The Year of the Beast
Fifth Monarchists and Pamphleteers Eyed 1666 — Millennium Plus 666 — for Christ's Earthly Kingdom
Plague and the Great Fire made the year infamous; Venner's rising had already failed, and King Jesus did not take the throne.
What was claimed (paraphrase)
1666 was an ominous date for Christians, comprising a millennium since Christ and the number of the beast, 666; calculations abounded that the year could herald the end of the world or the return of Jesus.
— Fifth Monarchy Men and 1666 millenarian pamphleteers · said 1660 · due 1666
1666 brought plague aftershocks and the Great Fire of London — not Christ's Fifth Monarchy on Earth. Venner's earlier rising had already failed; the year of the beast did not deliver the saints' kingdom.
The Story
Add a thousand to the number of the beast and English radicals got a calendar year. Fifth Monarchists wanted King Jesus after four ungodly empires; pamphleteers filled stalls with 1666 math. Plague and fire arrived fashionably on time. The Fifth Kingdom did not. Sometimes the metaphor is just a bad year.
Receipts
Movement was split on exact dating; covers the widely held 1666 millenarian reading (Wellcome) plus Fifth Monarchist expectation of Christ's physical reign (BCW). Paraphrase, not a single tract line.
- Devilry and doom in 1666 — Charlotte Sleigh, Wellcome Collection (Jan. 27, 2022)accessed 2026-10-24
- The Fifth Monarchists — BCW Projectaccessed 2026-10-24
As of Oct 25, 2026
since it didn't happen
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