4/05/2012
April 5: The Kindly-Sounding Saint Vincent Ferrer
On April 5, 1419, the Dominican friar St. Vincent Ferrer died. Born and
educated near Barcelona, Ferrer traveled widely through Europe,
preaching doomsday, forcibly converting Jews to Christianity, and
authoring a book called The End of Days.
4/04/2012
April 4: Calculating the End of the World with Logarithms
On April 4, 1617, the mathematician John Napier died. Most famous for
inventing the logarithm and for popularizing the decimal point, Napier
also used his powers of calculation to determine that the world would
end in either 1700 or 1788.
4/03/2012
April 3: Moses of Crete (and Real-Life Lemmings)
Sometime in the year 448, one of the strangest incidents in the history
of messianic claimants took place. After the disastrous end of the Bar
Kochba rebellion against the Romans in 136 and subsequent Jewish
diaspora, messianic movements came to an end for centuries. But one
Talmudic interpretation led to an expectation that the Messiah would
appear in 440 or 471.
Against this backdrop, a man on the island of Crete began to claim he was Moses, returned from his death at the end of the Book of Deuteronomy. He proposed to lead Cretan Jews directly back to Jerusalem through a part that would appear for them in the Mediterranean Sea. A group of his followers was actually convinced to walk over a cliff face to their deaths, while "Moses of Crete" somehow escaped the scene and was never seen again.
Against this backdrop, a man on the island of Crete began to claim he was Moses, returned from his death at the end of the Book of Deuteronomy. He proposed to lead Cretan Jews directly back to Jerusalem through a part that would appear for them in the Mediterranean Sea. A group of his followers was actually convinced to walk over a cliff face to their deaths, while "Moses of Crete" somehow escaped the scene and was never seen again.
3/31/2012
March 31: Jesus is Alive in Vancouver and Looks Just Like Abraham Lincoln
On March 31, 1998, the Christian-Buddhist leader of God's Salvation
Church, a man named Hoh-Ming Chen, called a press conference to celebrate the success of his prophecy that
God would physically appear that day at his church in Garland, Texas.
Despite any evidence of God at the church - and despite the failure of Chen's previous prediction that God was going to make a miraculous television
appearance earlier in the week - Chen claimed his own presence before reporters
was the divine incarnation he and his followers had been praying for.
Prior to this press conference, Chen had claimed he would happily submit to execution if his prophecy failed. So he challenged the reporters in his church to stone him to death if they were unsatisfied with his personal apparition. He stood his ground for several minutes with no stones thrown. (It is unclear whether the reporters were provided with stones.)
In the year before this event, Chen's approximately 150 followers had begun moving from southern California to Garland, where they expected to be met by flying saucers sent from God. Since all of this was happening in the aftermath of the Heaven's Gate catastrophe (see March 26), the group was compelled to calm neighbors by stating publicly that they had no plans to commit mass suicide.
In addition to the flying saucers, other expectations of God's Salvation Church include that Jesus lives in Vancouver, and looks just like Abraham Lincoln (it is not clear whether he also dresses like Abraham Lincoln).
Chen believes the world goes through a cycle of Tribulations, from which God saves a few elect souls in a spaceship and allows them to re-seed the earth after the fires die off. One of the bigger Tribulations was fought between dinosaurs on the plain of Armageddon ten million years ago (ie, 55 million years after the dinosaurs actually went extinct. But this is not the only case in which Chen's grasp of chronology may be questioned. For instance, Chen says the solar system was formed by a nuclear war 4.5 trillion years ago - a thousand times its actual age, not to mention three orders of magnitude greater than the accepted age of the universe.).
Prior to this press conference, Chen had claimed he would happily submit to execution if his prophecy failed. So he challenged the reporters in his church to stone him to death if they were unsatisfied with his personal apparition. He stood his ground for several minutes with no stones thrown. (It is unclear whether the reporters were provided with stones.)
In the year before this event, Chen's approximately 150 followers had begun moving from southern California to Garland, where they expected to be met by flying saucers sent from God. Since all of this was happening in the aftermath of the Heaven's Gate catastrophe (see March 26), the group was compelled to calm neighbors by stating publicly that they had no plans to commit mass suicide.
