The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-07-11
! DooMsDAY PANICs.
MANY TIMES HAS THE DATE FOR THE
WORLDS END BEEN SET.

MANY IN FOh
WORLDS END BEEN SET.
Some of the Most Important Reviewed.
Beginning With tho First Century of
the Christian Era-How These Predio-
tionA Took In the Millennium.
An expectation Of the speedy end Of the
world has followed man ever since the del
uge, but 1t assumed an especially active
condition after the coming of Christ. Ger
tain of Christ's own words which evident
~ bore spiritual significance, were inter
prcted literally by the apostles as predict
ing the worlds end St Paul. and tho au-
thor of the Apocalypse, evidently expected
its immediate occurrence. All the foretold
symptoms seemed to be daily manifested,
much more strikingly. perhaps, than OF
any subsequent timo Tremendous earth
Quakes and plaques dcsolated tho Roman
empirc-thc terrible siege Of Jerusalem
was In itself literal Judgment day for
tho Jews Vesuvius flowed over on the
doomed cities ut its base, scattering its
ashes afar over Europe and Asia Every
thing seemed to confirm tho Christian be-
lief that this worlds existence was fated
TO terminate with tho first century, but the
year 101 dawned on q still active universe
With the easy adaptability which is ever
such a feature of doomsday prophets, the
dato was moved to 1874 century after
Christ's ascension We cannot question
the sincerity Of these expectations To the
harassed Christians they were comfort
md stimulus. When Hadrinn built q tenn
pie to Jupiter on tho site of the temple
they thought that here indeed was the
determination Of desolation" standing in
the holy place Outraged Jews rose In
thousands against the sacrilege and de-
stroyed the heather affairs, but at the cost
Of nearly ], 200, 900 lives Yet tho end did
not come
1t was necessary for the Baxters of that
age once moro to revise their calculations,
and this time they granted tho world q
little breathing space They started tho
thousand years. theory. The millennium
was to commence with tho year 1000 Sc
strongly did this belief take hold of the
popular mind that 1t may be said to have
assumed the confidence of certainty.
Tho dark ages, therefore, wcrc not Ger
picked by this daily anticipation of doom
On anticipation which can never bc said
to have done much In reforming mems
morals If anything Is needed to prove the
small power of fear as an improving
agency, 1t Is this fact But even 1000
years pass by at last, and in the tenth cen
tury people began once more to study the
signs of the times Tho ignorant million,
with very vague notions of millennial hap
pincss, confused it's advent with that of
doomsday, and great was their terror I'M
der the thunders Of the pulpit. The state
of the world, indeed, Tailed very well with
the expected symptoms. Fraud, violence,
cruelty, oppression, theft were everywhere
rampant 1t was tho reign of brute force
in oil its glory. Might was the only suc-
-irrhf \,
that the end of this dispcnsation was OF
hand, and passion for religion might be
only skin deep, but 1t was very powerful
Churches werc crowded with eager listen
ers The attendance In church became so
Increased that few of the buildings were
large enough to meet the demand From
that era date many fine minister and
cathedral; churches already beautiful were
torn down to make room for better; the
rich and powerful raised noble etlificcs and
literally endowed them. 1t seems some
whnt incongrous that elaborate and ex-
quisite churches should have been built
with such promise of permanence, just at
time when the end was expected. AS the
tenth century ncarod it's close the impress
sion deepened. Many persons sold all their
goods and gave TO tho poor. Rich and poor
went on pilgrimage. The nerves of Eu-
rope We're so highly strung that the great
est excuses were perpctratcd from motives
OF piety. Ascctism, self nagcllation pen
ancc were practiccd with cagerness Per
sons died from sheer fright when sudden
shocks made them fancy their fears were
realized One thunderstorm in Paris is
said to have killed 27 people purely by ter
ror Yet after all this violent upheaval of
the conscience of wide Christendom the
eleventh century dawned on world not
yet burned by the last fires nor yet the seat
of u foretold millennium.
Five centuries passed before the next
general panic. An astronomer named
Stoffler foretold that conjunction of the
planets in 1924 would bring deluge, and
though this was distinct contradiction of
Biblical teaching, the belief made progress.
Noah's example was followed widely One
Partisan built raft and stored it with
provisions that would last six months.
Persons resolved that this second food
should find moro than one ark of safety.
The inhabitants of n small village 80 miles
from any river spent all their wealth i'll
constructing large vessel. Skcptfts took
advantage of the scare by buying land Mt
absurd prices. But the date came and
passed No dclugc fell. The arks were
not needed. The prophecy of the rainbow
was again n true one
The great eclipse of 1864 gave the world
its Eext terror Forctold by astronomers,
ignorance auGured the worst from so I'M
common an occurrence. Churches were
again crowded with dcvout worshipers
trembling with apprehension of an event
which they thought might carry off the
Il.