Ten more reasons this is not the end of the world...

Things have changed. The pandemic is on the wane. But one thing that has not changed is that certain circles still believe we are in the last of the last days. It is disturbing. It means that hope for your children (should you have them), is no longer there. Who could believe our luck? Not only do we have to cope with energy prices skyrocketing and the strange effects of Brexit just happening to raise the prices of milk, bread and pizza, but we now have to cope with the four horsemen. No! Go away horsemen. You are not wanted.

First plague and now war (and I can guarantee that some people already want you to think that Putin is the antichrist).

So, as I do not like it when people are misled, here are ten more reasons why this is not the end of ages.

I’m going to have to think about all this. I’ve already gone into the main ten reasons here (of which I am 99% certain) and now I have to think ten more up…

 

1.     1.  Believers say that God always keeps his promises. Eventually. So here is the thing – if God has promised specific things to specific people because they’ve asked him to answer their prayers then he can’t wind up the whole of history without answering those prayers. For example, an individual may say ‘God, I really, really want a Blackberry KeyTwo’ (even though it is almost impossible because Blackberry have now faded). And so, if God says “Okay” then that person has the promise of a new phone with that dinky little keyboard. Conceivably they could get one in heaven, but what if they are asking for a specific job? Or a partner? Or some kind of healing? God has made specific promises to lots of people and they can’t all be answered outside of time.

2.      2. What did the thunders say in the Book of Revelation? Maybe they said ‘Ignore all this really bad stuff, there’s going to be good stuff too’.

3.      3. The Two Witnesses. According to our favourite book, which we all read all the time I’m sure, there have to be Two Witnesses. Now this is the reason I’m never going to Israel. For someone like me, with mental health problems, apparently it is a thing that Christians who go to Israel get really worked up and start believing they are one of the prophesied two witnesses. Apparently, it happens all the time and even has a syndrome name amongst doctors there. But, if we are in the start of the tribulation then where are these protagonists? You could say they are symbolic and not literal, but I still don’t see how they are around now. And for us literalists, take some comfort in the fact that the Church fathers actually thought that a literal reading of the gospels and revelation (not the rest) showed spiritual maturity rather than the opposite. No two witnesses. Not here yet.

4.     4.  Us Christians can be an argumentative bunch. You may have noticed that we are not as loving as we are supposed to be and that we sin all the time. So here is number 4. ‘The worldwide church has been prayed for by Jesus to be in unity. But have you seen the state of us? We can’t agree on the very slightest thing most of the time. I’ve seen unity in political parties at moments (such as in Labour at the start of Blair’s takeover), but I don’t think you can call what is going on now unity, even if you redefine the word. No unity.

5.      5. If the main forces who want us to think that this is the end of the world happen to be the devil and his demons, then can someone tell me how they know that when even Christ claimed to have hidden it from himself? Do they have secret knowledge of some brooding antichrist figure? The spiritual forces are bullies and as far as I am concerned have no rights. They certainly have no knowledge concerning the actual end of the world. They simply want to freak people out.

6.      6.6.6. According to the Muslim meta-narrative there will be a wind which will take out all of the believers. It’s windy here but I haven’t seen that happen. I may have got my faiths mixed up momentarily but bear with me…

7.      7. Earthquakes. There was one here in Blighty just recently. I slept through it. You tell me just how it so happens that earthquakes and great plumes of smoke ‘just so happen’ to have been more reported recently? Oh yes, that would be because of the digital revolution. Now we all hear if there has been an earthquake in Dudley or wherever. It’s also possibly down to fraking or something. I bet they are still doing that.

8.      8. The harlot riding the beast! So where is she then? And no, it isn’t the Catholic church. Anyone saying that is kind of proving my point that we are not in unity. The harlot represents such and such but according to the Bible, Babylon effectively implodes through fighting factions (you could say ‘oh, what is the point of fighting it then?’ and maybe you would have a point). Revived Roman empire. Good grief.

9.      9. So much for receiving the latter-rain in terms of revival. Oh, and some of us thought that was promised as a mercy in the midst of plague and war. God was supposed to be pleased with Brexit. Where has that reward gone then? Now we are facing an economic nightmare.

10.   10. The rapture! Well, this is the main argument against any of my sign-seeking. The idea is that the rapture could happen at any moment, meaning that none of these prophecies needs to be fulfilled (although you would think church unity would, but hey?). Could happen any moment. Take your lover close and all that. But no, is church unity to happen in heaven alone? What is the point of the prayer of Jesus then? And no orthodox Christian ever thought that a rapture would save us from the tribulation when it comes. And surely someone during that time will be writing a list of 20 reasons it is not the end of the world? According to the Bible, the Church is right there side by side with people in that time. Those of us still alive are still here and haven’t been swept up into the air. Yes, we are going through all this bad news with you. It could happen, but I’m 99% sure that the other prophecies have to happen first. Christians can argue about the pre-trib rapture all day long and it kind of proves my point that we are not in unity on this or on most other issues. The rapture hasn’t happened yet. It could happen, but God, as a storyteller is probably most likely to do it at the very last moment when all seems more hopeless than ever. No rapture yet.

And no Season 4 of Stranger Things.

Think happy thoughts.

Top ten reasons this is not the end of the world

Okay. Time for a new blog entry. I've been trying to write, but failing throughout much of the pandemic. I've only been brave enough to admit that I am afraid. Warning - this entry is dumbed down as my brain is slow at the moment...

