"The End is Nigh!"

The truth about New Orleans is just beginning to emerge in the official media--hundreds, if not thousands of dead. And as the story unfolds, I'm starting to get that sense of "deja vu all over again" that came to me while watching the second tower fall on 9/11, and during the ongoing nightmare of last December's tsunami: that everything seems so strangely "perfect"...or maybe "perfectly dramatic" would be the word. I mean, not only did both towers fall, but they fell so perfectly -- just straight down, and with cameras covering them from all angles in the bright sunny lighting of that September morning. Just as the death toll from the tsunami kept rising, and rising, and rising each day until it had eclipsed that of any catastrophe in human memory....

And now here comes this hurricane, one of literally dozens if not hundreds that have hit the Gulf coast over the last century. But somehow this one is so bad that it wipes-out a whole modern city....and it comes right when the U.S. is just primed and waiting for a triggering event to come along and set the myriad dominoes of global crisis in motion.

Naturally I find myself tempted to feel as though there might be some strange guiding force behind the devastation Katrina wrought, whether that force is human or otherwise. But in truth, I don't believe there really is. Or rather, I think the "intention" behind these events is not a direct or manipulative one. I think it's the intention of a long process of development finally unfolding toward its natural conclusion. Sort of like a person in their elderly years who is utterly confused about why they seem to have so very many serious health problems of late....

Faced with an event of this magnitude, we naturally strive to make sense of what it all means (this striving is doubly strong if you keep a weblog). In this respect, I posit that the message is the medium...that the sheer drama of what we're witnessing is what is being communicated. In other words, I now suddenly find myself willing to admit, even in open conversation, that I definitively sense that what we are witnessing are the signs of the end of our era. And I no longer feel as though such talk is the equivalent of hanging a virtual sign-board around my neck that reads "Repent, for the End is Nigh!". In fact, I suspect that there are still more signs to come, and that they might even come more frequently than they already are.

The only thing that's confusing me is how very many people are not even remotely interested.

Maybe my signboard isn't big enough....

Comments

Signs to what? Apocalyptic kind of signs? For the Christians - a brief reminder of some facts:

Matthew 16:27-28 "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

Liar - or truth? Did Jesus mislead his followers into giving their lives to him and then not keeping his promise?

John 18:36 "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."

The apostles - were they right - or wrong? They believed the coming of the Lord was in their day and age, not thousands of years later as commonly taught and believed:

James 5:8 "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."

1 John 2:28 "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."

1 John 3:1-2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

If you say they were wrong, or somehow mistaken, you must then therefore agree that they were also wrong or mistaken about everything else. The entire foundation upon which Christians believe must be called into question.

There are many, many more references that point out the fact that the return of Christ (and the "end times") was to be in their generation - and none other. It is a gross distortion of the scriptures to teach anything else, but as we know, this is now the latest rage.

The entire bible points to an age, a generation and a people to whom the bible addresses - it has nothing to do with "fulfillment" today. Fear mongering preachers and profits take advantage of the ignorance and gullibility of the unlearned who are easily persuaded to fables and false teachings. The so-called promises and predictions and interpretations of these modern teachings have never once come true. The true reason for this provable fact should be obvious - it can't be true because to be true would uncover Christ as a liar - which can't be true either or the whole foundation of Christian thought and teaching comes crashing down. Therefore, these teachings of the coming "rapture" and "end times" or Apocalyptic events are utterly false. "Let everyman be a liar and Christ be true."

Or go ahead and believe in the Apocalypse, it's your choice. But it ten, twenty or fifty years, what will these adherants to this belief say when they have not been "raptured" and life still goes on? Will they still stubbornly insist on believing these modern myths? The factis, there is no evidence at all in the scriptures for a "2,000 year church age" as commonly taught. This is utterly bogus.

