世界末日近在咫尺 就在2011年5月21日？

　　Most people like to push thoughts about the end of the world to the back of their minds, hoping that the apocalypse, if it ever comes, will be a long way off。

　　But for one group of not-so happy campers, doomsday is a lot sooner...May 21 to be precise. According to the predictions of the Family Radio ministry, on that date a massive earthquake will shake the world apart, littering the ground with "many dead bodies"。

　　Those who believe in Jesus will be carried into heaven, while the rest of humanity will endure 153 days of "death and horror" before the world ends on October 21.

　　The group of 10 Christians have set out across the country in a convoy of caravans to bring the “awesome” message to as many people as possible. The members have given up jobs, families and all their possessions to join this final mission。

　　Calling themselves "ambassadors", they point to baffling biblical codes to demonstrate their reasoning. According to them, there are two "proofs" that May 21 2011 is the judgement day。

　　Noah's great flood occurred in the year 4990 BC, exactly 7000 years ago. At the time, God said to Noah he had seven days before the flood would begin. It is said a day for God is like a thousand human years, the church reasoned that seven "days" equals 7000 human years from the time of the flood, making 2011 the year of the apocalypse。

　　In its second "proof" the exact date is revealed by working forward from the exact date of the of the crucifixion - April 1, 33 AD. According to their reasoning, there are exactly 722,500 days from April 1, 33 AD until May 21, 2011. This number can be represented as follows: 5 x 10 x 17 x 5 x 10 x 17 = 722,500. Numbers in the bible have special meanings, with the number 5 signifying atonement or redemption, the number 10 signifying "completeness" and the number 17 equaling heaven。

　　The group's leader, 89-year-old Harold Camping said: "I know it's absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true." Despite his conviction, Camping has predicted the world would end before - on September 4 1994. That, he says, was a mistake, a misreading of the biblical codes used to decipher the exact date of the "rapture"。