(CBS/KPIX) The
founder of Family Radio in Oakland -
heard in 48 different languages around
the globe - is behind the worldwide,
multimillion dollar campaign letting
people know that judgment day is coming
on May 21, 2011.
That's right,
Saturday.
89-year-old Harold
Camping says that his 50-year study of
the Bible is behind the claim.
So what's the end of
the world look like?
"There's going to be
a big earthquake that will make the one
in Japan seem like a Sunday School
picnic," Camping told KPIX's Mike
Sugerman.
This isn't Camping's
first prediction of the end. Back in
1994, Camping warned that doomsday would
strike.
When nothing
happened, he pronounced it an error in
his math, but this time he says it'll be
different.
"This day, May 21,
2011, is extremely important, as it will
also be the first day of judgment, a
time of horrible death and destruction,
for all those left behind," Camping
said.
There will be a
five-month period for non-believers to
get on board, he continued, because the
real end of the world is set for October
21, 2011.
Wondering about the fate of
your pets after
Judgment Day? Well, for $135, a loving
atheist will care for your animal if you're not
around anymore.
Eternal Earthbound Pets
offers a service to rescue and take care of pets
once their owners have been taken away to the
heavenly realms. Though doomsayers say this
Saturday will be the latest day of reckoning
that's not expected to leave animals behind
either.
Bart Centre of New Hampshire,
co-owner of the pet business, launched it in
June 2009. He has zero belief in Judgment Day,
but began to see an increase in sales inquiries
in December, which, he believes, is related to
Family Radio's heavy marketing campaign around
the May 21 date.
The retired retail executive
said he has sold 258 contracts so far.
"That's out of 40 million
targeted 'rapture' believers, so it's not like
we're making a billion dollars," he said.
Still, Centre is among the
opportunistic entrepreneurs who have made the
most of doomsayers' predictions and people's
eagerness to believe them, although some of them
have seen no bump in business and Family Radio
can't imagine anyone operating a business amid
the ruins of a post-apocalyptic world anyway.
Family Radio, a non-profit,
listener-supported religious organization based
in Oakland, Calif., has declared that May 21
will mark the end of the world when Jesus Christ
arrives for his second coming and the "rapture"
of his believers. The organization encourages
people to visit its website.
Eternal Earthbound Pets'
sales increased during the first quarter of this
year by 27 percent compared to the first quarter
of last year, which Centre attributes to the May
21 campaign.
"My business partner [in
Minnesota] and I launched in a handful of states
initially. Now, it's much larger," he said,
adding that he has designated rescuers in 26
states.
Centre increased his rates in
January. It now costs $135 to rescue one pet and
$20 for an additional pet at the same address,
which he collects up front. That's up from $110
for the first pet and $10 for an additional pet.
And Centre takes his business
seriously. He said he performed a credit history
and criminal background on his 44 rescuers:
those who are assigned to rescue any pets left
behind. The contract fees are split among them.
Other profiteers are
practicing a quote by newly inaugurated Chicago
Mayor Rahm Emanuel: "You never want a serious
crisis to go to waste."
Emanuel was referring to
energy policy in 2008, but Joshua Witter, a
software engineer, shared that mentality when he
started
Post-Rapture Post, a message delivery
service to those left behind after the
apocalypse.
Leaving Messages for
the Left Behind
Witter, based in
Orlando, Fl., started
the website in 2004
after a casual
conversation with his
friends about what
believers might want
after they leave their
non-believing loved ones
behind. And he said he
hasn't changed the
website since it first
launched.
Witter, an atheist,
charges $4.99 to $799.99
to deliver a pre-written
letter to those loved
ones. Ritter said he
suspects the postal
service and email
services will not be
available anyways.
Witter, the postmaster
general of the
Post-Rapture Post, said
he has only sold his
simplest letter product
at $1.99, although he
does offer more
elaborate options. For
$800, a calligrapher, a
friend of his, will hand
write your letter on
"medieval parchment
style paper."
Witter, who has another
day job, said there has
not been renewed
interest because of the
May 21 campaign.
He
said there were about
200 letters when the
website first launched,
but now it "trickles
in." In general, Witter
said he receives more
business from his
merchandise, including
mugs and t-shirts, with
a ratio of 10 to one,
than his letter
products.
"I'm
lucky if I get one every
couple of months," said
Witter about letter
sales, who has sold
about 400 letters in
total. "This new event
really hasn't added
much."
He
said 95 percent of the
messages are from
Judgment Day believers
who want to encourage
their loved ones that
it's not "too late" to
believe. The other 5
percent are jokes.
Kevin
Thompson, co-owner of
Northwest Shelter
Systems, based in Idaho,
said concerns about a
nuclear disaster -- not
Judgment Day -- have
driven recent sales of
his hidden rooms and
bomb shelters.
"We're not a
doom-and-gloom company
by any means," he said.
"People are still
purchasing shelters from
us for a number of other
reasons."
Sales
have increased 60 to 70
percent since the start
of this year, he said.
He attributes the growth
mostly to the tsunami
and earthquake in Japan
in March, and especially
the resulting concerns
about radiation emitting
from the
Fukushima plant,
north of Tokyo, Japan.
Thompson estimated that
his company has built
more than 300 shelters
in 21 years of
operation.
Thompson said his
company is also a
certified contractor for
the government.
Northwest Shelter
systems have cost from
$50,000 to $20 million,
although, Thompson said,
the average is about
$1.4 million.
Barbie Grossman, who is
media director for the
Vivos Group, which is a
company based in
Southern California that
builds underground
shelter networks, she
said there has been a
diverse range of sales
inquiries but the
company has not yet
built a network for a
group expecting Judgment
Day.
Vivos
builds the underground
networks for groups of
112 to 1,000 people that
in some ways are
luxurious hide-out
accommodations that
include food, water and
power. Members from one
large group in central
Europe paid $25,000 per
person for continuous
ownership.
"It's
yours forever to pass
onto your children or
grandchildren," she
said. "If nothing
happens, it keeps on
going."
Jerry
Jenkins, the writer
behind the "Left Behind"
series of books about
the apocalypse, said he
has a growing number of
media requests regarding
the May 21 campaign,
although he is not aware
of a respective increase
in sales.
Jenkins worked with the
pastor, Tim LaHaye, for
the series' 16 books,
which have sold more
than 63 million copies,
the first published in
1995. Jenkins said the
books have been
re-released this year
with new covers and
updated words related to
technology in the
series. He said the
re-release was planned
last year and related to
the series' 15th
anniversary, not the May
21 campaign.
Jenkins said it is
"folly" to try to
predict the second
coming. "I think we're
supposed to be ready,
wait and watch. But I do
think God is merciful
and wants more to
believe and not be left
behind," Jenkins said.
Gunther von Harringa,
spokesman for Family
Radio and president of
Bible Ministries
International, said it
is "ludicrous" to think
that businesses will be
able to function after
Judgment Day.
"There's going to be a
worldwide earthquake
when many millions are
going to die, and all
the cities around the
world are going to come
crashing down," he said.
"The idea that someone
is going to profit from
this is absurd."
He
also said animals are
going to die just as
humans will.
"It's
going to be a struggle
just to survive for
humans," he said. "The
world as we know it is
going to be radically
altered and everyone
will be in the same
boat."
