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Well, May 21, 2011 has come and gone and unfortunately the Christians weren't raptured! But thanks to the wise Harold Camping we have another date to look forward to, October 21, 2011! It seems that that the rapture DID happen, it was just invisible.The 89-year-old Christian radio station owner explained on Monday night, during a Family Radio station broadcast, that rather than a physical Rapture taking place, the judgment was spiritual. But don't worry; the real end of the world is still ahead. Now we have October 21, 2011 to look forward too. Here is a link to a rather serious news story about the non-event from a bible belt newspaper. For those who like your information in video form with a fresher look, try this site. Below is photo of the the Good Reverand waving his finger at YOU. |
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See another article on this subject at the bottom of this page.
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Apocalypse believers disappointed
Offering counseling to followers of radio evangelist Harold Camping, members of Calvary Bible Church of Milpitas, Calif., waited Saturday outside Campings headquarters.
OAKLAND, Calif. | They spent months warning the world of the apocalypse, some giving away earthly belongings or draining their savings accounts.
So they waited, vigilantly, on Saturday for the appointed hour to arrive.
When 6 p.m. came and went at various spots around the globe, and no extraordinary cataclysm occurred, Keith Bauer who had hopped in his minivan in Maryland and drove his family 3,000 miles to California for the Rapture took it in stride.
I had some skepticism, but I was trying to push the skepticism away, because I believe in God, he said in the bright morning sun outside the gated Oakland headquarters of Family Radio International, whose founder, Harold Camping, has been broadcasting the apocalyptic prediction for years. I was hoping for it, because I think heaven would be a lot better than this Earth.
But he added, Its God who leads you, not Harold Camping.
Camping, who lives few miles from his radio station, was not home Saturday.
Bauer, a tractor-trailer driver, began the voyage west two weeks ago, figuring that if he worked last week I wouldnt have gotten paid anyway, if the Rapture did happen. After seeing the nonprofit ministrys base of operations, Bauer planned to take a day trip to the Pacific Ocean, and then start the cross-country drive back home today with his wife, young son and another family relative.
The May 21 doomsday message was sent far and wide in broadcasts and on websites by Camping, 89, a retired civil engineer who has built a multimillion-dollar Christian media empire that publicized his apocalyptic prediction. According to Camping, the destruction was likely to have begun its worldwide march as it became 6 p.m. in the various time zones, although believers said Saturday the exact timing was never written in stone.
In New Yorks Times Square, Robert Fitzpatrick, who spent his own money to put up advertising about the end of the world, expressed surprise at 6 p.m. as he was surrounded by tourists.
I cant tell you what I feel right now ... I dont understand it. I dont know. I dont understand what happened, he said.
Obviously, I havent understood it correctly, because were still here, he said.
Many followers said though the sun rose Saturday without the foretold earthquakes, plagues, and other calamities, the delay was a further test from God to persevere in their faith.
Its still May 21, and Gods going to bring it, said Family Radios special projects coordinator Michael Garcia, who spent Saturday morning praying and drinking two last cups of coffee with his wife at home in Alameda.
When you say something and it doesnt happen, your pride is whats hurt. But who needs pride? God said he resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
The New Orleans Secular Humanist Association planned to hold a Left Behind balloon release and costume party rather than their usual monthly gathering to hear a speaker.
Were nonreligious people, said Harry Greenberger, the groups president. This sort of prophecy is really not of any concern to us.
The Internet also was alive with discussion, humorous or not, about the end of the world and its apparent failure to occur on cue.
Many tweets declared Campings prediction a dud or shared, tongue-in-cheek, their relief at not having to do weekend chores, pay their bills or take a shower.
The top trends on Twitter at midday included, at No. 1, endofworldconfessions, followed by myraptureplaylist.
Campings radio stations, TV channels, satellite broadcasts and website are controlled from a modest building sandwiched between an auto shop and a palm readers business. Family Radio Internationals message has been broadcast in 61 languages.
He has said that his earlier apocalyptic prediction in 1994 didnt come true because of a mathematical error.
Im not embarrassed about it. It was just the fact that it was premature, he said last month. But this time, he said, there is no possibility that it will not happen.
Camping has preached that some 200 million people would be saved, and that those left behind would die in a series of scourges visiting Earth until the globe is consumed by a fireball on Oct. 21.
Christian leaders from across the spectrum widely dismissed the prophecy. One local church was concerned that Campings followers could slip into a deep depression come today.
Pastor Jacob Denys of Calvary Bible Church in Milpitas, Calif., waited outside the nonprofit organizations headquarters on Saturday afternoon, hoping to counsel believers who might have been disillusioned when the Rapture didnt occur.
The cold, hard reality is going to hit them that they did this, and it was false, and they basically emptied out everything to follow a false teacher, he said. Were not all about doom and gloom. Our message is a message of salvation and of hope.
As the day drew nearer, followers reported that donations grew, allowing Family Radio to spend millions on more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs plastered with the doomsday message.
In 2009, the nonprofit reported in Internal Revenue Service filings that it received $18.3 million in donations, and had assets of more than $104 million, including $34 million in stocks or other publicly traded securities.
Marie Exley, who helped put up apocalypse-themed billboards in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, said the money allowed the nonprofit to reach as many souls as possible.
She said she and her husband, mother and brother read the Bible and stayed close to the television news on Friday night.
Sheila Doan, 65, Campings next-door neighbor of 40 years, was outside gardening Saturday. She said the worldwide spotlight on his May 21 forecast has attracted far more attention than Campings 1994 prediction.
Doan said she is a Christian and while she respects her neighbor, she doesnt
share his views.