“Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets” (Quran 33:40). The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was the last of the prophets, so anyone who claimed a new prophethood after him is measured against that verse. Others set dates for the end of the world and watched them pass. This section sets out, with sources, who claimed what and what happened.
Said the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) spoke through him. With Prisca and Maximilla he led the “New Prophecy” and declared Pepuza the New Jerusalem.
Maximilla said, “After me there will no longer be a prophet, but the end.” The end did not come in her lifetime. (Disputed: scholars debate whether “the end” meant the end of the age or the end of prophecy in the movement.)
Called himself an apostle of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) and the last in the line of prophets. The “last prophet” wording rests on al-Biruni, a later source, and is contested.
Claim of final prophethood and of founding a universal religion to replace the others. The religion died out as a living religion. The claim of being the last prophet conflicts with Quran 33:40, which calls Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) the last of the prophets.
Claimed prophethood alongside Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and is said to have composed rhymed prose in imitation of revelation.
He led a tribal rebellion in the Ridda wars and was killed at the Battle of Yamama in 632. His movement ended.
At the age of 64 claimed she was pregnant with the new Messiah, the Shiloh of Genesis 49:10.
The planned delivery date of 19 Oct 1814 passed and Shiloh did not appear. She died on 26 Dec 1814. Two small groups still practice her teaching.
Claimed to have restored the church of Christ through angelic visitations and to have translated the Book of Mormon. Called himself prophet, seer and revelator.
1832: the temple at Independence, Missouri would be built in “this generation.” It was not. (Disputed: a 1835 statement that Christ’s coming was fifty-six years away is called speculation, not a revealed date, by Latter-day Saint scholars.)
After visions, concluded he was the younger brother of Jesus (peace be upon him) and God’s second son.
With Nanjing under siege he told his subjects to eat weeds and said God would defend the city. He died on 1 Jun 1864 and Qing forces took the city weeks later. The claim of being Christ’s brother and a divine son conflicts with the Islamic and Christian understanding of prophethood.
Declared in 1844 that he was the gate (Bab) to the Hidden Imam. Later claimed to be the Qa’im/Mahdi and to bring a new revelation that abrogated the law of Islam.
The claim of a new revelation conflicts with Quran 33:40. The expected swift transformation of Iran did not occur. He was executed by firing squad at Tabriz on 9 Jul 1850.
In 1863 announced a revelation from God as “He whom God shall make manifest,” a new Messenger of God after Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
The claim of a new Messenger after the Seal of the Prophets is set against Quran 33:40. No dated failed prophecy is established. Baha’is hold the claim to be true.
Adventists accept her visions as the gift of prophecy. She wrote: “I regard myself as a messenger, entrusted by the Lord with messages for His people.”
1856: she wrote that an angel said some of those at a conference would still be alive to be translated at the coming of Jesus (peace be upon him). All present have since died. (Disputed: Adventist scholars offer explanations, including conditionality.)
Claimed to be the Mujaddid, then the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. Qadiani Ahmadis hold that he received a subordinate prophethood; Lahori Ahmadis hold he was a renewer, not a prophet.
1893 prophecy that Abdullah Atham would die within fifteen months. The window closed in September 1894 with Atham alive. (Disputed: Ahmadi sources say it was conditional on repentance and that Atham repented.)
Preached in Detroit from 1930 under several aliases. The Nation of Islam’s later teaching, taught by Elijah Muhammad, holds that he was Allah in person.
He disappeared around 1934 after repeated arrests and death threats. (Disputed: the divinity claim is Nation of Islam doctrine and is not shown to be Fard’s own words.)
Claimed to be a prophet and wrote the Circle Seven Koran, a text unrelated to the Quran of Islam.
His “Koran” is a separate text and not Islamic revelation. He died on 20 Jul 1929 and the movement splintered.
Founded the Iglesia ni Cristo. From 1922 taught that he was the angel from the East of Revelation 7:2. Adherents believe he is the last prophet of God in the final days.
The claim of being the last prophet or messenger contradicts Quran 33:40, which calls Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) the seal of the prophets.
Called himself the Messenger of Allah and taught that Allah appeared in person as Fard.
The claim of being a messenger of Allah after Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is set against Quran 33:40. The claim that Fard was God and would return did not occur.
Claimed to be a prophet. Followers call his sermons “The Message.”
1965: “I PREDICT (I do not prophesy) that these visions will have all come to pass by 1977.” The year 1977 passed.
Claimed that on 7 October 1975 one of the Elohim took him to another planet. Founded the Raelian Movement, an international UFO religion.
No dated failed prediction is on record. The movement continues.
Told his followers he had achieved enlightenment and been given a “special mission” to preach “real Buddhism” in Japan. Founded the doomsday sect Aum Shinrikyo.
Convicted of masterminding the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack (14 killed). Sentenced to death in 2004 and executed on 6 Jul 2018.
