Apocalypticism: The End-of-Days and World-to-Come
Class | Registration opens 3/4/2026 12:00 PM EST
For centuries, people have wondered why a perfect God created an imperfect world. Apocalypticism offered an answer: A perfect world awaits the worthy at the end-of-days.
This course will outline the origins of apocalypticism and its diverse shaping by the three Abrahamic religions. Classical histories often come with classical figures and so it is with apocalypticism. The central figures, all messianic, are said to be descendants of Zarathustra, King David or the Prophet Muhammad. The course will outline the messianic concept, its development over time and its impact on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We will see that concepts from prehistory, expanded in ancient history, play important roles in our lives today.
There are four sessions: Apocalypticism Then, Impact on Jews and Judaism, Impact on Christianity and Islam, and Apocalypticism Now. They will be offered in lecture format supported by PowerPoint slides. Copies of the slide deck will be emailed to all participants and will serve as a text for the course. Time will be set aside for as much class discussion as participants would like.
Art Rosen
Art thought he had given his last AIL course and his t-shirt was hanging from the AIL rafters. But he is back for his 24th course, Apocalypticism: The End-of-Days and World-to-Come.
His college studies (Yale University and Brooklyn College) were in social anthropology, but his career was spent in advertising. Fair to say, few admen move comfortably from advertising campaigns to religious studies. Art has, and he will draw from both fields in what will be a challenging and most provocative course.