The world indeed is going through dramatic changes (mostly human caused), but none of these events should be taken as "biblical fulfillment". There is very strong evidence that the "powers that be" are using the gullibility of Christians and others to follow the general outline of the bible as a "blueprint" for their attempted take-over of the world. Yet their actions cannot be used as "proof" of biblical fulfillment, because then you would have to call Christ and the apostles and the prophets all liars.

Furtheremore, the powers that be aren't in total control and probably never will be, which is why they are having difficulty implementing their bible "plan" which is only embraced in a handful of countries around the world (and especially among Christians in America). But few people seem to understand this. They insist the bible is being fulfilled in our modern day - when it cannot possibly be true.

Which many, many people are wont to do. They want to beleive it so badly they do not recognize the "missed dates" or failed predictions, over and over again. Nor do they even recognize the simple teachings found in the bible itself, insisting they "they" are right and somehow the bible is wrong! They do not see the hypocrisy of their position and the fact that their predicted events don't ever come to pass.

I already know I certainly will not convince many people - but maybe one of you will remember these words one day when your "redemption" didn't draweth nigh like you once thought. I am not trying to destroy hope - the irony of all this is Christians do not believe their bibles - and I do! I believe it says exactly what it says and nothing added or taken away or distorted with a contortionist's interpretation. Christians desperately want the bible to say something other then what it clearly says - which is why they make such wild and crazy predictions - which never come true. And they are setting themselves up for a severe delusion - one which is very dangerous and damaging to their well-being.

We are already seeing it all around the Net and in the churches. Frankly, it's pretty widespread and it leads to apathy and indifference to the world around us, and the reason why many people refuse to get involved in fixing the human problems we've created. Whatever for? We're going to be raptured! Nuke Iraq or Iran, it's biblical fulfillment after all! Ridiculous and utterly insane behavior, embracing death over life for a failed interpretation. Some very specific Christians are leading the way to world-wide destruction because of this false belief. And many here even on this board are cheering them on.

It isn't God behind these events. Many of them are natural and many of them are manmade. What is happening in our world today is mostly our own doing and if we continue to believe in modern myths, we are utterly doomed.

I know a great many people do not want to hear this, but these events have nothing to do with God, Jesus, the Rapture or the return of Christ. They are not Apocalyptic at all. If you check your bibles carefully, it is impossible for this to happen in this day and age. Either that, or you believe Christ was a liar - or your bible is wrong. Which is it?

While I agree that many will strongly disagree on this point, what I am seeing here on the Net us a sense of panic, laced with a strong religious fervor bordering on madness. It is not the end-times or the end of the world. The disaster in New Orleans is not the tipping point for the country - or certainly the world.

Americans in general are very egocentric, they believe EVERYTHING revolves around them. When disaster strikes, then we demand the rest of the world take notice. The fact is, such disasters have occurred around the world with regularity, nearly every year. For the affected, it may seem like the end of the world, but it isn't. The world still turns, life still goes on and the "end" as oft predicted is not here. Such will be the case with the aftermath of Katrina, mark my words (although the vast majority of the fearful will forget this immediately).

Katrina was not apocalyptic - not even. There will be a lot of human suffering and billions in damages, but apocalyptic events a) do not revolve soley around the United States; b) would not be this limited; and c) distortion and contortions of biblical passages and "codes" does not make it true.

Calm down people. The USA has been "hit" with yet another event, but it isn't the end of the world. Not even.

[Steven Lagavulin]

Oh don't get me wrong...I don't hold any real regard for the Biblical apocalypse symbology myself. I think it's too obscure for modern reference, and it's a distinctly "visionary" prophesy, as opposed to many other traditions whose prophesies are more rational (i.e. drawn from an understanding of natural laws, although often even then mixed with "visionary" or "dream" elements...). Visionary prophecies are always suspect, since they are colored by highly subjective regional and ideological meaning-elements.

What I'm saying is that we are seeing event after event after event which shows itself as unique, and which communicates a powerful emotional content throughout society. To believe these events are happening "just because" is, to me, very foolish. But similarly, I don't think we should go out of our way to try to "color" them with any special meaning either. I think we need to accept, however, that they're happening in response to rather complicated but quite definite disruptions throughout our world.

