By Lewis Loflin
Here's a rundown of folks who've pegged the end of the world - dates set, predictions hyped, often for TV ratings or book sales. From ancient messiahs to modern psychics, they've misled plenty, cashing in on panic. Let's walk through this parade of flops, sorted by year.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | Theudas declared himself the Messiah, led 400 into the desert; beheaded by Roman soldiers. | Josephus |
| 53 | Rumor spread that Christ's return had already happened, panicking Thessalonians who feared they missed the rapture. | Paul's letters to Thessalonians |
| 80 | Ben Zakkai expected the Messiah around his death. | Historical record |
| 100-200 | Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus predicted the Messiah's days would last 40 years, adjusted post-Bar Kochba. | Rabbinic tradition |
| 130 | Rabbi Jose the Galilean foresaw the Messiah 60 years after Jerusalem's destruction (70 CE). | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 381 | Tichonus, a 4th-century writer, predicted Christ's return. | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 400 | Hippolytus calculated 6,000 years from Adam, with 200 years left in 234 CE. | A History of the End of the World, Rubinsky and Wiseman, 1982 |
| 400 | Rabbi Dosa tied Messiah's arrival to Genesis 15:13, 400 years after an unspecified event. | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 435 | Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi expected the Messiah 365 years after the Temple's fall (70 CE). | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 470 | Rabbi Hanina predicted the Messiah 400 years post-Temple destruction. | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 500 | A Roman priest predicted Christ's return based on Noah's ark dimensions. | Historical record |
| 500 | Hippolytus and Lactantius pegged 500 CE for Christ's second coming. | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 950 | Acrostic poem on the world's end found in a 10th-century manuscript. | Paulin Blanc, Memoires de la Societe Archeologique de Montpellier, 1850 |
| 950 | Adso of Montier-en-Der's "Treatise on the Antichrist" fueled apocalyptic fears amid mid-century crises. | Verhelst, CCSL, Cont. med. aeui 40 |
| 950-980 | Letter on Hungarians as Gog and Magog sparked widespread apocalyptic reactions. | R.B.C. Huygens, Latomus, 1956 |
| 964 | Cartulaire de Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes noted the world's end nearing as the century passed. | Cartulaire de Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes |
| 965 | Abbo of Fleury heard a Paris preacher claim Antichrist would arrive in 1000 CE. | Historical record |
| 968 | Solar eclipse caused panic in Otto I's army, seen as an end-time sign. | Gesta episcoporum Leodensium, MGH SS IX |
| 969/980 | Apocalyptic expectation in Lotharingia tied to Annunciation and Crucifixion alignment. | Abbo of Fleury's letter |
| 979 | Sigebert of Gembloux noted celestial signs and millennial completion per gospel truth. | Sigebert, Chronicon universale, PL 160 |
| 983-984 | Abbo recalculated the year 1000 to 979 CE, countering apocalyptic hype. | Historical record |
| 987-991 | Fall of the last Carolingian ruler seen as Antichrist's prelude. | Kantarowicz, The King's Two Bodies |
| 989 | Halley's Comet interpreted as an apocalyptic omen. | Annales divionenses, MGH SS V |
| 992 | Coincidence of Crucifixion and Annunciation; unusual celestial events stirred apocalyptic rumors. | Thietmar IV, Annales Quedlinburgenses |
| 994-999 | Otto III's renovatio imperii romani aimed to delay Antichrist by reaffirming empire. | Historical record |
| 1000 | Mass hysteria over Christ's return; goods sold, pilgrims flocked to Jerusalem, chaos ensued - nothing happened. | Various chronicles |
| 1002 | Dragon-like portent in the sky terrified Gaul; comet appeared same year. | Glaber, Historiarum 2.8.15 |
| 1003 | Europe covered in churches, seen as a millennial sign. | Glaber, Historiarum III |
| 1006 | Supernova and a chaplain's conversion to Judaism sparked apocalyptic talk. | Albert of Metz, De diversitate temporum |
| 1009-1010 | Al Hakim's destruction of the Holy Sepulchre triggered Western apocalyptic fears and anti-Jewish violence. | Glaber, Annales Lemovicenses |
