2060

From: scerir (scerir@libero.it)
Date: Mon Feb 24 2003 - 15:48:18 MST

  • Next message: Michael M. Butler: "ARTS/CULTURE: hybrid performances: Serkis/Smeagol"

    Tom Arnold
    'National Post'

    Monday, February 24, 2003

    *Newton suspected world was going to end in 2060*

    http://www.nationalpost.com/search/site/story.asp?
    id=4B8FD725-D2C2-452D-BD2B-1496078DB065

    A Canadian researcher has unearthed a handwritten manuscript revealing Sir
    Isaac Newton predicted the world will end in the year 2060.

    After more than 55 years of trying to decode the Bible, Newton concluded
    that Armageddon -- a last great battle of global repercussions with plagues,
    war, return of Christ, end of time -- would occur more than 300 years after
    his death, in 1727. He said it would be followed by a 1,000-year reign by
    the saints on Earth.

    The manuscript was found by Stephen Snobelen, assistant professor in the
    history of science and technology programme at University of King's College
    in Halifax.

    The discovery will be featured in a BBC documentary airing in Britain and
    Israel on Saturday. Newton: The Dark Heretic is not scheduled to be
    broadcast in North America until next year.

    Newton won immortality for formulating the law of gravity, but he was also a
    theologian who wrote well over a million words on biblical subjects and was
    influenced by Hebrew scripture, according to academic articles on his work.

    Newton's selection of a date is considered significant because he rarely
    pinpointed important time frames. "Newton argued that this brought discredit
    to Christianity and the Bible and so he said you shouldn't set dates," Mr.
    Snobelen said yesterday. "So the fact that he actually seems to have caved
    into the temptation of setting dates itself is spectacular and rather
    stunning.

    "He was a scholar who in many respects was very cautious.... He was not
    running around the streets telling people the sky is falling or anything
    like that," he added.

    In Newton's own words, likely written near the end of his life, he stated:
    "This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put
    a stop to the rash conjectures of fancifull men who are frequently
    predicting the time of the end, & by doing so bring the sacred prophesies
    into discredit as often as their predictions fail."

    Many consider Newton the most influential scientist who ever lived. His
    accomplishments in mathematics, physics and optics laid the foundation for
    modern science and, in turn, revolutionized the world.

    Newton (1642-1727) studied the Bible for most of his life, trying to unravel
    what he believed were God's secret laws of the universe. He was trying to
    determine the code to unlock secrets of the New Testament's Book of
    Revelation: when Armageddon will occur, along with the second coming of
    Christ, Jews returning to Israel and the rebuilding of the Temple.

    He noted a number of time periods are listed in the Book of Daniel from the
    Old Testament. One of these is 1,260 days, which Newton interpreted as 1,260
    years, based on a day-per-year principle. The time frame is one in which
    Newton interpreted to stand for a period when the church (Orthodox, Roman
    Catholic and Anglican) would be mired in deep corruption.

    In his attempt to decode the mind of God, Newton determined that 1260 date
    actually began in 800 AD, a time when the Roman Catholic church was given
    political power over countries. He then added 1260 to 800 to arrive at the
    date of 2060 for the Apocalypse. It is mentioned twice in his manuscripts.

    "I think a lot of people are going to read the 2060 date with some interest
    because Newton is very respected," Mr. Snobelen said. "There may be a sense
    that he got the science right, maybe he got the prophesy right, too.

    "It represents a lifetime, something like 55 to 60 years, of scouring the
    Book of Revelation and trying to determine what God was telling mankind
    about the future."

    Thousands of Newton's theological papers, which remained in a trunk in the
    house of the Earl of Portsmouth for 250 years, were sold by Sotheby's in the
    late 1930s.

    John Maynard Keynes, the economist, bought many and when he died he donated
    the manuscripts to his alma mater, King's College, Cambridge.

    Much of the remaining material went to Abraham Yahuda. Stored at the Jewish
    National Library in Jerusalem, it is the largest collection of Newton's
    works, some 4,500 pages with very small handwriting and some scribbling. It
    is among these documents that the date was found. Mr. Snobelen made the
    discovery several years ago but the issue never became public.

    tarnold@nationalpost.com

    © Copyright 2003 National Post



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Feb 24 2003 - 15:50:01 MST