In addition to the flying saucers, other expectations of God's Salvation Church include that Jesus lives in Vancouver, and looks just like Abraham Lincoln (it is not clear whether he also dresses like Abraham Lincoln).
Chen believes the world goes through a cycle of Tribulations, from which God saves a few elect souls in a spaceship and allows them to re-seed the earth after the fires die off. One of the bigger Tribulations was fought between dinosaurs on the plain of Armageddon ten million years ago (ie, 55 million years after the dinosaurs actually went extinct. But this is not the only case in which Chen's grasp of chronology may be questioned. For instance, Chen says the solar system was formed by a nuclear war 4.5 trillion years ago - a thousand times its actual age, not to mention three orders of magnitude greater than the accepted age of the universe.).
3/30/2012
March 30: Joachim of Fiore, and the Kali Yuga
On March 30, 1202, Joachim of Fiore died. A roaming prophet and possibly
the Middle Ages' most famous apocalypticist, Fiore's writings
(Exposition of Revelation, The Book of Figures) saw the Apocalypse of John as
literal prophecy, in opposition to Saint Augustine's long-predominant spiritual view. According to Fiore the Second Coming was to occur within his own lifetime,
or by 1260 at the latest. Though condemned by the Church for his
radicalism, Fiore's works were highly influential, inspiring the
"Spiritual Franciscan" movement. The Spiritual Franciscans embraced extreme poverty and rebelled against Church authority, going even so far in many cases as to identify the Roman Church with
the Beast of Revelation.
***
On March 30, 1925, Rudolph Steiner died. He founded the school of "Anthroposophy", claiming that we live in the "Kali Yuga", or Hindu last age. The end of the world was expected to arrive in the early part of the twentieth century.
***
On March 30, 1925, Rudolph Steiner died. He founded the school of "Anthroposophy", claiming that we live in the "Kali Yuga", or Hindu last age. The end of the world was expected to arrive in the early part of the twentieth century.
3/29/2012
March 29: Emanuel Swedenborg
On March 29, 1772, Emanuel Swedenborg died. He had claimed that the New
Jerusalem had descended to earth from heaven "spiritually" in 1757, and
that the Advent of Christ was proceeding apace.
3/28/2012
March 28: Jews for Jesus
On March 28, 1991, the group Jews for Jesus took out a full-page ad in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other major newspapers, comparing Saddam Hussein to the Antichrist. The ad warned that Hussein might return from the dead (after first being killed, of course) in order to launch a world takeover. The telephone number 1-900-MESSIAH was offered for further information.
More information about the ad is in this reference:
More information about the ad is in this reference:
The End of the World as We Know It (Daniel Wojcik)
3/26/2012
March 26: Heaven's Gate
On March 26, 1997, 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult in San Diego donned matching Nike shoes and committed suicide by consuming vodka and phenobarbitol-laden applesauce. They believed that in dying they would somehow be transported to a spaceship concealed by the passing Hale-Bopp comet, escaping Satan's impending destruction of the earth.
3/25/2012
March 25: Failed 1708 resurrection show, and Novalis
On this date in 1708, an odd story came to a head. A very wealthy French glass merchant, inspired by an apocalyptic book called "Accomplishment of the Scriupture Prophecies" (Pierre Jurieu, 1686) took in several young children and began schooling them to become prophets. As reported by the writer Daniel Defoe, these young mystics had left the merchant's care after a few years and were seeking to support themselves by spreading end times prophecies in London. On March 25, 1708, they staged a public resurrection from the dead in order to prove their powers and make some cash. The resurrection failed, and the young prophets fell into obscurity.
***
On March 25, 1801, Novalis died. The poet's posthumously-published book "Christianity or Europe" was eschatological in its themes, claiming a new world order was soon going to form around a universal religion.
***
On March 25, 1801, Novalis died. The poet's posthumously-published book "Christianity or Europe" was eschatological in its themes, claiming a new world order was soon going to form around a universal religion.
3/23/2012
March 23: Hal Lindsey, and the Moonies
Two dates to note for March 23:
In 1970, Hal Lindsey's bestseller The Late Great Planet Earth was published. Reasoning that the world would end within a 40-year generation of the foundation of Israel (1948), Lindsey claimed the Rapture would occur seven years before then, in 1981. These dates were pushed back at least twice by Lindsey in later books such as The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon (1980) and Planet Earth 2000 A.D. (2004).