| Name | Dates | Tradition | Claim | Failed prophecy or false claim | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Jones | 13 May 1931 to 18 Nov 1978 | Peoples Temple (USA, Guyana) | Claimed to be the reincarnation of Father Divine; blended Pentecostal authority with Marxist-Leninist rhetoric Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | In 1961 warned his congregation of visions of a nuclear attack on Indianapolis; none came. On 18 Nov 1978 he led a mass murder-suicide at Jonestown, Guyana, killing 909 people | Died at Jonestown |
| David Koresh (Vernon Howell) | 17 Aug 1959 to 19 Apr 1993 | Branch Davidians (USA) | Claimed to be the group’s final prophet; taught on Revelation and the Seven Seals Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Apocalyptic teaching of a final confrontation; the 51-day Waco siege ended with the compound destroyed by fire on 19 Apr 1993 and Koresh dead | Died at Mount Carmel |
| Lodowicke Muggleton and John Reeve | Muggleton 1609 to 1698; Reeve d. 1658 | Muggletonians (England) | Claimed to be the two witnesses of Revelation 11 Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Imprisoned for blasphemy; the sect survived until the death of its last follower in 1979 | Movement extinct |
| Nongqawuse | 1841 to 1898 | Xhosa prophetess (South Africa) | Claimed that ancestors would rise and drive out the white man if the Xhosa killed their cattle and destroyed their crops Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | The promised miracle did not happen; by early 1858 about 40,000 had starved and over 400,000 cattle were slaughtered (Xhosa cattle-killing movement) | Imprisoned and later lived under supervision; died c. 1898 |
| Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles | 1931 to 1997; 1927 to 1985 | Heaven’s Gate (USA) | Identified themselves as the two witnesses of the Book of Revelation Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Said Comet Hale-Bopp’s approach in 1997 meant the time to leave Earth; 39 members died in coordinated ritual suicides at its closest approach | Applewhite died with the group in March 1997 |
| Elizabeth Clare Prophet | 1939 to 2009 | Church Universal and Triumphant (USA) | Claimed to receive messages from “Ascended Masters” as a Messenger Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Beginning 15 Mar 1990, hundreds of followers waited in bomb shelters for a predicted nuclear attack; no attack came | Died 2009 |
| Rashad Khalifa | 19 Nov 1935 to 31 Jan 1990 | Egyptian-American biochemist; United Submitters International (USA) | Declared himself a divine messenger who communicated with Gabriel. Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Claiming a divine messenger role and rejecting verses conflicts with Quran 33:40 and the preservation of the Quran as understood by mainstream scholarship | Found stabbed to death on 31 Jan 1990 |
| Catholic Apostolic Church (Edward Irving) Partly documented | 1830s to 1901 | Christian (England) | Founded after Edward Irving; held that Christ would return in the lifetime of its twelve apostles Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | The last apostle, Francis Valentine Woodhouse, died in 1901 and Christ had not returned; the church dwindled | Movement died out |
| Wovoka (Jack Wilson) Partly documented | c. 1856 to 20 Sep 1932 | Ghost Dance, Paiute prophet (USA) | Claimed a vision in 1889 that the dead would return and the settlers vanish if people danced the Ghost Dance Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Promised restoration did not occur. The Lakota belief that ghost shirts stopped bullets was not part of his own teaching; at Wounded Knee on 29 Dec 1890 at least 145 died (Encyclopedia of the Great Plains); his message was peaceful | Died 1932 |
| Alice Lakwena (Alice Auma) | 1956 to 2007 | Holy Spirit Movement (Uganda) | Claimed to channel the spirit Lakwena (“messenger”) and led a rebellion from 1986 to 1987 Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Her movement was defeated in Nov 1987; she fled and said Lakwena had left her; she lived in the Ifo refugee camp in Kenya until her death | Died in Kenya in 2007 |
| Hananiah son of Azzur | c. 594 BCE | Hebrew Bible (Judah) | A prophet from Gibeon who spoke “in the name of the LORD” in the fourth year of Zedekiah (Jer 28:1) | Said that within two years God would break the yoke of Babylon and return the temple vessels and the exiles (Jer 28:2-4). Jeremiah (peace be upon him) answered: “The LORD hath not sent thee” and “this year thou shalt die” (28:15-16) | Died in the seventh month of that year (Jer 28:17) |
| Zedekiah son of Chenaanah | c. 853 BCE | Hebrew Bible (Israel) | Led some 400 court prophets who told Ahab to go up against Ramoth-gilead; made iron horns and said Ahab would push the Syrians until they were consumed (1 Kgs 22:11) | Declared victory; scripture says a lying spirit was in the mouth of the prophets (22:22-23). Ahab was struck by an arrow at Ramoth-gilead and died the same day (22:34-37) | Ahab died; the narrative records the false prophets’ message as false |
| Noadiah and the other prophets who sought to intimidate Nehemiah | c. 445 BCE | Hebrew Bible (Jerusalem) | Described as a prophetess who, with other prophets, tried to frighten Nehemiah (Neh 6:14) | Nehemiah says Tobiah and Sanballat hired a prophet and that “God had not sent him” (6:12); he prays against Noadiah | |
| Bar-Jesus (Elymas the sorcerer) | c. 46 CE | New Testament (Paphos, Cyprus) | A Jewish “false prophet” and magician in the household of Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6) | Tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith; Paul pronounced a temporary blindness on him (13:11) | Struck blind for a time; Sergius Paulus believed |
| Shemaiah the Nehelamite | c. 594 BCE | Hebrew Bible (Babylon) | Sent letters from Babylon urging the priest in Jerusalem to imprison Jeremiah (peace be upon him) as a madman (Jer 29:24-28) | Jeremiah (peace be upon him) says “Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not” and that he would have no man to dwell among the people (29:31-32) | Judgment pronounced in scripture; no further history |
| Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah | c. 594 BCE | Hebrew Bible (Babylon) | Exiled men “which prophesy a lie unto you in my name” (Jer 29:21) | Jeremiah (peace be upon him) says God would give them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar who would “slay them before your eyes”; they would be roasted in the fire (29:21-22) | Judgment pronounced in scripture |
| Pashhur son of Immer | c. 600 BCE | Hebrew Bible (Jerusalem) | Temple priest and chief officer who beat Jeremiah (peace be upon him) and put him in the stocks (Jer 20:1-2) | Jeremiah (peace be upon him) tells him: “thou, and all that dwell in thine house... thou hast prophesied lies” and he would die in Babylon (20:6) | Judgment pronounced in scripture |
| Prophets of Baal and Asherah (1 Kings 18) | c. 860 BCE | Hebrew Bible (Mount Carmel) | 450 prophets of Baal who called on their god to send fire on a sacrifice | “There was no voice, nor any that answered” (1 Kgs 18:26); no fire came, while fire fell on the LORD’s sacrifice in answer to Elijah (peace be upon him) (18:38). Elijah is a prophet accepted in Islam; his trial is cited only as scripture’s account of the failed rival prophets | They were put to death at the brook Kishon (18:40) |
| Theudas | d. c. 44-46 CE | Jewish prophet (Judea) | Claimed to be a prophet and told followers to take their possessions to the Jordan, promising to divide the river (Josephus, Antiquities 20.97-99) | The river did not part. Procurator Fadus sent cavalry, killed many and beheaded Theudas | Beheaded |
| The Egyptian | c. 52-58 CE | Jewish prophet (Judea) | Led a crowd to the Mount of Olives and promised that the walls of Jerusalem would fall at his command (Josephus); also mentioned in Acts 21:38 | The walls did not fall. The governor Felix attacked; most followers were killed or captured and the Egyptian escaped | Disappeared |