I've documented at length in this weblog my study of the various structural crises our human and geological worlds are facing. There is no question that we are approaching the end of an era. The fact of this has been "scientifically" posited for decades now. The problems we face are too comprehensive and too integral to our civilization for us to continue much longer in anything like the way we exist now. But neither should we believe that the modern "Rapture" mentality is valid (it isn't), nor even that the end of this era is the end of humanity altogether. I think that is a possible option depending on the choices facing us, but not a necessity. Another option is that we find a way to transform our culture and embrace a new way of living--one which does not extort every other life form on the planet for our selfish benefit.

[Bayard Randel]

it's a tragi-comedy Steven..

the only sane response is to keep laughing, while the rest of the world carries on about its business.

[Patrick Calahan]

"To believe these events are happening "just because" is, to me, very foolish."

I'm confused about what your point is. If the hurricane didn't "just happen", then I assume you think it happened for a reason. It's a harbinger of the end of the industrialized world or whatever. Payment for past sins of consumption? Something like that?

If that is about right, then you aren't that far from the Second-Coming-crowd. You seem to resist that notion, but it's just the same story with different names.

I'm not saying I disagree with you - I'm just saying I don't know what the hell you're saying.

[Survival Acres]

Steve - I agree with your comments. My commentary about the Rapture crowd (that was my post above) wasn't really directed towards you.

I also agree that there seems to be a certain "design" to events, but I do not attribute this to God or diety. I forget where I read this, but there is a theory that basically says when people begin to think or perceive of things a certain way, in time, those things actually come to pass. Wish I could remember what this was called. A lot of people (tens of millions) are doing exactly this - awaiting Apocalyptic events, so what do we get? Even if the reality doesn't "quite" live up to the anticipation, these things will still be misread as "fulfillment" when they are in fact, something else altogether.

The availability of information also tends to make us believe we are seeing "something new", when the reality is, it's not new at all. These things have all happened before, even though we may not have been personally aware of it.

By the way, I really like your blog.

[Igor]

==============================
WHAT A PATHETIC BULLSHIT !
==============================

so "The End is Nigh!" - oh dear. Why ? because there was a tsunami last december and New Orleans happened to be on the way of one cat 4 hurricane ( a common natural event). And this is The End Of The World ?!

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Once american TV starts spinning some event (the tsunami and the katrina in this case) - the blogger, who obviously does not know better, starts running around like a frightened chicken, squeaking: "End of the World! End of the World!"

There, there, little chicken. It is not the end of the world.

New Orleans was not destroyed, it was merely flooded. Remember swiss and german floods couple weeks ago? You did not cry end of world then. Why now?

maybe because those floods were just 30sec clips on TV, and New Orleans is 24/7 coverage?

have you heard of cyclones in bangladesh ? no, you have not. american TV does not spin them. but I tell you, for those death tolls in dozens of thousands + 1/5 of country destroyed is not uncommon.

human history (including modern history) is full of REAL catastrophes (not just some regular hurricane oversold by newschannels) of which you obviously have no knowledge. switch off TV and educate yourself _before_ pronouncing a regular hurricane a harbinger of The End !

and since the time of Black Death and against all catastrophes and odds still the world is going on. and it will. despite all squeaking of american TV-chickens.

[Bayard Randel]

Katrina supposedly has taken out nearly 20 rigs in the Gulf of Mexico (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050831/ts_alt_afp/usweatheroilgulfrigs_050831213642). Considering how the current demand for oil is just barely being met, this could possibly be the straw that breaks the camels back.

I don't think Steve was suggesting that the hurricane is the harbinger of 'The End', but it is a signficant event in a line of events spanning some decades, that very probably end in the collapse of our industrial civilisation.

