Save the Date

Or just pencil it in.

According to the most recent prediction . . . around 6:00 p.m., wherever you are, ironically, the rapture is to come. Today. May 21, 2011.

I suggest you grab a cocktail - it's 5:00 somewhere.

Rapture: noun - joyful ecstasy.

The chosen ones are no longer with us and the rest of us have until - write this down - October 21, 2011 when the world really comes to an end.

This same guy, Harold, predicted this same thing for 1994, but this time he's really, really sure.

Call me crazy, but I decided to go out on a limb and get my hair highlighted since we have dinner plans for "the day after".

Well, it's post 6:00 p.m. here in Hasselt, Belgium and as best I can tell, my little world is intact. I guess I'll have to answer for that whole bag of fun size Snickers I ate as my last meal.

If you're reading this post, apparently you are not one of the chosen ones. Sorry you didn't make the cut. And the world as you know it has not ended. As predicted. Only in America. Again.

I, too, apparently didn't make the cut nor did any Belgian because we're all still here. These wicked Europeans.

You may not know this, but the world was to come to a screeching halt quite a few times since we started keeping up with this (these) important predictions. Here are just a few notable ones:

-Between Mar 21, 1843 & Mar 21, 1844 William Miller predicts Christ's return.

-Oct 22, 1844 William Miller's revised date.

-1891 & 1990 - Mormon "Prophet" Joseph Smith predicts Christ's return(s).

-1914, 1918, 1925, 1942, & 1975 - Jehovah's Witnesses predict the end(s).

-By 1981 - Chuck Smith predicts Jesus will probably return.

-1988 - Edgar C. Whisenant publishes 88 Reasons why the Rapture is in 1988.

-1989 - Edgar C. Whisenant publishes The final shout: Rapture report 1989.

-1993, 1994, & 1997 - Edgar C. Whisenant predicts the end(s).

-Oct 28, 1992 - Korean group "Mission for the Coming Days" predicts the rapture.

-1993 - Multiple predictions for the 7 years of tribulation before the year 2000.

-Jun 9, 1994 - John Hinkle predicts the rapture.

-Sep 6, 1994 - Harold Camping predicts the rapture.

-May 21, 2011 - Harold Camping predicts the rapture . . . again.

Ever heard of cognitive dissonance? It is the theory that individuals will evade evidence and even when presented with undeniable evidence will not only continue to believe as they did before, but will actually be more unshaken in their belief.

Some time after 6:00 p.m., wherever they are, ordinary people will believe the rapture date was simply miscalculated, or God had second thoughts and spared us all, or pledge another donation to Family Radio.

Here's what I predict . . .

(1) another prediction revision will be added to that list

(2) that the world as you know it will end in your death just as it has for every other person who has ever lived and you nor I can predict when that will happen.

And lastly, I predict . . . no, I guarantee, if we concentrate too much on preparing for the afterlife, we may just miss our real life.