justin   11:39 AM May 20th

END OF THE WORLD MAY 21st

The 2011 end times prediction made by Christian radio host Harold Camping states that the Rapture (in premillennial theology, the taking up into heaven of God's elect people) will take place on May 21, 2011 at 6 p.m. local time (the rapture will sweep the globe time zone by time zone) and that the end of the world as we know it will take place five months later on October 21, 2011. Camping, president of the Family Radio Christian network, 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.

Most Christian groups have not embraced Camping's predictions; some have explicitly rejected them. An interview with a group of church leaders noted that all of them have scheduled services as usual for Sunday, May 22. amping previously claimed that the world would end in September 1994.

PREDICTIONS:
* The rapture will occur on May 21, 2011 with approximately 3% of the world's population being called to heaven.
* Earthquakes will begin on May 21 on the Kiritimati Island (Christmas Island near Australia) at 6:00 pm CXT (11:00 am UTC).
* Citing Jeremiah 25:32, earthquakes will continue "as the sun advances" with New York to be affected at approximately at 6:00pm EDT (10:00 pm UTC).
* The end of the world will take place five months later on October 21, 2011.

RATIONALE:
"I know it's absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true."
— Harold Camping, president, Family Radio

Camping has presented several numerological arguments, or biblical "proofs", in favor of the May 21st end time. A civil engineer by training, Camping states he has attempted to work out mathematically-based prophecies in the Bible for decades. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle he explained "... I was an engineer, I was very interested in the numbers. I'd wonder, 'Why did God put this number in, or that number in?' It was not a question of unbelief, it was a question of, 'There must be a reason for it.' "
Harold Camping being interviewed about his prediction in early 2011.

As early as 1970, Camping dated the Great Flood to 4990 BC. Taking the prediction in Genesis 7:4 ("Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth") to be a prediction of the end of the world, and combining it with 2 Peter 3:8 ("With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day"), Camping concludes that the end of the world will occur in 2011, 7000 years from 4990 BC. Camping takes the 17th day of the second month mentioned in Genesis 7:11 to be the 21st May, and hence predicts the rapture to occur on this date.

Another argument that Camping uses in favor of the May 21st date is as follows:
1. According to Camping, the number five equals "atonement", the number ten equals "completeness", and the number seventeen equals "heaven".
2. Christ is said to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD and April 1, 2011 is 1,978 years.
3. If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar year, not to be confused with the lunar year), the result is 722,449.
4. The time between April 1 and May 21 is 51 days.
5. 51 added to 722,449 is 722,500.
6. (5 × 10 × 17)2 or (atonement × completeness × heaven)2 also equals 722,500.
Thus, Camping concludes that 5 × 10 × 17 is telling us a "story from the time Christ made payment for our sins until we're completely saved."
Camping has not been precise about the exact timing of the event, saying that "maybe" we can know the hour. e has suggested that "days" in the Bible refer to daylight hours particularly. Another account says the "great earthquake" which signals the start of the Rapture will "start in the Pacific Rim at around the 6 p.m. local time hour, in each time zone."
In Camping's book 1994?, self-published in 1992, he predicted that the End Times would come in September 1994 (variously reported as September 4 or September 6). When the Rapture failed to occur on the appointed day, Camping said he had made a mathematical error.

CRITICISM:
Camping's rapture prediction, along with some of his other teachings and beliefs, have sparked some controversy in the Christian world. His critics often quote Bible verses (such as Matthew 24:36) which they claim imply the date of the end will never be known by anyone but God until it actually happens. James Kreuger, author of the book Secrets of the Apocalypse — Revealed, has stated that while he believes the rapture is coming, Camping is incorrect in attempting to nail down a date. "For all his learning, Camping makes a classic beginner's mistake when he sets a date for Christ's return," writes Kreuger. "Jesus himself said in Matthew 24:36, 'Of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my father only.'" However, Camping and his followers respond that this principle only applied to the "church age" or "pre-tribulation period" and does not apply to the present day, citing other verses (such as 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5:5) in their rebuttal.
In a 2001 pamphlet, Camping asserted that believers should "flee the church," resigning from any church they belong to, because the "Church Age" is over and the "Great Tribulation" has begun. This assertion was controversial and drew "a flurry of attacks".
Edwin M. Yamauchi critiqued Camping's dating of the Flood when Camping first published his ideas in 1970.
Criticism of the May 21 prediction has ranged from serious critique to ridicule. Theology professor Matthew L. Skinner, writing at the Huffington Post, noted the "long history of failed speculation" about the End Times and cautioned that end-of-the-world talk can lead Christians to social passivity instead of "working for the world's redemption".[27] Some columnists have mocked the prediction with humorous columns from a skeptical viewpoint.
Evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins dismissed Camping's prediction, writing that "he will inevitably explain, on May 22nd, that there must have been some error in the calculation, the rapture is postponed to ... and please send more money to pay for updated billboards."[30] California Director of American Atheists Larry Hicock said that "Camping's well-intentioned rapture campaign is indicative of the problems with religion".

IMPACT:
Camping's prediction and his promotion of it via his radio network and other promotional means have spread the prediction globally, which has led believers and non-believers to a variety of actions.
On May 19, 2011, the search term "end of the world may 21st" reached second position on Google Trends, based on the popularity of the search term in the United States. The related searches "Harold Camping", "May 21 doomsday", and "May 21 rapture" were also represented among the top 10 positions.

PROMOTION:
Vehicle in San Francisco proclaiming the Harold Camping prediction.
In 2010, Marie Exley of Colorado Springs made news by purchasing advertising space in her locality, promoting the alleged Rapture date on a number of park benches. Since then, "Judgment Day" billboards have been erected at locations across the world. Some people have adorned their vehicles with the information.
On October 27, 2010, Family Radio launched "Project Caravan". Five recreational vehicles arrayed with reflector lettering that declare that Judgment Day begins on May 21, 2011 were sent out from their headquarters in Oakland, California, to Seattle, Washington. Upon arrival, teams are sent out to distribute tracts. The caravan has made stops in Oregon, California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Utah, Maryland, and other states, as well as Canada and Mexico.

HMONG GATHERING:
About 5,000 ethnic Hmong gathered at a remote town in Viet Nam's Muong Nhe District in Dien Bien Province in early May, where they planned to await the arrival of Christ. The Vietnamese government broke up the gathering and arrested some people, describing them as "extremists". Pastor Doan Trung Tin indicated that a translated version of Camping's prediction had influenced about 300 of his parishioners to go to the assembly point, selling their belongings to be able to afford the journey via bus.

SKEPTICAL RESPONSES:
The group Seattle Atheists formed the Rapture Relief Fund which they will use "to help survivors of any Armageddon-sized disaster in the Puget Sound area"; if the rapture fails to come as predicted, the money will fund a camp that teaches children about critical thinking. The group American Atheists has sponsored billboards in several American cities declaring the Rapture to be "nonsense", and are holding a party during the period of the predicted rapture.[31] Other secular groups in the United States are also hosting "Rapture parties". The human rights organization and film foundation Cine Foundation International has called for Harold Camping to donate his life savings to post-Rapture relief, in the same way that many of his followers have done.

OFFICIAL RESPONSES:
The New York Police Department(NYPD) stated: "We don't plan any additional coverage for the end of the world. Indeed, if it happens, fewer officers will be required for streets that presumably will be empty."
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