Harold Camping:May 21 2011,World End

Harold Camping is a preacher based in Oakland, California, and president of a broadcast network called Family Radio.

He and his followers have been spreading the word about May 21, 2011.

Camping says he arrived at that date, after careful study of the bible, specifically, the Book of Genesis.

The 89-year-old, who has an engineering degree from UC Berkeley, says he's deciphered numbers and readings in the Bible. From what he's come to understand, Jesus' second coming, is to take place 7,000 years to the day after Noah loaded animals into the ark.

On that day, he says the Bible reveals the world will experience a deadly earthquake.

"A great earthquake, way greater than the Japanese. The recent earthquake in Japan will be like a Sunday school picnic in comparison," said Camping.

That will be followed by five months of fire and chaos, with millions of people dying each day until October 21st, when he says the world will end just as the book of revelation says it will, with a bottomless pit, fire, and a new Heaven and Earth.

But this isn't the first time camping has predicted Jesus' return.

Years ago he wrote a book, proclaiming September 6, 1994, would be doomsday.

The world did not come to an end that day.

But Camping insists, this time, he's got it right.

"I've learned a long time ago, that yes I can say something today and tomorrow know that I was mistaken. Back 18-19 years ago, there's a lot of the bible that I had not gone through carefully yet. So of course I didn't have it accurate. That's the way truth is developed.

I asked, "So is there a possibility you could be wrong this time as well?"

"No, no because now we have all these proofs and the signs," he replied.

He says the deterioration of morals in today's society, including the acceptance of greed, materialism, and lust, are some of those signs.

Camping disseminates his message through the airwaves. He purchased family radio here in Oakland more than 50 years ago and since then, the company has expanded. They own more than 60 stations across the United States. Followers have even purchased hundreds of billboards just like this one. Some people think camping is just plain crazy, but many other people believe.

"One time we were passing out tracks and my friend looks at me and says you know what, people think we're crazy. But a lot of them don't read the bible, so if you read the tribulations and see how the language is...it all points to 2011," said John Dekruyff, a follower of Camping from the Sacramento area.

"Any doubt that date may be wrong. You know what, no. I've studied it and it's straight from the bible and it's straight from god's mouth. I don't believe god could be wrong. I believe God wrote it for a purpose, I don't have any doubt at this point," said Michelle Kim, a follower of Camping from the Bay Area.

But many bible scholars do doubt Harold Camping, including Tim Geddert, a professor of the New Testament at Fresno Pacific University.

He's been teaching the bible for nearly 30 years.

He does not expect anything will happen on May 21st.

"The thing that he does that is unique is that he breaks these numbers down as a mathematician or engineer would into component parts like 17, 23, times 5 gets him to the number of years he needs from the time of the crucifixion until the world is supposed to end. Certainly the idea of multiplying the numbers and coming up with days is unprecedented by bible scholars," said Geddert.

Camping remains confident in the face of doubt.

He continues to preach doomsday through his radio stations, his own show, and his televised Bible Studies.

His followers travel the country in marked RV's. Each believe they are called on to spread the word.

"And most people, when they hear about May 21, first thing they do, they don't buy it at all. Yeah, they think you're crazy basically. Nuts, they think I'm a crazy man. They fail to realize, yeah I'm crazy for Christ," said Camping.

"The Bible does teach that Christ will come back, we can't know when, it might not be on May 21st, it probably won't be. It may be decades or generations later, but it may be sooner. The unpredictability of when is built into what the scripture teaches," said Geddert.