We seem to have always collectively known there will be an end to the planet Earth.  Countless myths, legends, religious teachings, predictions, and warnings have proliferated throughout human history. We’ve been able to observe everything that has a beginning will end and naturally deduced that even the world will follow this cycle one day running its course.  Humanity has always sensed that our time will eventually run out. 

 

Norse Myths on the End

Well-being I won
And wisdom too
From a word to a word
I was led to a word
From a deed to another deed.

From the The Poetic Edda (ca. AD 1200)

http://www.urd.nu/urdnorn/mythology/speech.html

Norse mythology was particularly bloody since believers in Odin and his fellow gods were themselves living a harsh and pragmatic existence.  The legend regarding the world’s end seems at first glance especially gloomy.

 

Life, the Norse believed, had come from fire and water.  Through a vast empty void these elements met giving the deities physical form beginning with Odin the father of the gods.  The end they believed would simply be the reverse of this process.

 

Odin would die in battle; his son would avenge him, but to no avail.  The Sun would be destroyed. The earth would catch on fire and sink into the sea. One glimmer of hope is held out-- the cycle would start again and the world would be reborn.

  What Does the Mayan Calendar Really Say?

 Cycles show up again in the Mayan’s understanding and philosophies of life. The people of the Yucatan Peninsula were inspired to develop an incredibly detailed calendar that charts the stages of the planet’s past and future.  Much present-day discussion has centered on the last recorded year being 2012.

What should be considered when looking at the Mayan Calendar is that like the Norse legends they believed for every end there is a beginning.  2012 may be the end of their recorded future, but does not necessarily reflect a theory that no future exists passed this point. Possibly this is merely the conclusion of the sequence which would trigger a new series of unforeseen cycles.

 The sky will fall tomorrow!  Ok, possibly next week. May be Thursday after next?  Theories, Panics, dire predications that just didn’t pan out.

 Not all groups have tried to find patterns as a basis for predication.  Others have tried indicators such as weather, natural disasters, moral corruption and when all else fails, science. 

 The Forecast calls for...uh oh.

Changes in the weather are often alarming enough to cause distress. Add scary predications and even the calmest people will start looking heavenward a little nervously.  For example in 986 A.D. during the reign of Otto III an eclipse caused wide spread panic through the ranks of the German army.

 Michel de Nostredame (Nostradamus)  was born December 14, 1503 in St. Remi, France.  In his own time he was thought of as a physician, astrologer, and a seer.  It was not until he was in his fifties that he began to write a series of quatrains (a poem with four lines).  He used symbolism and metaphor in these writings to obscure his predications making them extremely open to interpretation.

 

The quatrains that allegedly forecast the world’s swan song speak of an apocalypse preceded by severe changes in the weather, earthquakes, cities falling into the sea, and finally a state of permanent winter.  Remarkably, again as with the early myths Nostradamus did not see this destruction as a final curtain call, instead foretelling a thousand year long reign of planet wide peace to follow the devastation.

 If at first you don’t succeed, embrace the possibility you’re wrong!

Convinced that a series of earthquakes and weather changes were the forerunner of Armageddon a farmer named Arthur Miller announced the end of world was scheduled for March 21^st 1843.  A group of believers gathered on a hill to watch the events unfold, but were doomed to frustration when nothing catastrophic occurred.  Miller admitted he must have made a mistake, but only in the timing. God, he still believed, was trying to announce his arrival through unseasonable climates.  His followers, now known as Millerites, gathered once more in October 22^nd of 1844.  Considering that many of the Millerites had given away their belongings thinking they would no longer be in need of material possessions it’s no surprise that they referred to October 23^rd as “The Great Disappointment.” 

The end should have taken place on December 17^th 1919 according to a meteorologist named Albert Porta.  This theory was based on a 6 planetary alignment that would cause the Sun to explode on that date. By December the 20^th of that year Albert publicly admitted that he might have been mistaken.

