Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As crestfallen followers of a California preacher who foresaw the world's end strained to find meaning in their lives, Harold Camping revised his apocalyptic prophecy, saying the Earth will actually be obliterated on 21 October.
Mr Camping, who predicted that 200 million Christians would be taken to Heaven on Saturday before global cataclysm struck the planet, has revealed he felt so terrible when his doomsday message did not come true that he left home and took refuge in a motel with his wife. But he was not backing down, apologising only for not having the dates "worked out as accurately as I could have".
Through chatting with a friend over the weekend, the light dawned on him that instead of the biblical Rapture in which the faithful would be swept up to Heaven, 21 May had instead been a "spiritual" Judgement Day, which places the entire world under Christ's judgement. The globe will be destroyed in five months, when the apocalypse comes, he insisted, and his network will broadcast Christian programmes until the final end on 21 October.
It's not the first time the 89-year-old retired civil engineer has had to explain failed predictions. Mr Camping also prophesied the apocalypse would come in 1994, but said that didn't happen due to a mathematical error.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments