end of the world

16 Stories

This Saturday May Be the End of the World, 'Researcher' Says

A mix of astronomy and biblical prophecy

(Newser) - If you had big plans this weekend, David Meade regrets to inform you that the world will be ending Saturday. Meade, a Christian numerologist and self-described "researcher," says Sept. 23 is foretold in the Bible's Book of Revelation as the day a series of catastrophic events will...

Man in Animal Costume Shot by Police Thought World Was Ending

His father says he believed God spoke to him

(Newser) - The man shot by Baltimore police Thursday while wearing an animal costume and explosive vest made out of candy bars believed the world was ending, the AP reports. Police have identified the man who walked into a TV station and was later shot multiple times after refusing to put his...

1K Arrested in China as 'Doomsday' Approaches
1K Arrested in China as 
'Doomsday' Approaches
12/21 roundup

1K Arrested in China as 'Doomsday' Approaches

NASA gets hundreds of worried calls daily

(Newser) - With just hours left before the apparent end of the world, people are making final preparations—while others are squashing rumors of our imminent demise like there's no tomorrow. In China, that means arresting hundreds more members of a cult that claims the so-called Mayan doomsday is the real...

Doomsday Prophet Guilty of Tax Evasion

'But the world was ending!' excuse not bought by jurors

(Newser) - Jurors didn't buy a doomsday prophet's excuse that he didn't pay his taxes because he believed the end of the world was nigh. Ronald Weinland, who was found guilty of federal tax evasion Wednesday, apparently believed that the Swiss banking system would survive the apocalypse and second...

Phew! This Mayan Calendar Doesn't Stop at 2012

We've got thousands of years left, according to new discovery

(Newser) - Everybody can calm down now: Looks like the Mayans didn't think the world would end this year after all. Researchers have discovered astronomical calculations on the wall of an ancient Mayan site that suggest "dates thousands of years beyond" 2012, reports National Geographic . The find came at the...

Harold Camping on Failed Rapture: Uh, 'Embarrassing'

But it's OK, God is in charge

(Newser) - "When it comes to trying to recognize the truth of prophecy, we're finding that it is very, very difficult," says Harold Camping in an audio message recently posted on his Family Radio website. Well, that’s one way of putting it: Camping has now twice predicted a...

Rescheduled Rapture Doesn't Happen
Rescheduled Rapture
Doesn't Happen

Rescheduled Rapture Doesn't Happen

Harold Camping appears to have miscalculated again

(Newser) - If you're reading this and the world isn't in the process of being annihilated around you, it means Harold Camping got it wrong again. After his original prediction that the Rapture would arrive May 21 didn't come true, the doomsday prophet decided that he had miscalculated and...

Harold Camping Spent $100M on Rapture Ads: Employee

Has predicted end of world no less than 10 times

(Newser) - Talk about unnecessary spending: Harold Camping shelled out some $100 million to advertise his May 21 Rapture claim—money that came largely from the sale of a TV channel and a radio station, says a Family Radio employee. “A lot of reporters have got it wrong,” said Matt...

Rapture Believers React to Still Being Here

Confusion, acceptance from those who thought world would end

(Newser) - So, how do rapture believers feel today, considering the fact that they’re still firmly on earth? A sampling of reactions from the Huffington Post , Reuters , the AP , and the Los Angeles Times :
  • John Ramsey, 25, quit his job, donated thousands of dollars to Camping’s Family Radio, and took
...

Camping 'Bewildered, Mystified' at Lack of Rapture

No official statement today, wife tells board member

(Newser) - Harold Camping came out of hiding briefly yesterday after his predicted rapture did not come to pass, appearing at the front door of his Alameda home to tell the San Francisco Chronicle he had "a really tough weekend." Nearly 18 hours after his May 21 rapture failed to...

Teen Drowns Celebrating Not End of the World

Tragic end for Anthony Alexander Johnson, 18

(Newser) - A Michigan teenager is missing and presumed drowned after he leaped from a bridge with friends to celebrate a day of rapture that never came. Anthony Alexander Johnson, 18, jumped into the Kalamazoo River with four pals, but was quickly overcome by the fast-moving current. "Save him, someone save...

As Rapture Fizzles, Camping Is AWOL

Preacher silent in the face of latest failed predictions

(Newser) - Now that another prophecy about the end of the world has has fizzled , attention is turning to the 89-year-old radio evangelist who made the prediction in the first place. Harold Camping has made no statement yet, his Family Radio website has yet to be updated, and the preacher is nowhere...

Family Radio Follower Spends Life Savings on May 21 Doomsday Warning Campaign
 Retiree Bets Life Savings 
 on May 21 Doomsday 
in case you missed it

Retiree Bets Life Savings on May 21 Doomsday

He finances $140K warning campaign on NYC transit

(Newser) - A retired public transportation worker in New York City is sure the world will end on May 21st —and he wants everyone to know it. He’s put his life savings—$140,000—into an ad campaign across city transit announcing doomsday, reports the New York Daily News . “...

Believers Spread the Word: World Ends Next Month

1,000 signs erected as May 21 approaches

(Newser) - Many already know not to plan anything for May 22; but for those who aren’t aware of the upcoming apocalypse, believers are spreading the news. Subscribers to Harold Camping’s school of thought have already erected some 1,000 billboards around the nation. “Seven billion people are facing...

40% of Americans Think Jesus Will Return by 2050

Poll: US in optimistic yet apocalyptic mood

(Newser) - More than 40% of Americans believe Jesus will return to earth by the year 2050, according to a Pew Research Center poll. The poll also found that Americans are optimistic about the future, but less so than a decade ago: 64% expect a rosy future for themselves and their families,...

End of the World Looms in Space
 End of the World 
 Looms in Space 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

End of the World Looms in Space

Time to look for other real estate

(Newser) - People should stop worrying about destruction by earthlings and worry instead about the end of the world that's developing in outer space even as you read this. That's the chilling warning from a top astronomer who is convinced the world won't end with a whimper but with a very big...

16 Stories