The End of the World: A Vision

April 1, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

The episode discusses James Kirke Paulding's satirical work in the context of the 1840s Judgement Day predictions by William Miller.

The End of the World: A Vision by James Kirke Paulding “In the course of my wanderings, methought I encountered the celebrated Fire-King, who was sitting at home, quietly smoking his cigar, and calculating that being the destined survivor of all his race, he would succeed to an immense landed estate, and become lord proprietor of the whole earth.” In the early months of 1843, a wave of Judgement Day fanaticism swept across the East Coast of the United States. Building on a close inspection of biblical texts, a lay preacher and farmer named William Miller had predicted that the end of the world would arrive sometime between March 21st, 1843, and March 21st, 1844. Miller began working on his theory in the early 1820s, and in 1831, he was asked to fill in at the pulpit of the Baptist church in Dresden, New York. Miller used his time centerstage to share his beliefs for the first time publicly. The Dresden congregation was mesmerized, Miller was invited by neighboring parishes to spread the word, and Millerism was born. By 1840, the Millerite flock had grown beyond the proportions of obscurity. Thousands would come to hear Miller speak, and all manner of unfortunate events were being…

People in this episode

Host: Ruby Love

Topics covered

Judgement Day
Millerism
satire
19th century America
religious movements

Keywords

Judgement Day
William Miller
Millerism
satire
James Kirke Paulding

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Baptist church

Books & works: The End of the World: A Vision

Places: Dresden, New York, East Coast of the United States