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THIS IS HOW ISAAC NEWTON PREDICTED THE END OF
THE WORLD
By CHRIS LITTLECHILD
History - Science
Isaac Newton was particularly fascinated with the Bible's books of Revelation and Daniel, and he grappled with the concept of an approaching apocalypse. Apparently, Newton broke it down into something logical and predicted when the world would end by using the enigmatic words of the Bible as a guide — and it doesn't look as though we have much time left.
In 1969, the discovery of a particularly alarming piece among Newton’s mysterious scribblings suggested that he had apparently calculated when the world would end by studying Daniel. Newton wrote that "the ruin of the wicked nations, the end of weeping and of all troubles" would happen in the year 2060.
Newton came to the conclusion by the passage: "Sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; [...] all these things shall be finished." The wording “time, times, and a half” allowed Newton to determine that the timescale was a period of 1260 days that he adapted to mean 1260 years — but the world would end 1260 years from when?
Newton wrote that A.D. 800 (the year Charlemagne created the Holy Roman Empire) would be a perfect year to begin counting from, and adding 1260 years brings us to 2060. However, Newton also noted that the end could come later, suggesting that A.D. 800 may not have been the year that marked the beginning of the end after all.