He has put his faith out for the world to see, co-ordinating an advertising campaign proclaiming that the end of the world is coming on May 21.
His group, Family Radio, has billboards in 17 Canadian cities, he said, including Toronto, Calgary, Kingston, Windsor, Saskatoon, Ottawa, Quebec City and Montreal. They have thousands more across the United States and overseas in such countries as Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon, Mr. Garcia said.
A travelling caravan of believers is scheduled to be in Calgary and Vancouver next week, according to the group’s website.
“The doors to salvation are open. They are open today and they will be shut on May 21,” said Mr. Garcia, who lives in Oakland, Calif.
The founder of Family Radio, Harold Camping, reportedly came up with the May 21 date based on a mathematical formula he created one night.
quote:Mr. Camping’s math has been wrong before. The preacher’s followers gathered in an auditorium on Sept. 6, 1994, the day Mr. Camping predicted the rapture. Despite nothing happening, Mr. Camping’s following has continued to grow.
“I understand that other people have been wrong, but the fact is that eventually God is going to revisit us,” Mr. Garcia said.
quote:“Have you heard the awesome news?” the side of the RVs asked, in big bold letters. “The End of the World is Almost Here!”
quote:Among them was Gary Vollmer, who took a leave of absence from the Department of Homeland Security to spread the word. He’s supposed to go back on May 23. “But I’m not going back,” he said. “I’ll be gone on the 21st.” ... Tony Moise, a 47-year-old insurance underwriter from Silver Spring, quit his job to prepare. “It will be hell on Earth,” he said, taking a break from handing out material. “You won’t want to be around on May 22. There will be no electricity, no power, no water.”
quote:Camping, an engineer by training, says he came up with the very precise date of May 21 through a mathematical calculation that would probably crash Google’s computers. It involves, among other things, the dates of floods, the signals of numbers in the Bible, multiplication, addition and subtraction thereof. Camping describes his equations with absolute conviction.
I hope he got 6÷2(1+2) right.
quote:To bolster his claim that “judgment days are coming,” Camping has mentioned the massive earthquakes in Chile, Haiti and Japan, as well as the recent tornadoes in the South. And to top that off, gay people are thriving.
quote:The end will come sometime around 6 p.m. on May 21 — not 6 p.m. California time or New York time or Hong Kong time. The world will end at 6 p.m. only when it is 6 p.m. locally, Camping said, citing his calculations. “People will see this coming to them from around the world,” he said. “It will follow the sun around.”
posted
It's interesting how you can look at the behavior of followers of this sort of thing and see just how *qualified* their belief really is, despite the passionate certainty of their words.
For example, in the classic "Gon' die" scenario, say you've been second-opinioned by reliable doctors, prognosis utterly terminal, well...do they tell their jobs "I'll be gone for this five day period." Or do they get their affairs in order, give away possessions, etc.?
These folks if they actually *believed* this stuff, down in the gut...well, I wonder how much gas is in their cars on the 21st?
ETA: That made me LOL too, Mucus:)
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote: The end will come sometime around 6 p.m. on May 21
According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter - the world's only totally reliable guide to the future - the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea...
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I've seen a couple of these in Boston; one right by my office. Didn't realize it was the end of the world.
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This may be a rumor, but a caller to a podcast I listen to claims to have contacted Family Radio and promised to donate $10K to their righteous cause. They were thrilled. But he added the caveat that, if the world somehow didn't end, they would pay him back, plus 10% interest.
Needless to say, they did not take him up on that.
I really hope it's a true story. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
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posted
On the way back from the hospital this morning, we saw the caravan mentioned in the article, parked near the National Mall.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I think this guy may be on to something... first the Rangers get to the world Series on good pitching, and now the Mavericks are about to eliminate the world champion Lakers by playing DEFENSE.
The world may or may not end, but Hell certainly has frozen over...
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I'm a christian, but this is just stupid. Anyone who thinks they can predict anything down to a date is a complete idiot.
It even says in the Bible, and I'm not trying to preach or anything, because I'm more or less against sticking your religion into people's faces. But still, to further explain how retarded this is, and how fundamentally non-christian, please read the following:
Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
Mark 13:32 says the same exact thing as the verse above.