| Solomon Molcho Partly documented | c. 1500 to 1532 | Jewish messianic claimant (Portugal, Italy) | Former Marrano who claimed messianic visions and predicted floods in Rome and an earthquake in Portugal Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Some predictions seemed to succeed; he later went to Regensburg to confront Charles V; the Inquisition burned him in Mantua in 1532 | Burned in 1532 |
| Nathan of Gaza | 1643 to 1680 | Jewish prophet of Sabbatai Zevi (Ottoman Empire) | Proclaimed Sabbatai the Messiah and 1666 the messianic year Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Predicted that Sabbatai would place the sultan’s crown on his own head and conquer the world; Sabbatai converted to Islam in 1666 | Died in Skopje |
| Simon Magus Disputed in part | 1st century CE | Samaritan sorcerer (Acts 8) | Baptized by Philip, then tried to buy the power to invoke the Holy Spirit and clashed with Peter; later legends are not historical | Offered money for spiritual power and was rebuked by Peter (Acts 8:18-24) | Fate unknown; legends only |
| Thiota | fl. 847 | Christian (Germany) | Declared in 847 that the world would end that year Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | The prediction failed; she later confessed it was fraudulent and was publicly flogged (Annals of Fulda) | Flogged |
| Girolamo Savonarola Disputed | 1452 to 23 May 1498 | Christian preacher (Florence) | Claimed prophetic visions of the Church’s scourging and renewal Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Prophesied that Charles VIII would reform Italy; later fell from favor, excommunicated, and burned in 1498 | Executed |
| Elizabeth Barton (Holy Maid of Kent) | c. 1506 to 20 Apr 1534 | Christian visionary (England) | Claimed visions; prophesied Henry VIII would die within months if he married Anne Boleyn Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Henry married Anne in 1533 and lived to 1547; Barton was executed for treason | Hanged 1534 |
| Thomas Müntzer | c. 1489 to 27 May 1525 | German Anabaptist (Peasants’ War) | Called himself a prophet and led peasants in Thuringia Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Said 1525 would mark the beginning of the Millennium; his followers were killed by cannon fire at Frankenhausen; he was tortured and beheaded | Beheaded 1525 |
| John of Leiden (Jan Bockelson) | 1509 to 22 Jan 1536 | Anabaptist (Munster) | Proclaimed himself king of the New Jerusalem Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Munster fell in June 1535; he was tortured and executed in 1536 | Executed |
| Richard Brothers | 25 Dec 1757 to 25 Jan 1824 | Christian (England) | Claimed to be Prince of the Hebrews, a descendant of David and the “Nephew of the Almighty” Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Stated that the Millennium would begin between 1793 and 1795 and predicted the restoration of the Hebrews to Jerusalem by 1798 under himself as prophet and prince; none happened; he was committed to an asylum | Died 1824 |
| John Wroe | 1782 to 5 Feb 1863 | Christian Israelite Church (England) | Founder of the Christian Israelite Church, a Southcottian group Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Calculated that the Millennium would begin in 1863; he died that year | Died 1863 |
| Jemima Wilkinson (the Publick Universal Friend) Disputed | 29 Nov 1752 to 1 Jul 1819 | Quaker-born preacher (USA) | Claimed after a fever in 1776 to be a spirit sent to earth as the Publick Universal Friend Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | The water-walk story (Keuka Lake) is a legend, not documented. Her followers expected her to rise after death; this did not happen | Died 1819 |
| Camisards (French Prophets) | 1702 to 1710s | Huguenot visionaries (France, England) | Prophets among the Camisards predicted the end of the world in 1705, 1706 or 1708 Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Predictions failed; the movement was suppressed | Dispersed |
| Robert Matthews (Matthias the Prophet) | 1788 to 1841 | American Christian (Kingdom of Matthias, New York) | Gathered a devoted following in 1830s New York under aliases including Matthias the Prophet and Jesus Matthias Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | The Kingdom became involved in adultery, bankruptcy and the suspected murder of Elijah Pierson, and Matthews went to jail | Kingdom collapsed |
| Joseph Morris | d. 15 Jun 1862 | Morrisites, Church of the Firstborn (Utah) | In 1857 reported revelations naming him the Seventh Angel of Revelation Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Repeatedly designated days for the Second Coming, and each passed uneventfully; he was killed in a skirmish on 15 Jun 1862 (the Morrisite War) | Killed 1862 |
| James Strang Disputed | 21 Mar 1813 to 9 Jul 1856 | Strangites (Michigan) | Said in 1844 that he had been appointed Joseph Smith’s successor; later a self-proclaimed monarch on Beaver Island Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | His succession claim is rejected by the LDS Church and most other Latter Day Saint groups; he was assassinated in 1856 | Assassinated 1856 |
| Benjamin and Mary Purnell | Benjamin 1861 to 1927 | House of David (Benton Harbor, Michigan) | Jointly claimed to be the seventh and final messenger of Revelation and successors to Joanna Southcott Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Taught that the 144,000 gathered would receive immortality of body and soul; Benjamin died in 1927 | Benjamin died 1927 |
| John Alexander Dowie | 1847 to 1907 | Christian Catholic Apostolic Church (Zion, Illinois) | Proclaimed himself “God’s Messenger,” and in 1901 the spiritual return of Elijah (peace be upon him), “Elijah the Restorer” and the “Third Elijah” Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Deposed from his business affairs in 1905 after a stroke by his lieutenant Wilbur Glenn Voliva; died in 1907 | Died 1907 |
| Dorothy Martin (Marian Keech) | 1900 to 1992 | Seekers (Chicago, United States) | Reported messages from extraterrestrial beings by mediumship Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Predicted a catastrophic flood on 21 Dec 1954 and the arrival of extraterrestrials; it did not occur (The Seekers, basis of When Prophecy Fails) | Group dispersed |
| Margaret Rowen | 20th century | Seventh-day Adventist offshoot (California) | Reported a vision of the angel Gabriel Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Claimed Gabriel told her the world would end at midnight on 13 Feb 1925 | Date passed |
| David Berg (Moses David) | 18 Feb 1919 to 1 Oct 1994 | Children of God, The Family International | Founder of the Children of God, wrote nearly 3,000 “Mo Letters” under the name Moses David Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Predicted a colossal doomsday event heralded by Comet Kohoutek in Jan 1974, and the Second Coming in 1993 | Died 1994 |
| Credonia Mwerinde and Joseph Kibweteere | d. 2000 | Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (Uganda) | Claimed visions of the Virgin Mary in 1989 Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Leaders declared the apocalypse would occur on 31 Dec 1999; on 17 Mar 2000 followers died in a fire and a series of poisonings and killings | Mass death 2000 |
| Leland Jensen | 1914 to 1996 | Baha’i splinter (Montana) | Claimed to be the Branch of Baha’u’llah and a prophetic successor in a Baha’i splinter group Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Predicted a nuclear holocaust in 1980 with a final date of 29 Apr 1980; followers built fallout shelters; a second date set for Halley’s Comet on 29 Apr 1986 | Died 1996 |
| George Van Tassel | 1910 to 1978 | UFO contactee (California) | Claimed to channel an alien named Ashtar Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Predicted that 20 Aug 1967 would begin the third woe of the Apocalypse and a Soviet nuclear attack on the southeastern US | Died 1978 |
| Sheldan Nidle | Dates not given | New Age channeler (California) | Californian psychic Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Predicted the end of the world on 17 Dec 1996 with the arrival of 16 million spaceships and a host of angels | Date passed |