[Igor]

RE: Bayard Randel

you say: "it is a signficant event in a line of events spanning some decades, that very probably end in the collapse of our industrial civilisation"

1) you take any "some dacades" period from the beginning of times - and often you would get the same "line of events" - hurricanes, volcanos, tsunamis, climate changes, you name it. - as it is happening in our lifetime. sometimes even worse.

why do you assign special importance to current natural events ?

2) everything has its beginning and its end. that's how universe works. EVERYTHING. sun. earth. me. you. "our industrial civilisation", as yu call it. So what ?

As I see it, your problem, guys, is that you call this particular end "collapse". It seems to me that you guys for some reason do not like this civilisation, or cannot find your satisfactory place within it (like muslim terrorists), and you WANT it to die: "die, die, you evil oil companies !"

neither you guys want it to peacefully evolve. you guys DO NOT WANT oil companies to develope new technologies, say direct C/H fusion. you guys WANT oil companies to DIE, because you don't like them (for some reason).

you guys WANT collapse.

probably you think some "ecovillages" are a better alternative to "this civilisation".

am I right ?

[Jon S.]

Igor, you ignorant slut.

I for one am a hep, techno-savvy, science fiction reading nipple pierced generation X fuck, probably not unlike yourself, and I want this sick, denuding, mind controlled, fecal trash producing civilization destroyed.

But not all the way back to nuts and berries. And certainly not to hippy tricked eco villages populated by earnest white liberals.

If we go too far back, (If the oceans expel their methane hydrates, as a fer-instance) we'll redo cain and abel, and that is a strange kind of hell, to imagine the survivors of this epoch rebuilding a similar one on our bones, spinning myths about men visiting the moon and bringing back cheese.

We just gotta be smart; I mean to say, the INCLUSIVE we, everyone all.

Let's keep our knowledge, our forbidden fruit half eaten in hand -- promise and perils of civilization. Let us keep track of our failures. New Orleans is such a failure -- a city built where no city shoulda been built, because Some One Knew Better. Live fast, die young, and leave a beautifull corpse.

No more logging, without planting. No more clearcutting. No more fishing with big nets. No more mercury emissions; no more cities in the desert southwest. No more arsenic. No more slaves. Only organic farming. Active re-wilding of our planet. Hollow out suburbs and build cities as livable, walkable, managed locations.

Birth control -- mandatory.

Our globe is finite. If you want off, you're gonna needa kill yourself, and take your sick culture of denial and consumption with you.

[james]

That first post is very interesting, lots of good things to think about. As a Christian however, I am compelled to at least make a defence.

As usual, you've read the Bible with your own spin on it, and interpreted everything within that light. Fair enough, I spose, it's hard to do it any other way. However, you seem to think that you have somehow 'disproved' the second coming. You haven't. In Matty 16, Jesus was referring to the transfiguration. The apostles lived like he was coming back any moment because that's how Jesus told all Christians to live, (Matty 25, parable of the ten virgins, and all that).

In Matty 24 he says "this gospel will be preched to all the world and then the end will come". The gospel hasn't been preached to all the world yet, so it stand to reason there's been no second coming. However the evangelization of the world is kicking along fantastically well right now, theres 130 million Christians in China alone, and they're sending missionaries out by the thousand now.

As for the Bible not talking about the whole church age....did we read the same Bible? The entire New Testament is about the Church. I guess I'm not too sure what you're trying to say here.

As for the rapture Christians...well...yeah. We're in agreement there, the rapture is just retarded really. But to single them out, pick on them, and then claim that because of their self-serving stupidity that Jesus Christ was a liar. It's kind of like me going to the US (I'm a New Zealander), finding some kid with downs, and then declaring all americans are stupid because of my experience with one kid. The fundies don't speak for the rest of us.

As for "is the end nigh?" I really honestly don't think so. I honestly do not think I will see Jesus return in my life. Not that it matters any, I'll see him when I die. I am an ardent "peaker", but I don't see why this should have anything to do with armageddon really.