Acts 1:7 "He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."
There are plenty of others, too, throughout the new testament, all of which explain that mortals will never be able to predict the end (not even Christ can do that). It even says not to sit around and wait for it, but rather to live your lives the way you normally would. Be mindful of it, but do not give up on living.
This guy is an idiot and he's obviously just trying to cash in on the end of the world craze everyone seems to be on about. People need to just get on with their lives already. I mean can anyone really believe this crap after he was wrong once before? Fool a gullible retard once, shame on you. Fool them twice, they're even more retarded than I thought.
quote:Originally posted by Mucus: The founder of Family Radio, Harold Camping, reportedly came up with the May 21 date based on a mathematical formula he created one night.
Is it wrong of me to think that drinking was involved, as if this is the hidden plot of The Hangover 2?
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Fool a gullible retard once, shame on you. Fool them twice, they're even more retarded than I thought.
I think it's still shame on you...people with developmental handicaps are a special case.
quote:I'm not trying to preach or anything, because I'm more or less against sticking your religion into people's faces.
Unrelatedly, I saw this t-shirt and it busted me up.
quote: Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one. It's fine to be proud of it. But please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around. And PLEASE don't try and shove it down my children's throats.
quote: It even says in the Bible, and I'm not trying to preach or anything, because I'm more or less against sticking your religion into people's faces. But still, to further explain how retarded this is, and how fundamentally non-christian, please read the following:
It says it in the Bible now. There was a time, though, when Christians were pretty sure the end was really nigh. In-our-lifetimes-nigh. In other words, while I think these guys are pretty nuts, this particular belief specifically isn't any more nuts than some contemporaries of Christ and their immediate descendants held to as well. But then the world kept on not ending, and Christians-in-general had to sort of drop that particular belief.
Put another way, I don't think the Bible should, as a document, get a whole lot of credit for saying 'don't name the hour' (paraphrasing), because for quite awhile people thought they did know the hour, if not the second, and proclaimed it. And then looked a mite silly when that hour came and went and the wheel in the sky kept on turnin'. Christians aren't in much of a position, in terms of pointing fingers at other Christians, to lay claims to credibility on this subject.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote: It even says in the Bible, and I'm not trying to preach or anything, because I'm more or less against sticking your religion into people's faces. But still, to further explain how retarded this is, and how fundamentally non-christian, please read the following:
It says it in the Bible now.
I could be unfamilar with the details, but was there ever a time where it wasn't? And I mean that it actually wasn't written in the bible. Because if not, then my point still stands. As far as I know, the dead sea scrolls are the oldest known documents of the original gospels, and the american bible is a direct translation with very few flaws (albiet, they do exist, though these quotes are not among them).
quote: There was a time, though, when Christians were pretty sure the end was really nigh. In-our-lifetimes-nigh. In other words, while I think these guys are pretty nuts, this particular belief specifically isn't any more nuts than some contemporaries of Christ and their immediate descendants held to as well. But then the world kept on not ending, and Christians-in-general had to sort of drop that particular belief.
What you're talking about here is the interpretation of the bible. I was talking about the actually words. Those are different subjects.
quote:Put another way, I don't think the Bible should, as a document, get a whole lot of credit for saying 'don't name the hour' (paraphrasing), because for quite awhile people thought they did know the hour, if not the second, and proclaimed it. And then looked a mite silly when that hour came and went and the wheel in the sky kept on turnin'. Christians aren't in much of a position, in terms of pointing fingers at other Christians, to lay claims to credibility on this subject.
Again, you need to differentiate between the documents and the interpreters, because those are two completely different things. I completely agree with what you are saying about how christians have been saying "the end is nigh" for two thousand years just like they are today, but through all that time, these verses never changed (and if they did, there's no proof of it).
Anyway, I hope that clears it up. Let me know if I misunderstood what you were saying.
Posts: 1324 | Registered: Feb 2011
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quote: It says it in the Bible now. There was a time, though, when Christians were pretty sure the end was really nigh. In-our-lifetimes-nigh.
