Family Radio Employee Estimates $100M Spent on Judgment Day Advertising
A longtime employee at Family Radio said Harold Camping spent around $100 million to advertise his May 21 end times prediction.
Matt Tuter, Family Radio’s international projects manager, said most of that money came not from donations, but from the sale of property – more specifically, KFTL television and an FM station.
"A lot of reporters have got it wrong," he told The Christian Post. "The largest portion of money did not come from donors."
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All that money, nevertheless, was basically used "to make a fool of himself to the whole world," Tuter commented.
It is now Monday, two days after the rapture was supposed to happen, according to 89-year-old Camping. He has remained in his home in Alameda, Calif., since his prediction – that the end of the world would begin at 6 p.m. in each time zone on Saturday – was proven false.
Camping, who co-founded Family Radio, is expected to make a statement in a live radio and television broadcast Monday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.
While the public awaits his statement, Tuter noted to The Christian Post that Camping has actually made at least 10 predictions for the end times, though only a couple were announced publicly.
"I was here for nine out of the 10," Tuter said.
The projects manager maintained that he is not a follower of Camping. Rather, he is an employee of Family Radio, which his mother volunteered at when he was a baby.
"I remember when the organization was normal!" he said.
"It was not always about Harold Camping. And I hope it will not be like that. Family Radio is a fine ministry. Other than Harold Camping's program, the other programs are normal."
Though some remember Camping as a fine Bible study teacher at a Reformed church some decades ago and ponder when the shift into a false prophet occurred, Tuter noted, "His brother said he (Camping) has always been like that since he was a child."
"To Harold," the employee said, "parables are parables that can have different interpretations. That's why he can keep coming up with all these predictions."
Most of the staff at Family Radio do not believe in Camping's Judgment Day predictions, he pointed out.
He even tried to convince some donors – who were going as far as letting their homes go to foreclosures in order to support the Judgment Day campaign – against making the contributions.
"I told them clearly, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said seven times in seven different ways, be prepared but the date is unknown.'"
Tuter also directed them to Deuteronomy 18 to illustrate that Camping is a false prophet.
Unfortunately, many families – mainly working class citizens – still chose to take drastic steps, such as quitting their jobs and spending their life savings on Judgment Day ads, thinking their life on earth would end on May 21.
Tuter had critical words for Family Radio's Board of Directors, who haven't shown up at the office since Thursday.
"They are the ones who are responsible for this mess," he said, adding that the board members place emphasis on Camping's authority more than listening to the voice of Jesus.
Hudson Tsuei contributed to this report from Oakland, Calif.
