Everywhere the faithful are gathering in churches, in meadows, and on hilltops. Preparations have been underway for a long time, and many have given away their possessions and renounced all worldly pursuits in anticipation of a truly momentous and altogether historic event. All the signs and portents are in full agreement; there can be no mistake. Jesus is returning to Earth today!

… Except then, Jesus doesn’t.

Disillusioned and heartbroken, the believers are left to face an all-too-familiar world of pain and sorrow -- which will include widespread derision on the part of unbelievers who Just Don’t Get It. The year is 1844, and followers of William Miller have just endured what will soon come to be called “The Great Disappointment,” yet another failed prediction of the end of the world.

The Great Disappointment was neither the first nor (by a long shot) the last prediction of the End Times. For example, the earliest Christians firmly believed that Christ would return to Earth quickly -- probably within their lifetimes; and certain Roman Catholic thought-leaders variously believed that the End would occur 666 years after the founding of Islam and/or that the son of Protestant Reformer Martin Luther and his wife was probably the Antichrist. Possibly anticipating such upbeat cinematic fare as Armageddon and Deep Impact, eighteenth century theologian William Whiston predicted a catastrophic collision between the Earth and a comet. In fact, the Muslims, the Shakers, the Mormons, and mainstream Christians of every stripe have all produced, at one time or another, detailed End-Times narratives, and by the time Hal Lindsey published his runaway bestseller The Late Great Planet Earth (which outlined in loving detail what humanity could expect and when, apocalypse-wise) in 1970, literally dozens of Earthly expiration dates had come and gone… with plenty more still ahead.

Most recently, the beginning of the End was slated for May 21, 2011, a date that passed -- just like all those others -- without noticeable incident for most people. Harold Camping, the California evangelist most responsible for circulating the May 21 date, now claims to have made an unfortunate error in calculations and has rescheduled the Apocalypse for October. But if he happens to be wrong again (as his track record would suggest is likely) we can always look forward to the end of world in December 2012, as foretold (apparently) by the ancient Mayans.

Many authors have adopted “the end of the world” as a theme, and many of the resulting books are among the classics of science fiction. (Others are… not among the classics. You’ll see.) Some detail the efforts of a plucky band of survivors to rebuild after an apocalyptic event; war, disease, environmental catastrophe, and overwhelming vampire/zombie infestation are popular catalysts for the events of these novels. Others end in a more uncompromising fashion, particularly those that deal with the End Times as anticipated by some evangelical Christians, Matthew 24:36 (“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only”) notwithstanding. In these novels, of course, the focus is less on who will be saved than on who will be Saved. (Bare-bones version: Believers are gathered up bodily into Heaven in the Rapture; there follows a period of Tribulation, during which the Antichrist rises to prominence, leading to a massive war that culminates in a decisive battle at Mount Megiddo -- hence, “Armaggedon” -- whereupon Christ returns, some go to Heaven, and some… don’t. There’s more, but that’s basically it in a nutshell.)

In the unlikely event that you’re completely unfamiliar with the Christian end-times subgenre, a representative example -- Carol Balizet’s gleefully apocalyptic The Seven Last Years -- can be read here for free. This one scared the ever-loving crap out of your writer back in the 70’s. (Look, I was twelve when I read it, okay?) More recently… well, certain aspects of the novel do tend to give one pause. For example: The book begins when one of the protagonists, an amateur beekeeper, visits another amateur beekeeper to see if they can figure out why all the bees are dying -- later cited as a portent of the coming Tribulation. Now, in 2011, guess what? All the bees are dying. Coincidence… or harbinger of the End Times? [Or an M. Night Shyamalan movie? – Ed.]

For your entertainment -- if you’re in the mood for a little light reading -- is a sampling of apocalyptic literature from Biblical times to the present. A word to the wise: Even the most cheerful among these end ambiguously -- which is to be expected, given the subject matter -- and some are outright depressing. However, a few books in the “plucky band of survivors” subgenre are included; we here at Geek Speak don’t like to depress our readers too badly. (Note: The focus here is on reading material; otherwise, you would see a lot more about the nightmare-inducing 1983 miniseries The Day After, the Terminator movies, and that weird John Cusack 2012 thing that came out a couple of years ago, not to mention Supernatural and the Noah Wyle vehicle Falling Skies, premiering on TNT as I write this.) So read on to see whether your favorite author envisions the world ending with a bang, a whimper… or a vampire invasion.

