It is not a coincidence that the ranks of preppers in the west enjoy a significant representation of theists in general, and Christians specifically. References to armageddon (truth as revealed), rapture, apocalypse (truth as revealed), and revelation (truth as revealed) were common among the bronze age denizens of Palestine. The Christian's New Testament even included the revelation of John during the council of Carthage 397AD. The authorship and date that it was accepted into the canon are irrelevant of course. The fact is that the book is in the canon and is therefore a very real thing for literalists is what matters to us.
For those of us that prepare for worldly calamity these beliefs may appear peculiar and fantastic. As has been demonstrated recently to myself, we have to be prepared to be confronted with these fantastic metaphysical beliefs head on; even when discussing the most mundane topics. So the question. What to do when one of your peers takes a metaphysical leap off of the cliff of reason? For myself, I think it is incumbent to challenge ideas which I believe to be incorrect or intellectually dishonest. For your benefit, I would like to point out a few of the historical claims and dates for "the End".
Past predictions
Date (BCE)/(CE) Claimant Description Reference(s)
634 BCE Various Romans Many Romans feared that the city would be destroyed in the 120th year of its founding. There was a myth that 12 eagles had revealed to Romulus a mystical number representing the lifetime of Rome, and some early Romans hypothesized that each eagle represented 10 years. [1]
389 BCE Various Romans Some Romans believed that the mystical number revealed to Romulus represented the number of days in a year, so they expected Rome to be destroyed around 365 AUC (389 BCE) [1]
66–70 CE Simon bar Giora, Essenes The Essene sect of Jewish ascetics saw the Jewish revolt against the Romans in 66–70 as the final end-time battle. By the authority of Simon, coins were minted declaring the redemption of Zion. [2][3]
365 CE Hilary of Poitiers Announced that the end would happen that year. [4]:30
375–400 CE Martin of Tours Stated that the world would end before 400, writing, "There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established already in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power." [5][6]:119
500 CE Hippolytus of Rome, Sextus Julius Africanus, Irenaeus All three predicted Jesus would return in the year 500. One prediction was based on the dimensions of Noah's ark. [4]:31[7]:35
793 Apr 6 Beatus of Liébana The Spanish monk prophesied the second coming of Christ and the end of the world that day to a crowd of people. [4]:31
800 Sextus Julius Africanus Sextus Julius Africanus revised the date of Doomsday to 800. [8]:37
799–806 Gregory of Tours Calculated the End occurring between 799 and 806. [9]:48
848 Thiota Declared that the world would end this year. [6]:337
992–995 Various Christians Good Friday coincided with the Feast of the Annunciation; this had long been believed to be the event that would bring forth the Antichrist, and thus the end-times, within 3 years. [10]:236[11]
1000 Jan 1 Pope Sylvester II The Millennium Apocalypse at the end of the Christian Millennium. Various Christian clerics predicted the end of the world on this date, including Pope Sylvester II. Riots occurred in Europe. Pilgrims headed east to Jerusalem. [4]:32[7]:35–36
1033 Various Christians Following the failure of the January 1, 1000 prediction, some theorists proposed that the end would occur 1000 years after Jesus' death, instead of his birth. [4]:31[7]:36[12]
1186 John of Toledo Predicted the end of the world during 1186, based on the alignment of many planets. [4]:32
1260 Joachim of Fiore The Italian mystic determined that the Millennium would begin between 1200 and 1260. [8]:48
1284 Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (d. 1216) predicted that the world would end 666 years after the rise of Islam. [5]
1290
1335 Joachimites The followers of Joachim of Fiore rescheduled the End to 1290 and then 1335 when his 1260 prophecy failed. [13]:58
1346–1351 Various Europeans The black plague spreading across Europe was interpreted by many as the sign of the end of times. [4]:33[14]
1370 Jean de Roquetaillade The Antichrist was to come in 1366 and the Millennium would begin in 1368 or 1370. [9]:55
1378 Arnaldus de Villa Nova This Joachite wrote that the Antichrist was to come in this year. [13]:62
1504 Sandro Botticelli Believed he was living during the Tribulation, and that the Millennium would begin in three and a half years from 1500. [9]:60
1524 Feb 1 London astrologers A group of astrologers in London predicted the world would end by a flood starting in London based on calculations made the previous June. 20,000 Londoners left their homes and headed for higher ground in anticipation. [10]:236–237[15]
1524 Feb 20 Johannes Stöffler A planetary alignment in Pisces was seen by this astrologer as a sign of the Millennium. [10]:236–237
1524–1526 Thomas Müntzer 1525 would mark the beginning of the Millennium, according to this Anabaptist. His followers were killed by cannon fire in an uneven battle with government troops. He died under torture and was beheaded. [7]:36[16]:48
1528 May 27 Hans Hut Predicted the end would occur on this day. [9]:67
1528 Johannes Stöffler Revised date from Stöffler after his 1524 prediction failed to come true. [10]:238
1533 Oct 19 Michael Stifel This mathematician calculated that the Judgement Day would begin at 8:00am on this day. [13]:88
1533 Melchior Hoffman This Anabaptist prophet predicted Christ's Second Coming to take place this year in Strasbourg. He claimed that 144,000 people would be saved, while the rest of the world would be consumed by fire. [8]:59
1534 Apr 5 Jan Matthys Predicted that the Apocalypse would take place on this day and only the city of Münster would be spared. [6]:338
1555 Pierre d'Ailly Around the year 1400, this French theologian wrote that 6845 years of human history had already passed, and the end of the world would be in the 7000th year. [13]:72
