OUR VIEW: ; Doomsday; Another fizzle

If you're reading this Sunday newspaper, it means that the worlddidn't end Saturday. The Rapture didn't rupture. The heavens didn'topen to disgorge the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The "elect"weren't lifted bodily into the sky, while calamity raged below. Whata letdown.

Radio evangelist Harold Camping, age 89, who preaches on 150 U.S.stations, said he had "absolute, infallible proof" from Biblecalculations that the long-awaited Judgment Day would arrive May 21,starting at 6 p.m. He proclaimed this alarm on 2,200 billboardsaround the world, purchased with ministry proceeds and believerdonations. The warning also spread by satellite TV, daily Internetupdates, subway ads, missionaries in low-income countries, and RVcaravans of followers passing out leaflets in many cities.

The huge buildup drew a lot of attention - and a lot of spooferyfrom skeptic groups, who staged "Rapture parties" to toast theeschatological event. Their merriment was magnified by the fact thatthe Rev. Camping is a slow learner, having previously set Doomsdayin 1994.

Multitudes of end-of-the-world predictions have been made throughthe centuries. Jehovah's Witnesses and Adventist churches focus onforecasting the demise of the universe. Here's an example:

In the 1830s, New England Baptist preacher William Miller beganforeseeing the end. He drew about 100,000 followers, called"Millerites." The fateful date was set in 1844, and some believersgave away their belongings to gather on hilltops for the mightyevent. But nothing happened. Some Millerites lost their faith, whileothers held firm and created the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

In the 1930s, a Los Angeles Adventist said Jesus wouldn't returnuntil an ultra-pure church awaited him. So he opened a Waco, Texas,compound that became the Branch Davidians. Its leaders incorrectlyset Easter 1959 as Doomsday. Then a charismatic young leader callinghimself David Koresh took over and made all females in the compoundhis brides. He collected weapons including machine guns for warfarein the Final Days. Federal agents tried to disarm the compound in1993, triggering the famous fiery tragedy in which 82 Davidians andfour U.S. officers died.