Christianity Inviting
Christ to Sit on the Throne at
His Right Hand'', painting by
Pieter de Grebber (1645). The
Holy Spirit is visible as a
dove at the top of the image. Most scholars participating in the
third quest for the
historical Jesus believe that Jesus was an eschatological prophet who believed the coming arrival of the "
Kingdom of God". Simultaneously, some of these scholars tend to see Jesus's predictions as mistaken although many others view it from the perspective of the conditional nature of judgement prophecy. Dale Allison draws parallels from the history of religions and the historical Jesus showing that contingent eschatology is often used as a dissonance reduction strategy when certain expectations or prophecies fail to materialize. Others have insisted on a "realized eschatology" that says Jesus' own ministry fulfilled prophetic hopes. Many conservative scholars argue the kingdom of god is both "present" and "still to come" in biblical passages. Such scholars take Jesus' statements of an imminent end as referring to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.A number of interpretations of the term "Kingdom of God" have thus appeared in its
eschatological context, e.g., apocalyptic,
realized or
inaugurated eschatologies, yet no consensus has emerged among scholars. The focus for Jesus's eschatological teachings is the
Olivet Discourse in the gospel of Mark and the teachings in
Matthew . Many scholars point to Jesus' association with
John the Baptist as confirmation for his apocalyptic intentions. Malherbe writes that
Paul the Apostle includes himself among those who will live to see the parousia in
1 Thessalonians , although this is disputed by J. Andrew Doole. In contrast, other passages in the Pauline epistles such as Philippians 4:5 are seen as describing the nearness of the
parousia even if Paul himself will not live to see it. Most scholars of the mid-twentieth century and the
third quest held to the view of a “consistent eschatology” where Jesus was an eschatological prophet who believed in a future coming of the “
Kingdom of God". However,
C. H. Dodd and others have insisted on a "realized eschatology", based on the belief that the
ministry of Jesus had fulfilled prophetic hopes. Many conservative scholars have adopted the paradoxical position that the "Kingdom of God" describes a kingdom that is both "present" and "still to come", claiming Pauline eschatology as support. While the notion of an apocalyptic Jesus remains a mainstream view among scholars, it has been challenged by proponents of other portraits. Scholars of the
Jesus Seminar have rejected the historicity of Jesus' apocalyptic expectations, arguing that the evidence for it in the Gospels is largely tied to the discourses of Jesus on the "Son of Man", which they do not consider to be historical; they further attribute the apocalyptic expectations of the
early Church as emerging from their belief in the
resurrection of Jesus, where resurrection was tied to
eschatological expectations in Jewish theology. Some argued that the earlier traditions in the
Q Source and
Gospel of Thomas showed that apocalyptic eschatology was not present in earlier layers of the Jesus tradition. The approach by the Jesus Seminar is not short of many critics. '', Eastern Orthodox icon on the Second Coming of Christ by
Georgios Klontzas (c. 1580–1608),
Hellenic Institute of Venice, Italy Some scholars argue the apocalyptic ideas in the early Christian gospels are not to be viewed as a literal timetable or prediction of the end times, but as relating to the
destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 CE. They argue that for ancient Jews, the Temple was treated as a symbolic or even literal meeting point between Heaven and Earth, thereby its destruction would have wider cosmic consequences. Similarly, it is argued that apocalyptic language was used throughout the
Hebrew Bible to describe political and historical catastrophes, and not the end of the world. Thus, scholars such as
R.T. France and
N.T. Wright argue that the Gospels use apocalyptic language borrowed from the
Old Testament to describe the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, and passages such as
Mark concerning the "coming" of the Son of Man (as described in
Daniel 7) are not about the
Second Coming, but rather about the vindication and enthronement of the Son of Man at the
Right Hand of God, where he is bestowed new authority with the Temple's destruction. Similarly, these and other scholars argue for a "now and not yet" approach to the Kingdom of God in the Gospels and Pauline epistles. Various Christian eschatological systems have developed among different
Christian denominations throughout the
history of Christianity, providing different frameworks for understanding the timing and nature of apocalyptic predictions. Some like
dispensational premillennialism tend more toward an apocalyptic vision, while others like
postmillennialism and
amillennialism, while teaching that the end of the world could come at any moment, tend to focus on the present life and contend that one should not attempt to predict when the end should come, though there have been exceptions such as postmillennialist
Jonathan Edwards, who estimated that the end times would occur around the year 2000.
