Harold Camping's Judgment Day
Billboard-Backed Judgment Day Postponed, Then Retired
Harold Camping's $100M campaign set May 21, 2011. Then October 21. Then he admitted he'd been wrong.
What was said
“I know it's absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true.”
— Harold Camping (Family Radio) · said 2005 · due May 21, 2011, 6 p.m. local time
Round one: May 21. Round two: October 21. In March 2012 he 'humbly acknowledged' he'd been wrong, which is more than most doomsayers ever manage.
The Story
Camping's 2005 book Time Has an End set May 21, 2011 for the rapture and October 21, 2011 for the end of the world. Family Radio reportedly spent over US$100 million on the campaign, including 5,000+ billboards. He had also predicted September 1994.
Later spin
After May 21 he called it a 'spiritual' judgment day. In 2012 he wrote that trying to predict a date was 'sinful'.
Receipts
- 2011 end times prediction - Wikipediaaccessed 2026-09-29
- 'Rapture': Believers perplexed after prediction fails - BBC Newsaccessed 2026-09-29
- Rapture: Harold Camping issues new apocalypse date - BBC Newsaccessed 2026-09-29
As of Oct 9, 2026
since it didn't happen
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