[notahacker]

> Or even the Millenia of premillennial dispensationalists, for a religious alternative.

> I'd argue some of those are more radical imaginations than much of what actually followed past ages.

This. People throughout history have frequently predicted the end of the civilization they lived in, they just tended to get it wrong, usually because their prediction was some fantasy involving superhuman powers ending the world as we know it, and not just dumb culture wars and succession crises and poor resource allocation and the neighbouring civilization being a bit stronger and more adaptable.