Doomsayer confused as world doesn't end (Meet the man who spent his $150,000 savings to warn us)

New York Post ^ | 05/22/2011 | Heather Haddon & Douglas Montero

[SeekAndFind]

That's a Wrapture.

When the world did not end at precisely 6 p.m. yesterday, Doomsday prophet Robert Fitzpatrick's fragile grasp on reality crumbled.

"I don't understand why nothing is happening," said Fitzpatrick, flipping through his Bible for clues to why Rapture failed to show up on time.

"It's not a mistake. I did what I had to do. I did what the Bible said," he said, looking increasingly disheveled and confused as he stood in Times Square before mocking crowds.

A kooky Christian cult predicted that corpses would line the streets and deadly earthquakes would swallow up sinners beginning at 11:59 p.m. Jerusalem time on May 21, 2011.

Fitzpatrick, 60, a retired MTA engineer who became the city's self-appointed siren of the Apocalypse, spent $140,000 of his life savings on 3,219 bus, subway and commuter-rail ads trumpeting the coming "global earthquake" and urging sinners to repent to Jesus.

Fitzpatrick is a follower of Harold Camping, 89, an Oakland, Calif., evangelist who promised that on Judgment Day the righteous would be sucked up to heaven while sinners -- even children -- were to rot among fires, earthquakes and tsunamis engulfing the Earth. People would slowly die off until Oct. 21, 2011, when God completely KO'd the earth and all of its inhabitants.

Even cynical city dwellers got into the spirit of Doomsday, with New Yorkers hawking T-shirts, holding Judgment Day parties and Mayor Bloomberg deadpanning that he'd suspend alternate-side parking if the Earth crumbled.

Fitzpatrick's self-published tome on his predictions, "The Doomsday Code," earned $1,400 in royalties, he said. But his publicity stunt wasn't about getting checks. On Judgment Day, after all, money wouldn't matter.

[SeekAndFind]

APOCALYPSE NO! Amid guffaws, Doomsday "prophet" Robert Fitzpatrick (center), who spent $140,000 on Rapture get-the-word-out ads, counts down the seconds to the realization that it isn't over till it's over -- and it's NOT over

Yesterday, the doomsayer ate a simple breakfast of toast and righteous "Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Cereal" at home and boned up on the word of the Lord with his blue Bible. He tossed a few peanuts to squirrels in his back yard, though all the animals were supposed to die later that day in a "fireball."

[SeekAndFind]

This is what he did during the “expected final days” ( the poor deluded man )...

1) Visited his sickly mother in a Staten Island nursing home one last time and prayed to reunite with her when they went knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door.

2) After 6 p.m. came and went, Fitzpatrick blamed himself for the wrong date with Doomsday, as “God is never wrong.” He schlepped on the R train back to the Staten Island Ferry and pondered his next step.

3) Finally said : “I didn’t water my plants, I didn’t do my dishes before I left. I didn’t expect to go back home,”

(Didn’t say a word about Harold Camping and the money he spent warning people).

[Mr. Mojo]

Doomsayer confused

Understatement of the weekend.

[cripplecreek]

"It's not a mistake. I did what I had to do. I did what the Bible said,"

Actually I think I more closely followed what the bible says. I enjoyed the day that God has made.

[Oztrich Boy]

Yesterday, the doomsayer ate a simple breakfast of toast and righteous "Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Cereal" at home

Today, he ate crow.

[arderkrag]

Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

In other words, it's been going on since He left and will go on until He returns.

[Jeff Chandler]

This personal interpretation end times left behind nonsense only feeds the liberal stereotype that Christians are simpletons, buffoons, and morons.

What makes it difficult for the rest of Christianity is the fact that those who subscribe to personal interpretation end times left behind nonsense are.

[Brett66]

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

LOL! Very good!

[SeekAndFind]

“If by the Apocalypse, they meant Sunny and Warm with a high of 73 degrees, then they’re RIGHT, THIS IS THE END!!”
— Jim Carrey

“If you can’t think of a rapture joke, don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world”
— Adam Sandler

“I’m suspending alternate parking in New York City on that day”

— Mayor Michael Bloomberg

[Brett66]

Even better:

[calex59]

It’s insane nut cases like these that give all Christians a bad name, because left wing idiots take the actions of one or two people and attribute them to all Christians. Whereas when most muslims are violent and many commit murder the left excuses them.

[cripplecreek]

God doesn’t want us to be fearful. God wants us to be happy and when the time comes it will be without warning.

[PLD]

If he bothered to read the Bible he would see that it says not even the angels in heaven will know the time..

Someone should have gone to where he lives and placed clothes like someone just stepped out of them on his lawn..Then it might have made him go under ground and not try to prophecies again.. No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Matthew 24:36

[happilymarriedmom]

My attitude about all this has been, if it causes one non-believer to open a Bible or to question their own beliefs, then thats a good thing. And many now know about the Rapture so when it does come and they realize the Christians were right, they will go to their Bible to find out whats coming next and hopefully repent.

