You might remember Harold Camping from his prophecy that the world would end in 1994. Or when he predicted and promoted May 21, 2011 as the “Day of Rapture.” Or maybe it was his failed prophecy that the world would come to an end on October 21, 2011 that jogs your memory.
No matter what you remember or don’t remember of Harold Camping, it looks like an end times of sorts is coming for his radio network. At 91 years old, Harold Camping is still considered the voice of Family Radio, a nonprofit Christian radio broadcasting network that Camping started in 1959. But according to a recently published story, financial documents show that Family Radio’s assets dropped more than $105 million in less than five years. That drop was even with an influx of $85 million in donations during that time.
Since that May 21, 2011 date has passed and the world continues on, donations to Camping’s network have fallen nearly 70%, leading to layoffs of longtime employees. Further adding to the network’s troubles are debt and alleged mismanagement that combined to force Family Radio to sell it’s three largest stations.
The network is now facing its own end times and that actually might be the prophecy that Camping got right. Former employee Matt Tuter told the Contra Costa Times that Camping made it clear to him in 1996 that he wanted the network to die when he did.
“He was very specific he did not want it to continue,” Tuter told the newspaper. He said Camping confided in him a week before going into heart surgery: “God raised up Family Radio just as a platform for me!”
And with Camping having suffered a stroke in June of 2011 and the show he hosted, the flagship show of the network, only running previously aired programs, the signs appear to be pointing to the end of the network altogether.
“Beware of false prophets…” Matthew 7:15