美一男子称5．21为世界末日

美国某宗教组织领袖近日大肆向人们宣传，称今年5月21日为世界的“审判日”，届时将发生特大地震，地球末日随之来临。他制作的大型广告牌上写着“圣经保证“本周末会是毁灭日。他声称，此次末日浩劫将从一场地震开始，届时相信他的人们会立刻进入极乐世界，而对他的预言不屑一顾的人们则会面临5个月的悲惨经历直到10月份世界彻底毁灭。这位领袖表示，5月21日这个日子是他对圣经中记载的大事件的日期进行系统计算后得出的结论，他找到的最早纪录为公元前4990年发生的大洪灾。这位领袖此前曾预言地球会在1994年毁灭，不过后来表示是计算有误。

Say goodbye to your loved ones, repent your sins and enjoy your last few days on earth because, if a US Christian group is to be believed, the world will end this Saturday.

Howard Camping, a minister and the president of US conservative group Family Radio, has started a campaign proclaiming that Judgment Day will happen on May 21 2011.

Billboards advertising our impending doom boldly claim that the "Bible guarantees" destruction this weekend.

Mr Camping said that the beginning of the end will start with an earthquake, and that while believers will be instantly raptured, those dismissive of his claims will face five months of misery on Earth before the end of the world in October.

He said: "On May 21, there's going to be a terrific earthquake way, way greater than anything else the Earth has ever experienced and that will be the beginning of Judgment Day.

"The rest of the world will know instantly that Judgment Day has begun because all of the earthquake sensors will pick that up instantly."

Mr Camping said that he determined May 21 as the Day of Judgment after calculating various dates from past biblical events, starting with the great flood, that he believed, happened in 4990 BC.

It is not the first time that the minister has made an apocalyptic prediction. He has previously claimed the world would end in 1994, but puts this error down to a miscalculation.

While some people may decide to spend what could be their last day with family or friends, Mr Camping said he will be watching the destruction unfold and praying for non-believers.