How the Churches got the ‘End of the World’ wrong in 1492.

by fulltimestudent 8 Replies latest jw friends

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  fulltimestudent

  In 1453 Constantinople (also known as Byzantium), the last remnant of the once mighty Roman Empire was a Christian Island in an Islamic sea. The city had been seriously weakened during the holy Fourth Crusade (1202-04), when fellow Christians of the Catholic brand had besieged the city, captured it, and savagely sacked it.

  ( Who needs enemies when you have Christian friends?)

  
  

  A miniature of the siege, Artist unknown. (from Wikimedia)

  During the next 200 years, Constantinople hung on. Pleas for assistance to the Royal courts of Europe went unheeded and finally in 1453, Islamic armies were triumphant. When the news reached Rome, Christians cried in the streets. And, in Russia, where Orthodox Christianity also prevailed it was seen as marking the imminent end of the world.

  
  

  Modern representation of the 21 year old Muslim General Mehmed II and the Ottoman Army approaching Constantinople with a giant CANNON, by Fausto Zonaro
  

  There were long-standing Orthodox prophecies that predicted the return of Jesus and the last judgement at the start of the eighth millennium. Based on the Byzantine calendar that was also used in Russia, it all seemed be crystal clear.

  Based on their Biblical understanding, that creation occurred 5508 years before Christ, it was calculated that the return of Jesus and the Last Judgement would occur on September 1, 1492.

  (Not so different to Freddy's effort is it)

  And like Freddy's effort, the end did not come. Why?
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  fulltimestudent

  Why did they get it wrong? It can be suggested that they read, but do not understand.

  They could read in Luke 21 of the signs (of the end), just as we did. But they (and us) failed to read carefully.

  Read it again (from the New Jerusalem Bible)

  25 'There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the turmoil of the ocean and its waves;
  26 men fainting away with terror and fear at what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.
  27 And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
  28 When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.'
  29 And he told them a parable, 'Look at the fig tree and indeed every tree.
  30 As soon as you see them bud, you can see for yourselves that summer is now near.
  31 So with you when you see these things happening: know that the kingdom of God is near.
  32 In truth I tell you, before this generation has passed away all will have taken place.

  This prophesy, made by Jesus failed. He imagined that he was about to fulfill the messianic prophesies and free Israel from the yoke of unbelievers. He was deluded, and paid the penalty with his life,

  If there is ever an end to the world, it will not be as a result of Jesus prophecy.
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  ILoveTTATT2

  yeah.... "Let's party like it's 1491" just doesn't sound as cool...
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  Lieu

  The world did end ... for the indigenous of the Americas. Sickened and slaughtered by members of some church of course.
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  kaik

  In 1419, Catholic preachers from Dominican monastic orders, excommunicated by Rome, predicted the end of the world. They identified several places where people would be saved while rest of the humanity will die in the Armageddon. First, nobody took them seriously, it was just after Council of Konstantz that dealt with Schism, but as the deadline approached, mass panic hit Kingdom of Bohemia and some places in Holy Roman Empire. People as far from France, England,and Belgium arrived into Bohemia to survive. When the day approached tens of thousands people flocked in hot July days into selected placed to watch the world burn. One place had 40,000 to 60,000 people crammed up to the hill to get a better view. Day came and went and no Armageddon on sight. Hundreds of thousands people abandoned their properties, fields, farms, castles, and businesses for nothing. Subsequent fighting devastated much of Central Europe in war lasting till 1434, where Dominican monks were the prime target of revenge.

  Medieval Europe had many dead-end visions. After Frankish empire collapsed, there was hysteria as well around 843. When Goths sacked Rome, the world thought the end was near. St. Augustine wrote his monumental book, City of God under the influence of the event. Many people calculated their prophecy year from the bible. The event from 1419 was also calculated from the Bible.
  
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  kepler

  Reading accounts of the 16th century Reformation, it appears that on both sides of the fence there was much the same feeling. They were living ( of course) in the End Times.

