Harold Camping

Harold Camping
Born
Harold Egbert Camping

(1921-07-19)July 19, 1921
Boulder, Colorado, US
DiedDecember 15, 2013(2013-12-15) (aged 92)
Oakland, California, US
Cause of deathFalls
EducationBS, Civil engineering (1942)[1]
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Occupation(s)Talk radio personality, self-published Christian author
Years active1958–2011[2]
Known forEnd times predictions
SpouseShirley Camping (1943–present)[3]
Websitefamilyradio.com

Harold Egbert Camping (July 19, 1921 – December 15, 2013) was an American Christian radio broadcaster.[1] His parents were Dutch immigrants. He served as president of Family Radio, a California-based radio station group that broadcasts to more than 150 markets in the United States, since 1958. In 2011 he retired from active broadcasting following a stroke, but maintained a role at Family Radio until his death.[4] Camping is notable for applying numerology to his interpretations of Bible passages in an attempt to predict dates for the End Times.[5][6]

His 2011 end times prediction was that on May 21, 2011 Jesus Christ would return to Earth, the righteous would fly up to heaven, and that there would follow five months of fire, brimstone and plagues on Earth, with millions of people dying each day, culminating on October 21, 2011 with the end of the world.[7][8] He had previously predicted judgment days on May 21, 1988, and September 6, 1994.[9][10][11]

His prediction for May 21, 2011 was widely reported, in part because of a massive publicity campaign by Family Radio, and it prompted responses from both atheist and Christian organizations.[12][13] After May 21 passed without the predicted incidents, Camping said he believed that a "spiritual" judgment had occurred on that date, and that the physical Rapture would occur on October 21, 2011, simultaneously with the destruction of the universe by God.[14] Except for one press appearance on May 23, 2011, Camping largely avoided press interviews after May 21, particularly after he suffered a stroke in June.[15] October 21, 2011, passed without the predicted apocalypse,[16] leading the International Business Times to proclaim Camping a "false prophet."[17]

Camping was reported to have retired from his position at Family Radio as of October 16, 2011,[2] only days before his last predicted date for the end of the world. However, his daughter later clarified that he had not retired outright, but was maintaining a role at the Family Radio while working from home.[4] Camping admitted in a private interview that he no longer believed that anybody could know the time of the Rapture or the end of the world, in stark contrast to his previously staunch position on the subject.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Christian radio host tells listeners to abandon church". Associated Press. January 23, 2003. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Harold Camping Exclusive: Family Radio Founder Retires Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine – Christian Post. October 24, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  3. ↑ Who Is Harold Camping Anyway? – Christian Post. May 21, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Harold Camping's Daughter Responds to Claims Family Radio Founder Has 'Retired'". Christian Post. November 3, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  5. ↑ Biblical scholar's date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Archived 2011-06-18 at the Wayback Machine San Francisco Gate. January 1, 2010
  6. ↑ "Harold Camping silent after Doomsday dud". International Business Times. May 22, 2011.
  7. ↑ Elizabeth Tenety (January 3, 2011). "May 21, 2011: Harold Camping says the end is near". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  8. ↑ Kimberly Winston (March 23, 2011). "Judgment Day: May 21, 2011". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  9. ↑ Nelson, Chris (June 18, 2002). "A Brief History of the Apocalypse; 1971 – 1997: Millennial Madness". Retrieved June 23, 2007.
  10. ↑ International Business Times, "Harold Camping Says End did come May 21, spiritually; Predicts New Date: October 21" [1] Archived 2013-04-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 23, 2011
  11. ↑ video about the book "1994?"
  12. ↑ "Rapture apocalypse prediction sparks atheist reaction". BBC News. May 21, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Judgment Day is coming May 21, 2011 - The Bible Says No Such Thing said Kenneth Lewis the President of". Christiannewstoday.com. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
  14. ↑ Radio host says Rapture actually coming in October Archived 2011-05-29 at the Wayback Machine – Globe and Mail. May 23, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Yahoo! Groups". Groups.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
  16. ↑ "Doomsday prophet remains in hiding". The Daily Mail, 22 October 2011.
  17. ↑ International Business Times, October 21, 2011