When we last heard from Harold Camping, the Family Radio broadcaster was conceding he'd been wrong about The Rapture beginning on May 21 — a prediction that had some folks selling their worldly possessions and traveling the nation to warn that the end was coming soon.
Harold Camping speaks during a taping of his show Open Forum in Oakland, Calif., on May 23, 2011.
Harold Camping speaks during a taping of his show Open Forum in Oakland, Calif., on May 23, 2011.
His calculations had been off, Camping said, and it was looking to him like things would really get going (or start stopping?) on Oct. 21.
That's next Friday.
Now Camping, who says he's recovering slowly from a stroke he suffered in June, has posted a new audio message. He's sounding a little less than definite, but still convinced that the end is coming soon. And he's also predicting it will all sort of happen with a whimper, not a bang.
Camping's thinking that:
— "We're getting very near the very end."
— Next Friday "looks like, at this point ... it will be the final end of everything."
— When the end does come and believers are taken up to heaven, the "wicked" will not be left behind to suffer. "There will be no pain suffered by anyone because of their rebellion against God," Camping predicts, because "He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked."
— There won't be earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters.
"The end is going to come very, very quietly."
Discussions for this story are now closed. Please see the Community FAQ for more information.
NPR thanks our sponsors
This is NPR's news blog. It's a place to come for breaking news, analysis and for stories that are just too interesting — or too entertaining — to pass up.
It's also a place for conversation about the news; we're counting on you to keep us honest. But please read the discussion rules before diving in.
You can find out more about The Two-Way, including the origin of its name, on the "Welcome" page.
You can drop us a line via our contact form.