Historical record
The timeline
Every entry here records what someone predicted, in their own terms. The date columns show the predicted date, not a date this site endorses.
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c. 500
Hippolytus of Rome
Hippolytus of Rome expects the end around the year 500
In his Commentary on Daniel (about 204), Hippolytus reasoned that Christ was born 5,500 years after creation and that the world would last 6,000 years, placing the end about 500 years after Christ's birth.
Well documented Outcome: Date passed
Read the full entry: Hippolytus of Rome expects the end around the year 500 -
c. 1000
Various medieval chroniclers and preachers
Apocalyptic expectations around the year 1000
Historians disagree about how widely Europeans expected the world to end in the year 1000 or 1033. Some chroniclers describe apocalyptic unrest; others suggest the idea of mass panic was exaggerated later.
Record disputed Outcome: Record disputed
Read the full entry: Apocalyptic expectations around the year 1000 -
c. 1600
Martin Luther
Martin Luther and a limit of about 1600
Luther is often reported to have said the world would not last beyond about 1600. Exactly how he phrased this, and how firmly, is disputed.
Record disputed Outcome: Record disputed
Read the full entry: Martin Luther and a limit of about 1600 -
1843–1844
William Miller and the Millerites
William Miller and the return of Christ in 1843 to 1844
William Miller concluded from Daniel 8:14 that Christ would return around 1843. He later refined the window to the Jewish year from March 21, 1843 to March 21, 1844.
Well documented Outcome: Later reinterpreted
Read the full entry: William Miller and the return of Christ in 1843 to 1844 -
October 22, 1844
Samuel S. Snow and the Millerites
Samuel Snow, the seventh-month message and October 22, 1844
After earlier dates passed, Millerite preacher Samuel Snow argued in August 1844 that Christ would return on the Jewish Day of Atonement, which he calculated as October 22, 1844.
Well documented Outcome: Later reinterpreted
Read the full entry: Samuel Snow, the seventh-month message and October 22, 1844 -
1914
Charles Taze Russell and the Watch Tower Society
The Watch Tower Society and the end of the Gentile Times in 1914
From 1889, Watch Tower publications taught that Bible chronology showed the "Gentile Times" would end in 1914, and early writing expected major changes to follow, including the end of existing governments.
Well documented Outcome: Later reinterpreted
Read the full entry: The Watch Tower Society and the end of the Gentile Times in 1914 -
1918
Joseph F. Rutherford and the Watch Tower Society
Watch Tower expectations for 1918
After 1914 passed, some Bible Student publications, including The Finished Mystery (1917), pointed to 1918 as the year when the existing church systems would be brought down and faithful Christians would be taken to heaven.
Date approximate Outcome: Date passed
Read the full entry: Watch Tower expectations for 1918 -
1925
Joseph F. Rutherford and the Watch Tower Society
Watch Tower expectations for 1925
Watch Tower publications of the early 1920s, including the pamphlet Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1920), linked 1925 to the expected return of faithful figures of the Old Testament and the start of a new order.
Well documented Outcome: Date passed
Read the full entry: Watch Tower expectations for 1925 -
1975
Watch Tower Society
Watch Tower expectations for 1975
A 1966 Watch Tower book calculated that 6,000 years of human history would end in 1975. The organization later said it had not made a firm prediction and that some members had read too much into the date.
Well documented Outcome: Later revised
Read the full entry: Watch Tower expectations for 1975 -
1981
Chuck Smith
Chuck Smith and the expectation of a Rapture before 1981
In books of the late 1970s, the founder of Calvary Chapel wrote that he expected the Rapture to occur before 1981, on the basis of a forty-year generation from 1948 minus a seven-year tribulation.
Date approximate Outcome: Date passed
Read the full entry: Chuck Smith and the expectation of a Rapture before 1981