I’m an armchair expert in eschatology from a Christian perspective. That is the study of the end of the world for newbies. It is something we should be interested in. And I've got good news and bad news..

Firstly, although this is not the end of the world, we are a little bit closer and the hope of leaving earth before the sun collapses, explodes or whatever it is expected to do, is not, in my opinion, going to happen. Similarly, we simply are not going to evolve into spiritual beings who escape death. Not going to happen. We are also unlikely to escape this sick planet onto another planet either. Not impossible, but unlikely....

Welcome to the good news, or Gospel as we call it. Can you sense my heaviness as I write? Everything is conspiring to stop me from writing this, but you have a right to know. So here’s the bad news first. There is probably much less time left than you think. That, as you know, is a dogmatic statement. I can’t possibly know can I? No-one knows do they? We may destroy the world with nukes or we may have millions of years left before we rip the planet apart. Well, you and I don’t have millions of years. The bad news is that we almost certainly have a lot less time left than most people think.

The pandemic is not the end of the world. It is a result of the fall (as in the Bible fall, the original curse). It just happens. I won't get into the theological stuff regarding who is to blame and why God allows suffering because the greatest minds have not been able to solve it satisfactorily. So I don't think some obscure blogger will either. And you are unlikely to be able to do so either. Sorry.

But here are your top ten reasons why this is not the end of the world, if you are into this kind of thing…  It is supposed to bring you a little peace, that there is hope for the children, should you have them...



1. The Jewish temple has not been rebuilt. Sorry, but that has to happen if it is the end of the world according to most of the Christian meta-narrative. And do you know how many prophecies have really been fulfilled in our lifetimes? One. Uno. The Jewish people returning to Israel. The rest of the prophecies have always been going on. And you know what? Those who believe in the rapture will tell you that it could happen at any moment. But it is extremely unlikely. Because even this debated event is based on other things happening first...

2. You’ve got to look very hard at the Biblical prophecies. Here is number two and it is debatable. Jesus said that the love of many will grow cold. It is debatable. But there is still love and mercy and despite our selfishness, people can be loving.

3. A bit of a biggy. Visit The Joshua Project, it's an online statistical analysis of the great commission (the only commissions some of us get). According to the prophecies given from Jesus and the prophets, the whole of the world must hear the gospel. Yeah, God loved the world so much that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him might basically make it through to Heaven. But according to our favourite stats, we are only about 60% through. So does this mean that we are more concerned about this great commission rather than the other signs? No. In fact, this really big fact is probably the most ignored sign. We don’t like it because it means there is a lot of work to do. And as many know, immantisising the eschaton is an actual thing. In layman's terms that means trying to bring about the end of the world.

4. You’ve got to go deep into internet territory to get this one. I will put two-in-one for fun. Apparently the Nile will dry up, according to scripture. It hasn’t but maybe it did once and wasn’t recorded. No religious leader tells you this stuff (Which is why I’m blowing the whistle). And the second? Damascus in Syria has to be destroyed. Sorry Damascus. Still going strong there though, despite a few hairy moments recently.

5. OMG the Sun will turn to sackcloth and the Moon to blood. This kind of speaks of more than just eclipses and blood moons. So, before we feel too smug, remember that the Sun and Moon are symbolic references to our parents, if the Bible is to interpret the Bible and blah blah blah. And the stars to our siblings. And the end of the world to our own deaths. But the prophecy is literal too.

6. 6. 6. Nice obscure one for your attention. In the apocrypha Maccabees says that the Ark of the Covenant will be found in the very last days. Apparently it was made of acacia wood. Not sure how it is supposed to survive but think Indiana Jones. For those interested, it seems likely to be hidden in the mountain ranges of Jordan somewhere. Good luck finding it.

7. Oh, I’m sorry, where does the antichrist happen to be? Not here for a start. Not Trump. Not the Pope. Ain't nowhere to be seen. There are a lot of nasty characters out there, but that's all. No-one is a particularly good contender at the moment for that dubious position. I have been taught that he will most likely be a politician.

8. Again, slightly obscure, according to prophecies, Israel has to prosper within history. No problem with that, but at the moment the country is in survival mode. Nice defence policy though. Buy New Israeli Shekels.

9. Hey, apparently there is a timeframe in which the Messiah, or the Christ has to appear. Jewish people largely reject Jesus so they are largely expecting a Messiah to appear before 2240. Do the math. That gives us 220 years. Hurrah? (I've just realised my maths is wrong even though I was in the top set at school and got a B)... Might not be the Messiah of course as it is doubtful we will get a better one than Jesus.

10. Oh, I don't know. There is no Season 4 of Stranger Things. Whatever. Could be anything. Fill in the blank.




Some of these are debatable. But if the temple gets rebuilt you have to run to the hills. The vaccine is not likely to be the mark of the beast despite what Kanye West may say. It's the arm, not the hand or forehead. But don't get too smug, governments have hinted at stopping travel for those who don't take the vaccine. That's not fair is it? It's freaky. It's weird. And by the way, the people who are getting demonised are those who are questioning. The demonised are not the ones in power. That's not normal. That's freaky.

Finally, don’t you think it is kind of funny that the end of the world just so happens to have come at the same time as the digital revolution where news and information is shared so instantly? Unless we are under Sod’s Law, we have a little more time. And no, non-believers, not so much time as to evolve and escape the earth on spaceships before the sun kills us all, blasting us into smithereens.


Think happy thoughts.