The Apocalypse

I doubt the ancient Hebrews invented the idea of the Apocalypse, but they certainly wrote about it, as have Christian writers ever since. According to Revelations, supposedly the last book in the Christian Bible, the Apocalypse will come, once certain conditions are met. It takes a creative reading of Revelations to decide: now is the time, but there are many who seem to think it is; perhaps a better verb to describe their thinking is 'hope.'

I asked a woman at the local Seventh Day Adventist vegetarian store if she thought the Apocalypse was coming--Israel was bombing the bejeezus out of Lebanon that day--and she smiled, and said she hoped so!

Since this was in the Northeast, the woman was clearly in a small minority, but I had just come back from the Denver area, where the Christian Right is very strong. I have seen bumper stickers that say: Caution! In case of the Rapture, this vehicle will be un-manned!

What is it about the idea of the Apocalypse that has such long-lasting appeal? Is it the idea that people can escape from the terrible conditions under which they live?

During the last days of the Roman Empire, surely, things were very bad indeed, and many did hope for the last days. Monasteries sprung up all over the eastern deserts, and also in Gaul, Spain and Italy itself. Saints like Simon Stylites went to incredible lengths to mortify their flesh in preparation for the Apocalypse that never came. Simon perched on the top of a pillar for years.

The American approach to the Apocalypse is a little different; people aren't just waiting. Some of the most active support for the war in Iraq, at least in its earlier days, came from people like the woman in the Seventh Day Adventist store: Christian radicals. It appears they have a much more active pursuit of the Apocalypse, which maybe a typically American approach. American Fundamentalists won't just wait; they have encouraged and supported war policies that could make it happen. Attack Iraq? Yeah, yeah! ( See: the US as Babylon ) Isn't Iraq where there was the ancient Babylon? Maybe that's where it's supposed to happen. So, Bush should be encouraged.

Now, talk and planning to attack Iran, and to use nuclear "bunker busters" to take out their nuclear program, isn't that also something the religious right favors, because it could lead to the Apocalypse?

Fundamentally, apocalyptic thinking posits the proposition that things have to get a whole lot worse before they can get better--for the believer, at least. So, the worse things become, the more likely things will get better, and suddenly.

The ideas of the Apocalypse, the Rapture, the Anti-Christ and the various mystical and numerological signs come straight out of a vision that reads like a drug trip; if LSD had been invented then, it's likely the writer of Revelations would have been on it.

I do wonder what he was on; must have been pretty powerful. The hardest part of the Apocalypse scenario for me to grasp is that people actually believe it can happen, and that they'll be the chosen, one of the 144,000, while all the other 5.95+ billion people, or so, will be left behind to the tender mercies of the Anti-Christ. It doesn't seem fair, especially considering that well over a billion people consider themselves to be True Believers. "Sorry, not you, not you, not you, just you."

Exclusivity must be a part of the appeal of the whole idea; other people may think they're true believers, but I know I really am.

The funniest part about the apocalyptic writings is the idea of the Rapture. Imagine all these upright (or uptight?) religious types, ascending, naked--yes, they would leave their clothes behind--into the sky, like Superman minus the tights. They'd look pretty silly.

There are real costs for all of us, however, from apocalyptic thinking. It might be nice to simultaneously get rid of the most rigid and self-righteous 144,000 raptured up so that the rest of us mortals can trundle along without their disapproval; that would be a plus. But to have a large portion of the population waiting for the End of Days does not bode well for solving current problems, whether they are political, financial, environmental, local or global. Not only do the Apocalypse-lovers not worry about solving earthly problems, it seems that they try to create them--like attacking Iran, because attacking Iraq wasn't enough to trigger Armageddon.

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Does the US control what Iranian leaders do?  Not rated yet
Does the US control what Iranian leaders do?

Do you think Ahmadinejad would think twice about setting of a nuke in your city if he had the capability?...

Religion studies student Fresno State university  Not rated yet
Well let me start by clearing up the 144000, those are the chosen few by the hand of Jesus Christ to help him rule over the new 1000 year reign on earth....