1585 Michael Servetus In his book The Restoration of Christianity, the Spanish born reformer claimed that the Devil's reign in this world began in 325 AD, at the Council of Nicea, and will last for 1260 years, thus ending in 1585. [17]
1588 Regiomontanus Predicted the end of the world this year. [10]:239
1600 Martin Luther Predicted the end of the world would occur no later than 1600. [9]:66
1624 Feb 1 London astrologers The same astrologers who predicted the deluge of February 1, 1524 recalculated the date to February 1, 1624 after their first prophecy failed. [10]:236–237[15]
1648 Sabbatai Zevi Using the kabbalah this rabbi from Smyrna, Turkey, figured that the Messiah would come in this year. [10]:239
1654 Helisaeus Roeslin This physician made a prediction that the world would end this year based on a nova that occurred in 1572. [10]:240
1656 Christopher Columbus In his Book of Prophecies (1501), Columbus predicted that the world would end in 1656. [18][19]
1657 Fifth Monarchists This group of radical Christians predicted the final apocalyptic battle and the destruction of the Antichrist were to take place between 1655 and 1657. [8]:67
1658 Christopher Columbus Columbus claimed that the world was created in 5343 BCE, and would last 7000 years. Assuming no year zero, that means the end would come in 1658. [13]:77
1660 Joseph Mede Mede claimed that the Antichrist appeared in 456, and the end would come in 1660. [13]:147
1666 Sabbatai Zevi Following his failed prediction of 1648, Zevi recalculated the end of the earth in 1666. [10]:239
Fifth Monarchists The presence of 666 in the date, the death of 100,000 Londoners to bubonic plague, and the Great Fire of London led to superstitious fears of the end of the world from some Christians. [7]:36–37[20]:87
1673 William Aspinwall This Fifth Monarchist claimed the Millennium would begin by this year. [6]:209
1688 John Napier This mathematician calculated the end of the world would be this year based on calculations from the Book of Revelation. [9]:92
1689 Pierre Jurieu This prophet predicted that Judgement Day would occur this year. [8]:70
1694 John Mason This Anglican priest predicted the Millennium would begin by this year. [8]:72
Johann Heinrich Alsted Predicted the Millennium would begin by this year. [8]:66
Johann Jacob Zimmermann Believed that Jesus would return and the world would end this year. [21]:19–20
1697 Cotton Mather This Puritan minister predicted the world would end this year. After the prediction failed, he revised the date of the End two more times. [6]:338
1700 John Napier After his 1688 prediction failed to come true, Napier revised his end of the world prediction to this year. [9]:92
Henry Archer In his 1642 work, The Personall Reigne of Christ Upon Earth, Archer predicted the second coming of Jesus would occur in approximately this year. [22]
1705
1706
1708 Camisards Camisard prophets predicted the end of the world would occur in either 1705, 1706 or 1708. [8]:70
1716 Cotton Mather Revised prediction from Mather after his 1697 prediction failed to come true. [6]:338
1719 Apr 5 Jacob Bernoulli This mathematician predicted a comet would destroy the earth on this day. [10]:240
1700–1734 Nicholas of Cusa This Cardinal predicted the end would occur between 1700 and 1734. [13]:73
1736 Oct 16 William Whiston Whiston predicted a comet colliding with the earth this year. [23]
1736 Cotton Mather Mather's third and final prediction for the end of the world. [6]:338
1757 Emanuel Swedenborg Swedenborg claimed that the Last Judgement occurred in the spiritual world this year. [24]
1780 May 19 Connecticut General Assembly members, New Englanders The sky turning dark during the day was interpreted as a sign of the end times. The primary cause of the event is believed to have been a combination of smoke from forest fires, a thick fog, and cloud cover. [25][26]
1789 Pierre d'Ailly 1789 would bring the coming of the Antichrist, according to this 14th-century Cardinal. [9]:59
1792
1794 Shakers Predicted the world would end in both 1792 and 1794. [6]:338
1795 Nov 19 Nathaniel Brassey Halhed While campaigning for Richard Brothers' release, Halhead proclaimed that the world would end on this day. [13]:310
1793–1795 Richard Brothers This retired sailor stated the Millennium would begin between 1793 and 1795. He was eventually committed to an insane asylum. [13]:73
1805 Christopher Love This presbyterian minister predicted the destruction of the world by earthquake in 1805, followed by an age of everlasting peace when God will be known by all. [20]:101
1806 Mary Bateman In Leeds, England in 1806 a hen began laying eggs on which the phrase "Christ is coming" was written. Eventually it was discovered to be a hoax. The owner, Mary Bateman, had written on the eggs in a corrosive ink so as to etch the eggs, and reinserted the eggs back into the hen's oviduct. [7]:37[27][28]
1814 Dec 25 Joanna Southcott This 64-year-old self-described prophet claimed she was pregnant with the Christ child, and that he would be born on Christmas Day, 1814. She died on the day of her prediction, and an autopsy proved she was not pregnant. [29]
1836 John Wesley Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, foresaw the Millennium beginning this year. He wrote that Revelation 12:14 referred to the years 1058–1836, "when Christ should come". [7]:37[13]:269[30]
1843 Apr 28
1843 Dec 31 Millerites Although it was not officially endorsed by their leadership, many Millerites expected the Second Coming to occur on April 28 or at the end of 1843. [31]:16
1843 Harriet Livermore The first of two years this preacher predicted the world would end. [13]:699
1844 Mar 21 William Miller Miller predicted Christ would return on this day. [31]:17
1844 Oct 22 Millerites After Christ did not return on March 21, 1844, the Millerites then revised William Miller's prediction to October 22, 1844, claiming to have miscalculated Scripture. The realization that the predictions were incorrect resulted in the Great Disappointment. [7]:38[31]:17[32]
1847 Aug 7 George Rapp Rapp, the founder of the Harmony Society, preached that Jesus would return in his lifetime, even as he lay dying on August 7, 1847. [21]:23
1847 Harriet Livermore The second prediction of the end of the world from this preacher. [13]:699
