SIGNS OF THE SECOND COMING

IN EVERY AGE

Adventist advocates have always had arguments for an imminent appearance of Christ. The following compilation of apocalyptic signs is given for repre-sentative centuries.

Apocalyptic Signs in the Second Century (100 to 200 A.D.)

The Righteous Remnant: the Primitive Church

The Antichrist: Heretics (Gnostics and Ebionites), False Messiahs

The Harlot: the City of Rome

The Beast: the Roman Empire

The Horns of the Beast: Roman Emperors

The Scroll: the Gospel

The Tribulation: Persecution, Roman Civil Wars

Portents of Nature: the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79, the Burning of Rome in 64

Date Setting: The Second Coming was expected daily.

Montanists reported seeing a heavenly city in the sky over Judah for forty mornings in 198 A.D.

Apocalyptic Signs in the Eleventh Century (1000 to 1100)

The Righteous Remnant: Christian Catholic Europe surrounded by Pagans

The Antichrist: Muhammad

The Harlot: Heretics to the Catholic Faith,

the Eastern Orthodox Church (1054 Schism)

The Beast: Pagan Hordes - in the Book of Daniel’s terminology:

The King of the North: the Vikings

The King of the South: the Saracens

The King of the East: the Mongols

The Tribulation: the Crusades, Wars of European States, the Norman Con- quest of England (1066)

Temple Restoration (potential): Jerusalem taken from the Saracens

Jewish Conversion (potential): Europe’s Jews forcibly converted

Portent of Nature: Halley’s Comet in 1066

Date Setting: The Year 1000 was thought to represent the end of the Millen- nium. Great numbers of pilgrims went to Jerusalem for the Second Coming. Meteorites and thunderstorms caused doomsday panics.

Apocalyptic Signs in the Fourteenth Century (1300 to 1400)

The Righteous Remnant: the Holy Mother Church of Rome

The Antichrist: the Saracens

The Beast: the King of France, oppressor of the Popes, Wicked Pope Boniface VIII or Pope Benedict XI

The False Prophet: the Catharists, Peasant Cults, John Wycliffe and his Lollards (1382)

The Two Witnesses, Enoch and Elijah: St. Dominic and St. Francis

The Dragon’s Seven Heads: offenses against the Seven Deadly Sins

The Dragon’s Ten Horns: offenses against the Ten Commandments

The Holy City Trampelled: Rome under Decadent Popes

Locusts from the Bottomless Pit: the Cardinals around the Wicked Pope

The Tribulation:

The Black Death Plague killed a third of Europe (1348)

The “Babylonian Captivity” of the Papacy: the Popes held at Avignon by the King of France (1309-1377), Antipope Nicholas V

The Great Schism: Pope Urban VI versus Pope Clement VII

(1378-1415)

Pope Boniface IX fortifies the Vatican (1399)

Gog and Magog: The Golden Horde of the Mongol Invaders

Apocalyptic Signs in the Fifteenth Century (1400 to 1500)

The Righteous Remnant: the Western (Roman) Church

The Antichrist: Saracens and Renaissance Humanist Heretics

The Harlot: The Great Schism, Reign of Antipopes from 1378 to 1428. Three Rival Popes: Benedict XIII versus Gregory XII versus Alexander V (1409). The Second Schism: Eugenius IV versus Felix V (1439)

The False Prophet: John Huss burned 1415. Joan of Arc burned 1431. Savonarola burned 1498.

The Tribulation: Constantinople overrun by the Turks (1453), the Hussite Wars of 1415-1436. The Spanish Inquisition begins in 1483.

Gospel to the Whole World: Columbus finds the New World (1492). He claims to have found a river of Paradise (the Amazon River).

The invention of the Printing Press (1454) provides more Bibles.

Portents of Nature: the Black Death Plague of 1348-1349, Halley’s Comet in 1456

Apocalyptic Signs in the Sixteenth Century (1500 to 1600)

The Righteous Remnant: the Protestants, the Reformed Churches

The Antichrist: the Pope (Leo X, a Medici, against Luther)

The Harlot: the Roman Catholic Church

The Beast: the Holy Roman Empire

The False Prophet: the Jesuits

The Scroll: the Bible for the Common People

Portents of Nature: “Anno 1531, 1532, and 1533 comets were seen and at that time Satan hatched heretics.”*

The Tribulation: Terrors of the Inquisition. Massacre of the Waldensians. Plague (Syphilis) strikes Europe in 1495. The Peasant Wars (1525). Bloody Mary’s persecution (1553-1558). French Huguenots exter- minated (1572). The Spanish Armada (1588).

