How to read this timeline
Across many periods, religious interpreters, astrologers and other commentators have connected scripture, calendars, natural disasters or astronomical events with an approaching transformation. Depending on the source, that transformation might involve the return of Jesus, Armageddon, an Antichrist, a period of tribulation, the Rapture, a flood or another global catastrophe.
Timeline of reported predictions
- c. 30 CE
Some literal readings of sayings attributed to Jesus in the Christian Scriptures understand them as placing the arrival of God's kingdom or the Son of Man within the lifetime of the first hearers. Other Christian interpretations read these passages differently. More details.
- c. 60 CE
Some readers understand Paul's letters as anticipating Jesus' return while members of the first Christian communities were still alive. Interpretations vary, and the expected public event did not occur in that period. More details.
- c. 90 CE
Clement I has been associated with an expectation that the world's conclusion could occur imminently.
- 2nd century
Members of the Montanist movement expected Jesus to return during their era and associated the New Jerusalem with Pepuza in Asia Minor.
- 365
Hilary of Poitiers was reported to have expected the end during this year.
- 375–400
Martin of Tours, who was influenced by Hilary, was reported to expect the end before 400 CE.
- 500
Chronologies attributed to Hippolytus and Sextus Julius Africanus were later associated with expectations focused on this round-number year.
- 968
An eclipse was reportedly interpreted by people in the army of Otto I as a sign that the end was approaching.
- 992
The coincidence of Good Friday and the Feast of the Annunciation was treated by some as an end-times sign. Reports of unusual celestial appearances circulated without reliable independent confirmation.
- 1000
Later accounts describe European Christians anticipating the end at the millennium. Historians debate how widespread this expectation actually was, so broad claims about public panic should be treated cautiously.
- May 1000
Charlemagne's remains were opened at Aachen around Pentecost. Later tradition connected a sleeping emperor's return with a final conflict, although the relationship to a specific prediction is uncertain.
- 1005–1006
Severe famine in parts of Europe was interpreted by some observers as a sign that the end was near.
- 1033
Some people reportedly treated this year as roughly one thousand years after Jesus' death and resurrection and therefore expected his return.
- 1147
Gerard of Poehlde calculated that a millennium beginning under Constantine would conclude in 1306.
- 1179
John of Toledo reportedly predicted a major crisis in 1186 on the basis of a planetary alignment.
- 1205
Joachim of Fiore's prophetic scheme was interpreted as anticipating a new spiritual era by the early thirteenth century. Later summaries differ on his precise dates and claims.
- 1284
A calculation attributed to Pope Innocent III added 666 years to a date associated with Islam's emergence. The attribution and chronology should be read with caution.
- 1346 onward
The plague pandemic in Europe was widely interpreted in religious terms, including as evidence that final events were near. Modern historical and scientific study instead explains the pandemic through infectious disease and its transmission.
- 1496
Some late-medieval interpreters expected a millennial transition around fifteen centuries after the traditional date assigned to Jesus' birth.
- 1524
Astrological forecasts connected a concentration of planets in Pisces with the possibility of a vast flood. The predicted global disaster did not occur.
- 1533
Melchior Hoffman's chronology placed an expected transformation around fifteen centuries after Jesus' death and associated the New Jerusalem with Strasbourg.
- 1669
Some Russian Old Believers expected an imminent confrontation with the Antichrist. The period led to severe persecution and fatal acts within some communities; the anticipated end did not occur.
- 1689
Baptist minister Benjamin Keach was reported to have identified this as an end-times year.
- 1736
Theologian and mathematician William Whiston predicted that a comet would produce a flood on 13 October. It did not.
- 1783
The Laki eruption in Iceland caused toxic haze, crop damage and substantial loss of life. Its effects across Europe prompted some people to interpret the disaster as an end-times sign.
- 1792
Some followers of the Shaker movement were reported to expect the world's conclusion in this year.
- 1794
Charles Wesley has been associated with an expectation that final judgment would occur in this year, though descriptions of his position differ.
- 1830
Margaret MacDonald was associated with apocalyptic expectations and reportedly identified social reformer Robert Owen with an end-times adversary.
- c. 1832
Joseph Smith recorded a spiritual communication linking the coming of the Son of Man with the possibility that he might live to age 85. He also acknowledged uncertainty about whether this referred to a public advent, another appearance or his own death. He would have reached 85 in 1890. For background, see the Restorationist movement.
- 21 Mar 1843
William Miller's interpretation placed Jesus' return within a period that included this date. A substantial movement formed around his calculations.
- 22 Oct 1844
After earlier expectations passed, Millerite attention focused on this date. Its failure became known as the Great Disappointment and shaped the development of several later Adventist communities.
- 1850
Ellen White wrote that little time remained and urged believers to prepare. The expected conclusion did not occur within the short interval described.
- 1856 onward
White described a vision concerning people at an Adventist conference, some of whom she expected to remain alive until Jesus' coming. The attendees later died without that event occurring as anticipated.
- 1881
A verse predicting the world's end in 1881 was attributed to the English figure Mother Shipton. It is generally regarded as a later fabrication rather than a reliable sixteenth-century prophecy.
- Before 1891
An 1835 statement attributed to Joseph Smith anticipated Jesus' return within 56 years. The stated period passed without the expected event.
- 1914
Bible Student chronology treated 1914 as the conclusion of the “Gentile Times” and associated it with Armageddon. Later teachings interpreted the year as the beginning of an invisible heavenly reign rather than the world's immediate end.
- 1915
Some related publications adjusted earlier chronological expectations to this year. The anticipated visible culmination did not occur.
- 1918
Further expectations within the Bible Student movement connected this year with upheaval affecting religious institutions. Events did not unfold as forecast.
- 1920
This year appeared in another extension of the movement's prophetic chronology. The predicted transformation did not occur. See more details on Watchtower-related predictions.
- 17 Dec 1919
Meteorologist Albert Porta predicted that a planetary conjunction would create a destructive magnetic effect involving the Sun. The event did not occur.
Selected source trail
The original essay drew upon the following works and periodicals. Bibliographic details are retained as an archive aid; readers should compare later scholarship and primary documents where available.
- Richard Kyle, The Last Days Are Here Again: A History of the End Times, Baker Books, 1998, p. 111.
- Watch Tower, 15 July 1924, p. 211.
- William Martin, “Waiting for the End: The Growing Interest in Apocalyptic Prophecy,” The Atlantic Monthly, June 1982.
- Historical reference material concerning the chronology of the Bible Student movement.
- Contemporary and retrospective reporting about the 1783 Laki eruption and its effects in Europe.