Is This the End?

Early Christians thought this apocalyptic return of Jesus was right around the corner, likely in their own lifetimes. But Christians didn’t have a monopoly on apocalypse. In 448, Moses of Crete, a rabbi, claimed to be the Messiah as predicted by Talmudic calculations and led his followers to the sea, which was supposed to part so they could reach Palestine. Having given away all their possessions, the rabbi’s followers cast themselves into the Mediterranean. Seeing them crash on the rocks or drown, the rabbi declined to follow and “suddenly disappeared,” leading some to conclude he had been “some malignant fiend” in human form.