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The Book of Revelation
John the Apostle (attributed), 1st Century A.D.

Instrument of the Apocalypse: Nothing less than the second coming of Christ.

Summary: Considered the ur-Text of the End Times, the Book of Revelation -- the final book in the New Testament -- is full of vivid symbolism and nightmarish imagery. All your old favorites are here: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Seven Seals, the Lake of Fire, the Whore of Babylon, the Number of the Beast, and of course the Antichrist. Some scholars interpret the text literally and believe that it specifically prophesies the End Times; many more find it largely symbolic; a few (including Thomas Jefferson, interestingly) have considered it the output of a disordered mind (I believe “ravings of a maniac” may have been Jefferson’s exact words); pretty much no one really knows for sure what it all means. The book’s influence, however, is undeniable.

On Screen? Not specifically, but it has directly or indirectly inspired all sorts of art and literature.

Quote: 

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

-- King James Bible: Rev. 12: 1-6

Theologus Autodidactus
Ibn al-Nafis, 13th century

Instrument of the Apocalypse: “Diminution and disappearance of the lateral deviation of the sun” subsequent to the death of the Last Prophet.

Summary: Visions of the end of the world are not unique to Christianity. The Arab physician Ala-al-din abu Al-Hassan Ali ibn Abi-Hazm al-Qarshi al-Dimashqi, known (thankfully) as Ibn al-Nafis, wrote his particular vision down in the final chapters of his Theologus Autodidactus, which is the story of one Kamil, who is not born of woman but is spontaneously generated in an isolated cave. Eventually, using his own powers of reason and deduction, Kamil reaches specific conclusions about the existence and nature of the philosophical and religious truths of the universe. He also predicts the end of the world in colorful and sometimes rather… unexpected detail (among other things, most of the men will die in war, so “female homosexuality” will run rampant). Although at heart it’s really more of a philosophical treatise, many also consider the Theologus to be one of the earliest science fiction novels, and it’s certainly worth checking out.

Fun fact: Ibn al-Nafis was quite an impressive fellow. Not only did he produce several influential medical texts, but he was also an expert in theology and law. Today, he’s best remembered for his discovery and detailed description of pulmonary circulation.

On Screen? Yeah, no.

Quote:

When the lateral deviation of the sun becomes nil, the heat in the regions near the equator will become very intense and there will be many fires, especially in those countries which are cavernous and sulphurous. Then a fire will start in Yemen and spread over all regions near the equator. There will be much smoke and this will produce unhealthy winds, thunderstorms, and terrific lightning, and there will be many frightening signs in the air…[G]reat parts of the surface of the earth will break down, the mountains will collapse and become flat, and water will become very scarce, as it will flow near to the equator on account of the subsidence there, and will evaporate by the power of the heat.

The Last Man
Mary Shelley, 1826

Instrument of the Apocalypse: A particularly nasty plague.

Summary: Part futuristic science fiction novel (the book is set in the late 21st century, which closely resembles the early 19th century, except the British monarchy has been abolished), part melodrama, part political commentary, and part thinly-disguised autobiography -- the main characters are based heavily on Shelley and her husband and friends -- The Last Man relates the many adventures of one Lionel Verney and his circle. Through the friendship of Adrian, son of the last (abdicated) King of England, Lionel evolves from a sullen and obnoxious young tough into a principled and noble man who wins the heart and hand of Adrian’s sister. But then a terrible plague overtakes the world, and the body count starts to rise… and rise and rise and rise.

Overall, Shelley is more interested in speculating on the political scene in Britain circa 2092 than she is in painting an compelling picture of what the future might actually look like. However, there are a few nice apocalyptic touches, including a “black sun” that causes widespread panic and a fanatical religious sect led by a man known as the Imposter who evokes the Antichrist quite effectively.

On Screen? Contemporary critics savaged The Last Man, and it was largely ignored by the public until the 1960s. The film industry followed suit; a little-known, poorly-reviewed adaptation, which appears to have been very loosely based on the novel, came and went without fanfare in 2008.

Quote:

Yet, will not this world be re-peopled, and the children of a saved pair of lovers, in some to me unknown and unattainable seclusion, wandering to these prodigious relics of the ante-pestilential race, seek to learn how beings so wondrous in their achievements, with imaginations infinite, and powers godlike, had departed from their home to an unknown country? I will write and leave in this most ancient city, this “world’s sole monument,” a record of these things. I will leave a monument of the existence of Verney, the Last Man.