Apocalyptic Thinking Then and Now: End of Days by Chris Jennings

 End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America by Chris Jennings

End of Days book cover

Big thanks to Little Brown and Company and NetGalley for making Chris Jennings’ stunning new book End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America, which focuses on millenarianism, apocalyptic Christianity, and one of the infamous instances when this thinking came to erupt in a family’s isolated cabin the woods in Idaho. Even the name Ruby Ridge has connotations of government overreach, violence, and tragedy, and this was one of the first instances of this kind of clash between white Christian nationalists and the government in a decade that was marked by events like the Unabomber (although not Christian, he displayed antagonism towards the government), the Olympic bombing, Waco and the Branch Davidians, and the Oklahoma City bombing. This doesn’t include other instances of apocalyptic religions like Heaven’s Gate, who ultimately took their own lives, and the Japanese cult Aum Shirnyko, whose goal of hastening the apocalypse resulted in numerous deaths in the Tokyo subway. Jennings’ book examines the American context of this kind of apocalyptic thinking, and specifically how American Christian religions looked at The Book of Revelations, the last book of the Bible, as a literal text of prophecy rather than examining the historical context of this book to understand how it served as an allegorical rendering that was critical of the Roman Empire, a brutal regime that was violently eliminating Christians. While I’ve read other instances of Ruby Ridge, none of them went this in depth. Furthermore, with Jennings providing more context about the development of this kind of apocalyptic Christianity, it created a far deeper understanding of how the Weavers and many of their sympathizers thought about the government and events like the Gulf War that might have portended signs of the coming end of days. Jennings’ book is both fascinating and tragic, yet it is also prophetic, not in the biblical sense, but in the socio-political sense as we see how the Weavers’ millenarianism, which was somewhat isolated to the Midwest and Northwest and to Christian Identity groups, has gradually become more mainstream and aligned itself more with conservative politics. While Jennings’ doesn’t spend much of the book identifying modern causes and reasons for the proliferation of this kind of apocalyptic thinking, we can see how many different factors, especially popular media that is not always accurate or in good faith can propel wild and disparate beliefs to a larger group of seekers and people with questions. That’s one of the aspects I found so compelling about this book. However, learning more about both millenarianism, this apocalyptic strain of Christianity, and how it mutated into a shared system with Christian Identity and White Identity groups also made this book and important and engaging read. Jennings’ detailed research into the Weavers’ family and lives presents an even-handed view of the Ruby Ridge accident, which could have been avoided if either Randy Weaver or the US government had done more to work to a resolution.

This book is organized into 3 parts that outline the early lives of the Weavers, like how they met after high school, their marriage, and the deepening of their Christian faith in the 1970s post-Vietnam era. However, Part 1 also delves into the development of the millenarianism, the belief that the second coming of Christ will transform the world into 1000 years of paradise but will be preceded by a kind of battle with evil. I really appreciated how Jennings traced the history of the apocalypse from John of Patmos’s writings in Revelations to the American Christian groups that adopted this kind of thinking by interpreting these writings literally. While I knew about some of this thinking, it was fascinating to see how these groups adopted this text as a literal explanation for end times. I found Jennings’ ability to explain this change in a few chapters to be well done. It’s a challenge to make these kinds of theological ideas and philosophies comprehensible and relatable, but these chapters do a great deal to help understand this kind of thinking and how it progressed within different groups in America. Furthermore, readers can see how events, politics, and challenges in life might make some groups more susceptible to this kind of apocalyptic thinking. That’s where the Weavers’ story occurs. While it seems like the family had some opportunities to access the American dream, we also see how Vicki Weaver’s interest in literature like The Late Great Planet Earth, a popular book that claimed to prophesize the end of the world in the 1970s, altered her view about society and the world. Drawing parallels between this form of 1970s popular analog media and more recent digital versions of the apocalyptic predictions like Q-Anon, Jennigs’ identifies how beliefs and adherence to these kinds of conspiracies can lead to action. For the Weavers, this included sharing their beliefs and concerns with others, which gradually ostracized them from their Iowa community, leading them to relocate to the isolated mountains of Idaho.

