A small remnant are sure the end times began in 2020 with lockdowns and vaccinations, and that a specific period of tribulation, including a global Sunday law and death decree, is expected in September 2025 or early 2026. Some believe this sequence will culminate in 2027, while others argue these events signal the end to be 2032 or 2033. There are many variations stemming from ambiguity in terms such as, the “little time of trouble” or the “time of trouble such as never was.” These interpretations often rely on complex calculations and selective readings of proof-texts, which overshadow the core message of the Gospel.
This discussion briefly examines how individuals, both historically and today, set such dates, the arguments they employ, and how these efforts divert focus from Jesus’ message of salvation. What is most concerning is that the repetitive practice of date-setting can lead to long-term mental health challenges in followers. While initially appearing benign, this behaviour can undermine the psychological well-being of individuals who fervently track each new prediction or speculation.
𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
Some Christians argue that while Jesus said no one knows “the day or the hour” (Matthew 24:36), this only prohibits pinpointing an exact date, not a broader timeframe like a year. They claim that by studying diverse biblical signs, the year of Christ’s return can be known. Others assert that Jesus’ caution only applied to His disciples at the time, not to future believers who would receive new revelations. Many point to Ellen G. White, who, after the 1844 Millerite disappointment, stated there would be no more time prophecies since the world was already in the last days. Thus, specific dates like 2025 or 2027 are framed not as prophecies but as fulfillments of prophecy and therefore knowable.
Another argument is that God reveals hidden truths to His “remnant” at the appointed time. Citing Daniel 12:4, where the prophet is told to “seal the book until the time of the end,” some claim that this time has arrived, and previously concealed prophecies are now unsealed, revealing exact dates. These revelations are supposedly clear to the righteous but hidden from the “wicked”.
Ellen G. White described the second coming of Jesus, and end of the world “and then the Jubilee” – Through intricate calculations and interpretations tailored to current events, some believe she gave infallible proof that the second coming will be at the beginning of the Jubilee of Jubilees, or Great Jubilee. They believe they know the exact date.
[calculations based on assumptions of when and how many jubilees have elapsed since whatever starting date they decide to assume. Some people say the 50th year is a Jubilee, others the 49th etc]
𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
Christian history is rife with failed attempts to predict the end. Martin Luther, for instance, believed the world would end by 1600. From as early as 400 AD, “no later than” dates were frequently proposed, often tied to the end of centuries. These predictions were made by prophets, mathematicians, and Bible scholars who believed they had unlocked divine secrets or, in some cases, exploited followers for profit with each subsequent prediction.
Despite Jesus’ clear statement that no one knows the time, many earnest Christians have been swayed by apocalyptic fervor. John Wesley predicted the end would be 1836, while 18th-century European clerics fuelled interest in Daniel and Revelation through scholarly journals like the London Christian Observer, which was reprinted in America. This set the stage for the Millerite movement, whose leaders, including future Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) founders, repeatedly set dates between 1843 and 1845. Their predictions—March 21, 1843, April 28, 1843, December 31, 1843, March 21, 1844, April 18, 1844, and the infamous October 22, 1844—relied on non-contextual interpretations (eisegesis) to justify their expectations. When these failed, they rationalized the errors as divine tests, citing scriptures like Ezekiel 12:22 or Habakkuk 2:2-3.
After the 1844 “Great Disappointment,” some Millerites, particularly the Sabbath and Shut Door Adventists, believed salvation was closed to all but their group. This led to further date-setting, including June and October 1845, and continued revisions until at least 1854. These predictions often sparked intense religious fervor, with creative proof-texting to explain failures. Over time, the focus shifted from exclusive salvation to cautious evangelism, but the reliance on eisegesis combined with current events—wars, famines, pestilences, persisting as evidence of imminent doom.
𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗚. 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
Ellen G. White’s visions reflected the urgency of time. In 1848, she declared the “time of trouble” had begun. On January 31, 1849 she warned about the risk of gazing too far into the future;
“Some are looking too far off for the coming of the Lord. Time has continued a few years longer than they expected; therefore they think it may continue a few years more, and in this way their minds are being led from the present truth, out after the world. In these things I saw great danger; for if the mind is filled with other things, present truth is shut out, and there is no place in our foreheads for the seal of the living God. I saw that the time for Jesus to be in the Most Holy Place was nearly finished and that time can last but a very little longer.” [Broadside2 January 31, 1849, par. 11]. [ https://text.egwwritings.org/read/509.1 ]
Additionally, in 1849, amid a cholera epidemic, Ellen G. White warned of escalating pestilence as signs of the end. By 1850, she proclaimed the “sealing time” was nearly over and that “time is almost finished,”(the angel told her while they had years, others only have months) predicting Christ’s return within months, specifically by 1851. After that failure, she focussed on a new date of 1854, emphasizing the “shortness of time.” When 1854 passed, Adventist predictions became less specific but retained a sense of urgency.
[While a cholera epidemic raged, she said “God has shown me that he gave his people a bitter cup to drink…” and that God will send “another and another” until the bitter cups have their desired effect. She continued “What we have seen and heard of the pestilence, is but the beginning of what we shall see and hear. Soon the dead and dying will be all around us…”]
White’s visions, influenced by her Shouting Methodist background, groaning, shouting and falling down – slain by the spirit (lengthy, loud and chaotic) contrasted with the conservative approach of her husband, James White, and co-founder Joseph Bates. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, which they established, while moving away from explicit date-setting, retained an apocalyptic worldview, continuing to be shaped by proof-texting and current events.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
Many Adventist predictions, including those of William Miller, relied on James Ussher’s chronology, which dated creation to 4004 BC based on the Masoretic text. Alternative texts, like the Septuagint, suggest different dates (e.g., 5554 BC), highlighting the variability in such calculations. The “Great Week of Time” theory, popularised to Adventists (in Review & Herald) by John N. Andrews in 1883, posits that human history spans 6,000 years, with Christ’s return, no later than 1899, marking the start of a seventh-millennium “Sabbath.”