| Nancy Lieder | b. 1950s | Zeta Talk (United States) | Says aliens in the Zeta Reticuli system speak to her through a brain implant Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Predicted a planet (Nibiru) would collide with or pass Earth, originally in May 2003 | Date passed |
| Mary Bateman | 1768 to 1809 | Yorkshire fortune teller (England) | Fortune teller and self-styled prophetess in Leeds Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Hen’s eggs inscribed with “Christ is coming” in 1806 were a hoax; she had etched them with corrosive ink | Hanged 1809 |
| Al-Aswad al-Ansi | died June 632 | Arabia (Yemen) | Declared himself a prophet in Yemen near the end of the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and claimed to receive revelation in the form of words Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | The false claim is the prophethood itself. Islam rejects any new prophet after the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) on the basis of Quran 33:40 (final seal of the prophets). After invading Yemen he changed his title from Prophet of God to Rahman of Yemen | Assassinated by Fayruz al-Daylami with help from Qays ibn Abd Yaghuth and his own wife; Yemen then became part of the Rashidun Caliphate |
| Sajah bint al-Harith | fl. 598 to 675 CE | Arabia (Banu Tamim, Arab Christian) | Arab Christian woman who claimed to be a prophet; she is called the only known female prophetess of pre-Islamic Arabia Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | The false claim is the prophethood itself. Islam rejects any new prophet after the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) on the basis of Quran 33:40 (final seal of the prophets) | She is said to have converted to Islam and died as a Muslim |
| Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid | Dates not given | Arabia (Banu Asad) | In 631 claimed to be a prophet and the recipient of divine revelation; led a confederacy of tribes against the Muslims Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | The false claim is the prophethood itself. Islam rejects any new prophet after the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) on the basis of Quran 33:40 (final seal of the prophets) | Defeated at the Battle of Buzakha in 632 and fled to Syria; he later submitted to the caliphate and fought on the Muslim side in later battles |
| Al-Muqanna (Hashim) Disputed | died c. 783 | Khurramite movement (Khorasan, Persia) | According to various Muslim historians he claimed to be a prophet; he was said to have claimed to be an incarnation of God, after the execution of Abu Muslim in 755 Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Claim of prophethood or incarnation after the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is rejected by Islam (Quran 33:40, final seal of the prophets). Modern scholars note that the sources are hostile Muslim historians | Led a rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate; poisoned himself rather than surrender when his house was set on fire |
| Lia Eden (Lia Aminuddin) | 21 Aug 1947 to 9 Apr 2021 | Eden Community / Salamullah (Indonesia) | Said she received a revelation in 1995 from the angel Gabriel to found a new belief system; claimed to be the incarnation of the Virgin Mary and to announce the coming of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) to earth Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | She made several sensational prophecies. The claim of new revelation conflicts with Quran 33:40 | The Indonesian Ulema Council issued a fatwa against her in 1997; she was jailed for blasphemy (served sixteen months in one term) |
| Clarence 13X (Allah the Father) | 22 Feb 1928 to 13 Jun 1969 | Five-Percent Nation / Nation of Gods and Earths (United States) | Known as Allah the Father; founder of the Five-Percent Nation Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | The claim to be divine is contrary to Islamic monotheism (tawhid) | Fatally shot by an unknown assailant in June 1969; the movement continues |
| Ayah Pin (Ariffin Mohammed) | 22 Jun 1941 to 22 Apr 2016 | Sky Kingdom (Malaysia) | Claimed direct contact with the heavens; followers believed him to be the reincarnation of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Buddha, Shiva and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Followers hold that he will return as the Mahdi. The claim of being a reincarnation of the prophets is rejected in Islam | His commune in Besut, Terengganu was demolished by the Malaysian government in August 2005; he died in 2016 |
| Nissim ben Abraham of Avila | active around 1295 | Avila (Spain) | Claimed prophethood; followers said an angel suddenly gave him the power to write a mystic work, The Wonder of Wisdom Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Fixed the last day of the month of Tammuz in 1295 as the date for the Messiah’s coming | Solomon ben Adret doubted his prophetic claim; no fulfillment is recorded |
| Abd-ru-shin (Oskar Ernst Bernhardt) | 18 Apr 1875 to 6 Dec 1941 | Grail Movement (Germany and Austria) | Prophet and leader of the Grail Movement and author of The Grail Message; newspapers described him as the Messiah of the Tyrol Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Beginning in the 1920s he proclaimed that the Millennial kingdom of God would begin on Earth in the mid 1930s | No such kingdom arrived; he died in 1941 and the Grail Movement continued |
| Benjamin Creme | 5 Dec 1922 to 24 Oct 2016 | Share International (Theosophical New Age) | Asserted that the Second Coming would come in the form of Maitreya, the World Teacher, who he said had descended from the Himalayas and moved to London on 19 July 1977 Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | In spring 1982 he placed newspaper advertisements announcing that the Christ was now here and that Maitreya’s open emergence would begin within two months; he said Maitreya would reveal himself if the media found him in London | The media did not locate Maitreya and he did not open himself to them; a list of predicted dates gives June 1982 for the Second Coming |
| John Ballou Newbrough (Oahspe) | 1828 to 1891 | Oahspe (United States) | American dentist who said the book Oahspe: A New Bible, published 1882, was written by automatic writing and contains new revelations Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | He foresaw the destruction of all nations and post-apocalyptic anarchy in 1947 | No such event occurred in 1947 |
| Joshua Mhlakela | active 2025 to 2026 | Christian (South Africa) | South African Christian whose interview predicted the Rapture on 23 or 24 September 2025 Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Predicted the Rapture on 23 or 24 September 2025. He later gave new dates of 7 to 8 October 2026 and 12 to 13 October 2026, according to Newsweek and other reports | No Rapture occurred on any of the predicted dates; the September 2025 date was followed by later dates that also passed |
| Kinjikitile Ngwale | died 4 Aug 1905 | Maji Maji Rebellion (German East Africa) | Spiritual medium who said he was possessed by the spirit Hongo and communicated with the deity Bokero; told followers their ancestors commanded a rebellion against the Germans Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Gave followers holy water of water, millet and castor oil, claiming it would protect them from German bullets | He was arrested by German troops and hanged for treason on 4 August 1905; the rebellion continued under his brother |
| Ibn Sayyad (Saf ibn Sayyad) Disputed | Dates not given; disappeared after the Ridda wars | Medina | Alleged claimant of prophethood in the time of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); a hadith has him answer the Prophet’s question by saying that he, Ibn Sayyad, is the messenger of Allah Set against Quran 33:40 (“last of the prophets”) | Claim of prophethood after the final prophet (Quran 33:40) | He later disappeared after the Ridda wars; Umar and some scholars speculated he might be the Dajjal |
Proclaimed himself the Messiah, first in 1648 at Smyrna and, with Nathan of Gaza’s backing, publicly from 1665.
