(May 21, 2011) Judgment Day

The 2011 end times prediction is a prediction made by Christian preacher Harold Camping that the Rapture (in Christian belief, the taking up into heaven of God's elect people) will take place on May 21, 2011 and that the end of the world as we know it will take place five months later on October 21, 2011. These predictions were made by Camping, president of the Family Radio Christian network, who claims the Bible as his source. Believers claim that around 200 million people (approximately 3% of the world's population) will be raptured.

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 RVs 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.

These predictions have been largely rejected by mainstream Christianity, prompting "a flurry of attacks".

Controversy

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. 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, using other verses (such as 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5:5) in their rebuttal.

Camping asserts that before the End comes, believers should "flee the church," resigning from any church they belong to; however, this assertion has been controversial.

In Camping's 1992 self-published book 1994? He proclaimed that the End Time would come on September 4, 1994. When the Rapture failed to occur on the appointed day, Camping said he had made a mathematical error.

Reasoning

The majority of arguments, or biblical "proofs", in favor of the May 21st end time have come from Camping. 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 SFGate 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.' "

A commonly cited argument in favor of the May 21st date is:

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 x 10 x 17)2 or (atonement x completeness x heaven)2 also equals 722,500.

Thus, Camping concludes that 5 x 10 x 17 is telling us a "story from the time Christ made payment for our sins until we're completely saved."

"I know it's absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true."

— Harold Camping, president, Family Radio

Criticism

James Kreuger, author of the book Secrets of the Apocalypse - Revealed, has stated that while he believes the rapture is coming, Camping is incorrectly 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.' "

Theology professor Matthew L. Skinner, writing at the Huffington Post, notes the "long history of failed speculation" about the end of the world and cautions that end-of-the-world talk can lead Christians to social passivity instead of "working for the world's redemption".