This theory persists in modern Adventist thought, as seen in G. Edward Reid’s 1994 book “Even at the Door” (published by Review & Herald), which argued that the world would end by 2000 based on the 6,000-year timeline and signs from Matthew 24. Reid, like others, hedged his predictions, claiming he wasn’t setting an exact date while confidently asserting the end was imminent. When 2000 passed without incident, he reframed the timeline, suggesting the seventh millennium had begun and that current events (often U.S.-centric) confirmed his theory. Despite these failures, Reid remains influential in Adventist circles, contributing to Sabbath School lessons as recently as 2023.
[Reid was main contributor to quarterly on Stewardship, 1st quarter, 2023 – “Managing for the Master, Till He Comes“]
The influence of David Reid in Adventist circles and his contributions to the official Sabbath School lesson quarterly suggest that end-time forecasting remains deeply embedded in the DNA of the SDA Church. Despite Ellen G. White’s warnings to others against predicting specific dates for the Second Coming, her own practices create ambiguity. As previously mentioned, White wrote that an angel told her that what Adventists had taken years to learn, others would have only months to grasp. Her angel warned, “But now time is almost finished, and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in a few months.”(“Early Writings“, p. 67, 1850).
Similarly, the official view of the church that the world would end before 1900, and Ellen G. White’s 1856 vision where her angel declared that some at a conference would be “food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus” (“Testimonies for the Church”, vol. 1, p. 131-132), imply an expectation of Christ’s return within the lifetime of those present, most of whom died before 1900. This vision, in hindsight claimed to be conditional, but coupled with her fierce emphasis on the nearness of the end, as seen in her writings like “time is almost finished” (Early Writings, p. 64), continued to fuel a sense of frantic urgency.
Historian George R. Knight notes in “A Search for Identity: The Development of Seventh-day Adventist Beliefs” wrote,
“The early Adventists, including Ellen G. White, lived with the constant expectation that Christ would return in their lifetime. This sense of imminence shaped their preaching, their mission, and their personal lives.” (2000, p. 67)
This urgency is further evidenced this year by the General Conference’s decision at the 2025 Session in St. Louis to distribute copies of the book “Last Day Events”, a compilation of White’s end-times writings to all delegates (Adventist Today, July 4, 2025). White’s stance, condemning date-setting in others, while subtly engaging in it herself, explains the persistent pattern of devout Adventists setting dates for Christ’s return, continuing end-time forecasting as a part of the SDA Church’s culture.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗻𝗱-𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
While not an addiction in the clinical sense, end-time forecasting in the SDA Church exhibits addictive characteristics due to its emotional rewards, communal reinforcement, cognitive biases, and the unresolved tension in Ellen White’s teachings. The thrill of anticipating the Second Coming, coupled with the church’s eschatological culture, creates a self-perpetuating cycle that keeps devout Adventists returning to the habit of forecasting speculative timelines.
Apologists who posit that what Ellen G. White wrote before the church was officially formed in 1863 is somehow less relevant than what she wrote in later years are being farcically selective. The church teaches that when she says, “I was shown” or “my angel…” or similar, that this was God directly speaking to her. Choosing which visions to take seriously and when to believe her angel, excusing by saying, “that was before the church was organised“, just plays into the cognitive biases of those desperately trying to feed their addiction.
𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵
The persistent focus on end-times obviously distracts from the Gospel’s core message of salvation through Christ. By prioritising speculative timelines and proof-texts, proponents foster fear rather than faith, alienating outsiders with sensational claims of Sunday laws and death decrees. While these ideas energise a small group, they often undermine the broader mission of sharing Jesus’ love and grace.
Repeated cycles of this type of dysfunction is not helpful and clearly misrepresents God. The accompanying disappointment can erode trust in religious leaders, scriptures, or personal faith, leading to existential crises or spiritual burnout. For some, this may result in leaving the SDA Church, which can disrupt social networks and identity, further impacting mental health. Ronald L. Numbers notes in “Prophetess of Health” (2008, p. 45) that the Millerite disappointment left lasting psychological scars on early Adventists, a pattern that may recur with modern end-time predictions. Chronic engagement in this cycle, driven by the “addictive” pull of eschatological speculation, can contribute to long-term mental health challenges, including generalized anxiety or depressive disorders.
While it can offer temporary purpose and community, the anxiety, cognitive dissonance, emotional volatility, and social isolation it fosters often outweigh these benefits. The “addictive” nature of date-setting, driven by emotional highs, communal reinforcement, and the need to resolve prophetic ambiguity—can trap believers in a cycle of anticipation and disappointment, with potential long-term consequences for mental well-being.
By prioritising eschatological speculation, end-time speculation risks distorting the gospel’s emphasis on present spiritual growth and relationships with God and others. As George R. Knight observes, early Adventists’ belief in an imminent Second Coming shaped their mission but often at the cost of broader gospel priorities (“A Search for Identity,” 2000, p. 67). Recognising this misalignment is critical, as the gospel of Jesus calls for a life of trust and compassion, not a preoccupation with dates that can harm mental health and spiritual balance.
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