I know this column is supposed to chronicle “something new,” I’ve tried, but I couldn’t let this week go by without talking about the end of days, right?
If you are reading this, then that means we all made it through Saturday’s apocalypse unscathed.
I admit, as 6 p.m. started to draw near last Saturday (the day and time self-proclaimed prophet Harold Camping said the rapture would unfold), I started wondering about all of the things I wouldn’t be able to do if the world ended.
I would never see “The Hangover: Part II,” visit Tokyo Disneyland or find out if King James gets his first NBA championship ring.
Luckily for us, doomsday never happened.
Or at least, not yet.
After spending millions of dollars on a national campaign advertising the end of days on May 21, Camping still insists the end of times is going to be five months later, which makes the real end of the world Oct. 21.
While there weren’t any physical signs of the apocalypse, Camping insists his calculations were correct — he was just wrong about how it would unfold.
Instead of a physical doomsday, the one with fire and brimstone, he said the world experienced a spiritual one.
I have my doubts.
But this isn’t the first time the 89-year-old California evangelical predicted the end of the world.
He predicted judgment days to unfold on May 21, 1988 and Sept. 7, 1994.
So why is he so sure about it happening on Oct. 21, 2011?
It has been reported that Camping, an engineer, loves numbers. He made up a math equation to predict the apocalypse.
Here’s the gist:
Camping believes the Bible is filled with hidden meanings.
He concluded that the number five means atonement, 10 means completeness and 17 means heaven.
Using these numbers, if you multiply atonement (5), completeness (10) and heaven (17), and then square it, you end up with 722,500.
If you add that number of days to the date Jesus was crucified (which is supposedly April 1, 33 A.D.), it equals May 21, 2011.
Right.
With the nuclear disaster in Japan, the political upheaval in the Middle East, the polar ice caps melting and the San Jose Sharks eliminated from the NHL playoffs, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to sense there is upheaval in the world.
But the exact date of the end of days can’t be pinpointed in a half-baked mathematical equation. And while it’s entertaining to poke fun at Camping’s prediction, my laughter turned into pity after reading about what his followers gave up to spread Camping’s word.
Some dropped out of school, others quit their jobs, maxed out their credit cards and sold their homes in preparation for the end of days. I don’t have a clue when the apocalypse will happen, but I am 100 percent sure that nobody else knows either.
All I know is when it does happen, we’ll know it. I just hope it doesn’t come before the final “Harry Potter” film comes out. I really want to know how it all goes down.
• Andrea Frainier, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 257 or afrainier@ thegardenisland.com.
