2012 & The End Of The World

One of my favorite educational resources is back, CGPGrey.  And this time he talks to us about "2012 & The End Of The World."  Why do people believe in this false prophecy, and where is it derived from?

Last year he taught us about Coffee: The Greatest Addiction Ever, Daylight Saving Time, and why pennies should be abolished.  If you haven't seen the previous videos, check them out - click on these links.

You Have 2-1/2 More Days - Judgement Day Is This Saturday!

Harold Camping disciple Julie Baker preaches doom in New York.

Back in March I wrote a post about our last days on earth; Well, the time is here.  You have almost 3 days to accept the Lord, Jesus Christ as your savior, or you will rot in hell for the rest of your life.  If you're a Jew, you can also be saved! 

According to Family Radio president, Harold Camping, a worldwide earthquake will strike at 6 PM (local time) Saturday, May 21, alerting the human race that Judgement Day has begun.

"There's nothing in the Bible that holds a candle to the amount of information to this tremendous truth of the end of the world," he says. "I would be absolutely in rebellion against God if I thought anything other than it is absolutely going to happen without any question."

Taken from A Conversation With Harold Camping, Prophesier of Judgement Day in the New York Magazine.  Not everyone is as informed about Judgment Day as Camping, of course. With that in mind, here are a few answers to frequently asked questions about the End of Days:

Q: Who gets to ascend to heaven?
A: Those who accept Christ as the messiah. Even Jews are invited, says Camping, but only if they accept Christ - which would seem to make them no longer Jewish.

Q: How many will be Raptured?
A: Campbell estimates 200 million. The remaining nearly 7 billion face a grisly fate - crushed in the quake, burned by sulfur, turned into pillars of salt, etc.

Q: Why May 21?
A: Camping calculates May 21 is exactly 7,000 years from the date of the Noah's Ark flood. In his book "Time Has an End," Camping writes. "The year 391 B.C. is the year when the Old Testament was finished, and 2,011 + 391 - 1 = 2,401, or 7 x 7 x 7 x 7." There you have it.

Q: Any other reason?
A: Yes. Gay Pride and same-sex marriage. Camping says God will punish America and the rest of the world for Gay Pride and same-sex marriages, just as Sodom and Gomorrah were punished with fire and brimstone in the Old Testament.

Q: Will the Earth end on May 21?
A: No. The Earth will stick around for a few more months of "chaos and awful suffering" before being obliterated Oct. 21.

Q: Didn't Camping predict the end of the world would take place in September 1994?
A: Yes, but the book in which he made the prediction was titled "1994?". The question mark makes all the difference.

Q: Will the Rapture happen sooner in Australia, like New Year's celebrations?
A: Yes. May 21st begins first on Kiritimati Island, a Pacific Ocean atoll, so presumably the earthquake would strike there first.

Q: If I'm Raptured, what will happen to my pets?
A: Probably nothing good. However, a business called Eternal Earthbound Pets run by "confirmed atheists" offers to save pets left behind and ensure their care in 26 states. It lists a fee of $135 for a single pet ($20 each for additional pets), but has raised rates due to "increased activity associated with the May 21, 2011 Rapture." Pets are limited to dogs, cats, birds rabbits and small caged mammals in most states. Four states can accommodate horses, camels, llamas and donkeys.