Some of my friends have been shouting about how we are headed toward the "The End..." of a bunch of important things lately.
I should be worried. But I know that predicting the collapse of society is nothing new. In fact, it's been a common theme of cultural movements throughout history.
People are drawn toward apocalyptic predictions for a variety of reasons:
A Search for Meaning: People seek a greater purpose or explanation for their existence. Apocalyptic movements can provide a sense of meaning and direction.
Control and Certainty: The promise of knowing the future, even if it's disastrous, gives people a sense of control. It's a way to make sense of chaos and provide one with a roadmap.
Community and Belonging: Strong beliefs regularly create tight-knit communities where members feel a strong sense of belonging and support. The shared belief in a significant event can bond people together.
Psychological Comfort: For some, believing in an impending apocalypse can be psychologically comforting It provides a clear, albeit dire, resolution to their anxieties and fears.
Cognitive Biases: Humans have biases that make us more likely to pay attention to negative predictions. These biases can make dystopian narratives more compelling.
Us vs. Them: the idea that the in-group is privy to privileged information and insight is deeply attractive. In American politics, both left and right political groups claim to have special insights, and knowledge, of what needs to be done to prevent an impending catastrophe.
Understanding the motivations for believing we are nearing "The End" helps explain why these movements are so powerful. It's a mix of psychology, social dynamics, and cultural influences that allure people.
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The biggest issue for groups predicting doomsday is what to do when that day arrives.
Psychologist and author Robert Lifton uses the term "forcing the end" to describe efforts by some groups to push a prophecy into reality. In his book Destroying the World to Save It, Lifton describes a series of cults that initially believed Armageddon would happen naturally, without human intervention. But when significant dates came and went without revelation, the groups perceived themselves to be under attack.
Different groups have handled it in different ways:
The Millerites
Adventist Hospital in Ukiah California - WIkimedia Commons
n the 1840s, followers of William Miller believed the world would end on October 22, 1844.
The day after October 22, 1884, with everyone was still alive and well, became an event known as the "Great Disappointment". After this date, many left the movement. Some carried on and formed the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Today, the Adventist Church has 25 million active members, run 7,588 school, and operate 229 hospitals around the world. With an estimated wealth of $15 billion dollars, the world did not end for them.
The People's Temple
Jim Jones warned his followers of an imminent race war.
He claimed that fascists and white supremacists would put people of color into concentration camps. Jones said he was a messiah sent to save people by giving them a place of refuge in his church. Drawing on a prophecy in the Book of Revelation, he was adamant that American capitalist culture was irredeemable.
Jones stated, "If you're born in capitalist America, racist America, fascist America, then you're born in sin. But if you're born in socialism, you're not born in sin." The only way to escape the imminent catastrophe was to accept his teachings, and after the apocalypse was over, they would emerge to establish a perfect communist society.
US Congressman Leo Ryan, who was investigating claims of abuse within the Temple, visited Jonestown on November 17, 1978. The following day, he was murdered by the group, becoming the 2nd US congressperson to be assassinated.
Knowing they would prosecuted by the American government, Jim Jones ordered the mass suicide of the group. 909 members died.
Aum Shinrikyo
Gas Panic Bar in Tokyo was named after the Sarin Gas Attack - Copilot AI
Predicting the end is not limited to America.
The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo believed in an impending apocalypse. To prepare for its arrival, in 1995, they carried out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 13 people and injuring thousands.
The Order of the Solar Temple
This French/Canadian cult believed in an apocalyptic event tied to the solar system. When the prophecy failed, the group had a tragic end with a mass suicide in 1994.
Heaven's Gate
In 1997, members believed they would ascend to a spaceship following the Hale-Bopp comet. When this didn't happen, 39 members committed suicide, believing it was the only way to reach the spaceship.
The Unification Church
Sun Myung Moon meets Richard Nixon - Wikimedia Commons
The church, led by Sun Myung Moon, predicted many dates for the end of the world, including:
March 1, 1980 - This was one of the most notable predictions.
1984 - Another year set by the church as the time of the apocalypse.
1997 - The church continued to predict the end of the world in this year.
2000 - The turn of the millennium.
2012 - The church aligned this year with a broader apocalyptic prediction associated with the Mayan calendar.
When these prophecies failed, Reverend Moon claimed that the group's actions had averted the disaster.
The membership accepted his explanation, and the church continued to grow.
Branch Davidians I & II (Seventh Day Adventists)
Branch Davidians after their arrest in 1987 - Wikimedia Commons
The theme of a coming apocalypse still lingers within the teachings of the Seventh Day Adventists.
In 1955 Benjamin Roden formed an offshoot movement named the Branch Davidians. They claimed to receive a new message from God, warning them of an apocalypse on April 22, 1959.
After that date came and went, the leaders dissolved the group.
In 1981, a young man named David Koresh, studying biblical teachings under remnants of the Branch Davidians, split from the movement and established his own group.
Believing in an imminent apocalypse, in 1993, the new Branch Davidians had a standoff with the FBI in Waco, Texas, which ended in a massive fire that killed 76 members.
Eco-Extremist Groups
Some radical environmental movements espouse apocalyptic beliefs regarding climate change, advocating for drastic actions to prevent an environmental collapse.
After a string of terrorism attacks, in the 2000s, the FBI infiltrated several eco-terrorism movements.
QAnon
QAnon SUV - WIkimedia Commons
Many cult movements rely on isolation as a key component.
In the era of online radicalization, the space left when an extremists friends and family distance themselves, is filled by an online community of true believers in the cause.
"When people get involved in a movement, collectively, what they're saying is they want to be connected to each other," cult expert Rachel Bernstein told Wired. "They want to have exclusive access to secret information other people don't have, information they believe the powers that be are keeping from the masses, because it makes them feel protected and empowered."
This QAnon conspiracy theory includes apocalyptic elements, suggesting a coming reckoning and the downfall of perceived evil figures controlling the government.
The Zealots
The Zealots were a political movement which sought to incite the people of Judaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms. They held apocalyptic beliefs on the fate of Jerusalem under Roman rule.
In the Talmud, the Zealots were condemned for their aggression, their unwillingness to compromise, and their blind militarism in opposition to Jerusalem's rabbis' desire to seek a peace treaty with Rome.
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I hope this article was informative, and helps deter the allure of any group selling a new twist on the old idea of how the world is going to end.
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