I have been blogging about failed doomsday predictions. I knew of a few, but I had no idea how many were out there (and I am sure I’ve still missed many!).
Like I said before, I do feel sorry for the followers that get caught up into the teachings of someone, only to find out first hand it wasn’t true. I can’t remember what denomination it was, but I remember seeing a show on television where a minister predicted the end date. His followers believed him and prepared – then nothing happened. It must be a bit devastating to believe in someone only to be disappointed like that.
Remember the Y2K panic? People thought the world might end at the beginning of the new millennium. After all, none of us were around for the last one and we didn’t know quite what to expect. As it turned out, life went on as usual.
But, not for long, as Richard Noone predicted that on May 5, 2000, the same date that all the planets aligned and the Antarctic ice mass would be three miles thick, there would be a global catastrophe. Oh well, maybe his book “5/5/2000 Ice: the Ultimate Disaster” became a collector’s item.
Minister Ronald Weinland, who claims he and his wife are the two witnesses in Revelation, predicted the end in 2006. He said within the next two years (2008), the U.S. would no longer be a world power or even exist as a nation. He also predicted hundreds of millions would die. If you think Weinland just went away after his failed prediction, you are wrong. His Church of God, Preparing for the Kingdom of God church still exists and Weinland even threw his hat back into the doomsday ring, this time predicting the end on May 27, 2012.