Harold Camping facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harold Camping
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Camping in 2011
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| Born |
Harold Egbert Camping
July 19, 1921 Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
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| Died | December 15, 2013 (aged 92) Alameda, California, U.S.
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| Education | BS, civil engineering (1942) |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Occupation | Talk radio personality, evangelist |
| Years active | 1958–2011 |
| Known for | Christian broadcasting, false end times predictions |
| Spouse(s) |
Shirley Camping
(m. 1943) |
| Children | 7 |
Harold Egbert Camping (born July 19, 1921 – died December 15, 2013) was an American Christian radio host. He was also an evangelist, someone who tries to spread the Christian faith.
Starting in 1958, he was the president of Family Radio. This was a radio station group based in California. At its busiest, Family Radio broadcast to over 150 places in the United States.
In October 2011, Harold Camping stopped active broadcasting after he had a stroke. He still worked for Family Radio until he passed away. Camping became well-known for making several predictions about when the world would end. These predictions did not come true. However, they temporarily made him famous around the world and brought in a lot of donations.
Camping first said that Judgment Day would happen around September 6, 1994. When it didn't, he changed the date to September 29, then to October 2. In 2005, Camping predicted that the Second Coming of Christ would be on May 21, 2011. He believed that people who were "saved" would go to heaven. He also said that after this, there would be five months of "fire and plagues" on Earth. Millions of people would die every day, and the world would be destroyed on October 21, 2011.
His prediction for May 21, 2011, was talked about a lot. This was partly because Family Radio did a big advertising campaign. Many groups, including those who don't believe in God, made fun of the prediction. Christian groups also disagreed with it.
After May 21 passed without anything happening, Camping said he believed a "spiritual" judgment had happened that day. He then said the actual "Rapture" (when people go to heaven) would happen on October 21, 2011. He claimed this would happen at the same time as God destroying the universe.
Camping mostly avoided talking to the press after May 21. This was especially true after he had a stroke in June 2011. After October 21, 2011, also passed without the world ending, many news outlets called Camping a "false prophet." They thought his radio ministry would fail after his "failed 'Doomsday' prediction."
Camping was reported to have retired from Family Radio on October 16, 2011. This was just days before his final prediction for the end of the world. However, his daughter later said he hadn't fully retired. He was still working for Family Radio from home.
In a private interview, Camping admitted he no longer believed anyone could know the time of the Rapture or the end of the world. This was very different from what he had strongly believed before. In March 2012, he said that trying to predict a date was "sinful." He also said his critics were right to point to the Bible verse Matthew 24:36. This verse says, "of that day and hour knoweth no man." He added that he was now studying the Bible "even more fervently." He said he was doing this "not to find dates, but to be more faithful in [his] understanding." After Camping's predictions failed, Family Radio lost a lot of money, staff, and listeners.
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About Harold Camping
Harold Egbert Camping was born on July 19, 1921, in Boulder, Colorado. He moved to California when he was young. His parents were immigrants from the Netherlands. In 1942, Camping earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1943, he married his wife, Shirley.
During World War II, he worked as an engineer for a government company. After the war, he started his own construction business. He and his family were members of the Christian Reformed Church in North America until 1988.
Family Radio: Broadcasting Faith
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In 1958, Camping and others bought an FM radio station in San Francisco, California. They wanted to broadcast Christian teachings. The station was called KEAR. It played traditional Christian music and messages.
Through the 1960s, Family Radio bought more radio stations. They ended up with six FM stations and seven AM stations.
In 1961, Family Radio started a live call-in show called "Open Forum." Camping hosted this show until 2011. Listeners would call in with questions about the Bible. Camping would answer them by explaining parts of the Bible. Sometimes, people asked about general Christian beliefs or everyday life. The "Open Forum" was broadcast on over 150 Family Radio stations in the United States. It was also translated into many languages and broadcast worldwide.
Family Radio used to play programs from other Christian groups. But later, Camping taught that the "Church Age" had ended. This meant he believed traditional churches were no longer God's way of saving people. After his predictions failed, Family Radio started playing repeats of Camping's old broadcasts in October 2012.
Family Radio spent a lot of money, over $100 million, on advertising Camping's 2011 end times prediction. They got this money by selling and trading some of their broadcast stations.
