Apostles of the Apocalypse : Are we ready for the end?

By Steve Nettleton

CNN Interactive

"There will be a time of distress such as has not happened
from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time
your people -- everyone whose name is found written in the
book -- will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust
of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others
to shame and everlasting contempt." -- Daniel 12:1-2

(CNN) -- Even after the last bottle of flat bubbly rolls to
a stop next to a host of empty champagne flutes, drained
beer cans and crumpled party favors on New Year's morning,
one countdown will trudge on, fatefully ticking down to a
day of doom.

The clock of the apocalypse has entered its 11th hour,
proclaim some self-professed contemporary prophets, and
Judgment Day is nigh.

The signs are evident, these latter-day prophets say.
Devastating earthquakes, waves of terrorism and a
continuing descent into moral depravity all point to the
end. Perhaps it will be the Y2K bug that opens the seven
seals of Revelation. Or we could see the long-awaited
arrival of the Jewish Messiah to establish a kingdom of
justice and peace.

One fear of public officials, academics and others is that
some radicals among the doomsayers may attempt acts of
violence in the name of satisfying such prophecies.

Although this year's millennial fervor actually has been
milder than researchers expected, there is still no
shortage of end-time believers of all faiths, from some
Protestant evangelists warning of the imminent reign of the
Antichrist to Muslim extremist groups endorsing a "jihad"
against Israel.

Many of those listening to these religious soothsayers are
average Americans who would not consider themselves
predisposed to apocalyptic thinking.

According to a poll in April, 44 percent of Americans think
Jesus will likely return to Earth within the next 50 years.
The poll was conducted by Princeton Research Associates for
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Another Princeton Research Associates poll conducted for
Newsweek magazine in November found that 40 percent of
Americans believe the world will end with the battle of
Armageddon as described in the New Testament book of
Revelation. Of those, some 47 percent believe the
Antichrist is already on Earth.

Such findings are not surprising in an age of revolutionary
advances in technology, researchers say.

"Any time of radical and rapid change is a great candidate
for apocalyptic expectations," says Richard Landes,
director of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston
University. "The idea that modernity is a runaway
juggernaut that's leading us ultimately to destruction and
only God can save us from it is obviously a tremendous
stimulant to the apocalyptic imagination, 2000 or not, and
will continue to stimulate the apocalyptic imagination
after the passage of 2000."

Few soothsayers, however, are reserving an exact date for
the end. Some Christian ministers are making vague
predictions of a cataclysm somewhere around the year 2000.
Many leave their calendars blank, warning followers to be
prepared "at any time."

"Most organized religious groups -- denominations, churches
and so on -- are going to stay away from formal apocalyptic
expectations," Landes says. "But all Christians, all Jews
and all Muslims have built into their religion the belief
that at some point all these things are going to happen."

'Jesus is coming soon -- perhaps today'

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was
no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud
voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is
with men, and he will live with them. They will be his
people, and God himself will be with them and be their
God.'" -- Revelation 21:1-3

Much of Christian eschatology (doctrine of last things)
focuses on the final book of the New Testament, Revelation,
written by the apostle John while he was in exile on the
Greek island of Patmos. Revelation seethes with terrifying
imagery -- of devilish beasts, earthly destruction and
heavenly wrath, culminating in a final battle between Jesus
and the Antichrist.

Scores of preachers have seized upon Revelation's
compelling visions to evoke various interpretations of the
end of days.

In his book, "Israel's Final Holocaust," Jack Van Impe,
founder of one of the world's largest evangelical Christian
ministries devoted to prophecy, applies an almost literal
view of Revelation to a modern context.

"Following the defeat of Russia and her armies by Israel,
the final world dictator, the Antichrist, will be revealed
for who he is -- a ruthless, satanically controlled, evil
person," Van Impe writes. "The length of his reign after
the Israeli defeat of Russia will be three and one-half
(forty-two months; see Rev. 13:5) and during that time he
will bring the world to its most violent hour."

[WordWeaver comment: I think Impe is way off base here.
Russia defeated by Israel? Hardly. I can only assume that
he comes to these conclusions based on Ezekiel 38-39,
because some people think that Gog and Magog are Russia.]

Most scholars contend, however, that John was merely
writing in code to Christian churches in Asia Minor (modern
Turkey).

"It is written to Christians who are suffering under the
persecution of the Roman Empire. And the Roman Empire is
the great beast that is persecuting the Christian Church,"
says Paul D. Hanson, Lamont Professor of Divinity at
Harvard University. "It is a word of comfort that those who
are faithful even unto death will not be abandoned by God,
because ultimately God is the sovereign king."

[WordWeaver comment: Again, this guy is also way off base.
As the Angelic Messenger told John, Revelation is the
account of the past, the present in John's day, and the end
of all things as we currently know them. That end did NOT
come during Rome's time almost 2,000 years ago. If Jesus
has already come and set up His Kingdom, if we are already
living on the New Heaven and the New Earth, then I must
have missed something somewhere, and someone in the past
did a GREAT job of destroying historical records]

As for preachers who read more into the book, Hanson says
they are taking the wrong approach.

"The use of the Bible to predict the end of the world ...
constitute[s] an abuse of scripture," Hanson says. "The
message that these groups derive from scripture through
their perverted reading is one of cruel vindictiveness
against the vast majority of the human race."

