While millenarian prophecy dominated in the 1640s and 1650s, apocalyptic prophecy in general dwindled after the 1660s. Apocalyptic prophecies such as those of Anne Wentworth were not anomalous in seventeenth-century England. In fact, when Wentworth predicted the date of the arrival of the Apocalypse, she participated in a tradition that stretched back at least into[…]
Apocalyptic predictions are nothing new—they have been around for millennia. The First Warnings From Assyria An Assyrian clay tablet dating to around 2800 B.C. bears the inscription: “Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer[…]
In ancient texts, apocalyptic messages cultivated endurance and encouragement through dire circumstances. Introduction With streets deserted, hospitals full and morgues struggling to cope with the number of bodies, it isn’t surprising that some people are making comparisons with the apocalypse. The idea of an apocalypse, a time of catastrophic suffering, has existed for thousands of[…]
Each generation, each epoch, has seen themselves apocalyptically, albeit with great differences as to what the actual end will involve. Introduction As is typical of our time, over the past few months, many newscasters have used the words apocalypse or apocalyptic to evoke the negative implications of events as diverse as the threat of Grexit,[…]
Hal Lindsey and C. C. Carlson’s The Late Great Planet Earth introduced millions of readers worldwide to end-times prophecy. This book [The Late Great Planet Earth] contains incontrovertible proof that Christianity is the one true way. Everybody should read this. Amazon Reader Review Every 3 years Hal Lindsay [sic] writes a new book denoting how the world will end[…]
Some argued that Philip IV was destined to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem at the end of time. [LEFT]: From Diego Valades, Rhetorica Christiana, 1579.[RIGHT]: From Gaspar de Escalona Aguero, Gazophilatium regium Perubicum, 1647. It is hard to imagine two images more different than these. The first appeared in Rhetorica Christiana, a book published in Perugia[…]
The End of History is proclaimed anew by each new generation and each new culture. Mesopotamia, Circa 2000 BCE Orphans of Ur O my flooded, washed awayBrickwork of Ur!My good house, my city,you who have been piled in heaps,As I lay myself down with youin a breach in your good ravaged house,I shall, like a fallen oxnever[…]