BTW, for you atheists about to write me off, I used to be one of you. I absolutely HATED all religion and belived that if Humanity could just throw off the religion yoke we would be much better off. What happened? I had what you would disparaging call a "religious experience", Jesus showed up, I saw God, I followed him. It's been amazing. Dont beleive me? try it yourself, if you're serious..., well, be careful anyway, it's a wild ride.

[Solar Bud]

'Runaway' Global Warming is not necessarily as bad as it sounds.

When public figures talk about "Runaway Global Warming", what they reallly mean is that the climate is out of the control of the human race.

It does not necessarily mean that the warming trend would continue exponentially, only that for a period of time we would be on the receiving end of the natural conclusion of the trend we have created. We would only have to endure a period of tribulation with the environment directly proportional to the offences committed against that environment.

In other words, if we can endure the results of our own mistakes, then we will be able to progress once again as a species. Not necessarily fatal.

This is why the "Wrath of God" is actually fairly tame in comparison with the "Wrath of Emptiness" - because it comes to chastise and to correct, not to destroy.

[nulinegvgv]

our only hope is that the eagle will listen.

the following is from a piece written by Barry Fraser:

Many of the indigenous cultures of the world share a two-thousand year old prophecy about the eagle and the condor. In the Andes it is expressed as the coming of the new Pachacuti, an interval of roughly 500 years. The prophecy foretold an unbalance and tremendous conflict throughout the Americas from around 1500 to 2000. During this time the eagle, representing the mental and materialistic, has driven the condor, representing the spiritual and heart-centered, almost into extinction.

The eagle represents the modern, technological world, and the people of the eagle have developed the intellect at the expense of the heart. They have developed technology to an extraordinary level, bringing them material wealth beyond their wildest dreams. But they also find themselves spiritually impoverished to their peril.

The people of the condor represent the indigenous people of the world living close to the land, with the heart and wisdom that come from being attuned to the natural world. They live from their heart and through their senses, and have an unparalleled depth of spirituality and wisdom that is an expression of their profound connection to nature. These people are spiritually rich but materially impoverished. The forces of the developed world now threaten their environment that they depend on for their material and spiritual sustenance. They must understand and develop some of the intellectual skills of the eagle.

According to the prophecy of the eagle and condor, we are at the beginning of the "Fifth Pachacuti", a time when the condor will rise again and will once again fly together wing to wing in the same sky as the eagle and the world will come into balance. It is a time of partnership, love and healing, and a transition out of an era of conflict and turmoil into more sustainable and earth-honoring ways. It will be a time of great transition but also with some dangers. The condor will not soon forget the domination of the eagle. The eagle must also change to help restore the balance.

Our task now is to begin to return to the heart-wisdom ways of the condor; to individually begin to fulfill the prophecy. We need to "come to our senses," and listen with our hearts to what the earth is trying to tell us. We need to begin to look at and understand how the individual choices we make every day not only perpetuate the destruction of the earth, but also contribute to our own sense of unhappiness, stress, and isolation from each other. We must begin now to help the condor soar.

[SurvivalAcres]

"The gospel hasn't been preached to all the world yet"

I rarely bother to teach anymore, it's usually a waste of my time.

The word "world" was improperly translated and meant "nation". The gospel was preached to all the nation of Israel. And Christ did "return" (but not like you've all been taught) in 70 AD. Go read "The History of the Jews" by Josephus. The entire Christian theology of today is a gross mistake and was never the intent of the ministry of Christ. In other words, there was to be no "Christian religion" down through the ages - the message taught by Christ was to and for the "lost tribes of Israel" and none other. Also note that the entire bible has been fulfilled - it's over, done, kaput and has nothing to do with today. There is no such thing as a "Christian" today. Just like there is no such thing as a Jew today. Christians and Jews are pretenders, imposters, ursurpers to a promise (only given to the seed of Abraham, look up covenant redeemer law) given to an ancient people who are no longer a part of human history.

Frankly I don't care what people beleive, but I do care when belief starts screwing up the world I have to live in.