***
In 2004, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon - the Korean founder of a Christian cult called the Unification Church - had himself crowned Messiah in Washington, D.C. before an audience containing a dozen U.S. lawmakers of both parties. Moon is a heavy political contributor, as well as owner/publisher of The Washington Times and a highly active Republican.
In 1970, Hal Lindsey's bestseller The Late Great Planet Earth was published. Reasoning that the world would end within a 40-year generation of the foundation of Israel (1948), Lindsey claimed the Rapture would occur seven years before then, in 1981. These dates were pushed back at least twice by Lindsey in later books such as The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon (1980) and Planet Earth 2000 A.D. (2004).
***
In 2004, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon - the Korean founder of a Christian cult called the Unification Church - had himself crowned Messiah in Washington, D.C. before an audience containing a dozen U.S. lawmakers of both parties. Moon is a heavy political contributor, as well as owner/publisher of The Washington Times and a highly active Republican.
3/22/2012
March 22: Four failed prophets, including Pat Robertson
There are four dates to note for March 22:
In 1758, Jonathan Edwards died. An American Puritan leader of the First Great Awakening, and author of Notes on the Apocalypse, Edwards predicted the world would end by the close of of 1866.
In 1930, Pat Robertson was born. Sounding eschatological notes throughout his career, Robertson stated in 1976 (and reiterated in a May 1980 "700 Club" broadcast) that Judgment Day would occur before the end of November 1982.
In 1997, one Dr. Dale Sumbur Ëru predicted the Tribulation would begin on March 22, with Christ returning in the year 2000.
In 2011, J.R. Church died. Church projected the apocalypse for numerous dates in the course of his ministry ("Prophecy in the News"). Perhaps most emphatically he had claimed the Tribulation would begin in 1988.
In 1758, Jonathan Edwards died. An American Puritan leader of the First Great Awakening, and author of Notes on the Apocalypse, Edwards predicted the world would end by the close of of 1866.
In 1930, Pat Robertson was born. Sounding eschatological notes throughout his career, Robertson stated in 1976 (and reiterated in a May 1980 "700 Club" broadcast) that Judgment Day would occur before the end of November 1982.
In 1997, one Dr. Dale Sumbur Ëru predicted the Tribulation would begin on March 22, with Christ returning in the year 2000.
In 2011, J.R. Church died. Church projected the apocalypse for numerous dates in the course of his ministry ("Prophecy in the News"). Perhaps most emphatically he had claimed the Tribulation would begin in 1988.
3/21/2012
March 21: The Millerites' First Disappointment (of Three), Leading up to the Great Disappointment
On March 21, 1844, the New England Baptist preacher William Miller had predicted the Second Coming. When the world had not ended the next day, he actually admitted an error in his calculations (a rare occurrence among eschatologists) and concluded that the apocalypse would take place on April 18.
When yet a third date failed - in what came to be called "The Great Disappointment" - the Millerites went on to form the Seventh Day Adventists in 1861.
When yet a third date failed - in what came to be called "The Great Disappointment" - the Millerites went on to form the Seventh Day Adventists in 1861.
3/20/2012
March 20: Newton, Eschatological Eggs, and Aum Shinrikyo
Three dates to note for March 20:
In 1727, the alchemist, Treasury agent, and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton died. In a 1704 letter, reasoning from the Book of Daniel and from the passage of 1260 years since the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire, he concluded the world should end around 2060.
In 1809, Mary Bateman of Leeds, England died. She had a magic chicken that laid eggs on which the message "Christ is Coming" was inscribed. The sensation created by this chicken ended suddenly, when Bateman was discovered forcing an egg up the hen's oviduct. On this date she was hanged for committing an unrelated poisoning.
In 1995, a cult named Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway system, killing 11. The cult's leader, Shoko Asahara, believed the attack would help stimulate Armageddon by 1997.
In 1727, the alchemist, Treasury agent, and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton died. In a 1704 letter, reasoning from the Book of Daniel and from the passage of 1260 years since the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire, he concluded the world should end around 2060.
