DrJays.comChurch "Deeply Disappointed" World Did Not End; Doomsday Prophet Quits?Submitted by Ben Glaser on October 26, 2011 – 9:54 am
If you watched Game 5 of the
World Series, read this sentence, or really did anything since last Friday, it suggests that the world did not end, as predicted by church leader
Harold Camping. And after what some say is his 12th incorrect prediction (including
last May's infamous blunder), sources close to the preacher are saying he is not only retiring, but admitting that man cannot predict the date of the Apocalypse.
According to the
Christian Post, a documentarian with the group quoted Camping's wife, confirming that her husband was now retired as the head of
Family Radio Stations, the large and influential network of Christian broadcasters. This source also said that Camping has recently stated "nobody could know exactly when the time of the apocalypse would come," a drastic departure from his decades of belief that the date of Judgement Day was encoded in the Bible.
(I’m not providing links to
The Christian Post, because my anti-virus software kept detecting malware on the site. Explore carefully.)
Camping has barely spoken to the media since suffering a stroke last June, and not at all since Friday. He was reportedly greatly shaken by May's failed prediction, although he explained that a "silent judgement" had taken place, and that God's elect would actually be brought to heaven last week. The 90-year-old former engineer has sounded weak and agitated in recent appearances.
This could be a major turning point for the Christian organization, which is said to now be emphasizing a "softer" approach, emphasizing readiness for the second coming of Jesus every day. Like in many prophetic groups, previous failed prophecies were just incorporated into a larger story for the group, but that no longer seems to be the case.
Family Radio may have been one step ahead of many of its supporters, though.
CNN Money revealed that
many employees back in May did not believe the prophecy then, and the organization had continued to plan well beyond the proposed doomsday.
Many though, who had drained their savings accounts, donated to the station, or otherwise winded down their lives, were furious.
"I know that many of us are deeply disappointed that Christ did not come," said one Family Radio host, "...but...we are to pray with the apostle
John: 'Come quickly
Lord Jesus.' "
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