NPR ran a cameo on Harold Camping’s prediction that “the rapture” is officially scheduled for May 21, 2011 at 6PM. No, I’m not kidding.
The NPR spot had interviews with followers who have planned their finances to run out on May 21, others who have quit their jobs, stopped planning for retirement, stopped saving any money…
“On Judgment Day, May 21st, 2011, …God will raise up all the dead that have ever died from their graves. Earthquakes will ravage the whole world as the earth will no longer conceal its dead (Isaiah 26:21). People who died as saved individuals will experience the resurrection of their bodies and immediately leave this world to forever be with the Lord. Those who died unsaved will be raised up as well, but only to have their lifeless bodies scattered about the face of all the earth. Death will be everywhere.
“Five months after May 21st, 2011 will be October 21st, 2011, …the last day of the Biblical Feast of Tabernacles [and the] last day of earth’s existence.” Source
“The 2011 end times prediction is a prediction made by Christian radio host Harold Camping that the Rapture (in Christian belief, the taking up into heaven of God’s elect people) will take place on May 21, 2011 and that the end of the world as we know it will take place five months later on October 21, 2011. These predictions were made by Camping, president of the Family Radio Christian network, who claims the Bible as his source and says May 21 will be the date of the Rapture and the day of judgment “beyond the shadow of a doubt.”. His followers claim that around 200 million people (approximately 3% of the world’s population) will be raptured. Source
Apparently, they also expect to be “raptured” naked. Picture that.
Harold Camping has also predicted the end of the world on Sep 6, 1994, Sep 29, 1994, Oct 2, 1994, and Mar 31, 1995. He now says he made these errors because he did not consider the book of Jeremiah, “a biiiiig book with a lot to say about the end times.”
Baaad book of Jeremiah – sneaking up on you like that!
One reason (of many reasons) that I could not get my mind around the JW silliness is that there is no shortage of people with predictions like these (they often call themselves “Messianic Believers,” and are often called “end timers” or “apocalyptic christians”), all using different biblical passages to support their predictions.
Of course, at least the JWs are a little smarter – after numerous false alarms (1878, 1881, 1884, 1910, Oct 1, 1914 [WWI was the onset of “Armageddon…” NOT!], 1918, 1925, 1941, 1975, Oct 2, 1984, 1999), they finally stopped predicting an actual date, and opted for living postponed lives of trepidation.
Jesus please save us…
…from your followers!