  Science + Religion = Confusion

  Leaning in your corner like a candidate for wax

Sidewalk social scientist don't get no satisfaction from your cigarette

It's ten to ten and time is running out

Lock up all your memories, get outa here, you know that we can run

Today can last another million years

Today could be the end of me

It's 11:59, and I want to stay alive

 

---11:59  Blondie

 The Rapture

 Biblical text is a precious resource of wisdom and guidance. Unfortunately any written word is open to the analysis of the reader, and often those interpretations are based more on the desires of the interrupter than the intent of the prophet or teacher. In following any faith it is important to be true to oneself, use your own mind, and not to rely too heavily on the elucidation or explanations of others. 

 The signs of the coming Armageddon are frequently spotted.  Believers since the death of Christ have felt immediacy about the prophecy.  There were “panics” similar to the Millerite’s in which large groups gave away possessions, relocated, or otherwise prepared for an immediate end.  500 A.D., and 999 A.D. both saw large populations whose citizen’s were certain the signs were clearly pointing to their own time as the scariest, or most corrupt in history, and that the Anti-Christ was clearly a member of their own generation. So far no one has guessed correctly.

 Certain practitioners of fundamentalist Christian faiths find in Theologians an end game scenario:

Mankind will grow increasing corrupt.

The righteous (living and the dead) will be suddenly lifted up to heaven escaping the horrors to come. 

The usual recipe of disasters will follow heralding the arrival of the Anti-Christ. 

Hardships and a battle between good and evil occupy the time of those remaining on Earth. 

Good will eventually triumph over evil and a long period of peace will reign over the planet. 

 Discussion of what has become well known as The Rapture did not take such a prominent role in Christianity until the Depression era. Tent Revival meetings had been seen throughout America since the 1800’s, but during this time of national hardship this form of ministry saw its hay day. Under stress from the tough economic times many were extremely receptive both to this simplistic form of worship and to the non-complexity of the message. The teachings of Christ however, are best understood by in-depth individual study through which a human being may find soul enriching, life sustaining enlightenment. When this message was sparingly dispersed in the emotionally charged atmosphere of the revival meeting some left with very little understanding and too much false hope. In areas hardest hit by the economic downshift small bands of hopefuls encouraged by such ministries gathered on hilltops and like the Millerites before them waited to be lifted up to Heaven and out of their harsh circumstances. They were given only the crowd-pleasing formula of instant bliss. Sadly the very principles that might have brought peace, resolution, and fulfillment to their lives were never revealed to them. 

 The Great Depression, the events leading up to World War II, and the subsequent rise of various political governments such as communism have been viewed by some as signs of The Rapture. While today the interpretation of the biblical passages written by the apostle Paul are not the sum total of most people’s understanding of scriptural text there is still a fascination with The Rapture. The events of 911, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are often mentioned in connection with this prophecy.  There can be at least one assurance that we are not currently seeing the events of the prophecy unfold since no large numbers of the genuinely righteous have gone missing or unaccounted for despite being perhaps harder to find.

 Well then, we’ll just make it happen! 

 Various cults have capitalized on legitimate religious dogma, subverting the beliefs of the faithful to their own designs.  Cult leaders have exploited followers by drawing in the naïve, who might not have a clear grasp of religious teaching or who have a weak sense of self-worth, and convincing them the end is near.  When these prophecies do not materialize the Cult Leader will attempt to force the issue. 

 Charles Manson

 It’s difficult to understand how anyone could find in Manson a single redeeming quality, much less be willing to believe his fantasy of being a Christ-like figure.  While it is possible to drum up sympathy for the child who was so abandoned he wrote letters to his social worker addressing her as “Mommy”, the man he became was a manipulative, narcissistic, pathological killer.  Even more difficult to fathom is that among his followers the most ruthless assassins he created were from normal families who loved and supported them.  Having failed at the unrealistic goal of getting a record deal, he focused instead on building his own small kingdom of disillusioned   young people. Somehow he managed to infect the castaways, and the dropouts from society with his own brand of hatred under the guise of creating a spiritual “family”. 

