Such predictions can prove dangerous, however, based on the fervor and panic they create. In a famed 16th-century Apocalyptic fiasco, thousands of Christians barricaded themselves in Muenster, Germany, to await the end of the world. Cross adds that countless people have given away all their worldly goods, committed suicide and even murder based on beliefs that the Apocalypse was around the corner. Yet, there's a method behind the madness. Richard Landes says that picking a date for the Apocalypse increases the fervor of religious beliefs.
Apocalyptic movements are periodic phenomena.
Dating adds to their power. Coming up with a specific date puts you on the line and forces everyone else to put themselves on the line. It intensifies everything. It's also something that is disproved more dramatically than anything else, and therefore we tend to lose sight of it in the record. The Seventh Day Adventists denomination, for example, grew out of an Apocalyptic group that picked the year 1843 as The End.