At what point were there Christians in the Bible who thought the world was ending at anytime before Jesus said these words during his ministry?
Yes there were certainly those who thought the world was going to end many different times after Christ's life. They have all been wrong. Christians in general have not dropped the belief that the world will end, in fact polls on the subject have shown that most Christians still believe the world will end sooner rather than later. Heck my entire church is so named The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because that belief is an essential feature. We haven't predicted any dates, but we do believe that there is much less time than many suspect. I wouldn't put a number on it, but if another 2000 years passed, that would be a pretty serious contradiction for Mormons I should think.
quote:Put another way, I don't think the Bible should, as a document, get a whole lot of credit for saying 'don't name the hour' (paraphrasing), because for quite awhile people thought they did know the hour, if not the second, and proclaimed it.
So when Christians try to do what the Bible says they cannot, the Bible looks silly when they fail?
quote:Christians aren't in much of a position, in terms of pointing fingers at other Christians, to lay claims to credibility on this subject.
I'm so confused. OK there are Christians, relatively many, who think the Bible is clear on the exact date, but there are also Christians who take Jesus' words at face value that the date isn't actually known by anybody but God himself. We don't have any credibility when we say that those who attempt to predict the date, don't actually have any scriptures from the Bible encouraging them to do so, or actively helping the effort?
I'm reasonably certain that if somebody were able to steal the secret of the last day of earth's existence from the Bible, it would be in spite of the Bible, not otherwise.
You are of course welcome to suggest where the Bible attempts to lay down a date for the last day. I've never seen it.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I'm not a Christian, far from it...but I agree with BlackBlade and Jeff C...just because some Christians went against the bible does not in any way discredit either the bible or other scripture following Christians from saying that picking out an expiration date for reality is crazy with a capital "C".
Posts: 6683 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
This bums me out. I can't think of anything significant to do before May 21st. My life is so dull, I can't even celebrate the end of the world in proper fashion.
I'm currently watching all the seasons of Scrubs on Netflix, though. I really am going to set a goal to finish them before May 21st. That way I can feel a part of this wild, reckless abandon.
Posts: 407 | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:So which timezone will this be occurring in?
Each of them. Apparently there will be a wave of rapture that passes across the Earth at exactly 6:00 PM local time. (not sure if that's by time zone of astronomical local time)
Also, the title of the thread is wrong. Judgment day is May 21. There will be an additional 5 months before the world ends. So the end of the world is October 21.
Hey if you're going to report it, you may as well get it right.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
I just figured out, it's a stadium wave. Maybe someone can hand out cards that spell something.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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quote: I could be unfamilar with the details, but was there ever a time where it wasn't? And I mean that it actually wasn't written in the bible. Because if not, then my point still stands. As far as I know, the dead sea scrolls are the oldest known documents of the original gospels, and the american bible is a direct translation with very few flaws (albiet, they do exist, though these quotes are not among them).
My mistake-I should've been more clear. I didn't mean that there was a time that the Bible, or rather the documents that would become the Bible, said something different. Rather that there was a time that many Christians (of course, for 'many' to feel accurate, a much smaller number had to be reached back then) believed the end of the world was quite soon, within their lifetimes-it wasn't something vague in the indefinite future.
----------
BB,
quote:At what point were there Christians in the Bible who thought the world was ending at anytime before Jesus said these words during his ministry?
That's not quite what I meant. I hope I explained myself more clearly above. I meant followers of Christ who lived at the time of Christ and believed in him-not disciples of Christ as they appear in the Bible.
quote:So when Christians try to do what the Bible says they cannot, the Bible looks silly when they fail?
No. Basically, when the Bible says, 'Don't name the hour' and that comes after a lot of people have said, "Coming really soon!" and then it doesn't happen...I just don't think it should, in and of itself, get much credit for teaching that lesson. I think that credit more fairly goes to common sense. I'm not trying to criticize religion in general or Christianity in particular-I believe I'd make much the same criticism of any belief system.
quote:I'm so confused. OK there are Christians, relatively many, who think the Bible is clear on the exact date, but there are also Christians who take Jesus' words at face value that the date isn't actually known by anybody but God himself. We don't have any credibility when we say that those who attempt to predict the date, don't actually have any scriptures from the Bible encouraging them to do so, or actively helping the effort?