 Convincing his followers that Armageddon would take the form of a racial war by distorting biblical testament, religious texts, and even music from the Beatles, (not to mention dosing them with large amounts of mind altering drugs), he managed to control them.  Eventually as time went by no such events played out.  Manson afraid of losing his flock decided to try making the very history he’d predicted.  What followed were the vicious murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, Steve Parent, Sharon Tate, Voytek Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Jay Sebring. None of the murdered had any direct link to “The Family”; the only motive was leading police to think the killings were racially motivated. Manson believed such murders and the subsequent arrests of innocent African Americans would spark a genocide from which he would emerge as a worldwide leader. 

 When the Manson Family was caught and tried for their crimes the trial was drawn out and protracted due not only to the deranged reasoning behind the crimes, but also because of the political climate at the time.  Eventually found guilty Manson and those followers who were directly involved were given Death Sentences.  Their sentences were later commuted when capital punishment was deemed cruel and unusual.

 

It went very wrong…

 The seeds of disaster often lay dormant for a long time only to grow and bloom forth when there is no one left to even recall how they came to be planted in the first place. For all that has been written and spoken of Vernon Howell the truth is often overlooked. The tragedy and death that occurred was and still is twisted by political agendas, religious fervor, and sensationalism.  The true story starts and ends with a child abandoned by his father, who would claimed to have been abused as infant by his stepfather, was mislabeled and placed in unchallenging classes by school officials, and taunted by schoolmates.  The story starts and ends with Vernon Howell who would take the name David Koresh.  

 While the outcome of what happened to Koresh and his followers was placed solely at the feet of law enforcement officials the truth is there were many times that someone, anyone, taking realistic and compassionate action during the early life of Vernon Howell, could have circumvented their fate. 

 In 1959 Vernon was born out of wedlock with the added disadvantages of being poor, and having a very young mother.  The infant’s young father immediately abandoned both the mother and child refusing any appeals for support.  Desperate, Vernon’s mother married another man, who they both later claimed, beat them severely.  Whether or not this is true, and whether or not other forms of abuse were perpetrated against Vernon his mother had the presence of mind to leave and flee back to her parents.

 While the child showed signs of a mechanical aptitude at a young age his troubles were far from over. He had a pronounced stutter that made communication extremely difficult for him, and he was vaguely labeled as a “slow learner” and placed in Special Education classes.  Mislabeling a child with a speech impediment, as being learning impaired is a tragic mistake in it’s self.  Many brilliant men and women, and in fact many talented orators, have started life with a stutter, a lisp, or difficulty pronouncing certain words.  How frustrating it must have been for Vernon to be shuffled away from his favorite subjects based solely on his inability to speak properly, a factor over which he had no control. Even more discouraging for him were his classmate’s jeers and taunts over his removal from the regular curriculum. 

 By the time Vernon entered his teens his life was a confusing contrast of religious zeal mixed with an open, and by this point understandable, mistrust and animosity toward authority.   Intervention and realistic help at this point could have resulted in a far different set of circumstances for this young man.  Unfortunately no such action was forthcoming and the stage was set for a horrific ending.  Ties between Vernon and the organized religion he practiced were broken when its leaders could no longer tolerate his verbose and profane outbursts. Like Charles Manson before him Vernon went to Hollywood with idea of becoming a Rock Star, but failed miserably.

 Vernon had overcome his initial impediment and had in fact became an almost hypnotic speaker.  Hiding behind this ability and the guise of religion he took the name of David Koresh and set about manipulating others to the point of finally receiving the respect and adoration he needed to reconcile his own feelings of doubt and humiliation. 

 Koresh was able to assume control over a religious commune by having an affair with the widow of its founder.  He was also able to use the political climate to his own advantage, since local law enforcement was reluctant to intrude or investigate criminal activity among a “religious” community. 

