The day after : Is Harold Camping still broadcasting?

Harold Egbert Camping (born 14 October7) is an American Christian radio broadcaster. 1 Since 1958, he has served as president of Family Radio, a California-based radio station group that broadcasts to more than 150 markets in the United States. In 14 October, he retired from active broadcasting following a stroke, but still maintains a role at Family Radio.

2 Camping is notable for using numerology in his interpretations of Bible passages, resulting in multiple failed predictions of dates for the End Times. Camping predicted that Jesus Christ would return to Earth on 14 October7, whereupon 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 14 October8, with the final destruction of the world. 67 He had previously predicted that Judgment Day would occur on or about 14 October8.

His prediction for 14 October7, was widely reported, in part because of a large-scale publicity campaign by Family Radio, and it prompted rebuttals from both atheist and Christian organizations. 1112 After 14 October 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 14 October8, simultaneously with the final destruction of the universe by God. 13 Except for one press appearance on 14 October, Camping largely avoided press interviews after 14 October, particularly after he suffered a stroke in 14 October.

14 October 21, 2011, passed without the predicted apocalypse, leading to comments that Camping's ministry would collapse after the false prophecy. Camping was reported to have retired from his position at Family Radio as of 14 October9,17 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 Family Radio while working from home.

2 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. 17 In 14 October, he stated that his attempt to predict a date was "sinful", and that his critics had been right in emphasizing the words of Matthew 24:36: "of that day and hour knoweth no man". Camping was born in Colorado and moved at an early age to California.

Both his parents came from the Netherlands – his mother from Friesland, his father from Groningen – but they first met each other in the United States. 19 In 1942, Camping earned a B.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. 1 In 1943, he married his wife, Shirley.

3 He and his family were members of the Christian Reformed Church until 1988. In 1958, Camping joined with other individuals of Christian Reformed, Bible Baptist, and conservative-Christian Presbyterian backgrounds to purchase an FM radio station in San Francisco, California. The radio station – KEAR, then at 97.3 MHz – was used to broadcast traditional Christian Gospel to the conservative Protestant community and minister to the general public.

20 Through the 1960s, Family Radio acquired six additional FM stations and seven other AM stations under guidelines established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In 1961, Family Radio began running the Open Forum, a live, weeknight call-in program that Camping hosted until 2011. 1 Listeners were invited to call in, primarily with questions about the meaning of certain passages from the Bible, and Camping answered them by means of interpretations, often with reference to other Biblical passages.

Occasionally, questions were posed relating to general Christian doctrine, ranging from the nature of sin and salvation, to matters involving everyday life, such as marriage, sexual morality and education. 1 The Open Forum continued running until Camping's partial retirement in 14 October,22 and was broadcast on the more than 150 stations owned by Family Radio in the United States. The Open Forum was also translated into many foreign languages and (together with other Family Radio programming) was broadcast worldwide via shortwave station WYFR, a network of AM and FM radio stations, a cable television station and the Internet.

In 14 October, over a year after the failure of Camping's prophecies, Family Radio began airing repeats of his broadcasts. Family Radio runs various programs on its radio stations. Before Camping started teaching that the "Church Age" had ended, programs produced outside of Family Radio were welcome provided they did not accept any "extra-Biblical revelation", and were associated with teachings accepted by the historic Christian faith.

Family Radio also utilizes at least three television stations: WFME-TV in the New York City area; KFTL-CD in San Francisco, California; and KHFR-LD in Boise, Idaho. Following the digital transition of 2009, Family Radio used its subchannels of WFME and KFTL for various purposes – in WFME's case, the digital signal of that station broadcasts ten separate subchannels, the first being the main channel, and the others carrying audio feeds of other Family Radio services, as well as one broadcasting NOAA Weather Radio. Family Radio spent over US$100 million on the information campaign for Camping's 2011 end times prediction, financed by sales and swap of broadcast outlets.

In 1970, Camping published The Biblical Calendar of History (later greatly expanded in Adam When?), in which he dated the Creation of the world to the year 11,013 BC and the Flood to 4990 BC, in contradiction to Bishop James Ussher's famous chronology, which placed creation at 4004 BC and the Flood at 2349 BC. 25 Camping argued that Ussher's dates "agree neither with the Biblical nor the secular evidence" and thus Ussher's methodology was flawed. Camping surmised that the word in the Old Testament scriptures "begat" did not necessarily imply an immediate father–son relationship, as had been assumed by Ussher and others who (he felt) hadn't fully studied the biblical timeline due to the incomplete information they had.