Nathan of Gaza proclaimed 1666 the messianic year. Instead Sabbatai was arrested and in September 1666 converted to Islam before Sultan Mehmed IV.
Claimed to be the successor and reincarnation of Sabbatai Zevi and a messiah figure. Founded the Frankists.
He was baptized a Catholic in 1759 and held for years at Czestochowa. No redemption followed. The movement dissolved by conversion and assimilation.
Proclaimed herself the woman in whom God would return. In 1772 she considered herself Christ’s female counterpart.
Claimed that the Second Appearing of Christ had begun in her person. The Shakers practiced celibacy and shrank to a few members.
Claimed to be the expected Mahdi. He did not claim to be a prophet.
Claimed divine appointment as the Mahdi who would reform the world. He died of typhus months after taking Khartoum and the Mahdist state fell to Kitchener at Omdurman in 1898.
Declared mahdi by his followers in 1121. Called himself imam and masum (free of sin).
His failure to capture Marrakech in 1130 undermined his claim to invulnerability. He died soon after and the Almohad state followed.
Reportedly claimed to be the Mahdi on three occasions, in 901, 903 and 905 AH.
The claim drew opposition from the ulema. He died in 1505 at Farah, Afghanistan. Followers called Mahdavis continue to exist.
Declared himself the Mahdi on 24 May 1884.
The declaration caused controversy with the French and many orthodox Muslims. He founded the Layene order, which exists today.
Conferred the title “Messiah” on himself in 1992 and, with Hak Ja Han, was called the “True Parents.”
The claim of being the Second Coming of Christ (peace be upon him) is rejected by mainstream Christians and Jews. He died in 2012 and the movement continues.
Self-proclaimed reincarnation of Jesus (peace be upon him). Says he was reborn in 1990.
Predicted the imminent end of the world with only his followers being saved. The community continues.
Identifies himself as the “promised pastor” of the Book of Revelation. Reuters describes him as a self-proclaimed messiah, and his followers believe he is immortal and infallible. Leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
No dated failed prediction is on record. The movement continues.
| Name | Dates | Tradition | Claim | Failed prophecy or false claim | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Teed (Koresh) | 18 Oct 1839 to 22 Dec 1908 | Koreshan Unity (USA) | Claimed to be a messiah figure called Koresh; taught the hollow-earth theory | Followers initially expected his resurrection after his death on 22 Dec 1908, and that he and the faithful would be taken to heaven as he had predicted in The Immortal Manhood; it did not happen | Died in Florida |
| Simon bar Kokhba | d. 135 CE | Jewish messianic claimant (Judea) | Led the revolt against Rome (132-135); some sources say Rabbi Akiva proclaimed him messiah | Expected to restore an independent Jewish state; Rome crushed the revolt | Killed at Betar in 135 |
| Moses of Crete | 5th century CE | Jewish messianic claimant (Crete) | Claimed to be Moses (peace be upon him) returned and promised to lead the Jews through the sea to the Holy Land (Socrates Scholasticus) | Followers jumped from a cliff into the sea; many drowned | Disappeared after the incident |
| David Alroy | fl. c. 1160 | Jewish messianic claimant (Amedi, Iraq) | A Jewish Messiah claimant born in Amedi under the name Menahem ben Solomon | Proclaimed a divine mission and a revolt against the Muslims; the governor of Amadia bribed his father-in-law to assassinate him and the revolt ended | Killed |
| Abraham Abulafia | 1240 to c. 1291 | Jewish mystic (Spain, Italy) | Claimed a prophetic experience in Barcelona in 1270 and proclaimed himself the messiah around 1280 | Went to Rome in 1280 to confront Pope Nicholas III; the pope died before they met; Abulafia was imprisoned briefly | Died on an island near Malta |
| Asher Lammlein | fl. 1502 | Jewish messianic forerunner (Istria, Germany) | Proclaimed himself a forerunner of the Jewish Messiah in 1502 | Declared that if the Jews showed great repentance and charity the Messiah would appear in six months. He died or disappeared and his followers’ hopes ended; Salo Baron links the disillusionment to conversions to Christianity | Died or disappeared |
| Jacob Querido | d. 1690 | Sabbatean leader (Thessaloniki) | Claimed to be the reincarnation of Sabbatai Zevi and led the Dönmeh | Followers expected redemption; he and many followers converted to Islam in the 1680s (accounts differ: 1683 or 1686 to 1687) | Died about 1690 (some accounts say 1695), reportedly on the return from a pilgrimage to Mecca |
| Tanchelm of Antwerp | d. 1115 | Christian (Flanders) | Preached against the clergy and claimed to be divinely equal to Christ | Followers treated him as holy; a priest killed him in 1115 | Killed 1115 |
| Eon de l’Etoile (Eudo de Stella) | d. 1150 | Christian “messiah” (Brittany) | A Breton religious leader and “messiah”; heard the priest say “by him whose it is to judge the living and the dead” and applied it to himself | The Council of Reims (1148) under Pope Eugene III condemned his movement as heresy; he was ordered arrested; Church authorities called him a “deliberate idiot”; he died in 1150 | Died 1150 |
| David Joris | c. 1501 to 1556 | Anabaptist (Netherlands) | Claimed to be the Third David and a messiah figure | Hid in Basel under a false name; after his death he was exhumed and burned | Disinterred and burned |
| John Hugh Smyth-Pigott | d. 1927 | Agapemonites (England) | According to newspaper accounts, declared himself Jesus Christ’s (peace be upon him) reincarnation | In 1902 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad wrote to him with a death prophecy tied to his claims; Smyth-Pigott outlived Ahmad | Sect closed 1956 |
| Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda | 22 Apr 1946 to 17 Nov 2013 | Growing in Grace (Miami) | Claimed to be both the returned phase of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) and the Antichrist | Predicted that governments and economies would fail on 30 Jun 2012 and that he and followers would fly and walk through walls | Died 2013 |
| Mohammed Gohar Shahi (Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi) | born 25 Nov 1941 | Messiah Foundation International | His followers’ organization, Messiah Foundation International, presents him as the Mahdi, Messiah and Kalki Avatar; he is reported not to have stated the Mahdi claim openly | His followers’ organization teaches, citing his book The Religion of God, that the world will end by asteroid collision in 2026; this date is not counted as a failed prediction here | Disappeared from public view in 2001; claims that he died in 2001 or 2003 are unconfirmed |