You're confused because I communicated badly-that's my fault. The problem, I feel, is the incredibly vague, unclear message for something that's actually quite specific and including things like an actual time. "We don't know when it's going to happen-don't believe people who tell you they know the day or the hour. But we do know it's going to happen soon. Sooner than we think."
There's a contradiction there. If we don't know when it's going to happen, how do we know it's going to happen sooner than anything? I mean, I'm fine with scripture as metaphor, but this is just frustrating. It's trying to have it both ways, and that's the sort of thing folks like these End of the Worlders are feeding on. This 'soon!' business. I feel that part is pretty clear.
What's less clear (I feel) and more a matter of personal opinion is that it ties in with the vaguely (or not-so-vaguely) threatening aspects of the Bible-as-written, according to some writings. World's gonna end soon, best shape up. The 'or else' is implied.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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If I could only believe this, I'd stop grading papers and spend the next week and a half snorkeling.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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The end of the world huh...that sounds a little vague to me.
These guys are saying rapture is going to happen...which wouldn't affect me or my wife, but if true, I would hope would affect my children, as they are too young to believe or not in Jesus.
So, let's say for the sake of argument they are right...what is going to happen to all of us heathens? Would it be like any other day except for all the empty churches? Or is the devil, his red horny pointy tail pitchfork self, going to show up and make us all shovel coal in an underground steam bath?
Or what? You Christians out there...what is supposed to happen come judgement day?
Posts: 6683 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Stone_Wolf_: Or what? You Christians out there...what is supposed to happen come judgement day?
From my studies, I believe we live in order to fight against the machines. Eventually, the computer that controls the machines will send two back in time.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Jim-Me: I'm telling you guys... this guy's on to something. Did any of you see game 4?
Nah. Game 4 just proves that God exists (and, justly, hates the Lakers). Doesn't necessarily mean He's going to destroy the world this month, though. Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Stone_Wolf_: The end of the world huh...that sounds a little vague to me.
These guys are saying rapture is going to happen...which wouldn't affect me or my wife, but if true, I would hope would affect my children, as they are too young to believe or not in Jesus.
So, let's say for the sake of argument they are right...what is going to happen to all of us heathens? Would it be like any other day except for all the empty churches? Or is the devil, his red horny pointy tail pitchfork self, going to show up and make us all shovel coal in an underground steam bath?
Or what? You Christians out there...what is supposed to happen come judgement day?
My Revalations is a little rusty, but from what I recal, the nonbelievers are supposed to be left behind (thanks, Rapture!). After that, the world turns chaotic with mass hysteria. Countries will fall and hundreds of millions will die in disease, famine, war, and natural disasters. The world will be torn assunder by natural forces until islands sink and mountains fall, making all known maps completely unreliable. Then, with the absence of the holy spirit on Earth, the demons of hell will be let loose upon mankind. It will literally be hell on Earth (party 2011!!!!). These demons will take the form of various things, including locusts and frogs (think Egypt, circa biblical Exodus) as well as demonic horsemen, each taking a fourth of the Earth.
Of course, during all of this, the antichrist, disguised as a human being, has been spreading propoganda and deceit, convincing the masses to follow him to cleanse the remaining believers (i.e. those who converted after the Rapture, thereby still stuck on Earth). A rebellion has formed, however, and the believers have moved underground.
This entire fiasco lasts for seven years (biblical numerology 101) and ends with the antichrist taking over Jeruselem. After that, there's a final battle (It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!) in Megiddo (otherwise known as, yep, you guess it...Armageddon). This battle is where Christ the Messiah comes back to battle his evil counterpart and their forces clash. Ultimately, the good guys win and Heaven sets down upon Earth, creating a sort of hybrid known as New Jeruselem. Everyone lives happily ever after.
Except for the sinners. Them folks gotta burn.
Yay for story time with Jeff! Posts: 1324 | Registered: Feb 2011
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Do the oceans count? It sounds like a waste of malicious power to have a horsemen create anarchy out in the sea.
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