| 1033 | 1000 years since Christ's crucifixion; mass pilgrimage to Jerusalem tied to apocalyptic hopes. | Ademar, Glaber |
| 1135-1202 | Joachim of Fiore's prophecies inspired the Franciscan order and myths of Frederick II as the last emperor. | Paul Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More |
| 1186 | "Letter of Toledo" warned of world destruction, urging people to hide. | Historical record |
| 1415 | Taborites predicted Christ's return after defeating persecutors; movement collapsed after military loss. | Paul Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More |
| 1420 | Taborites foresaw fire annihilating cities, with only five strongholds spared. | Historical record |
| 1524-1526 | Muntzer predicted Christ's return after peasants overthrew the elite; cannon fire proved him wrong. | Historical record |
| 1533 | Anabaptists expected the Millennium; Melchoir Hoffman foresaw 3.5 years of tribulation. | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 1534 | Jan Matthys claimed Munster as the New Jerusalem; siege ended with all inside dead. | Gary K. Waite, David Joris and Dutch Anabaptism |
| 1572 | Benedictus Aretius added 1260 years to Constantine's 312 CE decree, landing on 1572. | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 1650-1660 | Fifth Monarchy Men sought a theocracy via force; died out with monarchy's restoration. | Historical record |
| 1666 | Plague, Great Fire of London, and 666 in the year fueled end-time fears. | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 1715 | Isaac Newton and William Whiston tied Christ's return to gravitational studies. | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 1809 | Mary Bateman's "magic chicken" laid eggs predicting Christ's return; caught faking it, later hanged. | Historical record |
| 1814 | Joanna Southcott claimed a virgin birth of the second Christ; died after a false pregnancy. | Historical record |
| 1836 | John Wesley and Johann Bengel calculated Christ's return or Millennium via Revelation. | Luther Martin, Guardian of Truth, Sept. 15, 1994 |
| 1843-1844 | William Miller's Millerism pegged Christ's return; failed dates crushed the movement. | Historical record |
| 1874 | Jehovah's Witnesses' original invisible return of Christ; later shifted to 1914. | B J Oropeza, 99 Reasons Why No One Knows |
| 1881 | Mother Shipton's alleged prophecy; authenticity debated. | Historical record |
| 1914 | Jehovah's Witnesses computed Armageddon from Daniel 4; reinterpreted as invisible return. | Watchtower publications |
| 1975 | Jehovah's Witnesses predicted Armageddon 6000 years after Adam's creation. | Newsweek, Oct. 15, 1984 |
| 1981 | Hal Lindsey tied "The Rapture" to Israel's rebirth and the Jupiter Effect. | Historical record |
| 1982 | Planetary alignment dubbed "The Jupiter Effect" predicted earthquakes; nothing happened. | Newsweek, Sept. 16, 1974 |
| 1988 | Edgar Whisenant's "88 Reasons" hyped a September rapture; sold big, flopped hard. | Whisenant, 88 Reasons Why |
| 1989 | Whisenant's follow-up "89 Reasons" tanked after 1988's bust. | Wm. Alnor, Soothsayers of the Second Advent |
| 1994 | Harold Camping's numerology set Christ's return for September; he was "surprised" it didn't happen. | Camping, 1994 |
| 1999 | Hon-Ming Chen's cult predicted nuclear war; sought a second Jesus in Vancouver. | Historical record |
| 2000 | Michael Drosnin's Bible Code foresaw WWIII via atomic holocaust. | Drosnin, The Bible Code |
| 2012 | Mayan calendar's end at 13 baktuns (Dec 21) sparked New Age doomsday hype. | Historical record |
| 2016 | Donner Party time capsule predicted biological warfare wiping out humanity. | Weekly World News |
| Soon | Jerry Falwell suggested the Antichrist is alive, with Christ's return within a decade. | AP, Jan 15, 1999 |
This list - way longer than I've got space for - shows a pattern: date setters thrive on hype, not facts. From Theudas to Falwell, they've peddled fear for profit or fame, leaving a trail of busted predictions. Special thanks to Stephen Willis, Todd Strandberg, and Richard Landes for digging up these gems. Keeps proving one thing - nobody's cracked the end-time code yet.
Acknowledgment: I'd like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