In 1809, Mary Bateman of Leeds, England died. She had a magic chicken that laid eggs on which the message "Christ is Coming" was inscribed. The sensation created by this chicken ended suddenly, when Bateman was discovered forcing an egg up the hen's oviduct. On this date she was hanged for committing an unrelated poisoning.
In 1995, a cult named Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway system, killing 11. The cult's leader, Shoko Asahara, believed the attack would help stimulate Armageddon by 1997.
3/16/2012
March 16: The Babylonian Captivity
On March 16, 597 BCE (2 Adar in the Hebrew calendar), the armies of Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and deposed King Jehoiachin, beginning the Babylonian Captivity. For nearly 50 years, thousands of Judah's most prominent citizens and scholars would be held prisoner in Mesopotamia, until Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the Babylonians in 538 and repatriated the captives to Israel.
The destruction of Solomon's temple on this date stimulated long-standing messianic hopes among the Jews for its reconstruction. In the minds of many later Christians, the reconstruction of the Temple also became a persistent focus of apocalyptic speculation.
The destruction of Solomon's temple on this date stimulated long-standing messianic hopes among the Jews for its reconstruction. In the minds of many later Christians, the reconstruction of the Temple also became a persistent focus of apocalyptic speculation.
3/14/2012
March 14: A Dissident Monk, and a Muggletonian
Two dates to note for March 14:
In 1298, "Spiritual Franciscan" Peter John Olivi died. Olivi's commentary on the Book of Revelation identified the Roman Church with the Babylon of Scripture, forecasting the Antichrist for the period 1300-1340. Nearly 20 years after his death, Olivi's work was condemned and burned, and his tomb was desecrated by a group of friars in 1318.
In 1697, Lodowicke Muggleton died. In the tumult of the English Civil War, and after years of seeing visions, Muggleton claimed along with his cousin (both of whom worked as tailors) to be the two "witnesses" from the Book of Revelation. Muggleton wrote two commentaries on Revelation for his growing group of followers, the Muggletonians. But in 1676 Muggleton was convicted of blasphemy. He was pilloried, his works burned, and in his late 80s he was released from Newgate Prison in a state of compromised health, dying early the next year. Apocalyptic speculations had run so high throughout the English Civil War that in the Restoration period, Second Coming prophecies were actually made illegal.
In 1298, "Spiritual Franciscan" Peter John Olivi died. Olivi's commentary on the Book of Revelation identified the Roman Church with the Babylon of Scripture, forecasting the Antichrist for the period 1300-1340. Nearly 20 years after his death, Olivi's work was condemned and burned, and his tomb was desecrated by a group of friars in 1318.
In 1697, Lodowicke Muggleton died. In the tumult of the English Civil War, and after years of seeing visions, Muggleton claimed along with his cousin (both of whom worked as tailors) to be the two "witnesses" from the Book of Revelation. Muggleton wrote two commentaries on Revelation for his growing group of followers, the Muggletonians. But in 1676 Muggleton was convicted of blasphemy. He was pilloried, his works burned, and in his late 80s he was released from Newgate Prison in a state of compromised health, dying early the next year. Apocalyptic speculations had run so high throughout the English Civil War that in the Restoration period, Second Coming prophecies were actually made illegal.
3/13/2012
March 13: Herod the Great
In the year 4 BCE, possibly on this date of a partial lunar eclipse, the brutal Roman administrator over Judea named Herod the Great died. (Modern researchers believe Herod died of kidney failure, but his widespread illnesses included genital gangrene.) A brief period of chaos following his death led a number of Jewish Messianic claimants to rise up against Herod's son and successor Herod Archelaus.
One of these was a slave of Herod's named Simon of Peraea, who seized the diadem from his master's body, proclaimed himself king, and commenced a spree of looting and firestarting. He was quickly killed by the Romans. A robber-king of sorts named Judas, son of Hezekiah (the father was also a renowned criminal, earlier captured by Herod) stormed a palace armory and armed a band of fighters who were also soon put down by the Romans.
The most successful movement against the younger Herod was led by a former shepherd named Athronges, whose rebellion endured through two years of countryside guerilla attacks on imperial troops.
