HALIFAX, Canada, March 2, 2003 — When a British newspaper broke the story that Sir Isaac Newton had calculated a definitive date the world would end, based on his study of Biblical prophecy, media around the globe reacted quickly. "The End is Nigh", and "World Ends in 57 Years!" read some of the headlines.
But the man who published an academic paper on Newton's theology, and who brought the date to light, says that while the year 2060, (pinpointed by Newton as the beginning of the end) is significant, it is so because of what it tells us about one of the foremost scientific intellects of all time.
"Most scientists have some sort of religious background or sentiment'
Dr. Stephen Snobelen noticed the date 2060 while studying Newton's manuscripts at the Jewish National Library in Jerusalem, and has since brought it to public attention.
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Dr. Stephen Snobelen is an assistant professor in the history of science and technology programme at University of King's College in Halifax. During a telephone interview with the Canadian Bible Society, he said that rather than make people laugh, what the date 2060 should do, is challenge them to reconsider their understanding of who Newton is, because we tend to think of the man as a scientist and nothing more.
"(It) is very counter-intuitive for people to think of Newton in terms of date setting and working in prophecy," said Snobelen. "Because there's this conception that science doesn't have anything to do with religion, and that's a very unfortunate conception," he added. "You can find all sorts of examples to disprove that. Historically and also today, most scientists have some sort of religious background or sentiment."
Newton (1642 - 1727) is best known for his work in the fields of mathematics and physics. He revealed many of the basic principles of how our universe works, known today as the laws of classical or Newtonian physics.
We know about Newton's science but not about his theology
"We all know about Newton's science," said Snobelen. "I mean that's part of popular consciousness. We know about the three laws of motion, the inverse-square law, the universal theory of gravitation. All that sort of stuff, we learned about at school.
"But we don't know about the theology, and that is because the theological manuscripts have been under wraps until recently."
The private manuscripts were deliberately kept private during Newton's lifetime, said Snobelen, because, by the standards of the day, Newton was a heretic. He denied the doctrine of the Trinity at a time when such a denial was illegal. After the scientist's death in 1727, Newton's relatives inherited the manuscripts, and kept them a closely guarded secret due to their shocking contents. Today, most of the manuscripts reside in institutions, but some remain in private hands.
From Newton's point of view, his was the true Biblical theology
One of only a handful of scholars worldwide who study Newton's theology, Snobelen began his personal study of the manuscripts in 1996, while he was living in England and working on his PhD at Cambridge. In 1998 he co-founded The Newton Project with a group of colleagues. The goal of the project is to transcribe most of the theological manuscripts, catalogue them, provide commentary and publish them on the Internet.
Snobelen said that based on his analysis of the manuscripts, the scientist actually spent as much, if not more time on theological studies. "Very few people had any idea of the wealth of the manuscripts. And it was only when I started working with the manuscripts in the mid-1990's that it really impacted me that Newton spent more time with theology than on science. It's quite stunning."
"He definitely has a doctrine of God and a doctrine of Christ. It's not Trinitarian; it's an alternative theology, but from Newton's point of view, it was the Biblical - the true Biblical theology. So, he didn't think he was a heretic. He thought everyone else belonged to that category."
Snobelen first came across the 2060 date in 1997, when he was reviewing microfilm at the Jewish National Library in Jerusalem, where many of the original manuscripts are also stored.
Newton was reluctant to commit to dates, believing failed dates discredit the Bible
| Snobelen explained how Newton devised his calculation. "In the book of Daniel you will find the time period 1260 days. And it appears there as 'a time, times, and a half', and that means a year, two years, and a half a year. In other words, 1260 days or 42 months. Newton interpreted the days as years, so that gave him 1260 years. The 1260 date (also) does appear in the Book of Revelation." These Biblical references can be found in Daniel 12:7, Revelation 11:3, 12:6 and 13:5. |
He admits the fact Newton committed to a specific date is remarkable, for the 17th century scientist was reluctant to do so, believing failed dates brought discredit to the Bible.
However, after more than 55 years of trying to decode the prophetic writings in Daniel and Revelation, Newton penned the figure 2060 as the year when the great apocalyptic events (Armageddon, etc.) would occur. He believed the period would be followed by a 1,000 year reign by the saints on Earth.
Snobelen explained how Newton devised his calculation. "In the book of Daniel you will find the time period 1260 days. And it appears there as 'a time, times, and a half", and that means a year, two years, and a half a year. In other words, 1260 days or 42 months. Newton interpreted the days as years, so that gave him 1260 years. The 1260 date (also) does appear in the Book of Revelation." These Biblical references can be found in Daniel 12:7, Revelation 11:3, 12:6 and 13:5.
Newton added the number 1260 to the year 800 A.D. to arrive at the conclusion the end would come in 2060. 800 A.D. was the time he believed marked the beginning of the apostasy of the church.
Newton was 'dead serious' when he made his calculations
The scientist was not just playing around when he made calculations based on his prophetic interpretations. Snobelen says Newton was in fact, "dead serious" and called such study, "a duty of the greatest moment."
Newton's prediction will be featured in a BBC documentary titled, Newton: The Dark Heretic, airing in Britain on Saturday and in North America some time next year.
For more information on the Newton Project, visit: www.newtonproject.ic.ac.uk .
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