His theology has become even more eccentric than in time past, but I'm stunned by the percentage of callers - about half - who are so clearly devoted to his teaching.

One caller was also obviously as deranged as she was devoted, and I thought, "Rather than call him up and argue, isn't it easier to discredit him by calling up and acting deranged and devoted?" But no one would take harassment that far.

Another caller asked Harold Camping to compare the prophetic language spoken by Samuel to King Saul and by King David of his unnamed, dead son:

"and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me." (1 Sam. 28:19)

"I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." (2 Sam. 12:23)

I'll start by saying, it's a close, careful reading of Scripture that even turns this up in the caller's mind. But, as often happens, the reader was bringing a question to the text - seeking information about the afterlife - that the text doesn't propose to answer.

Camping recognized this immediately - probably occurs all the time - and, without going into an explanation of the varied and evolving view of the afterlife that the Hebrew Scriptures offer, he said that the passages spoke singularly of the physical death of the human body without any view towards the fate of the soul.

While Camping emphasized that Christians ought not think King Saul joined Samuel in eternal beatitude, he concluded that King David would spend eternity with his dead infant son, together in bliss. He based this judgment on how they lived their lives in obedience to God and the evidence of God's Hand on their life.

He may well use the Second Samuel passage to justify a belief that children up to a certain age automatically go to heaven but he didn't say this explicitly as it was somewhat outside the scope of the question. He's very focussed and doesn't often digress.