[WordWeaver comment: God help this guy! Like Impe, he is
really leading people astray. If anything is perverted, and
if anyone is abusing the Scriptures, he most certainly is.]

Prophesiers such as Van Impe say their message is not
hateful; it gives hope to modern Christians that Jesus is
coming soon.

"Current international events reflect exactly the
conditions and happenings predicted throughout the Bible
for the last days of this age," Van Impe writes on his Web
site. "Remember that this special message has been given to
reveal God's truth, not conceal it; and to clarify God's
eternal purpose, not mystify it. Millions need to be
alerted to the fact that Jesus is coming soon -- perhaps
today!"

[WordWeaver comment: At least Impe gets that part
right...but sadly, he is a Pre-Tribber.]

Israel: An ark of Noah

"'Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace.
All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and
that day that is coming will set them on fire,' says the
Lord Almighty. 'Not a root or a branch will be left to
them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of
righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you
will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.'"
-- Malachi 4:1-2

Like Christianity, Judaism features a wildly diverse range
of interpretations of an apocalyptic end. Most center on
the Messiah -- a savior who will restore Israel to its
proper state and inaugurate an era of universal peace.

At the end of the Messiah's reign, the wicked throughout
history will be brought back to life and judged, while the
righteous will be transported into a new world.

While most Jewish groups avoid trying to predict when the
Messiah will come, some are finding a striking coincidence
in the year 2000.

In the Jewish year 5760, according to a 16th century
Kabbalistic (traditional) text, "the depths will rise up
and flood the world, and there will remain the Land of
Israel, which will be like the Ark of Noah."

Conveniently, the Jewish year 5760 began in September 1999
and overlaps the Gregorian year 2000, leading some
followers to wonder if some global disaster may befall the
earth in the coming months.

Avraham Sheinman, director of an organization based in
Israel called Operation Homeward, takes it a step further.
He fears the Y2K computer bug could trigger widespread
unrest, possibly igniting a backlash against the Jewish
Diaspora. Therefore, Sheinman is encouraging Jews to return
to Israel to protect themselves against a wave of
anti-Semitism that could spread across the globe.

But Gershom Gorenberg, a senior editor of the Jerusalem
Report, believes the excitement over the year 5760 would
not have surfaced if it were not for the hype of the year
2000.

"My guess would be that if the year 5760 had come out to be
the year 1967 in the Gregorian calendar and nobody was
particularly excited about it as an apocalyptic marker,
these Kabbalistic texts would have gone virtually
unnoticed," Gorenberg says.

In fact, many Jews do not read much into Jewish numerology
or the apocalypse.

"Our emphasis is on the here and the now. Our purpose on
Earth is to make it a better place," says Rabbi Barry
Konovitch, of the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center in
Miami. "Our purpose on Earth is to transform the Earth, and
you transform the Earth for the better by transforming
yourself. The rest is just speculation."

Islam's final 'jihad'

For Muslims, the world is destined to witness a great final
battle between a demonic being called the Dajjal (Arabic
for "the Deceiver"), similar to the Christian Antichrist,
and the Mahdi, a descendant of Mohammed. The Mahdi's
victory will usher in a millennium of peace, followed by
final judgment.

[WordWeaver comment: Wow! Sounds like the Muslims got it
more right than some of these Christian preachers! I indeed
believe that the Antichrist will be a Jew, and the Beast
and False Prophet will both be Muslims. This 'Mahdi' would
probably be the False Prophet.]

Islamic fundamentalists today often associate the Dajjal
with Israel or the United States, countries perceived to be
enemies of Islam. Consequently, extremists such as Osama
bin Laden, who has declared a holy war against these
nations, are considered by some Muslims as candidates for
the Mahdi, the Muslim messianic figure.

[WordWeaver comment: Isn't that amazing?! I was unaware of
these Muslim beliefs...yet I have been saying for several
years now that the Beast and False Prophet will be Muslims.
That is a pretty heavy confirmation if you ask me, because
that is exactly what the Muslims are expecting. They will
play right into the hands of this demonic pair, because
they have already chosen their delusion; just like the Jews
with their false messiah, Moshiach ben David.]

Islamic moderates, on the other hand, tend to associate the
Mahdi with mainstream leaders such as Jordan's King
Abdullah, according to Landes of the Center for Millennial
Studies.

Apocalypse Soon?

So what happens if the expected apocalypse does not
materialize on schedule?

Millennial scholars fear we will see a backlash against
various religious groups as conservative Christian leaders
seek to explain why their predictions did not come true.

Religious movements out of the mainstream, such as
Jehovah's Witnesses or the Wiccans, could be targeted,
according to Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, an
organization that promotes understanding of all religions.

Another concern: agents provocateurs. Some radical
doomsayers could act to ignite a religious war, thus
triggering Armageddon.

"If you see a situation in which things are getting worse
and your side is losing, you'd rather provoke an all-out
battle than slowly have your position slip away," Landes
says.

Hanson agrees: "If you have people perceiving all kinds of
things are going to happen, and they take prophecy into
their own hands and arrogate themselves to being agents of
divine wrath or whatever, horrible things can happen."

Many prognosticators, however, simply push back their
timetables when the foretold events do not occur. So even
after the passing of 2000 and the formal arrival of the 3rd
millennium in 2001, we will likely continue to enjoy a
wealth of new prophecies and warnings of TEOTWAWKI, as it
is known on the Internet -- the End of the World as We Know
It.