Billboards herald Jesus’ return in May

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - A Christian group is proclaiming Jesus' impending return in billboards that are up in Kansas City and other U.S. cities for the holiday season.

Allison Warden, one of the founders of Raleigh, N.C.-based We Can Know, said Wednesday that an analysis of Scripture, particularly the genealogies, shows Jesus will come in May.

"God actually provides a calendar that points to May 21, 2011, as the day for Christ to return," she said.

Warden said the billboards she designed -- showing three wise men on camels following the star of Bethlehem -- are meant to spur the public's interest in the Bible, not frighten anyone.

"Obviously we don't want anyone to take our word for any of this," she said.

There are two digital billboards already up in the Kansas City area. There is one in Kansas City, Missouri, on Interstate 29/35, just north of the Bond Bridge and the second billboard is located in the Village West area of Kansas City, Kansas, on the south side of I-70/435.

The billboards have already gone up in Omaha and Nashville, Tennessee, too. They're also planned for Atlanta, Bridgeport, Connecticut; Detroit; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Louisville, Kentucky; and St. Louis, Warden said.

They'll stay up for the month of December.

Those cities were chosen, Warden said, because she didn't think they were getting the message about Jesus' return, which is touted on Family Radio stations but are not available in those areas. Family Radio is an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit that broadcasts Christian messages around the world.

Warden said Family Radio paid for the first batch of billboards -- those in Nashville -- and individual donors covered the cost of the others.

There was no immediate response to a phone message and e-mail sent Friday to Family Radio.

We Can Know offers resources to learn about the coming of Jesus and the end of days -- purported to be Oct. 21, 2011 -- through its website, wecanknow.com.