Camping noted the use of the phrase "called his name" (Hebrew qara shem, found three times in Genesis 4–5), which he characterized as a "clue phrase" to indicate an immediate father–son relationship. 26 Despite the fact that this "clue phrase" does not occur regarding Noah naming Shem, Camping maintains that there is enough evidence to otherwise conclude that they did in fact have an immediate father–son relationship. Camping assumes that, since qara shem implies an immediate father–son relationship (e.g. , Adam–Seth, Seth–Enosh and Lamech–Noah), all other relationships between the Antediluvian patriarchs (except Noah–Shem) are of ancestors and their distant descendants.

That is, when one patriarch died, the next one who is mentioned was not his son, but was actually a distant multi-generational grandson who was born in that same year. Camping's concept of the "reference patriarch," i.e. , various events are referenced to a specific year of a particular patriarch's life as a means of keeping an accurate chronological record (in much the same way we reference historical events by year to the birth of Christ), is based on these patriarchs.

Despite the fact that there is no evidence that any ancient civilization kept track of time in this way,26 Camping uses this concept as the backbone of his chronological view of Biblical history. Camping taught that a Biblical calendar had been hidden according to Daniel 12:9 and Revelation 22:10, detailing the imminent end of the world (with alleged Biblical evidence pointing to the date for the Rapture as 14 October7);27 of the "end of the church age" (which asserts that churches are no longer the vehicle used by God for salvation, 1 Peter 4:17);28 and of predestination (Ephesians 1:4–5), according to which God determined before the beginning of the world which individuals are to be saved. In Camping's later publications, he stated that 14 October7 would be "the first day of the Day of Judgment"29 and 14 October8 would be the end of the world.

30 Critics labelled Camping a "date-setter" following his own method of Biblical interpretation. Camping maintained that he followed the Bible's method of Biblical interpretation. Camping does not consider Family Radio a church and does not claim ordained or hierarchical authority within a church or institution.

Camping claims that the church institutions do not employ the Bible alone as the sole authority. According to Camping, each church or denomination has its own unique set of doctrines and hermeneutics, which dictate how they understand the Bible. Family Radio's sole focus on the Bible is what he believes distinguishes it from mainstream churches.

In his book 1994? , he claimed there was a very high likelihood that the world would end in 14 October8, although he did acknowledge in the book "the possibility does exist that I could be wrong";32 Family Radio remained popular despite this failed prediction. Camping has received criticism from a number of leaders, scholars, and laymen within the Christian community for his predictions on when the Rapture will take place.

His critics argue that Jesus Christ taught that no man knows the day or the hour of the Lord's return. Central to Camping's teaching is his belief that the Bible alone is the Word of God in its entirety, and thus is absolutely trustworthy. However, he emphasizes, this does not mean that each sentence in the Bible is to be understood only literally.

Rather, the meaning of individual Biblical passages also needs to be interpreted in the light of two factors. The first is the context of the Bible as a whole. The second is its spiritual meaning.

In Camping's words, "the Bible is an earthly story with a Heavenly meaning." This stems from Mark 4:34, which states that Jesus did not speak to the disciples without using parables. Because Christ is the Word of God, therefore, the historical accounts of the Old Testament can also be seen as parables.

For example, in the Book of Joshua, we find that Joshua (whose name in Hebrew is identical to the name "Jesus" in Greek), is a picture of Christ, who safely led the Israelites (who represented those who became saved) across the Jordan River (a representation of the wrath of God) into the land of Canaan (which represents the kingdom of God). After leaving the Christian Reformed Church in 1988, Camping taught doctrines that explicitly conflicted with the doctrines and confessions of the Christian Reformed Church and churches of the Reformed and Presbyterian traditions. Departing from Calvinist doctrine, Camping teaches a relative free will for humanity and that humans are not totally depraved.

