Judgement Day tomorrow?

BEHOLD, the world is ending tomorrow. So reads the gospel according to Howard Camping, a minister and the president of United States conservative group Family Radio.

Based on what he terms ‘evidence found in the Bible’, Camping and the followers of his more than 50 year old Christian radio network have declared May 21 to be Judgement Day. The end is coming and according to Camping, believers will be raptured tomorrow at 18h00 American time, while those dismissive of his claims will face five months of misery on Earth before the end of the world in October this year.The Christian radio network has over the past few weeks taken to billboards, the internet, radio and newspapers all over the world advertising our impending doom in a bid to sensitise the fellow brethren to ‘repent’ so as not to be left behind when the Lord comes for his church tomorrow. In Namibia, several adverts by the radio network have appeared in The Namibian newspaper.In video footage on The Telegraph website, dressed in a cream suit with a matching tie and white collar shirt, grey-haired Camping boldly declares: ‘On May 21, there’s going to be a terrific earthquake, way way bigger then the earth has ever experienced. That will be the beginning of Judgement Day. The rest of the world will know instantly that Judgement Day has begun because all of the earthquake sensors will pick that up instantly. There is no plan B, it is going to happen. The Bible guarantees it.’Camping revealed that he determined May 21 as the Day of Judgement after calculating various dates from past biblical events, starting with the great flood, which he believes, happened in 4990 BC. ‘Mr Camping has been a tireless student of the Bible for over five decades and the date May 21, 2011 was derived solely from evidence found in the Bible. The tens of thousands of hours he has spent analysing the Bible has given him a unique perspective of the entirety of Scripture,’ said Motlalepula Maxwell Moahloli, spokesperson of Camping in Southern Africa.According to Moahloli, ‘Mr Camping saw God had placed, in Scripture, many important signs and proofs.’ These proofs apparently alert believers that May 21 of 2011 is the date Christ will return for his people and begin a period of the final destruction of the world. ‘Other signs described by the Bible have all been fulfilled, giving further proof that we are at that time,’ he claimed.Asked how people should prepare themselves for tomorrow’s rapture, Moahloli advised everyone to ‘cry out to God for mercy and fully recognise you are a sinner.’ It is not the first time that Camping has made an apocalyptic prediction. He has previously claimed the world would end in 1994, but puts this error down to a miscalculation. Asked what will happen if tomorrow’s prediction turns out to be just another ‘error down to a miscalculation’, Moahloli said that this time round the Biblical evidence is too overwhelming and specific to be wrong.’God in his mercy has revealed the vital information needed to know the day. Judgement Day on May 21, 2011 will occur because the bible declares it. Anyone whom God has not saved will arrive at that day with no hope for salvation. God warns simply the door will be shut.’Meanwhile, Reverend Ngeno Nakamhela of the Innercity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Windhoek had this to say about Camping’s dooms day declaration: ‘I know of no one who is able to know God’s agenda. I also believe that no one on this earth can be able to tell humanity about God’s agenda.’Furthermore, the Reverend was quick to point out that the Holy Scripture states that Jesus Christ’s Second Coming will be an unexpected and sudden ‘surprise’, ‘like a thief’ is a surprise.’This means that no one knows when he is coming,’ he said.Pastor Johnny Kitching of the Protestant Pentecostal church in Windhoek’s Hochland Park area concurs with Nakamela. ‘Nobody knows when Jesus is coming. The signs of the time shows that his coming is very near, and that we must be ready to meet him. But we don’t know the date and time of his coming,’ he said. The public also came out strongly labelling Camping’s claims as rubbish. ‘He is bored, a false prophet,’ said Tangeni Wetu. Said Emmy Auala, ‘Nonsense. They said that 11 years ago too. Whoever said that should get a life or a real hobby.’

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