World to End on Saturday

[Eternal_Freedom]

As found here.

It's raining in New York, and everyone tries to get out of the rain. Not Manny. Unflappable, he stands on a corner with his umbrella, warning people that on Saturday, May 21, the world will end.

All over New York, preachers armed with T-shirts, brochures, books and posters are preaching the end of the world. Using a complex numerical calculation from the Bible, there are even advertisements on the New York city subway warning of the "great earthquake" that accompanies the advent of Judgement Day.

"According to the Bible, in the Book of Revelations there will be a worldwide earthquake," Manny said. "We're not sure if it will happen at the same time everywhere, because times are different. But it is supposed to happen simultaneously around the world," the 56-year old from the Dominican Republic told AFP.

The date of May 21, 2011 may seem random, but it is based on a numerical analysis by Harold Camping, the president of Family Radio, a religious broadcaster based in California.

"According to Genesis, when the flood occurred in the year 4990, God told Noah that in seven days he would destroy the earth," Manny explained. "And he destroyed it in seven days.

"But Peter said: 'I know that one day for me is like a thousand years.' So 4990 plus 7001 years (the equivalent of seven days) equals 2011," he explained.

Not only that, May 21 coincides with the 17th day of the second month of the calendar used during the Biblical flood, according to Camping.

Nearby the corner where Manny is prophesying, Borce, 43, is handing out leaflets and explaining to anyone who will listen that they have a few hours left to find salvation.

"Right now there is still salvation, but when May 21st gonna come, the salvation program is finished, God gonna shut the door, and after that only five months remain for the unsaved of the world, and they're gonna be suffering and on the 21st October, God gonna destroy this world with fire," Borce said.

If Manny and Borce are out on the noisy New York City streets everyday spreading the word, they are planning to be in a quieter place when the fateful moment arrives.

"Until Friday, I gonna still pray for God for mercy. Saturday I'll be at home, just watching the news, because the doors will be shut," said Borce, who is American.

"I will kneel and ask God's mercy to see if he can save me, because God wants salvation for everyone," said Manny, who was at his side.

Despite their faith, both men realize that their message is often ridiculed. "People do not believe it," said Manny. "It is typical of what happened in Noah's time, where only eight people were saved. According to the Bible, only 200 million people will be saved" this time, Manny said.

To Borce, that reaction is predictable. "The people are laughing, they laugh at us," he says, adding: "Pray until Friday."

Meanwhile, enterprising atheists across 26 states have set up a business to care for the animal companions of any Christians who are selected to go to heaven when Jesus Christ comes back

"You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes, what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind?" Eternal Earth-Bound Pets says on its website, offering to "take that burden off your mind."

The post-doomsday pet rescue service already has 259 clients, who have paid $135 for the first pet and $20 for each additional pet at the same address, to ensure the faithful animal companions are looked after and loved even when their Christian owners have gone to the other side.

All the rescuers are sworn atheists, which means they will definitely be left behind on Earth, ready to rescue pets after the Rapture.

When judgment day happens, Eternal Earth-Bound Pets co-founder Bart Centre "will notify all of our rescuers to go into action and they will drive to the homes of anyone who's signed a contract with us, pick up their pets and take them home and adopt them as their own, keeping them happy and healthy for the rest of their lives.

"This will happen only if and when the Rapture happens. So we do not expect to have to do anything on Saturday," Centre told AFP.

Contracts are good for 10 years, just in case the Mayan calendar prophesy, which predicts the world will end in December next year, comes true.

I think the enterprising atheists bit is hilarious.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Man I had to read that a couple of times to make sure it wasn't an ONION article.
Seriouslly how many times has the world ended? Does this make almost a dozen now?
We need to sport those "Current Earth Status: Not Destroyed" buttons in our sigs so when the 21st comes we can change them to "Status: Destroyed"

[LaCroix]

Now that were easily earned 40k $... Congratulations to these people out there...

[Iroscato]

Devilishly clever business people out there, wish I'd thought of that.
What makes me laugh, is when a preacher says the world's going to end on a particular date, and then, when it doesn't, they don't make a big fuss about how they were wrong and they admit it. No, they just shuffle off, muttering it'll happen one day.

It's the apocalyptic equivalent of saying 'OK, I'm really going to hit you now!! Get ready!!! It's really going to happen!'
Pathetic, as is to be expected from religion.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Talk of Iowa on Iowa Public Radio had a program about the May 21st apocalypse last week.

Some Christian groups are claiming that Saturday, May 21 is "Judgment Day," or "The Rapture," when God's "Elect People" will be taken up into heaven. They base their beliefs on the book of Daniel and claim that 2011 is the end of "the 23-year Great Tribulation." We'll talk to a believer of the prediction, Stephen Brooks of Boone Bible Ministries and a detractor, Jason Kelley of Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers. Also participating in the discussion will be Iowa State University Religion Professor Dr. Hector Avalos and Des Moines Register columnist Kyle Munson.

I recommend downloading the episode and listening to it. It gives you a glimpse into one of the crazy people who believe this and has some intelligent facts about the history of these predictions and snarky comments about those who follow them.

[Phantasee]

Misleading title. The Rapture/Judgment Day is on Saturday, the world doesn't end until October 21st.