 This allowed Koresh to lead the commune at Branch Davidian into depravity, corruption, and extreme paranoia.  While hinting to his followers that he was the Son of God Koresh’s control over believers was so extreme that he demanded the right to sleep with any woman, married or unmarried, and even sexually molested girls as young as eleven years old.  Despite the attempted intervention of a social worker the attention of national law enforcement agencies was not attracted until he had large cases of explosive firearms sent to him through a shipment service.  Since he had in fact put down at least one attempted take over by a rival with a hail of bullets this final discovery could not be ignored by those agencies. 

 The Branch Davidians had been slowly and carefully prepared for a violent conflict that would signal the end of the world.  They firmly believed at this point that if their commitment to David wavered they would face eternity in Hell.  Shaking an individual out of a cult mentality is difficult in the best situations.  ATF, involved due to the illegal shipment of firearms, was involved as well as several other organizations, all which had some experience with cults, however, even with this experience seldom are cult situations reconciled peacefully. Due to psychological conditioning by the cult leader any interference is seen as hostile and a sign of the very conflict they believe has been prophesied.  They will immediately begin acting out the paranoid fantasies of their conditioning.  The reality of the situation eludes them even as the worldview of the cult is difficult for the law enforcement officers to deduce. Communication breaks down; and miscalculations on the part of law enforcement are almost inevitable in these circumstances.

 An added factor is that both Manson and Koresh brought certain elements to their preaching that would strike a chord even outside their sphere of influence.  Both used current popular cultural religious references as part of their jargon. This afforded them some leeway in gaining support for their causes among the general public.  For Manson this would mean spouting the anti-establishment catch phrases of the time, while Koresh used the pro-life, anti-liberal distrust of the media and current governmental administration popular during the early 90’s to distort the facts of his case.  In Koresh’s case the warping of fiction and truth was so complete that many to this day are still willing to overlook the terrorist threat that an arsenal building, child molesting mad man was to the community at large in favor of using the Davidian’s as martyrs to a theoretical governmental conspiracy.

 This incorporation and exploitation of strong public sentiment ensured that long after the demise of both cults repercussions would still be felt throughout the nation.  The Nixon and Ford administrations were dirtied by the Manson murders as those on the extreme left never quite gave up the idea that the his trial had been unfair despite the overwhelming evidence against him.  Likewise the Clinton administration would suffer heavily from criticism for supposed irresponsibility in handing Koresh’s cult. The senseless violence would not end there either.  A gun welding former member of the Manson Family menaced President Ford, while the lingering effects of what happened to the Davidians in Waco, Texas would eventually cause grief and heartbreak in another community in Oklahoma. 

 Armageddon did not occur at 5:59 a.m. on April 19, 1993 but the lives of all but a few of the Branch Davidians, including 23 children, did come to a brutal and unnecessary end. How the fire that destroyed the Davidian’s compound began was, and perhaps always will be, hotly debated. 

Timothy McVeigh acted on the presumption that the government was responsible for the death of Koresh and his followers.  On April 19, 1995 he carried out what would be one of the most violent and deadly acts of domestic terrorism carried out by an American against U.S citizens.  McVeigh, who had spent time in the military, blew up a Federal office complex in Oklahoma City killing 168 people including several small children, and wounding hundreds more. Sentenced to lethal injection by a Federal Court Tim McVeigh went to his death apparently still believing that he was a hero who had avenged the deaths of innocents murdered by a corrupt Administration.

 Many of the surviving members of the cult in Waco continue to hope that their leader will be resurrected and brought back to life, as was the rest of his prophecy.  So far the only legacy of Vernon Howell are half-truths, false promises, violence and death.   

  

Blinded by Science:

 Of course if you look for doom you can definitely find it in the realm of science. Looked at from a certain point of view many factors could throw off our Planet’s precarious equilibrium.  The follow site lists the many causes that could spell our downfall.  

Check out this link for details: http://www.users.qwest.net/~landea/20_ways_the_world_could_end__by_.htm?NF=1

  Whatever you believe whether it is science, mysticism, religion, or a combination of all three it pays to remember this---there are no promises about tomorrow and each day should be lived to the fullest.  The best bet would be to find a sincere path and principles by which to guide your life.