The World Ends 500 Years After Christ
Hippolytus of Rome, c. 204 AD: Count 500 Years From Christ's Birth 'and Thus the End Shall Be'
An early church theologian put Christ's birth in the year 5500 of the world, so the 6,000-year age would close around AD 500. It was meant to calm those expecting the end sooner.
What was said
“From the birth of Christ, then, we must reckon the 500 years that remain to make up the 6000, and thus the end shall be.”
— Hippolytus of Rome (theologian and presbyter) · said 204 · due Around AD 500 (year 6000 from creation)
The year 500 passed. The Roman Empire in the West had already fallen (476), but the world continued and the 6,000-year count was quietly pushed back by later chronologers.
The Story
English translation from the Ante-Nicene Fathers. The reasoning in the same passage: 'For the first appearance of our Lord in the flesh took place in Bethlehem, under Augustus, in the year 5500... And 6,000 years must needs be accomplished, in order that the Sabbath may come.'
The commentary is usually dated to about 202-204. Compare columbus-end-1656 and newton-2060, which used the same 6,000-year frame.
As of Oct 9, 2026
since it didn't happen
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