# Do you believe that "Judgment Day" will happen on May 21? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 27, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939 "2011-04-27T20:06:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/81 "2011-05-20T03:00:24Z")
I can’t believe that 17 people answered “yes” in the poll. Unless they’re just kidding… ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/82 "2011-05-20T07:28:24Z")
Of course not, everyone knows Jesus sleeps in on Saturdays. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/83 "2011-05-20T09:03:36Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Isn’t it the contention of the May 21 crowd that Judgment only begins on that date? > > That leaves a giant loophole for prognosticators. Surely they can find portents aplenty to keep the delusion rolling along for quite awhile, at least until we forget the original prediction. Well, the prediction is [pretty unequivocal](http://www.familyradio.com/facts/): > [@](#): > > What will take place on May 21? > On May 21, 2011 two events will occur. These events could not be more opposite in nature, the one more wonderful than can be imagined; the other more horrific than can be imagined. > A great earthquake will occur the Bible describes it as “such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” This earthquake will be so powerful it will throw open all graves. The remains of the all the believers who have ever lived will be instantly transformed into glorified spiritual bodies to be forever with God. > > On the other hand the bodies of all unsaved people will be thrown out upon the ground to be shamed. > The inhabitants who survive this terrible earthquake will exist in a world of horror and chaos beyond description. Each day people will die until October 21, 2011 when God will completely destroy this earth and its surviving inhabitants. It’s 57 minutes until May 21 in western Kiribati. What time zone does the Rapture operate on, BTW? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/84 "2011-05-20T09:09:27Z")
I’d also heard it thrown around that only 144,000 would be saved…all of them virgins. There’s several ways there, I’m screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/85 "2011-05-20T09:39:33Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > That _could_ actually happen. The problem is that there are an awful lot of asteroids out there. We haven’t found all the big ones that could cross the Earth’s orbit. The other problem is that a lot of asteroids are dark-colored, so they’re not easy to see. > > We could also get hit by a comet, but in that case we’d probably get a few months or years warning. Not that that would help anything. \*\* Holly:\*\* Well, the thing about a black hole - its main distinguishing feature - is it’s black. And the thing about space, the colour of space, your basic space colour, is black. So how are you supposed to see them? \*\* Rimmer: **But five of them? . How can you manage to miss five black holes? \*\* Holly:** It’s always the way, innit? You hang around for three million years in deep space and there hasn’t been one, then all of a sudden five turn up at once. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/86 "2011-05-20T11:47:37Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > I’d also heard it thrown around that only 144,000 would be saved…all of them virgins. There’s several ways there, I’m screwed. And suddenly, Star Trek and Star Wars conventions were silenced. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/87 "2011-05-20T14:06:48Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Well, the prediction is [pretty unequivocal](http://www.familyradio.com/facts/): > It’s 57 minutes until May 21 in western Kiribati. What time zone does the Rapture operate on, BTW? Good question. Any earth-shaking news, yet? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/88 "2011-05-20T14:14:42Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Of course not, everyone knows Jesus sleeps in on Saturdays. Nonsense, he converted to Christianity when he got his American citizenship. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/89 "2011-05-20T14:57:01Z")
I am a practicing Christian, and love the Bible. Nothing about this prediction relates in any way to my biblical understanding. What though, if May 21 really IS the rapture and no one is “taken up” because no one meets whatever the standard is? I’m also anxious to see what happens to all the billboards on May 22. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/90 "2011-05-20T15:11:25Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > I’m also anxious to see what happens to all the billboards on May 22. I am curious to know if the billboard companies required payment in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/91 "2011-05-20T17:05:52Z")