[Skylon]

I spotted this crap over a week ago while on a trek into the city. They had criers in the Port Authority (where there is always someone pronouncing judgement is at hand) and plastered ads all over one of the subway cars I was on.

I've now had several kids ask about it at work.

Seeing as if they're wrong their world may as well end....I guess the world is ending for these people next Saturday.

[Patrick Degan]

If the Rapture meant that all the assholes presently fucking up and fucking over this country were to vanish and leave it to the rest of us to start fixing, I say let it come.

On another note, some wag on Facebook suggested that atheists buy old shoes and clothes from thrift stores and put them randomly on the streets, with dry ice to make fog coming up out of the shoes, to scare the shit out of the Fundies.

[Serafina]

God raptures all christians.
After that, he notices that the world is now a pretty good places and thinks "hmm, now i don't have to end the world anymore".
Everybody wins.

[Zeond]

This stuff is all over the world with sightings in both eastern and western Canada, Australia and South Africa to name a few. Harold Camping is an 89 year old radio evangelist who pulled a bunch "bible based" numbers out of his rear end and massaged them enough to get a date in the near future which he's been preaching about for years through his radio show on a station called Family Radio. This guy is his own brand of crazy having being kicked off regular churches in 1988 and claiming since then that all churches haves been taken over by satan and therefore not to be trusted.

What I find most disturbing about this whole thing is how he's been able to convince hundreds of people to spend their savings on billboards and to plaster vinyl decals all over their vehicles to go preach his message of the coming doom.

People have reported seeing caravans of up to five of these in the US

There are going to be few hundred more nearly penniless retirees come May 22 and Harold Camping is to blame for this.


Once you learn that this same guy had previously predicted that the rapture was going to occur on September 1994 based on similar "math", it really boggles the mind how anyone can still believe him.

On the lighter side, this site is most likely quite right. Camping and his group will likely claim that they prayed hard enough to have the world spared for a few more years or that he, once again, made a error in his "calculations".

[CaptainChewbacca]

Does anyone know what TIME on saturday I'll be raptured? I want to make sure to turn off the gas and prop open the front door so my cats can get out. Is it dawn, 3 p.m., local, Greenwich Mean Time, etc.

I hope I can find out.

[Havok]

Is Australia gonna get raptured first? If I fly back over the international date line can avoid this? Me an Heysoos aren't really on good terms.

[Havok]

On another note, some wag on Facebook suggested that atheists buy old shoes and clothes from thrift stores and put them randomly on the streets, with dry ice to make fog coming up out of the shoes, to scare the shit out of the Fundies.

Oh man, if this could be pulled off on a massive scale...

[wautd]

This Saturday will be inconventient for me. I've already made plans.

[Dark Hellion]

Funny enough I saw one of those "Judgment Day" vehicles yesterday night driving around Lincoln Park, Chicago. I was wondering what it was about... well that's not the whole truth. My first thought was that the Schwarzenegger movie was better.

[Shroom Man 777]

Someone suggested filling blow up dolls with helium and letting them fly.

[Broomstick]

On another note, some wag on Facebook suggested that atheists buy old shoes and clothes from thrift stores and put them randomly on the streets, with dry ice to make fog coming up out of the shoes, to scare the shit out of the Fundies.

Oh man, if this could be pulled off on a massive scale...

Man, if I had the money to blow on this I could have SUCH fun with the church down the street...

[Crossroads Inc.]

If the Rapture meant that all the assholes presently fucking up and fucking over this country were to vanish and leave it to the rest of us to start fixing, I say let it come.

On another note, some wag on Facebook suggested that atheists buy old shoes and clothes from thrift stores and put them randomly on the streets, with dry ice to make fog coming up out of the shoes, to scare the shit out of the Fundies.

Sure you SAY THAT But you might want to read some of the predictions in my old "Rapture" thread here about what would actually happen

[Darth Tedious]

We need to sport those "Current Earth Status: Not Destroyed" buttons in our sigs so when the 21st comes we can change them to "Status: Destroyed"

Where? I haven't seen those!

[PeZook]

I am seriously angry that I wasn't the one to think of the post-rapture pet business.

Jesus christ but I could use 40 000$...

[muse]

Does anyone know what TIME on saturday I'll be raptured? I want to make sure to turn off the gas and prop open the front door so my cats can get out. Is it dawn, 3 p.m., local, Greenwich Mean Time, etc.

I heard it was 8am but I'm not sure if that's local time, eastern time, western time or something else.

[PeZook]

It's 8 A.M. Heaven Time

[wautd]

Err... guys?

[Zeond]

Does anyone know what TIME on saturday I'll be raptured? I want to make sure to turn off the gas and prop open the front door so my cats can get out. Is it dawn, 3 p.m., local, Greenwich Mean Time, etc.

I hope I can find out.

I can't find the exact quote right now but Camping supposedly said that a huge rolling earthquake will start at 6:00 PM local on Saturday at the international date line and move west so that it hits everywhere at 6:00 PM local time. Those poor people on Kiribati will be the first followed by New Zealand. How nice of god to follow Human time conventions. I wonder if he will account for + 30 minute timezones and if all of China is going to be hit at once.

[Serafina]

Nuff said