgment Day is upon us. Brown says this message is laced throughout the Bible, but only some can decode it. It will happen this way:
    Barbara Bradley Hagerty/NPR Brian Haubert (right) and Kevin Brown hand out Judgment Day pamphlets in Palmyra, N.J.


    On May 21, "starting in the Pacific Rim at around the 6 p.m. local time hour, in each time zone, there will be a great earthquake, such as has never been in the history of the Earth," he says. The true Christian believers — he hopes he's one of them — will be "raptured": They'll fly upward to heaven. And for the rest?
    "It's just the horror of horror stories," he says, "and on top of all that, there's no more salvation at that point. And then the Bible says it will be 153 days later that the entire universe and planet Earth will be destroyed forever."
    Most Bible scholars note that even Jesus said he had no idea when Judgment Day would come. But May 21 believers like Haubert are unfazed.
    "I've crunched the numbers, and it's going to happen," he says.
    Haubert says the Bible contains coded "proofs" that reveal the timing. For example, he says, from the time of Noah's flood to May 21, 2011, is exactly 7,000 years. Revelations like this have changed his life.
    "I no longer think about 401(k)s and retirement," he says. "I'm not stressed about losing my job, which a lot of other people are in this economy. I'm just a lot less stressed, and in a way I'm more carefree."
    He's tried to warn his friends and family — they think he's crazy. And that saddens him.
    "Oh, it's very hard," he says. "I worry about friends and family and loved ones. But I guess more recently, I'm just really looking forward to it."
    Haubert is 33 and single. Brown is married with several young children, and none of them shares his beliefs. It's caused a rift with his wife — but he says that, too, was predicted in the Bible.
    "God says, 'Do you love husband or wife over me? Do you love son or daughter over me?' There is a test. There is a trial here that the believers are going through. It's a fiery trial."
    As May 21 nears, Brown says he feels as if he's on a "roller coaster." What if he is raptured but his family is left behind?
    "I'm crying over my loved ones one minute; I'm elated the next minute," he says. "It's all over the place."
    Family Radio
    No one knows how many people believe Judgment Day is right around the corner. But it appears that many became believers in 2009 after turning on Family Radio, a Christian network worth more than $100 million.
    Enlarge AP Harold Camping speaks, holding a Bible, during his live television broadcast in 2002.


    Harold Camping, the network's 89-year-old founder, has been interpreting the Bible on the air for years. He says that everyone knows there would be a judgment day at some point.
    "We just happen to be in that time in history," he said in an interview. "And whether we like it or not, we're here."

    Camping's predictions have inspired other groups to rally behind the May 21 date. People have quit their jobs and left their families to get the message out.
    "Knowing the date of the end of the world changes all your future plans," says 27-year-old Adrienne Martinez.
    She thought she'd go to medical school, until she began tuning in to Family Radio. She and her husband, Joel, lived and worked in New York City. But a year ago, they decided they wanted to spend their remaining time on Earth with their infant daughter.
    "My mentality was, why are we going to work for more money? It just seemed kind of greedy to me. And unnecessary," she says.
    And so, her husband adds, "God just made it possible — he opened doors. He allowed us to quit our jobs, and we just moved, and here we are."
    Now they are in Orlando, in a rented house, passing out tracts and reading the Bible. Their daughter is 2 years old, and their second child is due in June. Joel says they're spending the last of their savings. They don't see a need for one more dollar.
    "You know, you think about retirement and stuff like that," he says. "What's the point of having some money just sitting there?"
    "We budgeted everything so that, on May 21, we won't have anything left," Adrienne adds.
    Nothing, except for the fervent hope that all of them will be raptured.
    'There Is No Plan B'

    Camping is not the first person to fix a date for the end of the world. There have been dozens of such prophets, and so far, they've all been wrong.
    Camping himself has had to do some recalculation. He first predicted the end would come Sept. 6, 1994. He now explains that he had not completed his biblical research.
    "For example, I at that time had not gone through the Book of Jeremiah," he explains, "which is a big book in the Bible that has a whole lot to say about the end of the world."
    So he's not planning for May 22?
    "Absolutely not," Camping says. "It is going to happen. There is no Plan B."
    I've asked a dozen of Camping's followers the same question. Everyone said even entertaining the possibility that May 21 would come and go without event is an offense to God. They all hope they'll be raptured. Some worry about being left behind.
    "If I'm here on May 22, and I wake up, I'm going to be in hell," says Brown. "And that's where I don't want to be. So there is going to be a May 22, and we don't want to be here."
    On the other hand, he will presumably have lots of company.