[cripplecreek]

The left might want to take a close look at muslim end time prophesies. Their “savior” is supposed to crawl up out of the earth and wash the world in blood.

[Outlaw Woman]

This is the first time I've heard I've heard of this man; I thought Camping was the one who made the prediction but didn't really follow this story until it became national.

It's very very sad that this man was so deluded. An obviously well educated man fully believed that the end was going to happen and I think the saddest part of that story is the report stating he said:

“I don't understand why nothing is happening,” said Fitzpatrick, flipping through his Bible for clues to why Rapture failed to show up on time.
“It's not a mistake. I did what I had to do. I did what the Bible said,” he said, looking increasingly disheveled and confused as he stood in Times Square before mocking crowds.

It's too bad that a Christian didn't, at that point, offer the man compassion & love & assurance.

As to the cynics, it's all fine and good that they carried on like the heathen that they are but I bet some of them were just a tad bit anxious before yesterday. And at the end, the true end, they will still be mocking and partying and will be caught unaware. Tragic.

[Liberty Valance]

bump to the top!

[basil]

Poor guy...he apparently fervently believed what he believed.
He kind of reminds me of the obammy bots—they were absolutely sure that they had found their savior.

[Steamburg]

Exactly how is this different from AlGore except for the government funding and that Nobel Prize of course?

[Evil Slayer]

It’s insane nut cases like these that give all Christians a bad name, because left wing idiots take the actions of one or two people and attribute them to all Christians.

I believe as you do. Even though I have devoted my "about page" to the discussion of the rapture and the apocalypse, I have not given a date and time of when the rapture will occur. As I have stated: There is far too much debate over the meaning and scope of the rapture. This is not God’s intent. Rather, in regards to the rapture, God wants us to “encourage each other with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

That said, one only has to wonder just how close we are to this happening though. With all that is happening in the Mideast and the events that are being centered on Israel.

[EGPWS]

When the world did not end at precisely 6 p.m. yesterday,...

Oh but it DID end precisely at 6pm yesterday.

Just a select few of us are allowed to know that however.

[Marty62]

HUMMMM, gave the Christian haters something to ridicule All Christians. frankly I hope they find out what it’s like to challenge GOD.

[SE Mom]

What a sad and confusing day for this fool’s followers. That otherwise apparently functional folks are able to be deluded so deeply is amazing. I haven’t read the numbers- were there really more than a couple of hundred who believed this?

[jerseyrocks]

Maybe Dumbplayer would more appropriate title.

[Westbrook]

> “I don’t understand why nothing is happening,” said
> Fitzpatrick, flipping through his Bible for clues to why
> Rapture failed to show up on time.

Maybe somebody tore the following verse out of his Bible.

Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Now, if the Lord Jesus, God in the flesh (!) didn’t know when He was returning, how was THIS clown supposed to know?

[reagan_fanatic]

My attitude about all this has been, if it causes one non-believer to open a Bible or to question their own beliefs, then thats a good thing. And many now know about the Rapture so when it does come and they realize the Christians were right, they will go to their Bible to find out whats coming next and hopefully repent.

The sad reality is that far more people will be turned off to religion because of circus freaks like Camping who cheapen Christianity and make it a laughing stock.

Camping should be tarred and feathered.

[sueuprising]

“It’s too bad that a Christian didn’t, at that point, offer the man compassion & love & assurance.As to the cynics, it’s all fine and good that they carried on like the heathen that they are but I bet some of them were just a tad bit anxious before yesterday. And at the end, the true end, they will still be mocking and partying and will be caught unaware. Tragic.”
Well said. I feel very badly for those who trusted in Harold Camping to interpret God’s Word. I do believe that there are many churches out there who are prepared to help the disillusioned repent of their misplaced alliance and offer the comfort and fellowship of believers. You are also right to indicate that at the true end, all those who stand mocking now will continue to mock to their doom. This is not the time to make fun of those people, but to feel the sadness that always accompanies tragedy.

[Outlaw Woman]

That said, one only has to wonder just how close we are to this happening though.

That is precisely why this story 'grew legs'. Each of us sense that there are forces at work beyond our control and those of us that have studied the bible see the various signs of prophecy being fulfilled with increasing intensity. Those people may have mocked this man and mock Christians in general, but this 'prediction' had just enough plausability to it that many probably believed it.

Those people may have been mocking and laughing at him yesterday but I bet some of the emotion was a 'whewww, we dodged a bullet' relief for some of them.

[iceskater]

I feel sorry for this poor, deluded man. OTOH, I think Camping has a lot of ‘splainin to do - to God.

[screaminsunshine]

He will claim he meant Rupture.

