it's the end of the world as we know it ..

and I feel fine …

If you take a close look at the date of this post, you’ll notice that it is AFTER 6:00 p.m. on May 21, 2011, the time that Harold Camping’s Family Radio channel said would be the “end of the world”.

Like so many other predictions about our last days on earth, this one missed the mark - again. I’ve lost count how many times that I’ve heard someone predict that the world was coming to an end soon, but this latest prediction has some interesting (and modern) twists. For one thing, even Doonesbury has weighed in on the topic:

for the Bible tells me so

Another interesting variation on an old theme is that there is now a website that will allow you to send an email six days after “the rapture” to up to 62 people. Since you “can’t take it with you”, the site also allows you to store your SENSITIVE FINANCIAL INFORMATION that can be released to 12 non-believers of your choice.

The non-believers will also be happy to know that they can continue to correspond with Princess Diana, whose current address is Heaven.

If you’re a little skeptical of “end of the world predictions ”(as I am), why in the world would somebody make such a crazy claim?

As you might suspect, it has a lot to do with money.

In 2009, the non-profit Family Radio organization received $18.3 million in donations, and had assets of more than $104 million, including $34 million in stocks and other publicly traded securities.

(Editors note: Harold Camping finally had his prediction come true (at least for himself) , on December 17, 2013, when he passed away due to complications from a fall in his home.)

Harold Camping is far from the first person to take advantage of gullible people for personal gain. For a little more perspective on this topic, take a look at the attached video:

the sky is falling

In January of 2007 (30 years after he claims to have seen a vision of a 900 foot tall Jesus) , Oral Roberts told his listening audience that if he didn’t raise $8,000,000 by the end of March, God was going to “call him home”. God eventually DID call Oral Roberts home - on December 15, 2009. By that time, his net worth HAD decreased a bit. At his peak earning years , his properties south of Tulsa were valued at $500,000,000.

The "campaign to save Oral Roberts" didn't raise $8,000,000.

It raised $9.1 million.

Most of the wedding dances that we’ve attended in our lives have reminded us that “in heaven there is no beer”. In addition to having no beer in heaven, it’s also true that there are NO PETS in heaven. However, if you want to make sure the Fido is taken care of after your departure, there’s a company that will take care of your favorite animal friends - for a small fee, of course.

If all of this information seems a little confusing to you, just listen to the video posted below, and have a good nights rest:

it’s the end of the world as we know it