Year 1000 , the
Holy Roman Empire,
Kievan Rus', and the
Byzantine Empire in the
Middle Ages (year 1000) There is no current consensus among historians about widespread apocalypticism in the
year 1000. Richard Landes, Johannes Fried, and others think there were widespread expectations, both hopes and fears. The notion of a widespread expectation of the year 1000 first appeared during the Renaissance. There are many recorded instances of both fascination with the advent of the year 1000, and examples of apocalyptic excitement leading up to the year 1000, the most explicit and revealing examples provided by
Rodulfus Glaber. Specifically in Western Europe, during the year 1000, Christian philosophers held many debates on when Jesus was actually born and the debates continue to today. This caused confusion between the common people on whether or not the apocalypse would occur at a certain time. Because both literate and illiterate people commonly accepted this idea of the apocalypse, they could only accept what they heard from religious leaders on when the disastrous event would occur. Religious leader
Abbo of Fleury believed that Jesus was born 21 years after year 1 which was commonly accepted by close circles of his followers. Abbot
Heriger of Lobbes, argued that the birth of Jesus occurred not during the year 1 but rather during the 42nd year of the common era. Eventually many scholars came to accept that the apocalypse would occur sometime between 979 and 1042. Under the influence of the
Sibylline Oracles and figures such as
Otto III and Abbot
Adso of Montier-en-Der many felt that the apocalypse would soon occur. Some historians, such as
Richard Landes, think there were extensive apocalyptic expectations at the approach of the year 1000 and again at the approach of 1000
anno passionis (1033).
Alessandro Barbero, on the other hand, claims that the fear of the year 1000 is a myth and there was no widespread apocalyptic sentiment. As evidence, he cites that on 31 December 999 Pope
Sylvester II granted certain privileges and guarantees to the
Abbey of Fulda, without any indication that either the pope or the abbot believed that the world was soon to end. Similarly, Barbero points out a document from 3 October 999 in which
Otto III grants future concessions to
Farfa Abbey. Another document in 999 shows two brothers taking a 29-year loan on lands of the abbey of San Marciano in Tortona, suggesting that even common people did not believe the world was ending. On the other hand, the fact that Otto III visited the tomb of Charlemagne, the emperor of the year 6000 (Annus Mundi) on Pentecost of the year 1000 suggests that even the man who appointed Sylvester pope, had his own views on the matter.
Crusades From the outset, the Crusades were filled with apocalyptic expectation and prophecy, beginning with the
preachings of figures like
Peter the Hermit to inspire knights, nobles, and commoners to march to the
Holy Land and take Jerusalem. Other leading figures of the
People's Crusade, such as
Volkmar and
Emicho, were so filled with zealotry that they
slaughtered Jewish inhabitants along their journey to the
Levant. Emicho claimed that Christ appeared and ordered him to fulfill apocalyptic prophecy by marching on
Constantinople, seizing Jerusalem, triggering the
Second Coming, and beginning the end times struggle against the
Antichrist. Leaders of the following Prince's Crusade, such as
Raymond of Aguilers, understood their
conquest of Jerusalem as being a victory of
Christendom over the
Saracen "
pagans" and as a sign of the oncoming Apocalypse and Second Coming. Christian chroniclers, such as
Matthew of Edessa, illustrated the Crusades in an apocalyptic framework, connecting the
Frankish rule with the fourth kingdom in
Daniel's prophecy. Many other European writers emphasized the bloodiness during the
massacre of Jerusalem as fulfilling the violent prophecies of Revelation.
Joachim of Fiore and other
millenarian thinkers perceived saw the Crusades as temporary, foreseeing the voluntarily conversion of the Islamic world over time.
Fifth Monarchy Men The Fifth Monarchists or Fifth Monarchy Men were an extreme
Puritan sect active from 1649 to 1660 during the
Interregnum, following the
English Civil Wars of the 17th century. They took their name from a prophecy in the
Book of Daniel that
four ancient monarchies (Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman) would precede the kingdom of
Christ. They also referred to the year 1666 and its relationship to the biblical
Number of the Beast indicating the end of earthly rule by carnal human beings. They were one of a number of
nonconformist dissenting groups that emerged around this time.
