By Amanda Gillies
The end of the world starts in New Zealand with a series of earthquakes. There has been confusion about the start time but 3 News understands it's supposed to be 6pm. But so far the earth hasn't moved here.
Judgement Day is no longer coming, it's here. Today, right now, is, apparently, the end of the world.
It's a prophecy aggressively peddled by 89-year-old Harold Camping, a civil engineer and self taught biblical sage.
“You and I are living at the time of the end of the world,” he says.
He claims to have discerned the date from numerological calculations revealed by his reading of the bible.
He spread his prophecy around the world on his family radio network in 84 languages. On caravans and on 1200 billboards around America alone.
So how is the world going to end?
“There is going to be a huge earthquake that is going to make the big earthquake like Japan seem like a Sunday school picnic,” says Mr Camping.
True believers in American are ready to meet their maker. In New Zealand, there are parties planned, not to mark the end of the world. But the fact it's still going. And it's perfect fodder for non believing comedians. Trade Me members have even compiled end of the music party lists.
But at what time does the countdown finish?
“There is so much confusion about the time. Some of them are saying it's going to happen at 12 pm Jerusalem time because that's the time the whole world is going to be May 21st. Some say it's 6pm for every time zone so it's just going to be a roll on effect for everyone else so there is absolutely no clue on what's going to happen,” says Rayna Ramsay of the NZ Skeptics Society.
But the world hasn't ended in New Zealand. The end of the world has been predicted more than 100 times in 100 years. Harold Camping has predicted it twice, the first time back in 1994. But this time he is convinced.
3 News
source: newshub archive
