English scientist and mathematician Isaac Newton wrote about chronology, biblical interpretations (especially the book of Revelation), and alchemy. Some of these topics involved mystical or secret practices. His scientific work might not have been as important to him personally, as he focused on learning from the knowledge of ancient people. Studies about Newton’s interest in mystical subjects and how they relate to his science have been used to question the idea that people stopped believing in the supernatural as science developed.

Newton lived during the early modern period, when educated people had a different view of the world compared to later times. People were still figuring out the differences between science, superstition, and pseudoscience. A strong belief in the Christian Bible was common in Western culture during this time.

Alchemical research

Many of Isaac Newton's secret studies were mainly because he studied alchemy. From a young age, Newton was very interested in natural sciences and materials science, which led to some of his well-known scientific contributions. When he was twelve years old, he lived in the attic of an apothecary's shop, where he first learned about alchemical ideas and practices. During Newton's time, the study of chemistry was still new, so many of his experiments used mysterious language and unclear terms often linked to alchemy and secret practices. It was not until many years after Newton's death that experiments based on stoichiometry, developed by Antoine Lavoisier, were performed. This led to analytical chemistry, which now uses the terms and methods we recognize today. However, Newton's contemporary and fellow Royal Society member, Robert Boyle, had already discovered basic ideas of modern chemistry and helped set standards for experiments and communication in chemistry, knowledge that Newton did not use.

Some of Newton's writings about alchemy may have been lost in a fire in his laboratory, so the full scope of his work in this area might be larger than what is known today. Newton also experienced a nervous breakdown during his time studying alchemy.

Newton's writings suggest that one of his main goals in alchemy was finding the philosopher's stone (a substance believed to turn ordinary metals into gold), and possibly, to a lesser degree, discovering the highly desired Elixir of Life. Newton reportedly believed that Diana's Tree, an alchemical experiment that creates a branch-like growth of silver from a solution, showed that metals "had a kind of life."

During Newton's lifetime, some alchemical practices were banned in England because dishonest practitioners often promised wealthy people impossible results to trick them. The English Crown also worried that fake gold might lower the value of real gold, so it made severe punishments for alchemy. In some cases, people caught practicing alchemy without permission could be publicly hanged on a decorated scaffold while wearing shiny items.

Writings

Because of the risk of punishment and fear of being judged by other scientists, Newton might have not published his alchemy work. Newton was known for being very sensitive to criticism, such as when he was criticized by Robert Hooke. He also avoided sharing important details about calculus until 1693. A perfectionist, Newton avoided publishing work he felt was incomplete. For example, he waited 38 years between first thinking about calculus in 1666 and fully publishing it in 1704. This delay led to a famous debate with Leibniz about who discovered calculus first.

After Newton died, most of his papers were given to John Conduitt, the husband of his niece, Catherine. A doctor named Thomas Pellet reviewed the papers and decided only a few works, such as "The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms," a part of "Principia," and some writings about religious prophecies, were suitable for publication. Pellet called the rest of the papers "poor quality" and not ready for public release. When John Conduitt died in 1737, the papers went to Catherine. She tried to publish some of her uncle’s theological notes but failed. She asked her uncle’s friend, Arthur Ashley Sykes, for help. Sykes kept eleven manuscripts for himself, and the rest went to Catherine’s daughter’s family, who later owned the papers through marriage to John Wallop, Viscount Lymington, and eventually the Earls of Portsmouth. After Sykes died, his papers went to Rev. Jeffery Ekins, who kept them in his family until they were donated to New College, Oxford, in 1872. Few people had access to the Portsmouth collection until the mid-1800s, including David Brewster, a scientist and writer about Newton. In 1872, the fifth Earl of Portsmouth gave some of the papers (mostly about science and math) to Cambridge University.

In 1936, a collection of Newton’s unpublished works was sold at an auction by Sotheby’s on behalf of Gerard Wallop, 9th Earl of Portsmouth. Known as the "Portsmouth Papers," this collection included 329 items, over a third of which were about alchemy. At the time of Newton’s death, these papers were considered unsuitable for publication and were forgotten until they were rediscovered in 1936.

At the auction, many of these documents, along with Newton’s death mask, were bought by economist John Maynard Keynes, who collected many of Newton’s alchemy writings. From these texts, Keynes described Newton as "the last of the magicians," similar to ancient priests, and someone who would have been honored by magicians. Many of Keynes’s papers later went to Abraham Yahuda, another collector of Newton’s original manuscripts.