1853–1856 Various Many people[who?] thought the Crimean War was the Battle of Armageddon. [13]:437
1862 John Cumming This Scottish clergyman stated it was 6000 years since Creation in 1862, and that the world would end. [6]:283
1863 John Wroe The founder of the Christian Israelite Church calculated that the Millennium would begin this year. [29]
1873 Jonas Wendell In 1870, Wendell published his views in the booklet entitled The Present Truth, or Meat in Due Season concluding that the Second Advent was sure to occur in 1873. [33]
1874 Charles Taze Russell Predicted the return of Jesus to occur in 1874, and after this date reinterpreted the prediction to say that Jesus had indeed returned in invisible form. [34][35]
1881 Mother Shipton (attrib.) This 15th-century prophet was quoted as saying "The world to an end shall come, In eighteen hundred and eighty one" in a book published in 1862. In 1873 it was revealed to be a forgery; however, this did not stop some people from expecting the end. [10]:243
1890 Wovoka The founder of the Ghost Dance movement predicted in 1889 that the Millennium would occur in 1890. [16]:69
1901 Catholic Apostolic Church This church, founded in 1831, claimed that Jesus would return by the time the last of its 12 founding members died. The last member died in 1901. [36]:87
1910 Camille Flammarion He predicted that the 1910 appearance of Halley's Comet "would impregnate that atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet", but not the planet itself. "Comet pills" were sold to protect against toxic gases. The comet indicated the Second Coming to many. [7]:38[37]
1892–1911 Charles Piazzi Smyth This pyramidologist concluded from his research on the dimensions of the Great Pyramid of Giza that the Second Coming would occur between 1892 and 1911. [21]:94
1914 Charles Taze Russell "...the battle of the great day of God Almighty
The date of the close of that "battle" is definitely marked in Scripture as October 1914. It is already in progress, its beginning dating from October, 1874." [38]
1915 John Chilembwe This Baptist educator and leader of a rebellion in Nyasaland predicted the Millennium would begin this year. [16]:69
1918 International Bible Students Association Christendom shall be cut off and glorification of the Little Flock (The Church) in the Spring of 1918 A. D. [39][40]
1920 International Bible Students Association In 1918, Christendom would go down as a system to oblivion and be succeeded by revolutionary governments. God would "destroy the churches wholesale and the church members by the millions." Church members would "perish by the sword of war, revolution and anarchy." The dead would lie unburied. In 1920 all earthly governments would disappear, with worldwide anarchy prevailing. [41]
1925 Feb 13 Margaret Rowen According to this Seventh-day Adventist the angel Gabriel appeared before her in a vision and told her that the world would end at midnight on this date. [6]:45
1935 Sep Wilbur Glenn Voliva This evangelist announced that "the world is going to go 'puff' and disappear" in September 1935. [6]:287
1936 Herbert W. Armstrong The founder of the Worldwide Church of God told members of his church that the Rapture was to take place in 1936, and that only they would saved. After the prophecy failed, he changed the date three more times. [42]:99
1941 Jehovah's Witnesses A prediction of the end from the Jehovah's Witnesses, a group which branched from the Bible Student movement. [42]:72
1943 Herbert W. Armstrong The first of three revised dates from Armstrong after his 1936 prediction failed to come true. [42]:99
1947 John Ballou Newbrough The author of Oahspe: A New Bible foresaw the destruction of all nations and the beginning of post-apocalyptic anarchy in this year. [10]:243
1954 Dec 21 Dorothy Martin The world was to be destroyed by terrible flooding on this date, claimed this leader of a UFO cult called Brotherhood of the Seven Rays. The fallout of the group after the prediction failed was the basis for the 1956 book When Prophecy Fails. [43]
1959 Apr 22 Florence Houteff The 2nd Prophet of the Branch Davidians predicted the apocalypse foretold in the Book of Revelation would proceed on this date. The failure of the prophecy led to the split of the sect into several subsects, the most prominent led by Benjamin and Lois Roden. [44]
1962 Feb 4 Jeane Dixon, various Indian astrologers Jeane Dixon predicted a planetary alignment on this day was to bring destruction to the world. Mass prayer meetings were reported from India. [6]:340[45][46]
1967 Aug 20 George Van Tassel This day would mark the beginning of the third woe of the Apocalypse, during which the southeastern US would be destroyed by a Soviet nuclear attack, according to this UFO prophet, who claimed to have channeled an alien named Ashtar. [47]:145
1967 Jim Jones The founder of the Peoples Temple stated he had visions that a nuclear holocaust was to take place in 1967. [9]:214
1969 Aug 9 George Williams The founder of the Church of the Firstborn predicted the Second Coming of Christ would occur on this day. [48]:77
1969 Charles Manson Manson predicted that an apocalyptic race war would occur in 1969 and ordered the Tate-LaBianca murders in an attempt to bring it about. Manson based his prediction on his interpretation of The Beatles self-titled album. [49]
1972 Herbert W. Armstrong The second of three revised dates from Armstrong after his 1936 and 1943 predictions failed to come true. [42]:99
1973 Jan 11–21 David Berg Berg, the leader of Children of God, predicted that there would be a colossal doomsday event heralded by Comet Kohoutek. [50][51]
1975 Herbert W. Armstrong Armstrong's fourth and final false prediction. [42]:99
Jehovah's Witnesses In 1966 Jehovah's Witnesses published an article which stated that the fall of 1975 would be 6000 years since man's creation. This led some Witnesses to speculate that the end would come in that year. Belief in the prediction was held only by a relatively small number of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States; whereas most Witnesses were unaware of the prediction. Some subsequent publications either cautioned against the prediction or stressed it was only a possibility, though some continued to affirm that 1975 would "probably" be the end. More details. [52][53]