| Fazlallah al-Astarbadi | Dates not given | Hurufism (Iran) | In 1386 proclaimed himself the manifestation of divine glory with the attributes of the Master of the Age (the Mahdi) | Messianic agitation taken up in 1386; he was executed | He was executed |
| Muhammad ibn Falah | 1400 to 1465/66 | Musha’sha’iyyah (southwestern Iran) | Proclaimed himself wali of the Mahdi about 1415 and by 1436 claimed to be the seventh imam’s ultimate incarnation | the claim of being the Mahdi’s incarnation is the false claim | His sect (Musha’sha’iyyah) became a dynastic power; he destroyed Hilla and Najaf and desecrated holy sites |
| Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli | 1559 to 1613 | Morocco | Proclaimed himself Mahdi in 1610 and led a revolt against the Saadi dynasty | After he was killed in combat in 1613, his followers saw their faith in his invincibility contradicted and fled | Took Marrakech for a time, then was killed in 1613; his head was severed and displayed |
| Bu Ziyan | uprising 1849 | Algeria (Rahmaniyya Sufi brotherhood) | Said that in 1849 the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) appeared to him in dreams three times and commanded him to assume the duties of the Mahdi | His uprising at Zaatsha was crushed after a 52-day French siege | The French annihilated the population and his head was mounted |
| Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim | died 29 Jan 2007 | Soldiers of Heaven (Iraq) | Announced in 2006 that he was the Mahdi and told followers he was the reincarnation of Ali ibn Abi Talib | He and his group marched on Najaf and were destroyed | Killed in the Battle of Najaf on 29 Jan 2007 |
| Muhammad bin Abd Allah al-Qahtani | 1935 to 1979 | Grand Mosque seizure (Saudi Arabia) | Proclaimed Mahdi by his brother-in-law Juhayman al-Otaibi, who led over 200 militants to seize the Grand Mosque in Mecca on 20 Nov 1979 | The uprising was suppressed after a two-week siege in which at least 300 people were killed | Died in 1979 (accounts give 1935 to 1979) |
| Sheikh Bedreddin Disputed | 1359 to 1420 | Ottoman Empire (revolt of 1416) | According to the 15th-century Sunni historian Idris of Bitlis, Bedreddin considered himself the Mahdi | Led the 1416 revolt against Sultan Mehmed I, which was suppressed | Died 1420 (accounts give 1359 to 1420) |
| Abu’l-Fadl al-Isfahani | declared 931 CE | Qarmatians (Bahrayn) | A young Persian declared to be God incarnate in 931 CE by the Qarmatian leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi | He caused great disruption by rejecting traditional aspects of Islam and promoting ties to the old Persian religion | |
| Abu Isa (Isfahani) | active during reign of Marwan II (744 to 750) | Isawiyya (Persia) | Claimed to be the last of the five forerunners of the Messiah and that God had chosen him to free Israel | Rebelled against the caliph in Persia expecting to free Israel; the rebellion failed | Defeated and killed at Ray; followers claimed he was inspired because he wrote books though illiterate; the Isawiyya group followed him |
| Yudghan al-Ra’i (the Shepherd) | first half of the 8th century | Yudghanites (Persia) | Declared himself a prophet; disciples regarded him as the Messiah; taught doctrines he claimed to receive through prophecy | His followers believed he had not died but would return at a future date, which has not happened | After his death followers formed the Yudghanites, who believed he would return |
| Serene of Syria | preached 720 to 723 | Serenians (Mardin, Syria and Spain) | Christian sources say he proclaimed himself Messiah; the Zuqnin Chronicle says he proclaimed himself Moses (peace be upon him) sent again for the salvation of Israel | Promised to lead followers into the desert and into the Promised Land; this did not happen | Followers included some in Spain and paid him a tithe |
| The Yemenite Messiah (anonymous, Maimonides’ Epistle to Yemen) Disputed | 12th century | Yemenite Jews (appeared in Fez) | Alleged forerunner of the Messiah who called the misfortunes of the time signs of the Messianic kingdom and preached repentance | Arrested by the Muslim authorities and beheaded at his own suggestion, it is said, to prove his mission by returning to life | He did not return to life. Nothing is known beyond the mention in Maimonides’ Iggeret Teman |
| Mordecai Mokia of Eisenstadt | 1650 to 1729 | Shabbethaian (Bohemia, Italy, Poland) | Preached that Sabbatai Zevi did not die but would reveal himself within three years, then declared himself the Davidic Messiah and Sabbatai only the Ephraitic Messiah | The prediction that Sabbatai would reappear within three years of his supposed death failed | Denounced to the Inquisition or advised to leave Italy, returned to Bohemia, then went to Poland where he is said to have become insane; a sect formed from his time |
| Miguel (Abraham) Cardoso | 1630 to 1706 | Shabbethaian | Became a prophet of the Messiah, later considered himself the Ephraitic Messiah with marks on his body as proof | Preached the speedy coming of the Messiah and fixed different dates until his death | Persecuted for advocating Sabbatai’s cause; died 1706 |
| Eve Frank | 1754 to 1816/1817 | Frankists (Poland) | In 1770 was declared to be the incarnation of the Shekinah and the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary | the claimed incarnation is the false claim | Became the object of a devotional subcult in Czestochowa; she is seen as the only woman declared a Jewish messiah |
| Dositheos the Samaritan Disputed | mid 1st century CE | Samaritan (Gnostic tradition) | Origen wrote that Dositheos wished to persuade the Samaritans that he was the Jewish Messiah | the messiah claim is the false claim | Nothing further is recorded in the list text |
| Bahram Chobin Disputed | d. 591 | Zoroastrian (Sasanian Empire) | Sasanian general who rebelled and took the throne in 590 to 591; he claimed to be, and was hailed by many as, the promised savior of Zoroastrian end-of-age expectation (Kay Bahram Varjavand) | the claim is the false claim | Defeated and driven out in 591; died that year |
