Group claims Judgment Day approaching

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- Nearly a dozen billboards across South Florida claim that Judgment Day is less than two weeks away.

Radio host Harold Camping and his followers have calculated that the end of the world will occur on May 21. "It's going to be a horror story that we absolutely cannot conceive of. Millions of people will die on that day and everyday thereafter," Camping said.

According to Camping, who is the founder of the Family Radio network, Judgment Day will begin with earthquakes at 6 p.m. local time.

Camping's followers have been traveling around the world, spreading the word about the forthcoming day. "We see people that give us the thumb. They say, 'Thumbs up.' We also see people that, unfortunately, give us the other finger," said one devotee, Darryl Keats.

Nine billboards about Judgment Day have been spotted around South Florida, and dozens more advertisements have been posted nationwide. "Yeah, I heard the world's coming to an end, but I'm not really a believer in that, so why not buy groceries for a longer time?" one man said.

One woman joked that she is considering spending her rent money on May 20. When asked what she would do if the billboards are wrong about Judgment Day, she said, "[I would be] sleeping on the beach."

Meanwhile, the Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists have posted their own billboard advertising a recruitment party at Tiki Bar on May 21. "The upcoming rapture that's predicted for May 21 obviously is nonsense," said Ken Loukinen of the Florida Atheists. "We're just drawing attention, poking a little fun."

Mainstream evangelical Christians have avoided the topic despite Camping's insistence that Judgment Day is soon to come. "This is not something where there's a tiny, tiny, tiny chance it might happen. It is going to happen," said Camping.

This is not the first Judgment date Camping's group has come up with; the first was Sept. 6, 1994. However, the group said the first date was miscalculated.

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