    Related NPR Stories

    For Some Believers, May 21 Is Judgment Day Jan. 3, 2011
  • Tuna Fish Riot
    SBR Wise Guy
    • 10-29-10
    • 539

    #2
    Sweeeeeeeeeeeet.

    Goodbye student loans.
    Comment
    • Naz18
      SBR MVP
      • 09-10-09
      • 4277

      #3
      This is why the clown pimike said the worlds gonna end....
      Comment
      • NEW_WORLD
        Restricted User
        • 10-30-09
        • 677

        #4
        how the stupid are some pplz.
        did u ever read holy bible?
        never know when the world ends.
        Comment
        • valaub04
          SBR Wise Guy
          • 02-14-11
          • 549

          #5
          I'm off to start mah crime spree.
          Comment
          • ElLoco23
            Restricted User
            • 01-22-11
            • 233

            #6
            Time to go looting, lol.
            Comment
            • pronk
              Restricted User
              • 11-22-08
              • 6887

              #7
              I feel sorry for that old man Camping, it is obvious- his mind is gone and on May 22nd he will become a laughing stock
              Comment
              • DBaseball23
                SBR High Roller
                • 04-07-08
                • 212

                #8
                Can't wait for his excuse as to why he is still alive on May 22nd. He will probably "recalculate" again.
                Comment
                • EmpireMaker
                  SBR Posting Legend
                  • 06-18-09
                  • 15580

                  #9
                  Who lets these people out on day passes ?
                  Comment
                  • EmpireMaker
                    SBR Posting Legend
                    • 06-18-09
                    • 15580

                    #10
                    Originally posted by DBaseball23
                    Can't wait for his excuse as to why he is still alive on May 22nd. He will probably "recalculate" again.
                    Then he will take a shot at another date a few years further up the road.
                    Comment
                    • Bartmeister
                      Restricted User
                      • 09-10-10
                      • 412

                      #11
                      Might as well party like its 1999.
                      Comment
                      • OneLossParlayGuy
                        SBR Wise Guy
                        • 04-27-10
                        • 815

                        #12
                        should be exciting lol
                        Comment
                        • jw
                          SBR MVP
                          • 10-25-09
                          • 3999

                          #13
                          Originally posted by EmpireMaker
                          Who lets these people out on day passes ?
                          They even get to vote ... frightening.

                          No more screwed up than the "birthers" or "deathers" IMHO however ... they are all crazy in their own special kind of way and will not believe anything they don't want to believe even after it happens and has been proven.
                          Comment
                          • Reno Paul
                            SBR MVP
                            • 02-11-10
                            • 1647

                            #14


                            This guy needs to get himself checked in to a mental ward
                            Comment
                            • gryfyn1
                              SBR MVP
                              • 03-30-10
                              • 3285

                              #15
                              hes not different that the guys with the signboards and bullhorns standing on the street corner, only he's wearing a tie.
                              Comment
                              • StevoS
                                SBR Sharp
                                • 03-07-11
                                • 481

                                #16
                                Can't believe how many people are blindly following this man. May 22 is going to be the end of the world as far as their reputation is concerned.
                                Comment
                                • Bosseman22
                                  SBR Sharp
                                  • 09-30-09
                                  • 286

                                  #17
                                  I got a prediction nothing will happen
                                  Comment
                                  • COYLO
                                    SBR MVP
                                    • 10-18-10
                                    • 2844

                                    #18
                                    he did find the corelation between dates/numbers in the bible that point to may 21st 2011 as a significant date, i saw this myself over a year ago but wiether it's judgement day or not remains to be seen.
                                    Comment
                                    • StevoS
                                      SBR Sharp
                                      • 03-07-11
                                      • 481

                                      #19
                                      7000 years exactly after the day the great flood hit the earth. May 21 is supposedly the date of the 'rapture' on which all "christians" are taken into the sky. The earth itself will be destroyed by fire on October 21, 2011.
                                      Comment
                                      • GoldenRichards
                                        Restricted User
                                        • 08-31-08
                                        • 314

                                        #20
                                        Plenty of goofballs in this world
                                        Comment
                                        • COYLO
                                          SBR MVP
                                          • 10-18-10
                                          • 2844