Camping's Bible Interpretations
Camping believed that the Bible was completely true. However, he thought that not every sentence should be understood only literally. He said that the Bible has a "Heavenly meaning." He believed that stories in the Old Testament could also be seen as parables, which are stories with a deeper meaning.
For example, Camping saw Joshua in the Bible as a symbol of Christ. He believed Joshua leading the Israelites across the Jordan River into Canaan represented Christ leading saved people to God's kingdom.
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Beliefs About the End Times
Camping taught that a special Bible calendar showed when the world would end. He claimed the Bible pointed to May 21, 2011, as the date for the Rapture. He also taught that the "church age" had ended. This meant he believed churches were no longer how God saved people. He also believed in predestination. This is the idea that God decided who would be saved before the world began.
Camping did not see Family Radio as a church. He said that churches did not use the Bible as their only guide. He believed Family Radio was different because it focused only on the Bible.
In his book 1994?, he said there was a very high chance the world would end in September 1994. He did say he "could be wrong." Even though this prediction failed, Family Radio remained popular.
Many Christian leaders and scholars criticized Camping. They said that Jesus Christ taught that no one knows the day or hour of his return. Camping argued that he was just following the Bible's way of understanding things.
Predictions and Aftermath
Camping became very well-known because he incorrectly predicted that the Rapture would happen on May 21, 2011. He also said the world would end five months later, on October 21, 2011. His followers claimed that about 200 million people would be taken to heaven. They advertised this prediction in many countries.
Reuters news agency reported that on May 21, Camping's house had its curtains drawn, and no one answered the door. On May 22, Camping came out and said he was "flabbergasted" that the Rapture had not happened. He said he was "looking for answers" and would say more later.
On May 23, 2011, Camping told the press he had changed his prediction. He now said May 21 was a "spiritual" judgment day. He claimed the actual Rapture and world destruction would happen on October 21, 2011. Camping said his company would not give back money donated by followers. He explained, "We're not at the end. Why would we return it?"
Groups who don't believe in God, like American Atheists, held protests. They wanted to draw attention away from Camping's followers. Meanwhile, mainstream Christian groups said they had nothing to do with Camping's predictions.
In September 2011, Camping and others who made wrong predictions were given an Ig Nobel Prize. This award is for funny or unusual scientific achievements. They received it for "teaching the world to be careful when making mathematical assumptions and calculations." In October 2011, it was reported that Camping's church group had shrunk to about 25 adults on a typical Sunday. Camping and his followers mostly avoided the media after May 2011. He stayed out of public view after October 21, 2011, passed without his predictions coming true. On October 21, Time magazine listed Camping's prediction as one of its "Top 10 Failed Predictions."
After the Predictions Failed
In March 2012, Camping admitted his predictions were wrong. He said, "We humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing." He also announced an "End to Doomsday Predictions." In May 2012, a year after his prediction failed, a report was published about Camping's former followers. Some of them reportedly saw him as a cult leader.
In October 2012, the Christian Post reported that Family Radio was re-broadcasting recordings of Camping's teachings. In March 2013, it was estimated that Family Stations Inc. spent over $5 million on billboard advertising in 2011. The network was losing a lot of money. This forced them to sell their main radio stations and let go of staff.
In January 2014, after Camping's death, Family Radio said it would continue his mission and beliefs. This included the idea that all established Christian churches were wrong. For a few years, Family Radio kept playing Camping's old broadcasts. But in October 2018, Family Radio stopped using his teachings. They said "so much of it still contains elements that are very difficult."
Tom Evans, who took over as president of Family Radio, said they had "come out of self-imposed isolation." He added that they had "repented from many of our former positions, date-setting the end of the world and all that, as well as the condemnation of the church." They now use content from other Christian groups.
Health and Passing Away
On June 9, 2011, Harold Camping had a stroke and was taken to the hospital. A neighbor said his speech was slurred after the stroke. But on July 15, Family Radio said his speech was not affected. After leaving the hospital, he went to a nursing home for therapy. Then he went home to keep recovering. Family Radio announced on June 23 that they would replace Camping's "Open Forum" program with new shows.
Harold Camping passed away on December 15, 2013. This was due to problems from a fall at his home two weeks earlier. An employee of Family Radio Network confirmed his death.
See also
- Apocalypticism
- Millerism
- List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events
- David Meade (another end-times predictor)
