SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. evangelical broadcaster
predicting that Judgment Day will come on Saturday says he expects
to stay close to a TV or radio to monitor the unfolding
apocalypse.
Harold Camping, 89, previously made a failed prediction that
Jesus Christ would return to Earth in 1994.
But the head of the Christian radio network Family Stations Inc
says he is sure an earthquake will shake the Earth on May 21,
sweeping true believers to heaven and leaving others behind to be
engulfed in the world's destruction over a few months.
"We know without any shadow of a doubt it is going to happen,"
said Camping, whose Family Radio broadcasts in more than 30
languages and on U.S. and international stations.
His supporters have posted about 2,200 billboards around the
United States about the coming apocalypse, and dozens of followers
are driving across the country to spread the news.
Volunteers also handed out pamphlets warning about May 21 as far
away as the Philippines, telling people God had left clear signs
the world was coming to an end.
Camping, a civil engineer who ran his own construction business
before turning to evangelism, told Reuters he planned to spend May
21 with his wife and watch the doomsday unfold.
"I'll probably try to be very near a TV or a radio or
something," he said. "I'll be interested in what's happening on the
other side of the world as this begins."
Like his last prediction, Camping's doomsday date is based on
his reading of the Bible and a timeline dating back to ancient
events including the Biblical flood survived by Noah.
Camping's pronouncement of a specific date for the apocalypse
puts him outside the Christian mainstream.
But his contention that the souls of believers will leave their
bodies and enter heaven in a rapture is a central tenet within many
Christian churches.
Stephen O'Leary, an expert in religious communication at the
University of Southern California, said the idea of rapture first
appeared in Christian teaching in the 19th century.
"It is very appealing to people," said Barbara Rossing,
professor of the New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology
at Chicago who describes "an enormous end-times prophecy industry"
including video games, board games, books and more.
Tom Evans, a spokesman for Camping, said at least several tens
of thousands of people listen to Family Radio's message.
One of those is Allison Warden, 29, of Raleigh, North Carolina,
who most recently worked as a payroll clerk for an Ohio company and
now runs the end-times website Wecanknow.com.
"My boss does not agree with this but has been very
understanding and supportive," she said. "He thinks next week I'll
be back to work like normal."
it is all about brainwashing