Today, many of the papers collected by Keynes and Yahuda are in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem. Recently, projects have started to gather, organize, and share Newton’s alchemy writings online for free. These include "The Chymistry of Isaac Newton Project," supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, and "The Newton Project," supported by the U.K. Arts and Humanities Research Board. The Jewish National and University Library has also shared high-quality images of Newton’s documents online.

Some of the papers sold in 1936 show Newton was interested in the philosopher’s stone, a legendary material in alchemy. Notable works include "Artephius his secret Book" and "The Epistle of Iohn Pontanus," which are excerpts from "Nicholas Flammel, His Exposition of the Hieroglyphicall Figures." These writings were also mentioned in "Theatrum Chemicum" by Lazarus Zetzner, a book linked to early alchemical texts. Nicolas Flamel, a mysterious figure connected to the philosopher’s stone and other mystical ideas, is a subject of these works.

Another document from the 1936 auction was "The Epitome of the treasure of health" by Edwardus Generosus Anglicus, a 28-page text about the philosopher’s stone, the "Animal or Angelicall Stone," the "Prospective stone or magical stone of Moses," and the "vegetable or the growing stone." The text ends with an alchemical poem.

Newton’s surviving alchemy notebooks show he did not separate alchemy from what is now called science. He wrote about optical experiments on the same pages as recipes from mysterious sources. Newton did not always write his chemical experiments clearly. Alchemists often used hard-to-understand language, and Newton created his own symbols and systems to record his work.

Biblical studies

In a document from 1704, Newton wrote about his efforts to find scientific information in the Bible. He estimated that the world would not end before the year 2060. He explained that he shared this idea not to say exactly when the end would come, but to stop people from making wild guesses about the end of the world. These guesses, he believed, could make religious prophecies seem unreliable when they turned out to be wrong.

Newton studied the Temple of Solomon in great detail. He wrote about it in a book called The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended. His main sources were descriptions of the temple in the Hebrew Bible, especially in the book of 1 Kings and the book of Ezekiel. Newton translated these texts from Hebrew himself, using dictionaries because he did not know the language well.

Newton also used other ancient and modern sources to learn about the temple. He believed that many ancient writings contained sacred wisdom, and that the designs of temples were special and meaningful. This idea, called prisca sapientia (ancient wisdom given directly to Adam and Moses by God), was a common belief among scholars of his time.

A more recent source for Newton’s studies was Juan Bautista Villalpando, who wrote a famous book about the Temple of Solomon in the late 1500s. Villalpando’s work was widely read in Europe and influenced many architects and scholars. His detailed descriptions of the temple and its design were important to Newton’s research.

Newton believed that King Solomon built the temple with divine guidance. He saw the temple’s geometry as more than just a design—it also showed a timeline of Hebrew history. This is why he included a chapter about the temple in his book The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended.

Newton thought that ancient philosophers, scholars, and religious figures hid sacred knowledge in their writings and buildings. He believed this knowledge was written in a complex code of symbols and math that could reveal secrets about nature when decoded.

In 1675, Newton wrote notes in a book called Manna, which discussed alchemy. He received the book from a friend named Ezechiel Foxcroft. In his notes, Newton explained why he studied the Temple of Solomon.

During Newton’s time, many people in Europe were interested in the Temple of Solomon, partly because of Villalpando’s work. Models of the temple were made and displayed in galleries for people to see. One model was created by Judah Leon Templo in 1628, and another by Gerhard Schott around 1692 for an opera in Hamburg. These models were later shown in London and sold to the public.

Newton’s most detailed writing about the temple was published in 1728, after his death. This increased public interest in the temple and its history.

Newton believed he was chosen by God to understand the Bible. He strongly believed in a prophetic interpretation of the Bible and admired the work of Joseph Mede, a religious scholar of his time. Although he never wrote a full book on prophecy, he wrote several short works, including a guide for interpreting the Bible called Rules for interpreting the words & language in Scripture.

Newton also spent much of his life searching for a "Bible Code," a hidden message in the Bible. He focused on the Book of Revelation, writing many notes about it. Unlike a prophet, Newton used the Bible itself to make predictions, believing his interpretations would clarify misunderstandings about the text. In 1754, a book called An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture was published, showing one example of how people might misinterpret the Bible.

Although Newton’s methods were not scientific, he wrote as if his findings were based on evidence.

In early 2003, news about two unpublished documents written by Newton spread around the world. These documents suggested he believed the world would not end before 2060. The news appeared in major newspapers and a scientific journal. Later, documentaries were made about Newton’s beliefs and the 2060 prediction.

The two documents are now kept in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem. They were likely written near the end of Newton’s life, around 1705, as they use his full name, "Sir Isaac Newton."

Newton did not write these documents to be published, and he disliked people who gave specific dates for the end of the world for attention. Neither document gives an exact date for the end of the world.