Part 2 of the book picks up when the family decides to leave to build their own home in Idaho. Furthermore, Jennings details connections that Randy established with white Christian nationalist groups like the Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord and Richard Butler’s Aryan Nations compound. I wasn’t aware of how close Randy Weaver was to some of these organizations, especially since this was around the time that the Order was terrorizing the North and Midwest. While Randy probably didn’t have direct contact with members of the Order, it does seem like he shared their views and possessed some Aryan Nations memorabilia. Vicki, meanwhile, seemed to take her beliefs further into the Old Testament, keeping traditional Jewish holidays, but with Christian names. It’s strange that the family would align their beliefs with this system, especially since they adopted an antisemitic view of the world. However, that is what Jennings notes about this millenarianism belief—that it adheres to conspiracies that ultimately complicate their beliefs, enabling believers to adopt even stranger, more complex rationales rather than accepting the most reasonable explanation. Although the family built their own home and maintained the land surrounding the home, it seemed like Randy continued to have trouble getting along with others. Throughout the book, we learn about the various friendships or acquaintances who eventually burned bridges with Randy. In particular there are several instances of trouble with neighbors that eventually lead the Secret Service to visit Randy for a threat to President Reagan that was probably sent by one of these scorned neighbors. Nevertheless, Jennings’ detailed research and reporting shows that Randy Weaver wasn’t an easy person to get along with, repeatedly made enemies and took advantage of those who trusted him, and seemed to have problems with authority.

Part 3 of the book details the events that led to the standoff between the Weavers and the federal government. Again, Jennings’ even-handed reporting and documentation of this event helps to show that the US government also made considerable errors in pursuing a case against Randy Weaver and tried to flip him to learn more about the rising threat of white supremacist groups in Idaho. However, they did this through entrapment and didn’t really understand the nature of the Weavers’ beliefs in the apocalypse, mistakes that would end up being repeated a year later in Waco, TX and cited as evidence of the threat the US government posed to convicted terrorist Timothy McVeigh. Nevertheless, the Weavers had multiple friends and family members who pled with them to surrender and allow the siege to end, yet their apocalyptic beliefs showed that these events were signals for the end of the world. To complicate matters even more, the government wasn’t aware that they killed Sam and Vicki Weaver, Randy’s son and wife, over the course of the siege, and seemingly to enforce low-level charges that would have probably netted Randy probation rather than jail time. Jennings does note that there were oddities with the warrant and court appearance documentation for Randy, which further heightened the family’s suspicions of a government conspiracy, but we also see how this kind of conspiratorial and apocalyptic thinking led the family to fight to the death, assuming that the end of the world was coming. I couldn’t put this book down, especially after the Weavers left for Idaho. I remember when this happened, watching it play out on television, but I didn’t know the finer details. In fact, I think that many people didn’t know many of the details, as Randy became a somewhat sympathetic figure who had a television movie made about the siege. There was also a congressional investigation in 1995, and I’m not sure how much that changed the perception of Randy Weaver, but Jennings’ book does a lot to identify how both the Weavers and the government made incredibly costly, fatal mistakes in this event. End of Days is an important and compelling book, especially for those interested in learning more about the rise of extremism in the 80s and how it continues to fester and infect the country today. Furthermore, Jennings’ reporting leaves readers to draw their own conclusions about the kind of modern analogies between the Weavers’ apocalyptic beliefs, the popular media of the 70s and 80s that helped fuel this kind of thinking, and more recent forms that have sought to take advantage of willing adherents- people looking for answers or solutions to problems, and compelling them to action. With recent events like COVID, terrorist attacks, or the January 6^th siege of the Capitol, readers are able to identify the ways that people often find conspiracies or signs of the apocalypse and take drastic action. This is an amazing and important book that I highly recommend!