Harold Camping, a retired civil engineer, died at his home on Sunday after a stay in hospital for a fall.
His independent Christian ministry, formed in 1958, most
recently spent millions warning the world that the end of days would
come on 21 May 2011.
He was criticised by other Christian leaders after some believers sold their possessions to help his cause.
'Our appointed time'
Camping was born in 1921, and graduated from the University of
California at Berkeley in 1942. He started a construction business soon
after the end of World War Two.
In 1958, he formed Family Stations Ministry, which eventually
broadcast in 30 languages on a network of more than 140 radio stations
and online.
He eventually sold the broadcaster to focus on his ministry.
His family had been part of the Christian Reformed Church,
which Camping left in 1988 after concluding it no longer faithfully
represented Biblical teaching.
He first predicted doomsday would come on 6 September 1994,
and when that day passed without apocalyptic incident he claimed he had
made a mathematical error.
More than a decade later, Camping's ministry began warning
judgment day was to come on 21 May 2011, using more than 5,000
billboards and 20 recreational vehicles plastered with the message.
Christian leaders around the world denounced the warning. Many
criticised the practice of believers donating their life savings in
order to spread the message, believing they would no longer need worldly
possessions.
"We're not in the business of financial advice," Camping said after the May 2011 prediction failed to come true.
"We're in the business of telling people there's someone who you can maybe talk to, maybe pray to, and that's God."
He suffered a stroke three weeks after the day passed, and then told followers the rapture was coming five months later.
He and his wife retreated to a motel after October 2011 passed without the apocalypse.
"We realise that many people are hoping they will know the
date of Christ's return," Camping wrote in March 2012, apologising to
followers.
"We humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing."
Camping, who lived for many years in a suburb of Oakland,
California and wrote 30 books and pamphlets, is survived by his wife of
71 years, Family Radio Network said in a statement.
"We know that each of us remain in God's hand, and God is the
One who knows our appointed time to leave our earthly body behind," the
statement said.
Источник:http://www.bbc.com