To understand why Newton predicted 2060, it is important to know his religious beliefs, especially his views on the Trinity and the Papacy. These beliefs influenced his calculations. For more details, see information about Newton’s religious views.

The first document, part of the Yahuda collection, is a small piece of paper with Newton’s handwriting:

The second document, written in a folio, includes Newton’s words:

Newton’s prediction about the end of the world was based on his interpretation of the Bible and his religious beliefs.

Newton's chronology

Sir Isaac Newton wrote about the history of ancient times, focusing on how different kingdoms and civilizations developed over time. In 1728, a book titled The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended was published. This work, which contains about 87,000 words, was completed by Newton but released after his death. Before publication, Newton reviewed most of the text himself, making it one of his last known works that he personally checked for accuracy. Around 1701, he also wrote an unpublished 30-page paper called The Original of Monarchies, which discussed the origins of ancient rulers and traced their histories back to the biblical figure Noah.

Newton’s work on chronology covered regions such as Greece, Anatolia, Egypt, and the Levant. However, many of the dates he recorded do not match modern historical understanding. Newton referenced events described in the Bible but provided the earliest specific date of 1125 BC. In this section, he wrote about Mephres, a ruler of Upper Egypt who governed from Syene to Heliopolis, and his successor, Misphragmuthosis. Today, historians know that the Pharaoh of Egypt during 1125 BC was Ramesses IX.

Some of Newton’s dates were considered accurate by 17th-century standards, but archaeology, a modern scientific field, did not exist during his lifetime. Most of the dates he used were based on writings by ancient authors such as Herodotus, Pliny, Plutarch, and Homer. These writers often relied on older records or oral traditions, which were not always reliable.

In The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended, Newton included references to the mythical land of Atlantis. In a section called the Short Chronicle, he wrote that Homer’s character Ulysses left the island of Ogygia in 896 BC. In Greek mythology, Ogygia was the home of Calypso, the daughter of Atlas, after whom Atlantis was named. Some scholars have suggested that Ogygia and Atlantis might be the same place or nearby. Newton also considered Cadis or Cales as possible locations for Ogygia but did not explain why he thought so.

Newton and secret societies

Isaac Newton is often linked to secret societies and fraternal groups in history. However, there are not enough reliable sources to confirm if he was a member of any specific organization, even though many Masonic buildings are named after him.

Although it is unknown whether Newton was a member of any secret group, he was connected to many people who were associated with esoteric organizations. It is unclear if these connections were due to his fame as a scholar, his role as President of the Royal Society (1703–1727), his position as Master of the Mint, or his status as a Knight. Because alchemy was secretive and sometimes illegal during his time, and because Newton owned many alchemical books and materials, it is possible he was part of a group of people who shared similar interests. However, the exact nature of this group, how secret it was, and how involved Newton was remain unknown.

Newton was a known member of The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge and the Spalding Gentlemen's Society. These groups are considered learned societies, not secret or esoteric ones. Therefore, his membership in any secret society is still uncertain.

Alain Bauer, who was Grand Master of the Grand Orient in France, suggested that Newton and his peers were influenced by a type of Freemasonry that combined alchemy, mysticism, and science. This movement connected early scientific groups with esoteric traditions.

The Rosicrucian movement may have had the greatest influence on Newton. Rosicrucians believed they were chosen to communicate with angels or spirits, a belief similar to Newton’s own prophetic ideas. They also claimed to have the ability to live forever using the elixir of life and to create gold using the philosopher’s stone. Rosicrucians were deeply religious, Christian, anti-Catholic, and politically active. Newton was interested not only in their alchemical work but also in their belief in ancient esoteric knowledge and the idea that certain individuals could gain insight into nature, the universe, and the spiritual world.

At the time of his death, Newton had 169 alchemy books in his personal library. He likely had many more during his time at Cambridge, though he may have sold some before moving to London in 1696. His collection was considered one of the best alchemy libraries of his time. He owned and annotated a copy of The Fame and Confession of the Fraternity R.C. by Thomas Vaughan, an English translation of Rosicrucian writings. He also owned and annotated books by Michael Maier, which were important early works about the Rosicrucian movement.

Possessing these books does not prove Newton was a member of any early Rosicrucian group. In fact, since Newton focused on discovering materials that Rosicrucians claimed to already own, some people believe he was not part of their order. During his lifetime, Newton was accused of being a Rosicrucian, as were some members of the Royal Society.

Originally, Rosicrucians were not meant to be real people. The first known "real" Rosicrucians appeared in the 18th century, likely after Newton’s death, in 1763.