| John Nichols Thom or Tom (Sir William Courtenay) | 1799 to 31 May 1838 | Cornwall and Kent (England) | Cornish maltster who re-invented himself as Sir William Courtenay and, after a period in a mental institution, adopted the claim of Messiah | Promised his followers a better future. | Killed with several followers in a confrontation with soldiers at Bossenden Wood, called the last battle fought on English soil |
| Lou de Palingboer (Louwrens Voorthuijzen) | 19 Feb 1898 to 23 Mar 1968 | The White House commune (Netherlands) | Founder of a commune called the White House; his followers believed him to be a God, and the list says he claimed to be God and the Messiah from 1950 until his death | No dated prediction on record. | He died in Belgium in 1968; the movement seems to have dissipated after his death, though a follower, Wiertz, continues to have faith in him |
| Anne Hamilton-Byrne | 30 Dec 1921 to 13 Jun 2019 | The Family (Australia) | Claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him); the group anticipated an imminent apocalypse | The imminent apocalypse that the group anticipated did not occur | She died in 2019 |
| Dwight York (Malachi Z. York) | born 26 Jun 1945 | Nuwaubian Nation (United States) | Founder of the Nuwaubian Nation who also used the name Issa al-Haadi al-Mahdi | The Nuwaubian Nation claimed (the movement, not York by name) a planetary lineup on 5 May 2000 would cause a star holocaust | No such event occurred |
| Alan John Miller (Divine Truth) | born 10 Mar 1963 | Divine Truth (Australia) | Claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus of Nazareth (peace be upon him) | No dated prediction on record. | Movement continues |
| Inri Cristo (Alvaro Thais) | born 22 Mar 1948 | Brazil | Claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus (peace be upon him) | No dated prediction on record. | Became known in Curitiba |
| Alexander Bedward | 1848 to 8 Nov 1930 | Bedwardism (Jamaica) | Proclaimed that he was a reincarnation of Jesus (peace be upon him) and that, like Elijah, he would ascend into Heaven in a flaming chariot | On New Year’s Eve 1920 he told followers the LORD had called him to fly up to Heaven, promising his ascent would hasten the Rapture and that before the sun had set he would be gone; he said it would be at ten o’clock that morning, then revised to three in the afternoon and ten in the evening | No ascension took place; in 1921 he and followers were arrested and he was sent to a mental asylum, where he died in 1930 of natural causes |
| Arnold Potter (Potter Christ) | 11 Jan 1804 to 2 Apr 1872 | Latter Day Saint schism (United States, Australia) | Self-declared Messiah who called himself Potter Christ, Son of the living God, and said he wrote a book dictated by angels from which all would be judged | the messiah claim is the false claim | In Oct 1857 he appeared in the streets of a Latter-day Saint community, as recorded by a Latter-day Saint observer, with the words Potter Christ, The Living God, Morning Star branded on his forehead; by 1861 he and some followers had left |
| Edmund Creffield (Joshua) | c. 1870 to 1906 | Holy Rollers (Corvallis, Oregon) | Believed himself the second coming of Jesus (peace be upon him) and founded a movement known locally as the Holy Rollers | the second-coming claim is the false claim | Murdered in 1906 by George Mitchell, whose sister was a follower |
| Mary Ann Girling | 27 Apr 1827 to 18 Sep 1886 | The People of God, New Forest Shakers (England) | Had a vision of Jesus (peace be upon him) on Christmas Day 1858 and by Christmas 1864 began to believe she was a new incarnation of the Deity | the incarnation claim is the false claim | Died 18 September 1886 |
| William Hacket | d. 1591 | English Puritan messiah claimant | Claimed to be a messiah; two followers preached in London from a cart that Hacket was the Christ returned to judge the earth and establish the gospel in Europe | Called for the removal of Queen Elizabeth I and her chief councilors. | Executed in London after being found guilty of treason |
| Kondraty Selivanov | 1730 or 1740 to 1832 | Skoptsy (Russia) | Worshipped by the Skoptsy as a second Christ and redeemer; also claimed to be Peter III, the Russian emperor overthrown and assassinated in 1762 | Peter III had been overthrown and assassinated in 1762, so a claim to be him later was false. | Died in 1832 |
| Krishna Venta (Francis Pencovic) | 29 Mar 1911 to 10 Dec 1958 | WKFL Fountain of the World (California) | In April 1948 said, I am Christ; claimed to have been born on another planet, Neophrates, 240,000 years ago | Prophesied an imminent cataclysm, a racially motivated civil war in the West, after which his flock of 144,000 would be saved and build a new world with him as world messiah | No such cataclysm occurred; he was killed with seven bystanders in a suicide bombing in Chatsworth, California, on 10 December 1958, carried out by two former followers |
| Marina Tsvigun (Maria Devi Christos) | born 1960 | The Great White Brotherhood, YUSMALOS (Ukraine) | Led the New Community of Enlightened Humanity under the assumed name Maria Devi Christos | Predicted the Time of Apocalypse and the coming of the Holy Spirit on 10 November 1993 | On the appointed day members stormed Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and were arrested; the court found Tsvigun and another leader guilty; the movement had about 80,000 members by official count after the Soviet collapse |
| Rua Kenana Hepetipa | 1869 to 20 Feb 1937 | Maori prophet (New Zealand) | Called himself Te Mihaia Hou, the New Messiah, and claimed to be the successor Hepetipa to Te Kooti, who would reclaim Tuhoe land lost to Pakeha ownership | The messiah claim is the false claim | Rua’s beliefs split the Ringatu Church; he formed a non-violent community at Maungapohatu in 1907 |
| Church of Almighty God (Eastern Lightning) | Dates not given | Church of Almighty God (China) | The group’s literature refers to a woman, believed to be Yang Xiangbin, as the female Christ | No dated prediction on record. | The movement is described as a monotheistic new religious movement; persecuted in China |
| Agha Muhammad Reza | active 1799 | Sylhet, Bengal | Declared himself the Mahdi and in 1799 invaded the Kachari Kingdom, claiming independence from the British | His movement was defeated in battles against the East India Company | Escaped, was later caught and sent to Calcutta for lifetime imprisonment |
Calculated from Daniel 8:14 that Christ would return about 1843 to 1844. Did not call himself a prophet.
