Behind thousands of “Judgment Day” billboards on rural highways and city skylines, responsible for a small army of volunteers traipsing across U.S to warn that the world will end on May 21st (2011), is a frail, 89-year-old California multimillionaire who runs one of the largest Christian radio networks in the world.

Each day, Harold Camping’s slow and sonorous Bible readings and his Open Forum call-in show broadcast for hours from the Oakland, Calif. headquarters of Family Radio, where Christian gospel and shows with titles such as “Beyond Intelligent Design” and “Creation Moments” punctuate his words.

And while the retired civil engineer and former Sunday school teacher has been preaching the gospel for decades and talking about God’s wrathful plan for the past two years, recent times have brought him into the spotlight like never before.