  Matter of fact, when you consider such influences such as plagues, i must have been every other decade that end time apprehensions were widespread.
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  deegee

  The problem is that if Jesus’ (and Paul's) end of the world prophecies are taken at face value, it is clear that Jesus was expecting the world to end during his generation/lifetime.

  Why was Jesus expecting the world to end during his generation?

  According Bart D. Ehrman in his book: “Jesus – Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium”

  http://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/pdf/1999_ehrman_jesus-apocalyptic-prophet.pdf:

  “Apocalypticism” was the order of the day at the time Jesus is said to have existed because of the history of the Promised Land. Jews in Palestine had been under direct foreign domination for most of the eight centuries prior to the time it is said Jesus was born. The Promised Land was conquered in succession by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Syrians, and the Romans. Jews resented the idea that they were answerable to a foreign power. They were, after all, the chosen people of the one true God of Israel, the God who had agreed to protect and defend them in exchange for their devotion. This was the land that he had promised them, and for many of them it must have been more than a little distressing, both politically and religiously, to know that ultimately someone else was in charge.

  There was the belief that there would be an imminent intervention of God on behalf of his people, an intervention to be modeled on earlier acts of salvation as recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. Quite soon, God would reassert himself and bring this world back to himself, destroying the forces of evil and establishing his people as rulers over the earth. When this new Kingdom came, God would fulfil his promises to his people. This point of view, commonly called “apocalypticism”, was an ideology that tried to make sense of the oppression of the people of God. Jewish apocalyptic thought was evident in a number of writings both in the Hebrew Bible (e.g. book of Daniel) and from other sources.

  Some of the earliest traditions about Jesus portray him as a Jewish apocalypticist who responded to the political and social crises of his day, including the domination of his nation by a foreign power, by proclaiming that his generation was living at the end of the age, that God would soon intervene on behalf of his people, sending a cosmic judge from heaven, the Son of Man who would destroy the forces of evil and set up God’s Kingdom. In preparation for his coming, the people of Israel needed to turn to God, trusting him as a kindly parent and loving one another as his special children. Those who refused to accept this message would be liable to the judgment of God, soon to arrive with the coming of the Son of Man.
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  deegee

  One should soon realize that Christianity is a victim of Jewish Apocalypticism.

  The earliest sources such as Mark and Matthew record Jesus as propounding an apocalyptic message – predictions of the coming judgment, of the imminent arrival of the Son of Man, of the future Kingdom on earth – and these pronouncements need to be taken seriously. Interestingly, however, this message begins to be toned down, muted by the end of the first century (e.g., in Luke), until it virtually disappears (e.g., in John) – by the time we get to John, the last of the gospels to be written, Jesus is now saying: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).

  It appears that when the end never did arrive, Christians had to take stock of the fact that Jesus said it would and changed his message accordingly.

  When the world didn’t end as Jesus said it would, rationalizations were put forth that Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled or that he was prophesying about the distant future.
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  deegee

  The author of the article: "The Babylonian Exile Shaped the Future [of Prophetic Speculation]"
  https://ad1914.com/2015/10/27/the-babylonian-exile-shaped-the-future-of-prophetic-speculation-doug-mason/

  presents some very sound points regarding the Bible's end of the world eschatology which are worth considering - in summary:

  1. The Hebrews considered themselves to be “God’s Chosen People”, yet Israel had been dispersed by the Assyrians and Judah was dominated by Egypt and then by Babylon.

  2. In response to Judah’s captivity, its prophets promised the nation that God would restore them to their rightful position and that God would forever maintain the throne of David.

  3. When exiles returned from Babylon, they set about creating a nation that was faithful to God.

  4. Centuries passed but the Hebrews remained oppressed by successive Gentile powers. In response, the Jews anticipated imminent divine intervention.

  5. Followers of Jesus Christ applied the prophets’ promises to their leaders and to themselves, anticipating an imminent divine intervention.

  6. In every succeeding century, people kept expecting divine intervention during their life.