Monday, May 25, 2026

It is the 25th of May 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

If you are listening to this, the world has not yet ended.

A very happy Monday to you- the day on which I go to the mailbag to answer your questions about church history and I got a good one from a listener, Micah and his kids- they are in Kent, Washington- Seahawks territory, one time Lettuce Capital of the World and that where the Green River is… you know, like… well… ok.

Earlier this month, they wrote in because one of Micah’s kids noted that May 21st was coming up and that is the day they celebrate… well, the world not ending. You may remember a guy named Harold Camping from my neck of the woods- he very famously predicted the 21st of May 2011 as the day the world would end. There’s a documentary called “Harold Camping vs The End of the World”- it was the subject of just the 3rd ever podcast I made in 2013- an interview with the filmmaker. Micah noted that the family listens to a song called “The 21st of May,” all about that, which I do too, great song. Micah made a common mistake and wrote that the song was by Nickelback… close- but very far off- it’s by the bluegrass trio called Nicklecreek… VERY different.

Micah wondered if I had an MT. Rushmore- our random way of saying “top 4” of theologians who claimed the world was going to end, but it didn’t. And with the caveat- we could pick the kooks and nuts- but what about legit theologians and church figures who just got carried away?

Predicting the end of the world is a funny thing- and a very common thing. In Scripture, we have Jesus himself say, “Be on the lookout be ready and watch for the signs,” and then “Nobody expects the Father knows”. Furthermore- with seemingly deliberate and precise numbers in Daniel and Revelation, we might expect to do a little mathing… so- beyond the likes of William Miller and extreme prophets- are there folks I look up to who also got carried away here?

 

Yup- let’s start with Hillary of Poitiers- a doctor of the church. A defender of orthodoxy against Arianism. But when Constantius II became emperor and favored Arianism and banished Hillary- well, his pessimism got the best of him. Some sources say he predicted the end would come in 365; others say he didn’t pick a specific date but claimed that this generation would be the last. Hillary died in 367, still waiting.

 

How about St. Martin of Tours- one of the most beloved saints- the reason we call those buildings “Chapels” and those people “Chaplains”- a defender of orthodoxy who nonetheless got so down in the 300s he told his biographer, "There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established already in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power.” His prediction was that by 400, it would all be over.

 

And then, how about Martin Luther? Yes, at times he was quite optimistic- at one point saying that if someone said the end of the world was coming, he would plant an apple tree in defiance. He also criticized a contemporary Lutheran minister for picking a precise year in the near future. But as Luther grew older and more pessimistic, he claimed that the world could by no means last more than 300 more years. Whoops.

 

And then stateside- how about Cotton Mather- a very well respected scholar and theologian in New England- lived until 1728- he proclaimed the end to come in 1697, 1716, and then in 1736.

 

The last century saw many otherwise well-respected Christians get caught up in the making of Israel as a nation in 1948- claiming that this was ushering in the end times… and it might be, just not how we imagined it. Regular math is hard, biblical math is even harder… when do numbers mean just those numbers, and when do they mean more? This has been a constant struggle in church history- and you can’t read the Gospels without “be ready” slapping you in the face… what is that? Canned goods? A generator? My new CHA supplements I’m selling this week are only at half cost. No… faith in Jesus- that you are in him and that his arrival will be one of exceeding joy.

 

In the meantime, check out Nickelcreek- the bluegrass band- as for Nickelback, I have heard their existence might be proof of an antichrist.

 

 

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and a timely reading from Romans 8:

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[a]the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 25th of May 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who tells you to look at this photograph; every time he does it, it makes him laugh… Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who is certain that the first 100-loss season for the Angels is on the horizon and surely a sign of the end times. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.