Harold Camping
At age 90, Harold Camping doesn’t have any more doomsday predictions. At least not right now. In a five-minute “apology,” Camping appeared to be done predicting the Rapture. He apologized for some of his comments concerning the Rapture, but did leave the door slightly open, saying he is “checking [his] notes carefully.”
On the heels of Camping’s famed missed prediction on May 21, 2011, he was quick to recalculate the coming of Jesus (of which, the Bible says in the Gospel of Matthew, no man can know the day or hour) just a few months later, to Oct. 21, 2011.
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A recent stroke has slowed Camping, and with his speech severely slurred, he admitted to his trio of failed predictions (he originally had predicted the Rapture for Sept. 6, 1994) and admitted he led people down the wrong path, including saying it was wrong to tell people that God had stopped saving any who didn’t believe in the May 21, 2011, “spiritual” judgment. Camping, sounding humbled from his “embarrassment,” says people must be careful not to dictate to God what God should do.
As soon as the latest prediction rang false, the leader of the California-based Family Radio had all his teachings stripped from the group’s web site, reports the Christian Post, although his statement still sits on the front page. Camping then stepped down from his leadership role.
With Camping fading from the public eye, May 21, Oct. 21 and all the other 21st days of the year have so much less intrigue.
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Tim Newcomb is a contributor for TIME. Find him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.