* * * * *
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Matthew 24:36
1794
Both the Shakers, the United Society of Believers in
Christ's Second Appearance, were convinced the world was going to end in
1794. One of the founders of the Methodist religion, Charles Wesley also
believed 1794 marked the end of time.
1814
A Methodist woman named
Joanna Southcott, who was born in 1750, believed that she would give birth to
the Messiah on October 19, 1814 – which would bring about the end of the world.
Joanna died in December 1814. Maybe she misinterpreted signs of her own end?
1836
Charles Wesley’s brother, John, later claimed that “the
great beast” would arrive on the earth in 1836, marking the end of the world.
1843 or 1844
William Miller, a Baptist minister, said the
prophesies found in the Old Testament book of Daniel, pointed to an end date of
March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844.
When the predictions did not prove true, the dates were, of course, changed.
First to April 18th, and later to October 22, 1844.
1919
Albert Porta, a
meteorologist, believed that December 17, 1919 would be the end when a union of
several planets would “cause a magnetic current
that would pierce the sun, cause great explosions of flaming gas and eventually
engulf the Earth.” Porta’s claim caused suicides and mob violence.
1914, 1915,
1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, or 1994
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have claimed the imminent
end of the earth several times and then changed the date as each year came and
went. The end time predictions of this group have included the following years:
1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941,
1975, and 1994.
1969
In Oregon City, during the night of March 29, 1965, Brother Walter had a dream he believed to be a prophesy of the end of time. Nobody in the Oregon City Followers of Christ doubted him. One woman named her newborn daughter Angel, believing should would soon be in heaven. Christ told Walter in his dream that baptisms would end in three years. On May 5, 1968, Walter baptized for the last time. In December 1969, Walter died.
1997
In 1996 and 1997, the Hale-Bopp comet was visible from earth. When an astronomer claimed to have seen an object following the comet, the Heaven’s Gate cult decided to commit mass suicide in March, 1997 believing the object seen next to the comet was a spaceship that could only be boarded by leaving their bodies.
2000
Then, of course, time
was predicted to end in Y2K by a great many folks. Thanks to the paranoia, I landed a great job as a technical
writer for one of the millions of Y2K projects going on in Information
Technology departments around the world in 1999. There were billboard
predicting the end, and we were advised by the news reporters to stock up on
emergency preparedness products, jugs of water, candles, canned foods, etc.
2012
Over the past several
years, the media hyped the December 21, 2012 end-of-time prediction with movies
and books portraying the end. And that date came and went without incident
2015
Some say we are already
living in end times. Others believe the new prophesies stating that the world
will end by 2015.
Maybe so.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up.
2 Peter 3:10
Your statements about the group that has come to be known as Heaven's Gate are completely inaccurate. They did not decide "to commit mass suicide" because of what the astronomer saw in the tail of Hale-Bopp. One of the first sentences on their website(which is till up) stated that it was "irrelevant" to them whether or not Hale-Bopp had a companion. The media latched onto the idea that they claimed they were getting on a spaceship behind the comet and repeated it so often that it has become "truth" just like stories that claimed that Marshall Applewhite had been a patient at a mental hospital where Bonnie Nettles was a nurse or the stories that Applewhite was fired from a job for having a "homosexual affair". These lies are only the truth in the minds of those ignorant to believe them.
ReplyDeleteIt is not entirely inaccurate as you leave out the remainder of the message. You seem to be attempting the deceive people by not telling the whole story. Here is the remainder of the message.
DeleteWhether Hale-Bopp has a "companion" or not is irrelevant from our perspective. However, its arrival is joyously very significant to us at "Heaven's Gate." The joy is that our Older Member in the Evolutionary Level Above Human (the "Kingdom of Heaven") has made it clear to us that Hale-Bopp's approach is the "marker" we've been waiting for -- the time for the arrival of the spacecraft from the Level Above Human to take us home to "Their World" -- in the literal Heavens. Our 22 years of classroom here on planet Earth is finally coming to conclusion -- "graduation" from the Human Evolutionary Level. We are happily prepared to leave "this world" and go with Ti's crew.
If you study the material on this website you will hopefully understand our joy and what our purpose here on Earth has been. You may even find your "boarding pass" to leave with us during this brief "window."
We are so very thankful that we have been recipients of this opportunity to prepare for membership in Their Kingdom, and to experience Their boundless Caring and Nurturing.
Heaven's gate cult was one if the strangest and most dangerous cults ever. Castration, purple shrouds, black Nike's, aliens, mass suicide. What kind of person would defend Applewite.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot the 1938 Idaho prediction of the end of time... I'm not sure which old preacher said it... As the story went, he predicted the end some date in the future, everyone prepared for the end and then he died at the predicted end.
ReplyDeleteMark 13:32-33 says it best:
ReplyDelete32 "But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.
We have it from Jesus' own mouth that we will not be able to predict the end of the world. His repeated emphasis in Matt. 24 and 25 was on each person being watchful for His coming, meaning our personal death and judgement. He warned against thinking you can wait until the last minute and then try to get right with Him, which is why people try and figure it out. So it seems to me it would be sinful to try and figure out the end of the world. And most certainly sinful to preach the end of the world to others or build a cult around it.