Isaac Newton and the end of the world in 2060 In late February and early March 2003, a large amount of media attention circulated around the globe regarding largely unknown and unpublished documents, evidently written by Isaac Newton, indicating that he believed the world would end no earlier than 2060. The story garnered vast amounts of public interest and found its way onto the front page of several widely distributed newspapers, including the UK's
The Daily Telegraph, Canada's
National Post, and Israel's
Maariv and
Yediot Aharonot, and was also featured in an article in the scientific journal
Canadian Journal of History. The two documents detailing this prediction are currently housed within the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem. is a small letter slip, on the back of which is written haphazardly in Newton's hand: The second reference to the 2060 prediction can be found in a folio, in which Newton writes: Newton may not have been referring to the post 2060 event as a destructive act resulting in the annihilation of the globe and its inhabitants, but rather one in which he believed the world, as he saw it, was to be replaced with a new one based upon a transition to an era of divinely inspired peace. In Christian and
Islamic theology this concept is often referred to as The
Second Coming of
Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth. In a separate manuscript, Isaac Newton paraphrases Revelation 21 and 22 and relates the post 2060 events by writing:
Millerism and The Great Disappointment , who
led his followers to the
Great Disappointment of 1844 The Great Disappointment in the
Millerite movement was the reaction that followed
Baptist preacher
William Miller's proclamations that
Jesus Christ would return to the Earth by 1844, what he called the
Advent. His study of the
Daniel 8 prophecy during the
Second Great Awakening led him to the conclusion that Daniel's "cleansing of the sanctuary" was cleansing of the world from sin when Christ would come, and he and many others prepared, but October 22, 1844 came and they were disappointed. These events paved the way for the
Adventists who formed the
Seventh-day Adventist Church. They contended that what had happened on October 22 was not Jesus's return, as Miller had thought, but the start of Jesus's final work of atonement, the cleansing in the
heavenly sanctuary, leading up to the
Second Coming of Christ. which is distinguished by its observance of
Saturday, the seventh
day of the week in both the
Jewish calendar, and calendars in use in the Christian world (such as the
Gregorian calendar), as the
Sabbath, and its emphasis on the imminent
Second Coming (advent) of Jesus Christ. The denomination grew out of the
Millerite movement in the United States during the mid-19th century and it was formally established in 1863. Among its founders was
Ellen G. White, whose
extensive writings are still held in high regard by the adherents of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Mormonism Like many 19th-century American
Restorationist Christian denominations, the
Mormon tradition teaches that adherents are living shortly before the Second Coming of Christ. The term "latter days" is used in the official names of several Mormon churches, including
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. LDS president
Wilford Woodruff preached multiple times that many then-living adherents "would not taste death" before witnessing the return of Christ. According to LDS Church teachings, the true
gospel will be taught in all parts of the world prior to the Second Coming. Church members believe that there will be increasingly severe wars, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other man-made and natural disasters prior to the Second Coming.
Jehovah's Witnesses The
eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses is central to
their faith and religious beliefs. They believe that Jesus Christ has been ruling in heaven as king since 1914 (a date they believe was prophesied in Scripture), and that after that time a period of cleansing occurred, resulting in God's selection of the
Bible Students associated with
Charles Taze Russell to be his people in 1919. They also believe the destruction of those who reject their message and thus willfully refuse to obey God will shortly take place at
Armageddon, ensuring that the beginning of the new earthly society will be composed of willing subjects of that kingdom. The group's doctrines surrounding 1914 are the legacy of a series of emphatic claims regarding the years 1799, 1874, 1914, 1918 and 1925 made in the
Watch Tower Society's publications between 1879 and 1924. Claims about the significance of those years, including the presence of Jesus Christ, the beginning of the "
last days", the destruction of worldly governments and the earthly resurrection of Jewish patriarchs, were successively abandoned. In 1922 the society's principal journal,
Watch Tower, described its chronology as "no stronger than its weakest link", but also claimed the chronological relationships to be "of divine origin and divinely corroborated...in a class by itself, absolutely and unqualifiedly correct" and "indisputable facts", The Watch Tower Society has stated that its early leaders promoted "incomplete, even inaccurate concepts". The
Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses says that, unlike
Old Testament prophets, its interpretations of the
Bible are not
inspired or
infallible.
