Discredited doomsday preacher Harold Camping responded to his failed Judgment Day prediction Monday, saying that judgment came spiritually on May 21 and that October 21 is the actual date of the Rapture and destruction of the entire world.
Although he gave lip service to being "wrong," Camping insisted in his public statement that his predictions have been right all along, only that his interpretation was more literal when it should have been spiritual. He was speaking Monday from the Family Radio headquarters in Oakland, Calif., in an "Open Forum" that was broadcasted live by radio.
"On May 21, this last weekend, this is where the spiritual aspect of it really comes through. God again brought judgment on the world. We didn't see any difference but God brought Judgment Day to bear upon the whole world. The whole world is under Judgment Day and it will continue right up until Oct. 21, 2011 and by that time the whole world will be destroyed," said the Family Radio president.
During his address Monday, 89-year-old Camping strongly defended the accuracy of all his previous Judgment Day predictions.
He broke down each of his predictions, saying they were all fulfilled: May 21, 1988, judgment came upon the churches; Sept. 7, 1994, judgment continued on the churches; then on May 21, 2011, judgment came upon the entire world.
"We are not changing the dates at all. We are just looking at it a little more spiritually but it won't be spiritual on Oct. 21 because the Bible teaches the world will be destroyed altogether. But it will be very quick," said Camping.