Christ would come between 21 Mar 1843 and 21 Mar 1844, then on 22 Oct 1844. Nothing happened (the “Great Disappointment”). Millerites then split, giving rise to Seventh-day Adventists and other churches.
Taught that Christ returned invisibly in 1874 and that the Gentile Times would end in 1914. Did not claim to be a prophet.
Taught that 1914 would bring “the sudden destruction of all world governments in October 1914.” After World War I began he reinterpreted the date.
Led the Watch Tower Society from 1917 and gave the name Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931. Did not claim to be a prophet.
Taught that the Hebrew patriarchs would be resurrected in 1925. 1925 passed. Memorial attendance fell from 90,434 in 1925 to 17,380 in 1928.
Said he was restoring “the true gospel.” He is also listed as claiming to be an apostle.
His 1956 pamphlet “1975 in Prophecy!” predicted drought and famine in the US between 1965 and 1972, World War III and a “United States of Europe.” None occurred as predicted.
Radio broadcaster who did not claim to be a prophet.
Predicted the Rapture on 21 May 2011 and the end of the world months later. Neither happened.
| Name | Dates | Tradition | Claim | Failed prophecy or false claim | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hans Hut | c. 1490 to 6 Dec 1527 | German Anabaptist | Preached an imminent end tied to Pentecost 1528 | Predicted Christ’s return at Pentecost 1528; died in prison in 1527 before the date | Died in prison |
| Melchior Hoffman | c. 1495 to c. 1543 | German Anabaptist (Strasbourg) | Believed from his study of Revelation that the Lord would return in Strasbourg in 1533 | Claimed 144,000 would be saved and the rest consumed by fire. 1533 passed; he was imprisoned and died in prison | Died imprisoned |
| Jan Matthys | d. 5 Apr 1534 | Anabaptist (Munster) | Anabaptist leader in Munster | Declared that the apocalypse would take place on 5 Apr 1534; on that day he led a failed attack against Franz von Waldeck and was decapitated | Killed 5 Apr 1534 |
| Thomas Venner | d. 19 Jan 1661 | Fifth Monarchist (England) | Led Fifth Monarchists who expected Christ’s kingdom | Venner’s uprising in January 1661 failed; he was hanged | Executed 1661 |
| Florence Houteff | Dates not given | Branch Davidians (Waco, Texas) | Led the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists after her husband Victor Houteff | Predicted the apocalypse of Revelation on 22 Apr 1959; its failure split the sect | Schism |
| Hon-Ming Chen | b. 22 Apr 1955 | Chen Tao, God’s Salvation Church (Taiwan, Garland Texas) | Founded the UFO religion Chen Tao | Declared on 22 Dec 1997 that on 31 Mar 1998 God would manifest in physical form on his front lawn; it did not happen | Group continued in Lockport, New York |
| Lee Jang-rim | Dates not given | Dami Mission (South Korea) | Founded the Dami Mission and preached the rapture | Predicted the rapture and the end of the world on 28 Oct 1992; after it failed he was convicted of defrauding his estimated 20,000 followers | Convicted of fraud |
| George Williams (Church of the Firstborn) | d. 1882 | Church of the Firstborn (Utah) | Successor to Joseph Morris as leader of the Church of the Firstborn; declared himself “Prophet Cainan” | Predicted the Second Coming of Christ in January 1879 in Deer Lodge County, Montana | Date passed |
| Pyotr Kuznetsov | Dates not given | True Russian Orthodox Church (Penza) | Founder of the True Russian Orthodox Church | Predicted doomsday in May 2007; he and followers hid in a cave and he attempted suicide after the prediction failed | Group dispersed |
| James Harmston | Dates not given | True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days (Utah) | Leader of a Latter Day Saint offshoot | Predicted the Second Coming of Christ on 6 Apr 2000 | Date passed |
| Ronald Weinland | Dates not given | Church of God Preparing for the Kingdom of God | Founder of the Church of God Preparing for the Kingdom of God | Stated Jesus (peace be upon him) would return on 29 Sep 2011, then 27 May 2012, then predicted the end in 2019 | Date passed |
| Yisrayl Hawkins | Dates not given | House of Yahweh (Texas) | Founder of the House of Yahweh | Predicted in a Feb 2006 newsletter that nuclear war would begin on 12 Sep 2006 | Date passed |
| Philip Berg | Dates not given | Kabbalah Centre | Dean of the Kabbalah Centre | Stated that on 11 Sep 1999 “a ball of fire will descend, destroying almost all of mankind” | Date passed |
| Wilbur Glenn Voliva | 1870 to 1942 | Christian Catholic Apostolic Church (Zion, Illinois) | Evangelist who succeeded Dowie | Announced that “the world is going to go ’puff’ and disappear” in September 1935 | Died 1942 |
| John Chilembwe | 1871 to 1915 | Baptist leader (Nyasaland) | Baptist educator and leader of a rebellion in Nyasaland | Predicted that the Millennium would begin in 1915 | Rebellion crushed 1915 |
| Neal Chase | Dates not given | Baha’is Under the Provision of the Covenant (United States) | Protege and companion of Leland Jensen who set most of the group’s dated predictions | Between 1979 and 1995 Jensen and Chase made twenty specific predictions of nuclear attacks and catastrophes; Chase set 18 of them, including a nuclear attack on New York City (23 March 1994, with Armageddon 40 days later) | All 18 predictions were disconfirmed |