                                          #21
                                          what significance has 7000 years got to do with anything tho??? if thats all he's based it on its a bit weak. im gonna look at the bible again too see where i got 21st may. hell ive got 9 days left to figure it out again lol.
                                          Comment
                                          • hostile takeover
                                            SBR MVP
                                            • 12-06-09
                                            • 2258

                                            #22
                                            darn, that means there's not much time left. time to bet it all
                                            Comment
                                            • Marigold HD
                                              SBR Hall of Famer
                                              • 09-03-07
                                              • 5053

                                              #23
                                              Everyone send me their points Quickly. The end is near.
                                              Comment
                                              • mikejamm
                                                SBR Posting Legend
                                                • 08-24-09
                                                • 11045

                                                #24
                                                Thank you Mr. Whack Job! What? No fuk'in Plan B? How come none of these assholes can ever predict the Super Bowl or the the World Series, or the fuk'in Power Ball numbers?
                                                Comment
                                                • pronk
                                                  Restricted User
                                                  • 11-22-08
                                                  • 6887

                                                  #25
                                                  Originally posted by COYLO
                                                  what significance has 7000 years got to do with anything tho???
                                                  No significance, whatsoever, someone should do us a favor and puts that old fart out of his misery
                                                  Comment
                                                  • COYLO
                                                    SBR MVP
                                                    • 10-18-10
                                                    • 2844

                                                    #26
                                                    Originally posted by pronk
                                                    No significance, whatsoever, someone should do us a favor and puts that old fart out of his misery
                                                    by the look of him 21st may might just be his judgement day, old git
                                                    Comment
                                                    • cant call it
                                                      SBR Hall of Famer
                                                      • 08-29-10
                                                      • 8817

                                                      #27
                                                      I will be grilling in a BBQ competition. Will be fun.
                                                      Comment
                                                      • BernardMadoff
                                                        SBR Hall of Famer
                                                        • 12-12-09
                                                        • 6679

                                                        #28
                                                        I used to listen to Camping on the radio years ago, comes off as somewhat arrogant. Many callers would call in asking about his 1994 prediction that didn't pan out. People like this don't lose followers really when their predictions don't come to fruition.
                                                        Comment
                                                        • Wiggums5
                                                          SBR MVP
                                                          • 12-05-10
                                                          • 2409

                                                          #29
                                                          how many of these people are gonna end up killing themselves on the 21st when they realize they are retarded
                                                          Comment
                                                          • hockeyman30304
                                                            SBR Wise Guy
                                                            • 11-25-08
                                                            • 634

                                                            #30
                                                            its like his 5th time to guess this...he is bound to get it right one of these times
                                                            Comment
                                                            • crustyme
                                                              SBR Posting Legend
                                                              • 09-29-10
                                                              • 16896

                                                              #31
                                                              all doomsdayers should be executed if their predictions dont come true.

                                                              that way they would be half right, world did come to an end for them.

                                                              it may also deter other nutjobs from making similar predictions or not. theyll prob start making further in to the future.
                                                              Comment
                                                              • Reds_FAN
                                                                SBR Wise Guy
                                                                • 05-07-11
                                                                • 569

                                                                #32
                                                                I am one who truly believes in the bible and the rapture. But for someone to be so arrogant as to predict when it will occur is sicking. For someone to proclaim themselves apart of the cloth and then say take all these people money is just terrible.
                                                                Comment
                                                                • 757sFinest
                                                                  SBR Wise Guy
                                                                  • 09-23-10
                                                                  • 885

                                                                  #33
                                                                  I'm with you reds. If people knew the bible they would know none of us will never know when that day is going to happen.
                                                                  Comment
                                                                  • Reno Paul
                                                                    SBR MVP
                                                                    • 02-11-10
                                                                    • 1647

                                                                    #34
                                                                    Here's more crazy talk by Harold Camping.......

                                                                    Comment
                                                                    • Al Masters
                                                                      SBR Hall of Famer
                                                                      • 04-29-06
                                                                      • 6940

                                                                      #35
                                                                      Now back to the real world,If you people listen to me you will make money on MAY21st.

                                                                      I'm anxiously waiting for May21st i will be making a big bet on this day.

                                                                      THE BET.

                                                                      Bernard Hopkins to beat Jean Pascal.

                                                                      Book it.
                                                                      Comment
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