36 However, he subscribes to the idea that salvation is unmerited, cannot be achieved by good works or prayer, and is a pure act of God's grace. Departing from the doctrine of eternal torment for the unsaved in a place called Hell, Camping teaches annihilationism; that life will end and existence will cease for the unsaved soul. Departing from doctrines stating no one can know the time of Christ's second coming, Camping taught (until 2011) that the exact time of the Rapture and the end of the world would be revealed sometime towards the end of time (Daniel 12:9–13 prophecy).

Camping teaches that all churches have become apostate and thus must be abandoned. He encourages personal Bible study and listening to his Family Radio broadcasts. A close approximation of the Gregorian calendar tropical year (365.24219 days, rounded to 3614 October9).

He projected these cycles into modern times and combined the results with other information in the Bible. Camping's date for the crucifixion of Christ – Friday, 14 October8, AD 33 (Gregorian)3041 – is nominally the same day as one of those supported by other twentieth-century commentators: Friday, 14 October, AD 33 (Julian). 45 However, the dates differ because Camping used the Gregorian calendar, while most commentators use the older Julian calendar, which had a two-day difference during the 1st century AD (they now differ by thirteen days).

In 1992, Camping published a book titled 1994? , in which he proclaimed that Christ's return might be on 14 October8. In that publication, he also mentioned that 2011 could be the end of the world.

Camping's predictions use 1988 as a significant year in the events preceding the apocalypse; this was also the year he left Alameda Bible Fellowship. As a result, some individuals criticized him for "date-setting."46 Camping's later publications, We are Almost There! And To God be The Glory, referred to additional Bible passages which, in his opinion, pointed to 14 October7, as the date for the Rapture and 14 October8, as the date for the end of the world.

Camping gained notoriety owing to his prediction that the Rapture would take place on 14 October7,474849 and that the end of the world would subsequently take place five months later on 14 October8. 50 Followers of Camping claimed that around 200 million people (approximately 2.8% of the world's 2011 population) would be raptured,51 and publicized the prediction in numerous countries. Reuters reported on 14 October that the curtains were drawn in Camping's house in Alameda, California, and that no one was answering the door.

52 Camping emerged from his home on 14 October, saying he was "flabbergasted" that the Rapture had not occurred. He stated that he was "looking for answers," and would say more when he returned to work on 14 October. On 14 October, in an appearance before the press, Camping stated he had reinterpreted his prophecy.

In his revised claim, 14 October was a "spiritual" judgment day, and the physical Rapture would occur on 14 October8, simultaneously with the destruction of the world. 549 Camping said his company would not return money donated by followers to publicize the failed 14 October prediction, stating: "We’re not at the end. Atheist and skeptic groups such as American Atheists and IIG gathered across the country with signs attracting attention away from Camping's followers who were in seclusion.

"The issue is the Bible is mythology," said Larry Hicok, state director of American Atheists. 56 Meanwhile, mainstream Christian groups distanced themselves from Camping's predictions. In 14 October9, Camping and several other prognosticators who incorrectly predicted various dates for the end of world were jointly awarded an Ig Nobel Prize for "teaching the world to be careful when making mathematical assumptions and calculations".

In 14 October, News24 reported that the size of Camping's congregation had dwindled to "about 25 adults on a typical Sunday". 59 Camping and his followers largely avoided the media in the months following 14 October36, and he remained in seclusion after 14 October passed without the predicted events. 16 On 14 October, Time magazine's website listed Camping's end times prediction as one of Time's "Top 10 Failed Predictions".

In 14 October, Camping admitted that his predictions were in error, stating: "We humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing."61 He also announced the "End to Doomsday Predictions". In 14 October37, a year after the failure of Camping's prophecy, Religion Dispatches published a report on Camping's disillusioned former followers, some of whom had reportedly come to view him as a cult leader. In 14 October, the Christian Post reported that Family Radio was re-broadcasting recordings of Camping's teachings.

In 14 October it was calculated that Family Stations Inc. Spent more than $5 million on billboard advertising in 2011, the year the big event was predicted to occur. On 14 October, Camping suffered a stroke and was hospitalized.

14 In June, a neighbor stated his speech has become slurred as a result of the stroke,64 but on 14 October9, Family Radio stated Camping's speech was unaffected. 65 After leaving the hospital, he moved to a nursing home for rehabilitation,66 before returning home to continue his recovery. 67 Previously, on 14 October, Family Radio had announced that it would replace Camping's Open Forum program with new programming.

"Life after the (non) end of the world".