Some Christians in the 1st century AD believed the end of the world could come during their lifetime since Jesus' had said to his followers, to be alert at all times of your life. When the converts of Paul in Thessalonica were persecuted by the Roman Empire, they believed the end was upon them. However, doubt rose when as early as the 90s AD Christians said, "We have heard these things [of the end of the world] even in the days of our fathers, and look, we have grown old and none of them has happened to us". The Mark 13:8 passage, as well as Matthew 24:6-8, are often misunderstood (examples? ) as these indicate that the wars and rumours of wars are signs that the End is yet to come, not that it has come. However, the world could not come to an end unless the prophecy of the Book of Revelation is revealed, also, Christians particularly the fundamental-type connect the end times with the New World Order (conspiracy).
Jesus, it was believed, had denounced attempts to divine the future, to know the "times and seasons", and such attempts to predict the future were discouraged in Matthew 24:36; yet some attempted to suggest a date for the End with the help of Jewish traditions in the Six Ages of the World. Using this system, the End was fixed at 202, but when the date passed, the date was changed to AD 500. The tribulation will happen some time in the future but when or where, man does not know.
Some current Christians place the end of the world within their lifetime or shortly thereafter. As evidence to support these ideas, many point to the prolific news coverage of tragedies around the world, and offer interpretations of various passages from the Bible. Also, some Catholics believed that the third part of the Fatima message, which was to be disclosed by the Vatican in 1960 but finally was published under the pontificate of John Paul II, was a prophetic message from the Blessed Mother about the end times, but they now believe it to be a symbolic message closely related to the assassination attempt of the late Pope.
Millennialists concentrate on the issue of whether the true believers will see the tribulation or be removed from it by the Rapture, a question which causes division in evangelical circles. Amillennialists believe the end times encompass the time from Christ's ascension to the Last day, and maintain that the "thousand years" is metaphorical.
Still, some fundamental Christians anticipate that biblical prophecy will be fulfilled literally. They see current world and regional wars, earthquakes, hurricanes and famines as the beginning of the birth pains which Jesus described in Matthew 24:7-8 and Mark 13:8. Fundamental Christians believe that mankind started in the garden of Eden, and point to Megiddo as the place that the world system will finish. Wikipedia
