According to 89-year-old radio minister Harold Camping, May 21 was to be the beginning of the rapture and, subsequently, the end of the world. The rapture is the Biblical idea that all Christians will be called to meet God and Jesus, leaving non-believers on the Earth. Camping believed each person would be judged personally by God.  However, even devout Christians did not leave the planet. Camping later claimed that Christ did come on May 21, but that His arrival was merely spiritual. He now foretells that the rapture and end of the world will actually begin on October 21, 2011.
The thought that the world is nearing its end is not unique. People have examined the Mayan calendar and have interpreted it to show that the Mayans, too, had predicted an end to the world. The calendar, which is separated into cycles of 5,125 years each, goes only as far as December 21, 2012, an indication to some that the end of the world is about a year and a half away.

Journalist Lawrence Joseph prescribes to this theory and wrote a book about the upcoming end entitled Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation Into Civilization’s End. However, others are less convinced of an imminent end. Spiritualist and author Daniel Pinchbeck believes that the 2012 date represents a change in consciousness and potentially aligns with entering the astrological “age of Aquarius.” Others, like astronomer Lawrence Rudnick and Susan Milbrath, said that it is likely that none of these options is true. “I think that it’s getting a lot of people worried over nothing,” said freshman Hannah Jackson.

The Islamic religion also predicts a Day of Judgement. While no specific day is given, many Muslims believe that a messianic figure, the Mahdi, will lead Islam in a final battle against a “false prophet.” Muslims also believe that Jesus (Isa) will appear in Damascus at this time and assist the Mahdi in destroying the “false prophet,” establishing an era of global peace with the conversion of all peoples to Islam.  Afterward, the world will come to an end and the faithful will rejoice.

Clearly, many people are fascinated and consumed with predictions regarding the world’s end. No matter where these beliefs come from, we just can’t seem to get enough.