(picture was AI generated by Microsoft Co-Pilot)
When we observe great signs and wonders from creation and hear rumors of wars, disease and famine, we often think the end is near and that our generation is the last generation before the end.
With the war in Gaza and the eclipse in the USA, I heard friends claiming these were the signs of the end and it is near. This ego-centric perspective is nothing new.
The following are quotes of people thinking the end is near over many years from 400 C.E. to 1100 C.E. from the historical book, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Learning from history helps us better understand the present.
This year the sun was eclipsed, on the eleventh of May… This same year there was a great plague…
This year happened that great destruction among the fowls. This year there was … a bloody rain, and milk and butter were turned to blood.
This year was the moon as if covered with blood;
This year came dreadful fore-warnings over the land …, terrifying the people most woefully: these were immense sheets of light rushing through the air, and whirlwinds, and fiery, dragons flying across the firmament. These tremendous tokens were soon followed by a great famine: and not long after, on the sixth day before the ides of January in the same year, the harrowing inroads of heathen men made lamentable havoc in the church of God … by rapine and slaughter.
This year heathen men overran…
This year came a great naval armament …, where they were joined by the people, who commenced war…
This year there was great slaughter …
Then was … a token seen as no man ever saw before. Some men said that it was the comet-star, which others denominate the long-hair’d star. It appeared first on the eve called “Litania major”, that is, on the eighth before the calends off May; and so shone all the week.
After that came every tribulation and every evil …
After the birth of our Lord and Saviour Christ, [number of years] was a very heavy and pestilent season in this land. Such a sickness came on men, that full nigh every other man was in the worst disorder, that is, in the diarrhea; and that so dreadfully, that many men died in the disorder. Afterwards came, through the badness of the weather as we before mentioned, so great a famine …, that many hundreds of men died a miserable death through hunger. Alas! how wretched and how rueful a time was there! When the poor wretches lay full nigh driven to death prematurely, and afterwards came sharp hunger, and dispatched them …! Who will not be penetrated with grief at such a season? or who is so hardhearted as not to weep at such misfortune? Yet such things happen for folks’ sins, that they will not love God and righteousness. So it was … that little righteousness was in this land with any men …, wherever they fared well. The [political leaders] loved much, and overmuch, covetousness in gold and in silver; and [cared] not how sinfully it was got, provided it came to them.
[U]pon Easter, … nearly over all this land, and almost all the night, numerous and manifold stars were seen to fall from heaven; not by one or two, but so thick in succession, that no man could tell it.
Then upon the feast of St. Michael, … appeared an uncommon star, shining in the evening, and soon hastening to set. It was seen south-west, and the ray that stood off from it was thought very long, shining south-east. And it appeared on this wise nearly all the week. Many men supposed that it was a comet.
In the summer of this year also, … a pool welled with blood, as many true men said that should see it.
Before Michaelmas the heaven was of such an hue, as if it were burning, nearly all the night.
This year also, on the festival of St. Martin, the sea-flood sprung up to such a height, and did so much harm, as no man remembered that it ever did before.
And at Pentecost was seen in Berkshire at a certain town blood to well from the earth; as many said that should see it.
In this year … was seen blood [to rise] from the earth. This was a very calamitous year in this land, through manifold impositions, and through murrain of cattle, and deficiency of produce, not only in corn, but in every kind of fruit.
This year was the first day of Pentecost …; and on the Tuesday following were seen four circles at mid-day about the sun, of a white hue, each described under the other as if they were measured. All that saw it wondered; for they never remembered such before.
In the first week of Lent, on the Friday, …, in the evening appeared an unusual star; and a long time afterwards was seen every evening shining awhile. The star appeared in the south-west; it was thought little and dark; but the train of light which stood from it was very bright, and appeared like an immense beam shining north-east; and some evening this beam was seen as if it were moving itself forwards against the star. Some said that they saw more of such unusual stars at this time; but we do not write more fully about it, because we saw it not ourselves. On the night preceding the Lord’s Supper, that is, the Thursday before Easter, were seen two moons in the heavens before day, the one in the east, and the other in the west, both full; and it was the fourteenth day of the moon.
Many said that they saw sundry tokens in the moon this year, and its orb increasing and decreasing contrary to nature.
This year were very frequent storms of thunder, and very tremendous;
On the fifth night in the month of May appeared the moon shining bright in the evening, and afterwards by little and little its light diminished, so that, as soon as night came, it was so completely extinguished withal, that neither light, nor orb, nor anything at all of it was seen. And so it continued nearly until day, and then appeared shining full and bright. It was this same day a fortnight old. All the night was the firmament very clear, and the stars over all the heavens shining very bright. And the fruits of the trees were this night sorely nipt by frost. Afterwards, in the month of June, appeared a star north-east, and its train stood before it towards the south-west. Thus was it seen many nights; and as the night advanced, when it rose higher, it was seen going backward toward the north-west.
This year, in the latter end of May, was seen an uncommon star with a long train, shining many nights. In this year also was so great an ebb of the tide everywhere in one day, as no man remembered before; …. This year were very violent winds in the month of October; but it was immoderately rough in the night of the octave of St. Martin; and that was everywhere manifest both in town and country.
This year was the winter so severe, with snow and with frost, that no man who was then living ever remembered one more severe; in consequence of which there was great destruction of cattle.
This was a very vexatious and destructive year with respect to the fruits of the earth, through the immoderate rains that fell soon after the beginning of August, harassing and perplexing men till Candlemas-day. This year also was so deficient in mast, that there was never heard such in all this land….
And in the night of the third day before the ides of December was the moon, during a long time of the night, as if covered with blood, and afterwards eclipsed. Also in the night of the seventeenth day before the calends of January, was the heaven seen very red, as if it were burning. And on the octave of St. John the Evangelist was the great earthquake …; from the shock of which many minsters, and towers, and houses fell, and did much harm to men.
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