Morbid Monday: Maps of the End of the World

Back in 1919, a Baptist reverend named Clarence Larkin published an unusual book breaking down each verse of the Book of Revelation into charts. The Book of Revelation; a study of the last prophetic book of Holy Scripture was one of several religious publications at the time to use maps and charts to explain the often confusing ramble of the Bible. The end of the world, a definite confusion of unsettling imagery that has all the chaotic horror of a bad acid trip from the Sun-Clothed Woman to a seven-headed dragon throwing stars with its tail, was carefully charted by Larkin with drawings to unravel the last days for believers.

Larkin stated that he spent 25 years studying the Book of Revelation from a “Futurist Standpoint” to “show that the Book of Revelation is to be taken literally.” The Pennsylvania-born Larkin was influential on Dispensationalism that emphasized this futurist view in Protestantism, publishing all sorts of charts in a collection of books in the 1910s and 20s. You can flip through the whole Armageddon book at the Internet Archive.

Below we’ve examined some of the details of these apocalyptic designs, such as the progression of the dreaded horsemen, the sounding of the seven trumpets, the opening of the bottomless pit, the resurrections, the hideous creatures rendered on the planet, and the other portents of judgement day. You can view more images from Larkin’s book at Flickr Commons.

All images via Internet Archive Book Images on Flickr Commons. 

Morbid Mondays highlight macabre stories from around the world and through time, indulging in our morbid curiosity for stories from history’s darkest corners. Read more Morbid Mondays>