> [@'\[Undecided](#): > > Adrian;13739816’]Here’s the site for you and any aspiring world-destroyer: [3. Sucked into a microscopic black hole](http://qntm.org/destroy) You will need: a microscopic black hole. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![spunkymuzicnote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@spunkymuzicnote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spunkymuzicnote)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/92 "2011-05-20T17:22:51Z")
According to whoever edited this on Wikipedia, the Rapture will happen at 6:00 pm as the sun advances around the world. As it turns 6:00 there will be an earthquake marking the beginning of the five month rapture. The world actually ends on October 21st. :rolleyes: * * * Also, here’s how Harold Camping predicted this specific date - According to Camping, the number five equals “atonement”, the number ten equals “completeness”, and the number seventeen equals “heaven” (Why? Your guess is as good as mine). Christ is said to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD and April 1, 2011 is 1,978 years. If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar year, not to be confused with the lunar year), the result is 722,449. The time between April 1 and May 21 is 51 days. 51 added to 722,449 is 722,500. (5 × 10 × 17)2 or (atonement × completeness × heaven)2 also equals 722,500. Thus, Camping concludes that 5 × 10 × 17 is telling us a “story from the time Christ made payment for our sins until we’re completely saved.” ([http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-01-01/bay-area/17466332\_1\_east-bay-bay-area-first-time-camping/2](http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-01-01/bay-area/17466332_1_east-bay-bay-area-first-time-camping/2)) * * * Might I also point out that he also predicted the End Times would come in September 1994. When it didn’t come as predicted he said that he had made a mathematical error. Does it matter that I found a mathematical error in these calculations? Or at least he rounded at one point. I would think that with the end of the world at stake rounding would make a bit of a deal. This is just a good opportunity to have a laugh at gullible people. And it’ll happen all over again towards the end of this year. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/93 "2011-05-20T20:11:01Z")
> [@Marc\_Xenos](#): > > “The world ended today at 3:15pm in a total nuclear holocaust. Film at 11.” Of course Tom Lehrer said it first: > [@](#): > > While we’re attacking frontally > Watch Brinkally and Huntally > Describing contrapuntally > The cities we have lost. > No need for you to miss a minute of the agonizing holocaust. Yeah! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/94 "2011-05-20T20:12:19Z")
For me, I almost hope it happens, because I’d love to see the look on their faces when the Moslems start rising with them. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/95 "2011-05-20T21:48:33Z")
Wow, that’s a complicated calculation. I’ve heard in several places that it’s just exactly 7,000 years from the flood. I’m not sure how you could calculate that to a day though, and even getting the year right would rely on inferring from all the begats. In any case, Camping, whom I’m positive is a huckster rather than a believer, has succeeded beyond imagination. If not many people really believe his prediction, still millions know about it and are at least discussing it. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/96 "2011-05-20T21:57:09Z")
Seeing as I’m still short on June’s rent, I hope so 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/97 "2011-05-20T23:32:12Z")
Well, the time is drawing nigh. It is now 1:30 pm on May 21st. in Kiritimati. Wonder if there are any news crews there to record the event/non-event? ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/98 "2011-05-20T23:34:27Z")
In Australia its 9:30 am on 21st and I can hear a _lot_ of jackhammers outside. Should I be worried? Otara ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/99 "2011-05-21T00:02:11Z")
Actually, [it will happen on July 5.](http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/The_End_Is_Coming) ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939/100 "2011-05-21T03:56:08Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Well, the prediction is [pretty unequivocal](http://www.familyradio.com/facts/): Waitaminit…your quote says > [@](#): > > The remains of the all the believers who have ever lived will be instantly transformed into glorified spiritual bodies to be forever with God. So (according to the loon making this prediction) all that talk that happens when someone dies and they are in a better place and with god now etc etc is a lie? For the entirety of the human race - or at least since Jesus allowed people to qualify as believers - the dead have merely been waiting in their graves, waiting for the end of the world to finally meet their god? Whichever god this is is an asshole. I get mad when I have to wait for a doctor, and I actually get something in return for that! I’m going to play paintball tomorrow. One of the scenarios is _Apocalypse Now_. Just might choose that one! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-that-judgment-day-will-happen-on-may-21/579939.md?page=6)