Witness publications say that Bible prophecies can be fully understood only after their fulfillment, citing examples of biblical figures who did not understand the meaning of prophecies they received. Watch Tower publications often cite Proverbs 4:18, "The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established" (
NWT) to support their view that there would be an increase in knowledge during "the time of the end", as mentioned in Daniel 12:4. Jehovah's Witnesses state that this increase in knowledge needs adjustments. Watch Tower publications also say that unfulfilled expectations are partly due to eagerness for
God's Kingdom and that they do not call
their core beliefs into question.
Christadelphians For Christadelphians,
Armageddon marks the "great climax of history when the nations would be gathered together "into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon", and the judgment on them would herald the setting up of the Kingdom of God." After this Christadelphians believe that Jesus will return to the earth in person to set up the Kingdom of God in fulfilment of the promises made to
Abraham and
David. This includes the belief that the coming Kingdom will be the restoration of God's first Kingdom of Israel, which was under David and Solomon. For Christadelphians, this is the focal point of the
gospel taught by Jesus and the
apostles.
Realized eschatology Realized eschatology is a
Christian eschatological theory popularized by
J. A. T. Robinson,
Joachim Jeremias,
Ethelbert Stauffer (1902–1979), and
C. H. Dodd (1884–1973), that holds that the eschatological passages in the
New Testament do not refer to the future, but instead refer to the
ministry of Jesus and his lasting legacy.
Eschatology is therefore not the end of the world but its rebirth instituted by Jesus and continued by
his disciples, a historical (rather than
transhistorical) phenomenon. Those holding this view generally dismiss end times theories, believing them to be irrelevant; they hold that what Jesus said and did, and told his disciples to do likewise, are of greater significance than any
messianic expectations.
Harold Camping American Christian radio host
Harold Camping stated that the
Rapture and
Judgment Day would take place on May 21, 2011, and that the end of the world would take place five months later on October 21, 2011, based on adding the 153 fish of John 20 to May 21. The Rapture, as indicated in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 ( ,
rapture derivable from the Latin translation ) is the taking up of believers to a meeting in the air with the Lord Jesus, but for Camping the rapture was also associated with the End of the World. Camping suggested that it would occur at 6 pm local time, with the Rapture sweeping the globe time zone by time zone, while some of his supporters claimed that around 200 million people (approximately 3% of the world's population) would be raptured. Camping had previously claimed that the Rapture would occur in September 1994. The vast majority of Christian groups, including most Protestant and Catholic believers, did not accept Camping's predictions; some explicitly rejected them, citing Bible passages including the words of Jesus stating "about that day or hour no one knows" (Matthew 24:36). An interview with a group of church leaders noted that all of them had scheduled church services as usual for Sunday, May 22. Following the failure of the prediction, media attention shifted to the response from Camping and his followers. On May 23, Camping stated that May 21 had been a "spiritual" day of judgment, and that the physical Rapture would occur on October 21, 2011, simultaneously with the destruction of the universe by God. However, on October 16, Camping admitted to an interviewer that he did not know when the end would come. In March 2012, Camping "humbly acknowledged" in a letter to Family Radio listeners that he had been mistaken, that the attempt to predict a date was "sinful", and that critics had been right in pointing to the scriptural text "of that day and hour knoweth no man". He added that he was searching the Bible "even more fervently [...] not to find dates, but to be more faithful in our understanding."
David Meade David Meade is the pen name of an American end-times
conspiracy theorist and book author who has yet to disclose his real name. Meade, who describes himself as a "Christian
numerologist", claims to have attended the
University of Louisville, where he "studied astronomy, among other subjects", but, because his real name is unknown,
The Washington Post reported that the university could not confirm whether he had ever been a student there. He made appearances and interviews on
Coast to Coast AM,
The Washington Post,
Glenn Beck Program,
YouTube with pastor Paul Begley, and the
Daily Express. He is best known for making numerous predictions, which have passed, regarding the end times, including that a hidden planet named
Nibiru (sometimes known as Planet X) would destroy the
Earth. Meade predicted that planet Nibiru would collide with Earth on September 23, 2017, destroying it. After his prediction failed, he revised the apocalypse to October, where he stated that the seven-year
tribulation would possibly start followed by a
millennium of peace. In 2018, Meade again made several predictions for that year, for instance, that
North Korea becoming a superpower in March 2018 and that Nibiru would destroy the Earth in spring. Meade announced that the apocalypse would begin in March 2018, but he did not predict the exact date. After March 2018 passed, he moved the apocalypse to April 23, 2018, in which he also predicted the
Sun,
Moon,
Jupiter, and
Virgo will signal the rapture, and that Nibiru would destroy the Earth that day. However, before that date he said that reports that he predicted the end on 23 April were "fake news", but that the rapture—but not the end of the world—would take place on an unspecified date between May and December 2018.