[Outlaw Woman]

Thank you.

My heart ached for this man when the story described his reaction/demeanor when nothing happened. Very, very sad.

We are all susceptible to being led astray and the only way to prevent it is to stay firmly grounded in the Truth, the Bible.

[I still care]

I get no joy from this picture.

My heart goes out to him. Yes, he fell for a lie. But he’s a victim just like if he fell for a Nigerian scam. He’s lost his life savings. That’s so sad. And the people with him - they may never come to real understanding of Jesus Christ because of this.

[LibWhacker]

After 6 p.m. came and went, Fitzpatrick blamed himself for the wrong date with Doomsday, as "God is never wrong."

You didn't do anything wrong, Robert. The world did end yesterday. Just not in this universe.

[Graybeard58]

I’ll be praying for our misled brothers Camping and Fitzgerald, if they are indeed our brothers.

[Outlaw Woman]

That’s probably the best thing we can do. I do hope that someone that is solid in scripture reaches out to this man. He probably is mortified and vulnerable right now; sometimes though, that is the position we have to be in to be open to the Truth.

[Finny]

It's too bad that a Christian didn't, at that point, offer the man compassion & love & assurance.

Amen, Sister FReeper. While I think the man was goofy because the bible states clearly and repeatedly that no one, not the angels nor Jesus, knows the exact time when it all starts to hit, I am moved and touched that the guy spent $140,000 to try to warn his fellow humans -- including me -- about it. He put his money where his mouth was. An admirable quality.

[alice_in_bubbaland]

Typical Global Warming Doomsday Nutcase Obama voter.

[Gator113]

I woke up this morning and turned on the television, Obama was on... I immediately knew the end had indeed come....... and that I was in Hell.

[Finny]

I’ll be praying for our misled brothers Camping and Fitzgerald, if they are indeed our brothers.

I will join you.

God will sort out whether or not they're our brothers; in my heart, every human alive is my brother or sister, and even if I had to kill in self defense, would remain so and my prayers would be even more fervent.

Several years ago I knew a man, a foul, drug-abusing, sexually perverted man, and I was compelled to always be friendly to him in order to keep the local peace and also because my heart told me it was right to be so. I got to know him slightly; he was a military veteran, a lost soul, a sad person, but he was still a man, my brother. He was foul, disgusting, shiver-inducing. I'd bet money that he derided and scorned Christianity, though we never talked about it.

I learned not long ago that he committed suicide, bleeding slowly to death in a place he'd deliberately chosen so no one would find him for weeks. For some reason, his death hurt me, pained me, caused me grief, to an enormous degree, and still does even thinking about it now. I don't really know how to pray for someone's soul, I'm not even sure God would want me to pray for this guy's soul ... but I do pray for it. I do pray that God gave him comfort and hope at the end, and that he now knows God's love and mercy.

[Goldsborough]

What a sad and confusing day for this fool’s followers. That otherwise apparently functional folks are able to be deluded so deeply is amazing. I haven’t read the numbers- were there really more than a couple of hundred who believed this?

The "delusion" is of a type, the only significant difference is in the "depth."

[sjmjax]

Sad. The man should have spent less money on “end of the world prophesy” and more on psychiatric help.

[Outlaw Woman]

I am moved and touched that the guy spent $140,000 to try to warn his fellow humans -- including me -- about it.

Exactly. He was entirely convinced and wanted to 'warn (save)' people. FReeper Graybeard has the best idea and that is to pray for this man and the others that have been misled.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

We all have a bad name with who? Secular nutjobs who have been spreading the apocalyptic gospels of Paul Ehrlich and Albert Gore for the last 40 years? Our name was already mud with them, long before anyone knew of Camping or his EOTW scam.

[calex59]

Christians have a bad name with a lot of people. If you haven't recognized that yet, you had better look around. There is a full court press on in the US to get rid of the Christian religion and in Europe Christianity is all but dead. A lot of it has to do with the left trashing Christians and brain washing children in school and every time some nut job predicts the end of the world they use that as a talking point to paint all Christians as nut cases.

Wake up and see the fight against Christians.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

What do I need to wake up to? The fact that they’d be attacking us with or without Camping? I think that’s just what I said.

[Ditter]

Poor man, he didn’t read far enough .......”ye shall not know the day or the hour”.

[dfwgator]

My attitude about all this has been, if it causes one non-believer to open a Bible or to question their own beliefs, then thats a good thing.

How many will become even more cynical about religion as a result of this?

[Hunton Peck]

“Exactly how is this different from AlGore”

Gore and his flock aren’t intelligent enough to notice when reality disagrees with their prophecies of doom.

[Salvavida]

Mr. Fitz, your life just came face to face with HERMANEUTICS.

While you were checking your watch, the rest of Christianity was face-palming your ignorance.

Yes, it’s that important.