Followers prepare for May 21, 2011 rapture prediction; atheists wait in the wings

To some, it’ll be just like any other day. For others, May 21, 2011 will be the last day, the day of judgment -- the rapture, according to the Harold Camping’s prophecy and those who follow it.

In less than two days, Camping says the following will be the sign that Doom’s day is upon us:

• An earthquake will shake New Zealand in the late night hours, around 6 p.m.
•  As night falls around the world, the quake will spread across the earth .

“A great earthquake will shake the island asunder, triggering an apocalypse that rolls relentlessly our way,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Marie Exley-Sheahan told the Colorado Springs Independent that she plans to be safely in a cabin in the mountains of Washington state with a few other believers.

"It will be the movie of all movies that we will see unfold on the screen," she says. "Independence Day times 10."

While he and his followers prepare to ascend to heaven this Saturday, non-believers plan to revel in what they believe will be Camping’s failed prediction. The Associated Press reports that many atheists are sponsoring “rapture parties” around the country, planning to gather Saturday night, with their own prediction that the world is still here.

The American Atheists group will gather in an Oakland hotel meeting room Sunday to celebrate.

"We're confident we'll still be here," said Larry Hicok, the California director of the American Atheists who is with a 200 member group waiting to laugh in the face of Camping’s prediction.

"But if it does happen, we wanted a front-row seat," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Also adding fuel to the fire is the fact that this isn’t the first time Camping made the same prophecy of the messiah returning.

He prophesied that 1994 would mark the end of days, yet 17 years later, he’s still around making prophecies.

Camping based his predictions on math and codes in the bible and he did the same thing the second time around. While mainstream Christians aren't planning 'ha ha ha, you were wrong' parties they are also dismissing the prediction.

Despite the naysayers, he continues marching onward with his message and chalks up his previous prediction faux pas to incorrect math.

His message has been spread around the world through billboards, bus benches, online and over the radio through his program, Family Radio, which airs in 140 countries.