Uh-Oh!

You have probably never heard of Michael Stifel but he was a famous man in 1533. He was a German Monk, mathematician, and inventor of early forms of logarithms. It was he who coined the term “exponent.” That is pretty impressive, but that is not why this article is called “Uh-Oh.” To know that you need to read the rest of the story.

Mr. Stifel wrote a book called, “A Book of Arithmetic about the AntiChrist. A Revelation in the Revelation.” In it Stifel mathematically “proved” that the end of the world and Judgment Day would come at 8am on October 18, 1533. Now you know why the title of this article is “Uh-Oh.”

One cannot help wondering what people were thinking at 7:59 on that October 18 morning. We can only guess what they were thinking, but for any Christian living at that time, Jesus tells them what they should be thinking.

“If anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” – Matthew 24:26

There will always be false prophets who think they know when the Lord is coming back but that ought not matter to a Christian. We should live our lives like Jesus is coming today!

The end of the story of Mr. Stifel is interesting and predictable. Because of his prediction, many of the townsfolk did not plant crops or store food that year. As October 18 arrived some people burned their homes and possessions. After the day passed and the Lord did not come, Mr. Stifel had to be taken into protective custody. Villagers outside his cell chanted death threats. That is the interesting part.

Here is the predictable part: After his prediction failed, Michael Stifel did not make any more predictions. I am glad he was able to learn from his mistakes. I hope the villagers also learned and lived each day like it could be the day that Jesus comes again. I pray that you and I live that way also.

Lonnie Davis

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