10 most famous doomsday predictions

(ORDO NEWS) — The end of the world has always stirred up human minds, and the most adventurous minds have long learned to derive practical benefits from this. Today we will tell you about the ten most high-profile predictions of the coming Armageddon, which, fortunately, were not destined to come true.

The end of the world is a topic that has worried humanity since ancient times. The cosmogonic myth about the creation of the world is always closely adjacent to the eschatological world about how the universe will turn to dust. A person of pagan culture was characterized by a cyclical perception of the world, and the change of seasons served as a reflection of this cycle.

Today, in an age of victorious scientific and technological progress, we look at this with a slight irony. Be that as it may, subconsciously, a person has a fear that the world will one day die – and today we will tell you about the ten loudest predictions of the end of the world, which, fortunately, were not lucky enough to come true.

1. 66 A.D.

The Jewish sect of the Essenes (aka Ossines) predicted the second coming of Christ just a few decades after his death in 66-70 AD. During this period, the leader of the Jewish uprising, Simon Bar-Giora, organized armed resistance to the Roman Empire and the government of Judea. The Essenes viewed this conflict as the final battle foretold in Revelation. When Simon was captured by the Romans, returned to Rome and executed, the Essenes, to put it mildly, expected a great embarrassment.

2. January 1, 1000

A thousand years ago, the papal office gave the pontiffs a lot of free time, and therefore the Pope often predicted the coming Apocalypse – this always made a great impression on believers. In this field, Sylvester II also distinguished himself, who, along with many religious leaders, linked the change of millennia with the coming of Jesus. This contributed to the most powerful public relations campaign of the time: thousands of Christians flocked to Jerusalem, and most sought to attend the midnight Mass held by the Pope at St. Peter’s Basilica on New Year’s Eve.

When, with the coming of January 1, Jesus did not condescend and the world did not disappear, Christian leaders had to reconsider their prediction. Obviously, the 1000-year period ends not with the birth, but with the death of the Messiah! So the end times were pushed back to 1033. A fairly close time, however, on this score, the Pope, being in old age, no longer worried: by the time the promised date came, he had already safely reposed in peace.

3. 11284

Pope Sylvester II had a worthy numerological justification for his predictions, but Pope Innocent III (also known as “antipope”) had to sweat, adjusting Armageddon to current Christian politics. Since the relationship between Christians and Muslims has always been rather difficult, the latter were declared the servants of Satan. Therefore, according to the Pope, it was logical that the end of the world would happen 666 years after the founding of Islam, that is, in 1284. Alas, this pontiff also died 50 years before the announced date and did not have time to find out how deeply he was mistaken.

4. 1 February 1524

In 1523, a group of astrologers in London predicted that the Apocalypse would begin on February 1 of the following year, with a mighty flood. The planets entered the constellation Pisces, which were firmly associated with the water element, and therefore such a prediction did not raise questions. The continents had to go under water, and all civilizations would perish with them. This prophecy so excited the inhabitants that on the appointed day every Londoner, just in case, tried to find a place higher and drier.

There were no floods or floods that day. Moreover, not even a drop of rain fell on foggy Albion. So trust astrologers after that!

5. 1666

As we all know, the year with three fatal sixes turned out to be a series of terrible disasters for London. Thousands of people died of plague right on the city streets, and in September a massive fire turned the city into a huge funeral pyre. It is natural that religious fanatics, namely the chiliast sect “People of the Fifth Monarchy” announced the end of times. Fortunately, the prophets were wrong again, and over time, the city recovered from terrible tragedies.

6. May 19, 1780

In 1780, the American colonies were still fighting a war of independence, and therefore the population lived in tension and a constant state of alert. When the sky suddenly darkened in the middle of the day, panic began: many people believed that this was a sign of the coming Apocalypse. The dark lasted all day, but it was caused by smoke from extensive forest fires and a heavy cloud cover, and not by the descent of angels.

7. 1806

If you were living in 19th century Leeds, your capital would be under threat because of the famous Mary Bateman. While the common people considered her a witch, in fact, the enterprising lady was a clever fraud and a thief. In 1806, her hen laid eggs on which the words “Christ is coming” emerged. People from all over the country came to the city to see this miracle and became victims of deception. The fact is that Miss Bateman’s groom would simply take fresh chicken eggs, acid the necessary text on them, and then put them … back into the chicken. As a result, not only the wallets of gullible onlookers suffered, but also one unfortunate bird.

8. 1936, 1943, 1972 and 1975

Herbert Armstrong, a specialist in advertising business, was one of the first preachers to preach the gospel on the air long before it became popular. In 1933, he founded the “World Church of God”, and after another 3 years he predicted the end of the world with might and main. When the first of the dates he had appointed turned out to be false, he, not in the least embarrassed, revised the prediction and pushed it back to 1943, and when this did not work (although the Second World War seemed to many to be the beginning of the end times), he postponed the term until 1972. Perhaps, like the pontiffs of the past, he hoped that he would already be in the next world and protect himself from the ridicule of society during his lifetime, but his good health failed: in 72, Herbert was still alive. The last date was announced in 1975 – and, imagine, there were still those who believed him!

9. April 29, 2007

On his show in 1976, Pat Robertson predicted that the end of the world would come sometime in 1982. Of course, he was wrong, but that did not stop him from trying again. In his book The New Millennium, released in 1990, Robertson predicted that the last day would be April 29, 2007, and … again missed the mark. Robertson is also the only person on our list who is still alive, so there is a chance that he will predict the Apocalypse for the third time.

10. May 21, 2011

The most recent prediction to date is the one made by Harold Camping in 2011. He predicted that the Ascension will take place from this date, and the Day of Judgment itself will be on October 21. When May ended, it was said that all phenomena would occur at the same time, on the designated day of October, although some kind of “spiritual indulgence” allegedly took place. Camping has had a passion for apocalyptic prophecies before, predicting the end of things several times in 1993 and 1994. In total, he made six wrong predictions, and therefore takes pride of place at the bottom of our list.

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