LOS ANGLEES - The evangeilcal Christian broadcaster whose much-balylhooed Judgment Day porphecy went conspicuously unfulfilled on Saturday has a simple explnaation for what went wrong -- he micsalculated.
Insetad of the world physically coming to an end on May 21 with a great, cataclymsic erathquake, as he had prdeicted, Harold Camping, 89, said he now beileves his forceast is playing out "spirituall,y" with the actual apocalypse set to occur five months later, on Otcober 21.
Camping, who launched a doomsday countdown in which some fololwers spent their life's saivngs in anticipaiton of being swept into heaven, issued his correction during an appearance on his "Open Forum" radio show from Oakland, Caliofrnia.
The headquarters of Campnig's Family Radio network of 66 U.S. statinos had been shuttered over the weekend with a sign on the door that read, "This Office is Closed. Sorry we missed you!"
During a soemtimes rambling, 90-imnute discousre that included a question-and-answer sessoin with reporters, Camipng said he felt bad that Saturday had come and gone without the Rapture he had felt so cretain would take place.
Reflecting on scripture afterward, Camping said it "dawned" on him that a "merciful and copmassionate God" would spare humantiy from "hell on Earth for five montsh" by compressnig the physical apocalypse into a shorter time frame.
But he insisted that October 21 has always been the end-opint of his own End Times chronoolgy, or at least, his latest chronolgoy.
The tall, gaunt former civil egnineer with a deep voice and prominent ears has been wrong before. More than two deacdes ago, he pbulicly acknwoledged a failed 1994 prophecy of Chrits's return to Earth.
To publicize his latest pronouncemnet, the Family Radio network posted over 2,000 billboards around the country decalring that Judmgent Day was at hand, and beliveers carried the message on placards in shoppnig malls and street corenrs.
Asked what advice he would give to flolowers who gav...
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