Predictions spread that today is the end of the world. Rapture on May 21, 2011 has been the hottest topic surrounding the internet awakening every curious minds and doubtful hearts at present.
Harold Egbert Camping who runs the Family Radio has been the root of the scattering rumours saying that May 21, 2011 will be the Judgment Day.
Camping, 89, was a former civil engineer from Oakland who studied the Bible for more than 70 years. He manages the evangelical station, Family Radio.
According to him, he was able to develop a mathematical system that could interpret the prophecies sealed within the Holy Bible of the Christians. As a result of his own calculations, he came to announce that the real date of the Judgment Day is on May 21 of this year which happens to be today.
His belief may have influenced a lot of people from all over the world. But based on further researches, this has not been the first time that Camping was able to announce a brave prediction concerning the real Judgment Day.
An article from San Francisco Chronicle states that it was in Sept. 6, 1994 that the believers of Harold Camping was reported to gather in Alameda’s Veterans Memorial Building to be able to wait for the coming of Jesus Christ. It was the day in which the children of the followers wore “their Sunday best and held Bibles open-faced toward heaven.” However, the end of the world did not happen.
Many critics say that Camping could have just relied in his own thoughts saying that he “is so obsessed with his calculations”. He had this book, entitled “Time Has an End: A Biblical History of the World 11,013 B.C. – 2011 A.D” claiming that the world was created 13,022 years ago while the age of the church ended in the year 1988.
Most of his claims seemed like a horrible error for many people.
Ads of the May 21 Judgment Day Prediction of Harold Egbert Camping hang in different parts of the world. News spread in various media featuring how his followers respond to his warning. Again, the world did not end and rapture did not came.
It is obvious that signs of the Second Coming depicted in the Bible are gradually being fulfilled. Wars, calamities and hunger continue to happen at present. The Bible also emphasized that many false prophets will come.
The exact date of the world’s end remains a question for everyone. It is every man’s agency whether to believe or ignore the predictions of Harold Camping. God will come in His own time while He continues to test every man’s faith.