The Apocalypse

I'm not taking this from a religious standpoint. Instead I'm more curious about people's ideas of the Apocalypse, of which, the Bible has just one.

It came up on tv about the end of the world and I thought of the book of Revelations.

It starts off about the book/scroll at the right hand of God, sealed with the seven seals which each unlock in turn to bring about the Apocalypse.

The first three being the horsemen of Famine, War, and Pestilence, followed by the pale horse ridden by Death, the great beast, seizing the world and destroying those not bearing his mark, who are cut off from all trade. He is supported by the false prophet, building a worldwide empire on a social and political basis.

The fifth seal bears the souls of all those killed in the name of God, the faithful, who wait for the second coming.

The sixth seal brings the fire to the world, destroying life and crushing the empire built by the Anti-Christ as the two Witnesses speak out against him. It speaks of mountains falling from the sky, life being extinguished in the oceans and the world being overrun by epic disease and famine.

The seventh brings the second coming of Christ, a warrior to cast down the Anti-Christ.



Cheery stuff, like I said. It's also not a unique text. There are many texts like this in early Christian literature. They carry similar themes and events, building on one another. This one just happens to be in the Bible.

A lot of people talk about us being in the End Times, but I don't think we're nearly there yet. Things may not be all that great, but we're certainly not talking about troubles on a worldwide Biblical scale.

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The Hindu prophecies see the world coming to a natural end at the conclusion of each Age. The world is taken in by Vishnu and reborn again.

The signs of the end will have rulers worldwide lacking in peace, seeking war, finding pleasure in lying, and inflicting death on women, children and cows.

Dharma is weak in this age, and things fall apart as people become far more greedy, with virtue falling apart and seen only in the poor. War, famine, and disease are a part of this Apocalypse as well.

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The Muslim faith sees the end coming imminently, but not at a specific date. Some see the current war as the end, akin to fighting the Byzantines, to whom they were also allied with at some point and betrayed. They know they will be destroyed by the more technologically advanced force, and they see our attack as that force.

After this, God will manifest, and judge the aggressor, defeat having purified the Muslim world.

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Buddhists view time as eternal, but also coming in cycles. It is said that for only a thousand years of Budda's passing into Nirvana will his followers be able to reach his state. After that there will be a time where the followers can only maintain the tennents of behavior, and after more time, only the forbbidence of the deadly sins. At the end, when the last priest dies, there will be a time of none of this spirituality, until the coming of the next truly enlightened soul.


So now, how do you think the world is going to end?

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-Robert Frost


Edited by reifidom - 18 August 2006 at 11:08am

I also think disease is very likely. We're making ever more powerful bugs as they develop to resist our medicines and anti-biotics. We can't change fast enough to stop them. People have a new generation every 15-20 years.
Bacteria can have a new generation every 30 seconds. They can also absorb their dead, in some cases, and pick up on their immunities. It's also why if you don't finish your anti-biotic medicine, and sometimes even then, you've simply bred out the weak bacteria and rebuilt the strong, resistant ones.

Edit: Oh, and you should be Rapture Ready.

Edited by reifidom - 18 August 2006 at 11:22am

GI JOES SON wrote: pffff apocalypse. the world should fear Paul Baumgartner.

http://www.collegetennisonline.com/view/player.asp?plId=2965 9

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not sensing a lot of power or evil here.