1 of 15

No

Write now Article Tools

At one time or another, it is highly likely that all of us have come into contact with some alarmist who claims that the end of the world will be coming soon. Such hysterical prophecies can come in the form of written words or speech. Our parents before us were told the same, and many prior generations of people have been fed the same rhetoric.

On January 1, 2000, planes were supposed to fall out of the sky. We were told that cars built after 1975 would stop functioning. All forms of communication save for the spoken word would come to a complete standstill. In essence, the Dark Ages would return, and that every individual would have to fend for himself. In a panic, the most gullible began to draw up plans for the construction of underground shelters stockpiled with weapons, freeze-dried food, and drums filled with water. Since the Soviet Union had broken up by this time, those who panicked simply changed the definition of Armageddon from a world-ending battle between two superpowers to a survival of the fittest scenario. Needless to say, nothing happened and life goes on as usual.

About twenty years before this, some were convinced that Armageddon would take place in 1981. That year, several planets happened to be lined up on the same side of the sun. This was said to be happening because 1981 was 33 years after Israel became a nation, and that 33 was also the age of Jesus Christ at the time of his crucifixion. The fact that all of those planets would be aligned in this particular pattern in 1981 would have been known far earlier by anyone competent in astronomy and would have nothing to do with the demise of earth, anyway! But since 1981 happened to be 33 years after Isreal was recognized as a state, somebody who knew that Jesus was 33 years old when He died on the cross simply tied these three events together. These numbers meant absolutely nothing, but made for interesting Doomsday predictions.

The Christian Bible is not a book of absolutes. This book, or rather a compilation of several books, was written by many different people centuries ago, long before all but the most primitive applications of science were realized. The Book of Revelation is said to reveal how the world will end; that a cataclysmic battle will take place, but for all intents and purposes, how do we know that this wasn't simply the product of someone's vivid imagination? The "Antichrist" label could be placed on anybody who doesn't embrace Christianity as the Bible dictates, and to

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Are we close to the battle of Armageddon??
We want to hear your view. Write now!