Branch Davidians The Branch Davidians (also known as The Branch) are a religious group that originated in 1955 from a
schism among the
Shepherd's Rod/Davidians. The Branch group was initially led by
Benjamin Roden. Branch Davidians are most associated with the
Waco siege of 1993, which involved
David Koresh. There is documented evidence (FBI negotiation transcripts between Kathryn Shroeder and Steve Schneider with interjections from Koresh himself) that David Koresh and his followers did not call themselves Branch Davidians. In addition, David Koresh, through forgery, stole the identity of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists for the purpose of obtaining the Mount Carmel Center property. The doctrinal beliefs of the Branch Davidians differ on teachings such as the
Holy Spirit and his nature, and the feast days and their requirements. Both groups have disputed the relevance of the other's spiritual authority based on the proceedings following
Victor Houteff's death. From its inception in 1930, the Davidians/Shepherd's Rod group believed themselves to be living in a time when biblical prophecies of a final divine judgment were coming to pass as a prelude to Christ's
Second Coming. In the late 1980s, Koresh and his followers abandoned many Branch Davidian teachings. Koresh became the group's self-proclaimed final prophet. "Koreshians" were the majority resulting from the schism among the Branch Davidians, but some of the Branch Davidians did not join Koresh's group and instead gathered around
George Roden or became independent. Following a series of violent shootouts between Roden's and Koresh's group, the Mount Carmel compound was eventually taken over by the "Koreshians". In 1993, the
ATF and
Texas Army National Guard raided one of the properties belonging to a
new religious movement centered around David Koresh that evolved from the Branch Davidians for suspected weapons violations. It is unknown who shot first, but the ATF surrounded and tried to invade the home of the Branch Davidians. This raid resulted in a two-hour firefight in which four ATF agents were killed; this was followed by
a standoff with government agents that lasted for 51 days. The siege ended in a fire that engulfed the Mount Carmel compound which led to the deaths of 76 Branch Davidians inside.
Islam Islamic eschatology is the aspect of
Islamic theology concerning ideas of life after death, matters of the soul, and the "Day of Judgement," known as (, , "the Day of Resurrection") or
Yawm ad-Dīn (, , "the Day of Judgment"). The Day of Judgement is characterized by the annihilation of all life, which will then be followed by the
resurrection of the dead and judgment by
God. It is not specified when will happen, but according to
prophecy elaborated by
hadith literature, there are major and minor signs that will foretell its coming. Multiple verses in the
Qur'an mention the
Last Judgment. The Day of Judgment is also known as the Day of Reckoning, the Last Day, and the Hour (''al-sā'ah''). Unlike the Quran, the hadith contains several events, happening before the Day of Judgment, which are described as several
minor signs and twelve
major signs. During this period, terrible corruption and chaos would rule the earth, caused by the
Masih ad-Dajjal (the Antichrist in Islam), then
Jesus will appear, defeating the Dajjal and establish a period of peace, liberating the world from cruelty. These events will be followed by a time of serenity when people live according to religious values. Similarly to other
Abrahamic religions, Islam teaches that there will be a
resurrection of the dead that will be followed by a final tribulation and eternal division of the righteous and wicked. Islamic apocalyptic literature describing
Armageddon is often known as
fitna,
Al-Malhama Al-Kubra (The Great Massacre) or
ghaybah in Shī'a Islam. The righteous are rewarded with the pleasures of
Jannah (Paradise), while the unrighteous are punished in
Jahannam (Hell).
Judaism Moses of Crete, a rabbi in the 5th century, claimed to be the
Jewish Messiah and promised to lead the people, like the ancient
Moses, through a parted sea back to
Palestine. His followers left their possessions and waited for the promised day, when, at his command, many cast themselves into the sea, some finding death, others being rescued by sailors. ==Ancient Norse religion==