1977 John Wroe The founder of the Christian Israelite Church predicted this year for Armageddon to occur. [10]:243
William M. Branham This Christian minister predicted the Rapture would occur no later than 1977. [54]
1980 Leland Jensen In 1978 Jensen predicted that there would be a nuclear disaster in 1980, followed by two decades of conflict, culminating in God's Kingdom being established on earth. [55][full citation needed]
1981 Chuck Smith The founder of Calvary Chapel predicted the generation of 1948 would be the last generation, and that the world would end by 1981 at the latest. [56][57]
1982 Apr–Jun Tara Centers Full-page ads in many newspapers April 24–25, 1982, stated that "The Christ is Now Here!" and that he would make himself known "within the next two months". [7]:39
1982 Mar 10 John Gribbin, Stephen Plagemann Stated in their 1974 book The Jupiter Effect that combined gravitational forces of aligned planets would create a number of catastrophes, including a great earthquake on the San Andreas Fault. [6]:62[37]
1982 Jun 21 Benjamin Creme Creme took out an ad in the Los Angeles stating the Second Coming would occur in June 1982 with the Maitreya announcing it on worldwide television. [58]
1982 Pat Robertson In late 1976 Robertson predicted that the end of the world would come in 1982. [59][60]
1984 Oct 2 Jehovah's Witnesses Another prediction of the end from the Jehovah's Witnesses. [61]
1985 Lester Sumrall This minister predicted the end in this year, even writing a book about it entitled I Predict 1985. [6]:99
1987 Apr 29 Leland Jensen Jensen predicted that Halley's Comet would be pulled into Earth's orbit on April 29, 1988, causing widespread destruction. [48]:73, 76
1987 Aug 17 José Argüelles Argüelles claimed that Armageddon would take place unless 144,000 people gathered in certain places in the world in order to "resonate in harmony" on this day. [8]:156
1988 Sep 13
1988 Oct 3 Edgar C. Whisenant Whisenant predicted in his book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988 that the Rapture of the Christian Church would occur between 11 and 13 September 1988. After his September predictions failed to come true, Whisenant revised his prediction date to October 3. [6]:93[62]
1989 Sep 30 Edgar C. Whisenant After all his 1988 predictions failed to come true, Whisenant revised his prediction date to this day. [6]:93
1990 Apr 23 Elizabeth Clare Prophet Prophet predicted a nuclear war would start on this day, with the world ending 12 years later, leading her followers to stockpile a shelter with supplies and weapons. Later, after Prophet's prediction did not come to pass, she was diagnosed with epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. [4]:61[63]
1991 Sep 9 Menachem Mendel Schneerson This Russian-born rabbi called for the Messiah to come by the start of the Jewish New Year. [7]:40
1991 Louis Farrakhan The leader of the Nation of Islam declared that the Gulf War would be the "War of Armageddon which is the final war." [6]:307
1992 Sep 28 Rollen Stewart This born-again Christian predicted the Rapture would take place on this day. [64]
1992 Oct 28 Lee Jang Rim
(이장림 or 李長林)
Lee, the leader of the Dami Mission church, predicted the Rapture would occur on this day.
[65]
1993 David Berg Berg predicted the tribulation would start in 1989 and that the Second Coming would take place in 1993. [8]:145
1994 May 2 Neal Chase This Bahá'í sect leader predicted that New York would be destroyed by a nuclear bomb on March 23, 1994, and the Battle of Armageddon would take place 40 days later. [48]:79
1994 Sep 6
1994 Sep 29
1994 Oct 2 Harold Camping Camping predicted the Rapture would occur on September 6, 1994. When it failed to occur he revised the date to September 29 and then to October 2. [6]:95[66]
1995 Mar 31 Harold Camping Camping's fourth predicted date for the end. This would be Camping's last prediction until 2011. [6]:95
1996 Dec 17 Sheldan Nidle California psychic Sheldan Nidle predicted that the world would end on this date, with the arrival of 16 million space ships and a host of angels. [67]
1997 Mar 26 Marshall Applewhite Applewhite, leader of the Heaven's Gate cult, claimed that a spacecraft was trailing the Comet Hale-Bopp and argued that suicide was "the only way to evacuate this Earth" so that the cult members' souls could board the supposed craft and be taken to another "level of existence above human". Applewhite and 38 of his followers committed mass suicide. [68]
1997 Oct 23 James Ussher This 17th-century Irish Archbishop predicted this date to be 6000 years since Creation, and therefore the end of the world. [16]:68
1998 Mar 31 Chen Tao
(陳恆明)
Hon-Ming Chen, leader of the Taiwanese cult God's Salvation Church, or Chen Tao — "The True Way" — claimed that God would come to Earth in a flying saucer at 10:00 am on this date. Moreover, God would have the same physical appearance as Chen himself. Chen chose to base his cult in Garland, Texas, because he thought it sounded like "God's Land." On March 25, God was to appear on Channel 18 on every TV set in the US. [7]:43[69][70]
1999 Jul Nostradamus A prediction attributed to Nostradamus stating the "King of Terror" would come from the sky in "1999 and seven months" led to fears of the end. [71]
1999 Aug 18 The Amazing Criswell The predicted date of the end of the world, according to this psychic well known for false predictions. [6]:43
1999 Sep 11 Philip Berg Berg, dean of the worldwide Kabbalah Centre, stated that on this date "a ball of fire will descend, destroying almost all of mankind, all vegetation, all forms of life." [7]:44
1999 Charles Berlitz This linguist predicted the end would occur in this year. He did not predict how it would occur, stating it may involve nuclear devastation, asteroid impact, pole shift or other earth changes. [8]:194
Hon-Ming Chen
(陳恆明)
Hon-Ming Chen's cult God's Salvation Church, now relocated to upstate New York, preached that a nuclear holocaust would destroy Europe and Asia sometime between October 1 and December 31, 1999.
