Searching For The Beginning Of The End

It's well past 6 pm, New Zealand time.

There's been no earthquake.

There was an earthquake several months back, but that doesn't count.

The beginning of the end of the world was supposed to be ushered in by a New Zealand earthquake, followed closely by the Rapture.

Do you think the believers are beginning to doubt? Maybe even beginning to feel a bit foolish?

Harold Camping must have miscalculated yet again.

This time for sure, Reverend Camping said. Presto!

If he were pulling a rabbit out of a hat, he'd say he had the wrong hat (hi there fans of Rocky and Bullwinkle).

The Christians who were preparing for the Rapture were said to be eating a last meal with family and friends. What's on the menu now? Crow flambe?

Those who donated so generously to get out the word may be feeling like the victims of a massive con. Should they find themselves in need of spiritual counseling, they can turn to the Calvary Bible Church of Milpitas, where Pastor Jacob Denys stands ready to instill his version of Biblical scholarship to the disillusioned.

It's not the first time a charismatic preacher convinced people that the world was coming to an end. Then, as now, believers gave away their earthly goods and woke up to an unchanged world. Unchanged, except they were flat broke and out of work, without a house or a change of clothes.

Except for the righteous Mr. Camping. In 2009, his ministry held $34 million worth of stocks and had assets valued at $104 million, largely from donations of those who thought the world was ending at 6 pm on May 21, 2011.

Isn't there something in the New Testament about camels having an easier time fitting through the eye of a needle than a rich man entering Heaven?