The End of the World · Chapter
This Year explained
This chapter explores the history of predicting the end of the world based on specific years and numbers, from Babylonian numerology to Christian millennialism, the year 1000 AD, and modern prophecies.
What happens
This chapter explores the history of predicting the end of the world based on specific years and numbers, from Babylonian numerology to Christian millennialism, the year 1000 AD, and modern prophecies. It examines the tension between numeralists and scientists, the rise and fall of chiliasm, and the persistent human fascination with assigning a precise date to the apocalypse.
Themes in this chapter
Eschatology and Prophecy
The chapter extensively details the history of predicting the end of the world through specific years and numbers, from early Christianity to modern times.
Time and Eternity
Explores the human attempt to fix the end of time to a precise date, contrasting finite numbers with the infinite nature of time and number.
Science vs. Religion
Highlights the tension between numeralists (relying on prophecy and numerology) and scientists (using equations and empirical data) in predicting the end.
Characters to notice
- Jesus Christ
His declaration 'at hand' was later fitted to specific numerical predictions for the end.
- Paul of Tarsus
His imminent hope of the Second Coming dwindled through his Epistles; he was martyred without seeing it.
- Julius Africanus
Listed among early chiliasts who believed in a millennial reign.
- William Miller
His prediction for a specific year failed, leading to his death brokenhearted.
Key passages
“The end has endlessly been predicted for a given year, named and numbered.”
People have repeatedly forecast the world's end by assigning it a specific year and number.
Opens the chapter by framing the central theme of date-specific apocalyptic predictions.
“The year One Thousand was The Year.”
The year 1000 AD was considered the definitive date for the end of the world.
Highlights the significance of the millennial year in Christian eschatology.
“The millennial terror was the one universal terror Europe has ever shared.—It is a pure invention of later historians.”
Some claim the fear of the year 1000 was Europe's only shared terror, while others argue it was fabricated by later historians.
Illustrates the historiographical debate over the extent of millennial panic.