James Gordon Lindsay This preacher predicted the tribulation would begin before the year 2000. [6]:280
Timothy Dwight IV This President of Yale University foresaw Christ's Millennium starting by 2000. [8]:81
Nazim Al-Haqqani Predicted that the Last Judgment would occur before the year 2000. [72]
2000 Jan 1 Various Predictions of a Y2K computer bug were to crash many computers and would malfunction causing major catastrophes worldwide and that society would cease to function. Year 2000 problem
Credonia Mwerinde, Joseph Kibweteere An estimated 778 followers of this Ugandan religious movement perished in a devastating fire and a series of poisonings and killings that were either a group suicide or an orchestrated mass murder by group leaders after their predictions of the apocalypse failed to come about. [73][74]:21
Jerry Falwell Falwell foresaw God pouring out his judgement on the world on this day. [75]
Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins These Christian authors stated the Y2K bug would trigger global economic chaos, which the Antichrist would use to rise to power. As the date approached however they changed their minds. [76]
2000, April 6 James Harmston The leader of the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days predicted the Second Coming of Christ would occur on this day. [13]:2496
2000 May 5 Nuwaubian Nation This movement claimed that the planetary lineup would cause a "star holocaust," pulling the planets toward the sun on this day. [47]:121
2000 Peter Olivi This 13th-century theologian wrote that the Antichrist would come to power between 1300 and 1340, and the Last Judgement would take place around 2000. [9]:54
Isaac Newton Newton predicted that Christ's Millennium would begin in the year 2000 in his book Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John. [20]:96
Ruth Montgomery This self-described Christian psychic predicted the Earth's axis would shift and the Antichrist would reveal himself in this year. [8]:156, 195
Edgar Cayce This psychic predicted the Second Coming would occur this year. [77]
Sun Myung Moon The founder of the Unification Church predicted the Kingdom of Heaven would be established in this year. [8]:148
Ed Dobson This pastor predicted the end would occur in his book The End: Why Jesus Could Return by A.D. 2000. [78]
Lester Sumrall This minister predicted the end in his book I Predict 2000. [6]:99, 341
Jonathan Edwards This 18th-century preacher predicted that Christ's thousand-year reign would begin in this year. [9]:171
2001 Tynnetta Muhammad This columnist for the Nation of Islam predicted the end would occur in this year. [9]:213
2002 Various Yoruba Yoruba priests predicted dramatic tragedy and crisis in 2002, including coups, war, disease, and flooding. [7]:45
2003 May Nancy Lieder Lieder originally predicted the date for the Nibiru collision as May 2003. According to her website, aliens in the Zeta Reticuli star system told her through messages via a brain implant of a planet which would enter our solar system and cause a pole shift on earth that would destroy most of humanity. [79]
2003 Nov 29 Aum Shinrikyo This Japanese cult predicted the world would be destroyed by a nuclear war between October 30 and November 29, 2003. [47]:98
2006 Sep 12 House of Yahweh Yisrayl Hawkins, Pastor and Overseer, The House of Yahwah, Abilene, Texas in the Feb. 2006 newsletter predicted the start of nuclear war on September 12, 2006. [80]
2007 Apr 29 Pat Robertson In his 1990 book The New Millennium, Robertson suggests this date as the day of Earth's destruction. [6]:138
2008 Sep 10
2010 Mar 30 Various A number of groups claimed that activation of the Large Hadron Collider experiment would bring about the end of the world through the production of planet-eating micro black holes or strangelets. Similar claims were made about 2010, March 30, when the collider reached 7 TeV, half of its maximum energy. See safety of particle collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. [81]
2010 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn This order predicted the world would end in this year. [42]:223
2011 May 21 Harold Camping Camping predicted that the Rapture and devastating earthquakes would occur on May 21, 2011 with God taking approximately 3% of the world's population into Heaven, and that the end of the world would occur five months later on October 21. 2011 end times prediction
2011 Sep 29 Ronald Weinland Ronald Weinland stated Jesus Christ would return on this day. He prophesied nuclear explosions in U.S. port cities by July 2008 as the blowing of the Second Trumpet of Revelation. After his prophecy failed to come true he changed the date for the return of Jesus Christ to May 27, 2012. [82][83][84]
2011 Oct 21 Harold Camping When his original date failed to come about, Camping revised his prediction and said that on May 21, a "Spiritual Judgment" took place, and that both the physical Rapture and the end of the world would occur on October 21, 2011. 2011 end times prediction
2011 Aug–Oct Various There were fears amongst the public that Comet Elenin travelling almost directly between Earth and the Sun would cause disturbances to the Earth's crust, causing massive earthquakes and tidal waves. Others predicted that Elenin would collide with Earth on October 16. Scientists tried to calm fears by stating that none of these events were possible. [85]
2012 May 27 Ronald Weinland Ronald Weinland stated Jesus Christ would return and the world would end on this day. [86]
2012 Jun 30 José Luis de Jesús José Luis de Jesús predicted that the world's governments and economies would fail on this day, and that he and his followers would undergo a transformation that would allow them to fly and walk through walls. [87][88]
2012 Dec 21 Various The so-called Mayan apocalypse at the end of the 13th b'ak'tun. The Earth would be destroyed by an asteroid, Nibiru, or some other interplanetary object; an alien invasion; or a supernova. Mayanist scholars stated that no extant classic Maya accounts forecast impending doom, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar ends in 2012 misrepresented Maya history and culture.[89][90][91] Scientists from NASA, along with expert archeologists, also stated that none of those events were possible. 2012 phenomenon
2012 Dec 23 Warren Jeffs The president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints predicted from his prison cell that the world would end by December 23. [92][93]
2012 Dec 31 Warren Jeffs When the end failed to occur as he had predicted on December 23, Jeffs blamed it on his followers' "lack of faith", and moved the prediction to December 31. [94]
2013 Aug 23 Grigori Rasputin Rasputin prophesized a storm where fire would eat all life on land and Jesus Christ would come back to Earth to comfort those in distress. [95]
Predictions for the future
Date (CE) Claimant Description Reference(s)
2014 Apr - 2015 Mar John Hagee This author claims that four blood moons throughout 2014 represent prophecies allegedly given in the book of Luke relating to the second coming of Jesus Christ. [96]
2020 Jeane Dixon This alleged psychic claimed that Armageddon would take place in 2020 and Jesus would return to defeat the unholy Trinity of the Antichrist, Satan and the False prophet between 2020 and 2037. Dixon previously predicted the world would end on February 4, 1962. [97]