Apocalyptic Signs in the Seventeenth Century (1600 to 1700)

The Righteous Remnant: Free Church Sects, Puritans, Separatists

The Antichrist: the Pope

The Harlot: the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican State Church

The Beast: the Holy Roman Empire, Louis XIV, “the Sun King”

The False Prophet: the Catholic or Anglican Priesthood,

Sabbatai Zevi, a Jewish false Messiah (1626-1676)

Satan’s Temple: Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, completed in 1626

The Little Horn of the Beast cut off: Charles I of England beheaded (1649)

The Tribulation: the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), the English Civil War (1642-1649)

Armageddon: the Ottoman Empire advances on Europe and is halted at Vienna (1683)

The Rule of Saints: the Little (“Barebones”) Parliament

The New Moses: Oliver Cromwell

The New Jerusalem: London

The Fifth Monarchy: Christ’s Reign. (After the Fourth Monarchy, the Holy Roman Empire, was dissolved in 1648, the Four Kingdoms in the Book of Daniel were terminated.)

Portents of Nature: the Comet of 1680, the Black Death Plague in 1665, the London Fire of 1666

Date Setting: The end was set at 1650, 1666, 1688, and 1700. The year 1666 was thought to match the ominous “666” number in the Book of Revel- ation.

*Ref. How The World Will End by Daniel Cohen, McGraw-Hill, 1973, p. 91

Apocalyptic Signs in the Nineteenth Century (1800 to 1900)

The Righteous Remnant: Abolitionists, Fundamentalists, Adventists (Latter Day Saints, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses), Landmark Baptists, Campbellites, Ku Klux Klan and other lower class radicals

The Antichrist: Slave Holders, Saloon Proprietors, Evolutionists, Higher Critics of the Bible, Modernists, Humanists, Spiritualists, the Pope (who declared new dogma: the Immaculate Conception in 1854 and Papal Infallibility in 1870)

The Harlot: the Free Love Movement, Women’s Suffragists, Cultists

The Beast: Jews, Catholics, Imperialists, Big Business, Imaginary Conspirators

The False Prophet: the Southern Confederacy Leaders, Darwin, Marx, Inger- soll, Renan, Victoria Woodhull

The Tribulation: the Napoleonic Wars, the American Civil War

(“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”)

The New Jerusalem: America after the Great Frontier Revival

Portents of Nature: A Comet of 1811 supposedly set off volcanic eruptions. Another large Comet in 1843. The Great Meteor Shower of 1833.

Date Setting: William Miller’s predictions of 1843, then 1844. Millerite Samuel Snow’s 1844 prediction. Mother Shipton’s date of 1881.

Apocalyptic Signs in the Twentieth Century (1900 to 2000)

The Righteous Remnant: Prohibitionists, Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, Adventists (Seventh Day, Jehovah’s Witnesses), Charismatics

The Antichrist: Alcohol Dealers, Modernists, Social Gospel Ministers, Scientists, Translators of Modern Bible Versions

The Harlot: Ecumenists, Cultists, Occultists, New Agers, Hollywood Movie Makers, Drug Dealers, Playboy Clubs, Gay Liberationists

The Beast: Fascism, Communism, the Supreme Court, the United Nations

The False Prophet: Hitler, Stalin, Sartre, Russell, Pike, Leery, Altizer, Hefner

The Tribulation: World War I, the Depression, World War II, Atomic War- fare, Iron Curtain Persecution

Portents of Nature: Halley’s Comet in 1910, Kohoutek’s Comet in 1973, Unidentified Flying Objects. Increased Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions - seemingly more prevalent because of better news coverage. Famines widely publicized. The AIDS epidemic.

Temple Restoration (potential): Jewish occupation of Jerusalem

Jewish Conversion (potential): Zionist Movement, State of Israel re-established

Date Setting:

1914 and 1918 by Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1984 Totalitarian State by George Orwell, 1988 by Hal Lindsey, 1996 by Fundamentalists taking 6000 years from a 4004 B.C. creation date

THE SIX-MILLENNIUM THEORY

AND THE WORLD’S END

It is commonly believed by Bible literalists and dispensationalists that since the world was made in six days, followed by a day of rest, then the world will last for six millennia, followed by a millennial sabbath. If this is true, then knowing the date for the Creation of the cosmos provides the date of its Destruction.

Authority Creation Date End of the World

Greek Church* 5508 B.C. 492 A.D.

Gnostic Movement 5500 500

Latin Church* 5199 801

Origen 4830 1170

Josephus 4485 1515

Nostradamus 4173 1827

“W. W.”* 4009 1991

Archbishop Ussher 4004 1996

Frank Klassen** 3976 2024

Melanchthon 3963 2037

Roman Chronology* 3949 2051

Rabbinic Calendar* 3761 2239

*Taken from the Title Page of “Poor Richard’s Almanac.” The initials “W.W.” probably refer to the Rev. William Whiston, a translator of the histories of Josephus in 1737, and the succes-sor to Sir Isaac Newton’s chair of mathematics at Cambridge.

**Annotated in “The Chronological Bible”