The document discusses how predictions of the end of the world are often proven wrong when the predicted events do not occur. It provides several examples throughout history where prophets predicted dates for the end times that passed without incident, including Dabiq being cited as the site of a final battle by ISIS but then being taken by opposition forces. When predictions are disproven, prophets typically reschedule new dates or reinterpret the signs rather than accepting they were mistaken. The document cautions that some viewings actively seek signs or events they believe could trigger the end times, which represents dangerous thinking.

1. “Apocalypse offfor now”
I stole thatstrikingheadlinefromthe WashingtonPost (17October),a paperthat wasn’talone in
highlightingthe fall of Dabiq,asmall towninnorthernSyria,toTurkish-backedrebels.Dabiq is
namedinone of the ProphetMohammed’ssayingsasbeingthe site of afinal battle,alastconflict
betweenMuslimsandnon-Muslimsbeforethe endof the world.The occupyingIslamicState group
apparentlymade muchof thisbefore theywere drivenout. Theirfarewell message?Wrongbattle.
“Wrong battle”or, accordingto anothersource,wrongunderstandingof the Prophet’swords,wasa
prettypredictable response.Surprisinglyundauntedbytheirspectacularfailure togetitright,
groupsand individualswhohave predictedthe endof the worldhave alwaysbeenquicktoseize on
a newtimingforthe end,whichwill explainwhytheygotitwrongthe firsttime round.
I firstencounteredthisbrazenrethinkingtoasignificantdegreewhenIstartedtoresearchmy book,
A Brief History of End Time (secondeditionsoontobe publishedbySacristyPress).Veryoftenit’s
questionnotof wrongbattlesbutof wrong dates.The WestCountryeccentric,JoannaSouthcott,
caught up inpopularfearsabouta Napoleonic invasion,declaredthatthe dayof judgmentwould
arrive in1804, to be followedthreeyearslaterbythe 1,000-year reignof Christon earth.Whenthe
appointedtime came andwent,she rescheduledfor1809.
In the 1950s, a sociological studyentitled When Prophecy Fails discussedthe case of a certain“Mrs
Keech”,whoclaimedthatthe worldwouldbe submergedbyagreatfloodon21 Decemberof an
unspecifiedyear.MrsKeechandherfollowerskeptthistothemselvesuntiltheirpreferreddate had
passed.Thentheysuddenlywentpublic,inanefforttoreaffirmtheirbeliefs,thatwere now
strongerthan ever,toa wideraudience.The groupeventuallypeteredoutnotbecause of their
mistakeswiththe date butbecause theirleaderswere chargedwithdisturbing the peace.
It’snot onlydatesthat go wrong.Deepinbothpopularand literaryimaginationisthe ideathat
certainsignswill precede the end,rangingfromnatural disasters(storms,floods) andcosmicevents
(cometsare a favourite ill omen) tounnatural ones:birdsfall fromthe sky,the sunrisesinthe west,
while chaosstrikesatour moral and social order.
These signsof the endseemtobe rootedinthe fear of thingsbeyondourcontrol.A little over20
yearsago, a prophecybya Polishvisionary,one SisterMarie Gabriel,predictedthatacometwould
not justbe a signof the endbut wouldbringitabout.SisterMarie Gabriel knew thatthe comet
Shoemaker-Levy9wassetto collide withJupiter,andshe decidedthatthiswouldcause afireball
that wouldwipe outplanetEarth.Whenthe collisiondulytookplace butwithoutanyill effectson
our planet,she reworkedherprophecy.Now apiece of the cometitself washeadedforEarth.
Unfortunatelynotonlywasthisnotthe case, butSisterMarie Gabriel made the mistake of referring
to the cometas Halley’scomet.Wrongtime, definitely wrongcomet.
Dabiqhas givenusthe wrongbattle,butit’snot impossible thatthere will be anotherDabiqinthe
not toodistantfuture.Maybe there are those who are actually longingforanotherbattle of Dabiq,
seeingthe hostilities thereasbringingabout awelcome end.Anditiscertainlythe case thatin some
extreme Christianthinkingthere isaconvictionthatwe can give the comingof the enda helping
hand. Duringthe twentieth century,Christianfundamentalistsarguedthatestablishingthe Jewish
state of Israel wouldhasten the arrival of anew messianicage.More recently,the changingclimate
has beenwelcomedbysome asa signof the end,so forthemeffortstoimpose alimitonglobal
warmingare unwelcome tosaythe least.

2. Dangerousthinking,this.Butforthe mostpart we are savedfromgloomand doombythe
unshakable optimismof some outlandishprophets.Itis,afterall,hardnot to raise a smile at the
descriptionof “Mrs Keech”whodeterminedthatherfollowersmustremoveall metal,includingzips,
fromtheirclothing,leavingthemreadytoentertheirflyingsaucerwiththeirtrousersheldupwith
string.Wrong date,anddefinitelythe wrongstrategy.