Of course, Herod the Great also plays a role in the story of another Messiah claimant, Jesus of Nazareth. In the Book of Matthew, Herod is said to have responded to the prophecy that a rival had been born to his official title "King of the Jews", by having all boys killed in Bethlehem who were under age 2. Contemporary scholarship casts doubt on this event, for which there is no other record: also, Jesus was almost certainly born well after Herod had died in 4 BCE.
One of these was a slave of Herod's named Simon of Peraea, who seized the diadem from his master's body, proclaimed himself king, and commenced a spree of looting and firestarting. He was quickly killed by the Romans. A robber-king of sorts named Judas, son of Hezekiah (the father was also a renowned criminal, earlier captured by Herod) stormed a palace armory and armed a band of fighters who were also soon put down by the Romans.
The most successful movement against the younger Herod was led by a former shepherd named Athronges, whose rebellion endured through two years of countryside guerilla attacks on imperial troops.
Of course, Herod the Great also plays a role in the story of another Messiah claimant, Jesus of Nazareth. In the Book of Matthew, Herod is said to have responded to the prophecy that a rival had been born to his official title "King of the Jews", by having all boys killed in Bethlehem who were under age 2. Contemporary scholarship casts doubt on this event, for which there is no other record: also, Jesus was almost certainly born well after Herod had died in 4 BCE.
3/12/2012
March 12: Conversion of England, Blasphemous Prophesying
Two dates to note for March 12:
In 604, Pope Gregory I, or "Gregory the Great", died. He launched a missionary movement to convert the British Isles to Christianity beginning in 596, urged by a need to prepare the world for Judgment Day.
In 1837, "Zion" John Ward died. He had been imprisoned for two years after an 1832 blasphemy trial in Derby. Ward preached on behalf of Joanna Southcott, a prophetess who had died in 1814 claiming to be carrying the Messiah (she was not pregnant). More generally, Ward insisted Jesus would be returning to earth in the first half of the 1830s.
In 604, Pope Gregory I, or "Gregory the Great", died. He launched a missionary movement to convert the British Isles to Christianity beginning in 596, urged by a need to prepare the world for Judgment Day.
In 1837, "Zion" John Ward died. He had been imprisoned for two years after an 1832 blasphemy trial in Derby. Ward preached on behalf of Joanna Southcott, a prophetess who had died in 1814 claiming to be carrying the Messiah (she was not pregnant). More generally, Ward insisted Jesus would be returning to earth in the first half of the 1830s.
3/11/2012
March 11: The Jupiter Effect
John Gribbin of Nature magazine and Stephen Plagemann of NASA Goddard warned of "The Jupiter Effect" - an alignment of planets on March 10, 1982 which would cause a gravitational tug on Earth triggering enormous catastrophes including earthquakes and vulcanism. When the day arrived, a net worldwide increase of high tide levels was measured of 40 micrometers.
3/08/2012
March 8: Class Epp, Jr. and Vincent Price
Two dates to note for March 8:
In 1889, the Russian Mennonite cult leader Claas Epp, Jr. predicted Christ would return to Earth. With some sixty families of followers, he had moved to the Russian hinterlands to await it. When the day came and went without evidence of a Second Coming, Epp claimed his calculations had been thrown off by a leaning clock, and that Jesus would appear in 1891. Epp later claimed that he was himself Jesus' son, but his following nonetheless dwindled until his death in 1913.
In 1964, the Vincent Price film The Last Man on Earth appeared. This was the first of four film adaptations that would be made of Richard Matheson's apocalyptic 1954 novel I am Legend.
In 1889, the Russian Mennonite cult leader Claas Epp, Jr. predicted Christ would return to Earth. With some sixty families of followers, he had moved to the Russian hinterlands to await it. When the day came and went without evidence of a Second Coming, Epp claimed his calculations had been thrown off by a leaning clock, and that Jesus would appear in 1891. Epp later claimed that he was himself Jesus' son, but his following nonetheless dwindled until his death in 1913.
In 1964, the Vincent Price film The Last Man on Earth appeared. This was the first of four film adaptations that would be made of Richard Matheson's apocalyptic 1954 novel I am Legend.
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