2021 F. Kenton Beshore Beshore bases his prediction on the prior suggestion that Jesus could return in 1988, i.e., within one Biblical generation (40 years) of the founding of Israel in 1948. Beshore argues that the prediction was correct, but that the definition of a Biblical generation was incorrect and was actually 70–80 years, placing the Second Coming of Jesus between 2018 and 2028 and the Rapture by 2021 at the latest. [98]
2026 Messiah Foundation International Members propagate that the world is to end in 2026, when a comet would collide with Earth in accordance with Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi's predictions in The Religion of God. [99][100]
2060 Sir Isaac Newton According to Sir Isaac Newton's research of the Bible, the world will end no sooner than this year. [101]
2129 Said Nursî According to abjad interpretation of a hadith, this Sunni Muslim theologian who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceeding six thousand pages, which expected the end in 2129. [102]
2240 Talmud, Orthodox Judaism According to an opinion on the Talmud in mainstream Orthodox Judaism, the Messiah should come within 6000 years from the creation of Adam, and the world could possibly be destroyed 1000 years later. This would put the beginning of the period of desolation in the year 2240 CE and the end of the period of desolation in the year 3240 CE Year 6000
2280 Rashad Khalifa According to Rashad Khalifa's research on the Quran Code, the world will end in this year. [103]
500,000,000 James Kasting The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will drop, making Earth uninhabitable. [104]
5,000,000,000 Various scientists The end of our Sun's current phase of development, after which it will swell into a red giant, either swallowing the Earth or at least completely scorching it. It is widely accepted by the scientific community that the earth will be destroyed around this time. However, as the Sun grows gradually hotter (over millions of years), the Earth may become too hot for life in only a billion years' time. [104][105]
22,000,000,000 Brad Larson The Big Rip theory predicts that the entire universe will eventually be progressively torn apart if the strength of dark energy increases with time. Small massless patches then collapse back into a single point renewing the Big Bang Cycle then causing it to explode out again renewing the universal cycle by its continual expansion. One hypothetical example of the theory places the end in approximately 22 billion years time (if the equation of state w ~= -1.5, which is unlikely). Big Rip
10100 Various scientists The heat death of the universe is a suggested ultimate fate of the universe, in which the universe has diminished to a state of no thermodynamic free energy and therefore can no longer sustain motion or life. Heat death of the universe
Information borrowed with thanks from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events
It is a lot to take in. You may or may not have taken the time to read all of the dates but one thing is certain; we are still here. If one were to use the yard stick of science to judge the record of future predictions about the world vs. success - one might take future claims with a sound dose of salt.
Antsy
Needs must when the devil drives.
bookmarking this topic so that I can come back and chime in when I have more time.
Interesting question though.
Hmmm, I think that this may actually be the biggest problem with the term we use to describe ourselves...Preppers.
In life we prepare for many things on a daily basis.
For instance, soon, I will be preparing for an interview for this week's podcast with Dr.Bones & Nurse Amy (spoiler).
Also, as a believer in God, I also prepare to one day meet my maker.
Does this mean that I am preparing for the appocalypse? Of course not, but there are those who do.
The fact of the matter for believers is that no one shall know the time for the biblical end of the world...no matter what you read, observe, or remote view.
The bible also states that many will be fooled. Famine, war, and other worrying events will come and go as a normal course of life on earth and are not to be mistaken for the signs that are spoken about.
So, for me, anyone touting that they see the signs...doom is upon us...prepare for fire and brimstone...etc. has made a fundamental error.
What do I do about it?
Easy...distance.
In the religious or spiritual sense, all we can do to prepare for the appocalypse is to be the best, moral person we can be, follow the commandments as best we can, and repent our sins.
Period...nothing else is going to help you one bit...especially jumping up on a soapbox and trying to be the prophet that broke the story.
In a nutshell, those that are preparing for biblical doom are not on the same page as I am...not even in the same book.
Prepping to me is doing things that will help me survive things I can mitigate or actually change my outcome with respect to the event...the whole biblical aspect does not fit in this category.
I have come to realize that those who do wish to follow that path are set in their ways, and nothing I say or do will change their mind...and don't get me wrong, they have every right to believe what they choose to...I have no issue with that.
However, I do believe that prepping for the rapture or for the illuminati to put us all in death camps and prepping for disasters or financial difficulties are two very different things and should be kept that way...the reason this fringe area was created in the first place.
In the end, when faced with these people on a personal level, I just distance myself from them as our goals in regards to prepping are not in sync.
On a forum level, I respected their wishes to have a venue to discuss these matters even though there are plenty of other places dedicated to this line of discussion.
I agree to almost everything you've said. Prepping has so many different levels to it. Prepping your home for becoming more self sustainable and for bugging in. Prepping B.O.B's for leaving our home. Prepping a get home bag in your car. Even prepping your body so that you are as health as possible in case no doctors or dentists are available.
Regarding religion there are two thing. You have to work on getting yourself ready to meet your maker according to your beliefs. This is a personal thing to do. Second is the end times. The problem with the end times is that you never know when it will come. Although there are some clear signs to watch for. And that's the thing we are told to be ready and always watching yet we do not know when that day will be. As soon as a person says this is the end or the end will be on this date etc. they are wrong. No one knows. But even though you don't know when it will happen does not mean you don't need to be prepared for it in case it is actually about to happen. The only problem with this is anyone looking at the world today can say this that and the other thing is a sign of the end. Ex. I have heard different people say this one or that one is the anti christ . I have hear people call the Current and former popes , Obama and even Oprah. HA!
