Harold Camping
Harold Camping, the 90-year-old preacher who predicted the end of the world on May 21 and Oct. 21, has finally admitted that he made a "mistake." Reuters

On May 21, 2011, a 90-year-old Alameda preacher named Harold Camping tried to convince the world that the apocalypse was coming. Bracing for impact near the predicted 6:00 p.m. EST doomsday time on that gorgeous day in May, some were shocked to discover that they lived to see May 22. Camping wasn't ready to let everyone off the hook that easily, though, and he predicted another end-of-the-world date for Oct. 21 of the same year. Needless to say, the 90-year-old was wrong, and he's finally admitting it.

Preaching of the end of the world in May, Camping warned listeners of his evangelical Family Radio program that at around 6:00 p.m. on the 21st around two percent of the world's population will be immediately raptured to heaven. Unfortunately the remaining 98 percent were going straight to hell. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the preacher admitted to be flabbergasted on May 22nd, and shortly after had a stroke. After being released from the hospital, the doomsday predictor threw another date into the apocalypse mix, October 21. I really am beginning to think as I've restudied these matters that there's going to be no big display of any kind, said Camping before the October date. The end is going to come very, very quietly.

Events within the last year have proven that no man can be fully trusted, Camping said in a letter to listeners found on the family radio website. Even the most sincere and zealous of us can be mistaken.

But even though Camping admits that his end of the world predictions were a mistake, he also sees them as a success. The May 21 campaign was an astounding event if you think about its impact upon this world, stated the preacher. There is no question that millions, if not billions of people heard for the first time the Bible's warning that Jesus Christ will return. Huge portions of this world that had never read of seen a Bible heard the message that Christ Jesus is coming to rapture.

Overall Camping admits that he learned a very painful lesson and humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing. But is this lesson enough for the preacher to stop making predictions?

We must also openly acknowledge that we have no new evidence pointing to another date for the end of the world, said Camping. Though many dates are circulating, Family Radio has no interest in even considering another date.