Why do doomsday predictions keep failing, and what happened when they did?
People have named end-of-the-world dates since at least the start of the Common Era, and none of the dates described here brought the predicted end. What came next is the interesting part.
Guess first
?
Which one is it?
Doomsday predictions keep failing because they make a claim that the world can check: a date. When the date arrives and the world carries on, the prediction is over. People have made them since at least the beginning of the Common Era, and none of the dates described here brought the predicted end.
Most have a pattern. End-time events are normally predicted to happen within the lifetime of the person making the prediction, usually drawing on the Bible. In 1831 William Miller first shared publicly his belief that the of Jesus Christ would come between 1843 and 1844, and his followers came to expect the return on 22 October 1844. The day ended like any other, leaving Millerite leaders and followers bewildered and disillusioned.
What happens next is human. After that , some Millerites kept watching, some named new dates, and some gave up their beliefs and rebuilt their lives. A century and a half later Harold Camping predicted Judgment Day for about 6 September 1994, then revised it twice, and later named 21 May 2011. When that passed he said a spiritual judgment had occurred, and in 2012 he said his attempt to predict a date was sinful.
Some predictions borrow science's look. The 2012 phenomenon rested on the end of a cycle in the Maya , but Mayan scholars said no classic Mayan account forecast doom, and astronomers said the scenarios were refuted by elementary observation. Scientists do discuss natural endings, but those are not expected for hundreds of thousands, or billions, of years.
22 Oct 1844
Millerite date passes; some name new dates, some give up
1994
Camping revises his date twice
21 May 2011
Camping says a spiritual judgment occurred and moves the date
21 Dec 2012
The Maya Long Count cycle ends; scholars say no doom was foretold
Quiz me
0/3
Recap
A prediction with a date can be tested by waiting, and a claim about the sky should be something anyone can look for.
💡 A trick to remember it · A date on the calendar is a promise the world checks: when the day ends and the sun rises, the claim is settled.
Surprising fact · A claimed hidden planet first predicted doomsday for May 2003, and astronomers calculated an object that close would be visible to anyone looking up at the night sky.
Sources (4)
No source, no claim. Every fact in this lesson (19 claims) cites at least one of these.