I'm with you and with Denob with respect to prepping for the mundane. I'd go so far as to say that I am more moderate than most with respect to the things that I think likely and worth the effort for prepping for. I do get the argument though, that if one preps for the extreme then they ought to have the mundane covered as well. Like Denob, I'm perfectly happy to avoid the odd duck on the sidewalk with the sandwich placard which reads, "repent! the end is neigh". If that same fellow comes to my door, I am going to challenge that world view. Obviously, as a secular member of this community I don't worry overly much about 'the end'. I do prep for my maker though - Mom and Dad I've got covered. 😉 I'm not too concerned about the "signs" either. If the signs weren't incredibly ambiguous, they would not have been read into so many of the dates posted above! If one were a catholic and read above that more than one pope has mistakenly dated the end of times, wouldn't that be enough to make him / her question the spiritual authority which is claimed?
Needs must when the devil drives.
Ansty, thanks for that really good laugh. You asked in another thread, “What was my evidence for believing that we are headed for a terrible troubled time?”
I don’t look to any one source. I do take the prophecies of all Holy Books as truth. The problems we see with them is the number of people who believe they can interpret them and attract a group of people to follow their lead. It is this capacity for interpretation that has created well over 1000 different sects of Christianity. Most of the sects that I have encountered think all others are wrong and should be done away with. Northern Ireland in my time is an example. Islam is no difference. They are killing each other every day in the Middle East. This is in part because political lines are very often cut along religious lines, or the other way round, maybe. Prophecies in my understanding is revealing the consequences of ignoring or being disobedient to following the prescription, as the Prophet prescribes it. This is to say that the Prophet knew that we were not going to follow His instructions to the degree we needed to in order to avoid these consequences. In this regard we are like little children who are told not to do something but we must do it anyway to learn. I am in wonder of how we have survived this long.
So, part of my perspective is informed by Baha`i prophecy. I state now that what I am sharing with you is my understanding only and not a representation of Baha’is generally, nor the Baha’i Administrative Order.
From my way of seeing these writings we are on the doorstep of both global upheaval and world redemption. These two things are happing now. Within the upheaval there are two elements: one is geological and the other is moral decay. These events are unfolding as a result of mankind’s general disregard for any moral imperative to guide them, not from any action of the Creator smiting the world. All the institutions of man whether governmental, institutional, religious or civic are down to their roots corrupt. That is to say they are guided by man’s laws, not the Creator’s prescription. They lack any moral fiber to develop the bonds required for creating and maintaining cohesion. They are failing from within and therefore do not have the capacity to respond to the ‘ills of man’ with any remedy that will meet the need of humankind for these times nor the future.
This is evidenced in the general distrust of our elected un-representatives, arms of government, corporations, civic institutions, churches ........etc. An interesting fact for our times is that we as a society top the list of the most protected/safest, most provided for, and the freest people the world has ever known. Yet we are also at a time when we have never been more anxious, more uncertain about our future, for our children’s safety and health.
The other element in Baha’i prophecy that talks about the coming world upheaval is geological. References are made to volcanic eruptions that will lay waste to many cities on the east and west coast of North America; the north becoming a temperate climate; the ice caps melting; sea levels rising, and there is “no stone that will not be affected”. There is a general time frame for these things to come to pass. It is believed by many to be in this centry.
Baha’is are not preoccupied with the coming events except to say that these events will herald a new level of maturity for all of humankind and to prepare for assisting with it by the implementation of a global administrative matrix that is fractal in it design. Baha’i’s perceive two processes happening at the same time. One is the general decay of society and the other is an emergence of a new kind of man which will flower, in time, as humankind pulls itself together after the devastation.
A second thing that informs me about coming events is found in an understanding of perceptual psychology and the mechanics of prejudice. When I first saw a documentary on TVO about perceptual psychology, many thing fell into place and many things about people’s behaviour(s) made sense. Perceptions, according to a marketing executives I was speaking with one day, are the reality.
Some years ago I heard of a survey that asked people about the future and the condition of the world. It was reported that 67% of the people surveyed believed that the world will end in their lifetime. I thought the numbers were high so I set out to get a reading from my general area on how people felt and came back with closer to 80% believing that things are falling apart.
If this is the perception of that many people, then everything is affected negatively. Would you for example be thinking long term investments for your retirement or would you be looking to use what you have to enjoy life now? Would you be looking for a piece of property where you could live a better and maybe longer life with some ‘like minded’ people?
If carried to an extreme in the general population, this could be enough to create an economic collapse. How often have you heard,’ the mood in the equity markets determine whether it is a good day or not’. Bad news/down markets ........... that is us speaking un-mass. According to studies in perceptional psychology we humans need to have continuity above most everything. To create the sense of continuity we will fill in reality with what satisfies the story line in our minds.
When you couple this psychology with the mechanics of prejudice which states that if we do not like something or the appearances of something or we do not hold it in high regard then we ONLY look for negative points of it and if we like the appearance or hold it in high regard than we ONLY look for the positive points.
These elements of our psyche have an enormous effect on what we come to believe. If we believe the world is going to end than we will look for all the things that prove that what we feel and believe we see, is in fact real. Couple this with the fear mongering of the government about terrorism and the CDC/Health department about pandemics. We are being manipulated and controlled by fear. I suspect the next stage of control will be through chaos or some kind anarchy. Some may ask: “To what end”.
The third thing that informs me about the coming times is basic logic and reason. On this Forum you can see the same thinking/reasoning as you might expect to see at a Rothschilds or Vanderbilts meeting or any of the other 2 doz supposed social engineering groups. Who would you let in? What social responsibility do you have towards others who have not prepared? If you were part of the 1% who own everything would you let the world devolve into chaos which would take you down with it. Or would you feel an obligation to save the world. To save the greatest number of people that was sustainable. To bring the world back into balance. They are as human as you are and are subject to the same psychological imperatives as you are. These people are highly driven to dominate, control and are highly pro-active. This is to say, they are not capable of just letting it happen: to just sit by . Agenda 21?
But is the world really in this dire a state?
I was talking one day with a friend of mine who is a mathematician and an engineer about social injustice and inequity. I introduced him to the concept of spiritual economics. He was intrigued with the idea and asked for an example of how it might work. I can’t go into it in detail here because of the limitations of this medium but in general it is the application of ethical principles to economic questions rather than allowing the forces of supply and demand to dictate the distribution of wealth and development.
At the end of my explanation he started to tell me about a paper he is submitting to an International Engineering Forum on the redistribution of energy and how to make it the means of mitigating the effects of global warming. His conclusions were the exact same as what I was telling him about not 45 minutes earlier. His conclusion was that truth is universal and can be arrived from any direction. The fact that I could arrive at the same conclusion from a completely opposite direction is a verification to him of his proposition and supports his calculations.
Some days later he came to visit and gave me a graph of energy use calculations for the world against population growth. Part of the paper he was submitting to the Forum. At the end of the graph, in the year 2050 there will be enough energy to support approx. 2 billion people.
If this one man can determine this on his computer, what do you think the 1% can do with their trillion dollar budgets, and what do you think these extremely proactive and dynamic people would think and do about it.
Unlike the Prophets of old I don’t have a clue as to what the future holds for any of us. I do feel there are enough indications to warrant some prudent preparations to be made and to do this in as collective a process as possible. As a Development Planner I am responding to these perceived insecurities by putting into place a plan that will optimize thriving and surviving for as many people as possible for the present and the future. Our motto is: Live Prepared.
Ways’,
I appreciate the effort that you have gone to in order to articulate some of the sources for your concerns about the future. I will not offend you by just dismissing them out of hand, and believe that you have intuitively hit on some concerns that I share with you. With respect to the words, and works, of prophets, I am not on the same page as you are. I’m certain that that is alright with you. I’m actually of the opinion that the vast array of religious sects in our world is a big part of the worlds problems and that they will not offer in themselves a solution except for the dismissal of said beliefs.
Now I would be a hypocrite to deny the scientific evidence which supports human contributions to climate change. I accept the current judgement of the majority of climatologists and think that we are obligated to work towards solutions to the problem rather than just lip service. Your other assertion regarding ‘moral decay’ I believe to be fallacious. If anything, I believe that the human race has made substantial advances with respect to human morality. I believe that we are more aware and more sensitive to those who are different than ourselves. We appear to be more concerned with the welfare of sentient creatures outside of our species, and are demonstratively better behaved with respect to weaker elements within our own communities. We have abolished slavery in the last couple of centuries, have extended human suffrage in the West to include as many people as possible, and take extraordinary efforts to influence parts of the world who appear “slow to the table”. I really believe that the human condition is significantly more moral today than it was even fifty or sixty years ago.
Now here is where you and I will start to agree with one another. Even though the human condition appears to be improving, popular culture and government seem to be leading us elsewhere! More specifically in the USA than elsewhere, there appears to be a culture of mistrust in structures of authority and an endorsed culture of fear. Would you believe that violent crime has been on the decline for decades given the portrayal by media? Twenty four hour news channels have a vested interest in sensationalizing whatever snippets of news they can get their hands on. The viewer is the worse off for the exercise. And as you say; ‘perception is reality’.
You wrote about peoples polling responses regarding “the end” and I believe that you are right to be skeptical. While 68% may report to believe that the end is neigh, they are also buying 401Ks or RRSPs. I will grant you that they are not buying enough. That is the prep that I believe we should all be addressing sooner rather than later. While the general public will not likely push the next world economic event; the general public does not appear to be interested in mitigating their own personal exposure when the next economic event occurs.
If I am going to write honestly, I just don’t have any background in psychology at all. (1st year intro course in undergrad level to be precise) I will take you at your word regarding what you cite. I can respond anecdotally with respect to what occurs in my own situation and that is all. I don’t believe in the “social engineering” groups subscribed by some of our peers here and elsewhere. I believe that these conspiracy theories work in kind with the culture of distrust in government which I refer to in the previous paragraphs. On the “1%”, I think the number exceedingly exaggerated. To be among the 1% here in Canada one would have to earn about $180,000/yr. A couple earning a quarter million per year would equally qualify and please trust me, these people are not the ones you refer to. Perhaps the 0.1%? As a member of the former, I feel an obligation to family, to society in general before everything falls apart, and to my local community. Much less so to folks as they get further away from my immediate local (although we do have three kids whom we sponsor and we have visited the one family in Peru). Again, I can’t comment on psychology and a desire to dominate. For myself, I am certainly opinionated if not dominant. As an introvert, I think the desire to dominate more a matter of that metric (introvert vs. extrovert) than that of economic prowess.
At the end of the day, I don’t really believe that we are headed to any calamity that we aren’t prepared to deal with. That we, as a species, will wait until the last moment is tragically inevitable. If I were asked to articulate the problem I would articulate it thus. “Nothing is infinite, yet our society aspires to be so. In so doing we consume energy, resources, and commodities as if we were in a post scarcity economy. It will be our undoing.” Thank you for taking the time to respond to my request for clarification and also for taking the time to read my response.
Best regards,
Antsy
Needs must when the devil drives.
Here's a new video on the Bible codes. Dont know if they are true.... I certainly hope the comet impact in Canada is wrong. Guess we'll know between now and Oct. I wonder if that comet that is just going by is due back in Sept. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRh8rcVNtUk
If they are wrong Garlowin, will you throw out the whole mythology?
Needs must when the devil drives.
