i noticed from the asteroid collision threads that some people seem to actually look forward to the end of the world, for a variety of reasons. so here's a little poll...

1) rapture! at last, what took so long? heaven here i come!
2) might be kinda fun, no bag limits on refugees
3) um, i aint been all that good. maybe not such a great idea.
4) this can't be good. i'm low on tp.
5) are you crazy? where am i gonna get my doritos?
6) no way! i wanna live!

ok, also deleted option 5. thanks.

I think perhaps we all might look forward to the SHTF scenario, so's we can use all our nifty black rifles.  Maybe TEOTWAWKI is the ultimate SHTF scenario IMHO (aka Road Warrior).

But I have to ask...

In reference to your list, lurker, who here believes in "the rapture".  As I understand it, God's chosen ones are spared TEOTWAWKI and taken right up to heaven without even dying?  WTF is this all about?
[0:)]
anyone?

[b]Put it to music,boys.[/b]

Eve of Destruction
written by P.F. Sloan

The eastern world it tis explodin',
violence flarin', bullets loadin',
you're old enough to kill but not for votin',
you don't believe in war, what's that gun you're totin',
and even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say?
Can't you see the fear that I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away,
There'll be noone to save with the world in a grave,
take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy,
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
handful of Senators don't pass legislation,
and marches alone can't bring integration,
when human respect is disintegratin',
this whole crazy world is just too frustratin',
and you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Tehn take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
but when you return, it's the same old place,
the poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
you can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace,
hate your next-door-neighbour, but don't forget to say grace,
and you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

I look forward to the time when "the strong shall survive" is again the motto and the weak have no liberals to make excuses for them.

um, i aint been all that good. maybe not such a great idea

FAILED END-OF-THE-WORLD PREDICTIONS

About 30 CE: The Christian Gospels, interpreted literally, record many predictions by Jesus of Nazareth that God's Kingdom would arrive within a very short period, or was actually in the process of arriving. Jesus is recorded as saying in Matthew 16:28: "...there shall be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Since the life expectancy in those days was little over 30 years, Jesus predicted his second coming sometime during the 1st century CE. It didn't happen.
About 60 CE:  Interpreting the Epistles of Paul of Tarsus literally, seem to imply that Jesus would return and usher in a rapture during the lifetime of persons who were living in the middle of the 1st century.
About 90 CE: Saint Clement 1 predicted that the world end would occur at any moment.
2nd Century CE: Prophets and Prophetesses of the Montanist movement predicted that Jesus would return sometime during their lifetime and establish the New Jerusalem in the city of Pepuza in Asia Minor.
365 CE: A man by the name of Hilary of Poitiers, announced that the end would happen that year. It didn't.
375 to 400 CE: Saint Martin of Tours, a student of Hilary, was convinced that the end would happen sometime before 400 CE.
500 CE: This was the first year-with-a-nice-round-number-panic.   The antipope Hippolytus and an earlier Christian academic Sextus Julius Africanus had predicted Armageddon at about this year.
968 CE: An eclipse was interpreted as a prelude to the end of the world by the army of the German emperor Otto III.
992: Good Friday coincided with the Feast of the Annunciation; this had long been believed to be the event that would bring forth the Antichrist, and thus the end-times events foretold in the book of Revelation. Records from Germany report that a new sun rose in the north and that as many as 3 suns and 3 moons were fighting.
1000-JAN-1: Many Christians in Europe had predicted the end of the world on this date. As the date approached, Christian armies waged war against some of the Pagan countries in Northern Europe. The motivation was to convert them all to Christianity, by force if necessary, before Christ returned in the year 1000. Meanwhile, some Christians had given their possessions to the Church in anticipation of the end. Fortunately, the level of education was so low that many citizens were unaware of the year. They did not know enough to be afraid. Otherwise, the panic might have been far worse than it was. Unfortunately, when Jesus did not appear, the church did not return the gifts. Serious criticism of the Church followed. The Church reacted by exterminating some heretics.
1000-MAY: The body of Charlemagne was disinterred on Pentecost. A legend had arisen that an emperor would rise from his sleep to fight the Antichrist.
1005-1006: A terrible famine throughout Europe was seen as a sign of the closeness of the end.
1033: Some believed this to be the 1000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus. His second coming was anticipated. Jesus' actual date of execution is unknown, but is believed to be in the range of 27 to 33 CE.
1147: Gerard of Poehlde decided that the millennium had actually started in 306 CE during Constantine's reign. Thus, the world end would happen in 1306 CE.
1179: John of Toledo predicted the end of the world during 1186. This estimate was based on the alignment of many planets.

1205: Joachim of Fiore predicted in 1190 that the Antichrist was already in the world, and that King Richard of England would defeat him. The Millennium would then begin, sometime before 1205.
1284: Pope Innocent III computed this date by adding 666 years onto the date the Islam was founded.
1346 and later: The black plague spread across Europe, killing one third of the population. This was seen as the prelude to an immediate end of the world. Unfortunately, the Christians had previously killed a many of the cats, fearing that they might be familiars of Witches. The fewer the cats, the more the rats. It was the rat fleas that spread the black plague.
1496: This was approximately 1500 years after the birth of Jesus. Some mystics in the 15th century predicted that the millennium would begin during this year.
1524: Many astrologers predicted the imminent end of the world due to a world wide flood. They obviously had not read the Genesis story of the rainbow.
1533: Melchior Hoffman predicted that Jesus' return would happen in 1533 and that the New Jerusalem would be established in Strasbourg, Germany. He was arrested and died in a Strasbourg jail.
1669: The Old Believers in Russia believed that the end of the world would occur in this year. 20 thousand burned themselves to death from 1669 to 1690 to protect themselves from the Antichrist.
1689: Benjamin Keach, a 17th century Baptist, predicted the end of the world for this year.
1736: British theologian and mathematician William Whitson predicted a great flood similar to Noah's for OCT-13 of this year.
1792: This was the date of the end of the world calculated by some believers in the Shaker movement.
1794: Charles Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism, thought Doomsday would be in this year.
1830: Margaret McDonald, a Christian prophetess, predicted that Robert Owen would be the Antichrist. Owen helped found New Harmony, IN.
1832: Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon movement, heard a voice and interpreted it as implying that if he lived to the age of 85, Jesus would return. This would be the year 1890. Unfortunately, by that year, Smith had been dead for almost a half century.
1843-MAR-21: William Miller, founder of the Millerite movement, predicted that Jesus would come on this date.
1844-OCT-22: When Jesus did not return, Miller predicted this new date. In an event which is now called "The Great Disappointment," many Christians sold their property and possessions, quit their jobs and prepared themselves for the second coming. Nothing happened; the day came and went without incident.
1891 or before: On 1835-FEB-14, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, attended a meeting of church leaders. He said that the meeting had been called because God had commanded it. He announced that Jesus would return within 56 years -- i.e. before 1891-FEB-15.

1914 was one of the more important estimates of the start of the war of Armageddon by the Jehovah's Witnesses (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society). They computed 1914 from prophecy in the book of Daniel, Chapter 4. The writings referred to "seven times". The WTS interpreted each "time" as equal to 360 days, giving a total of 2520 days. This was further interpreted as representing 2520 years, measured from the starting date of 607 BCE. This gave 1914 as the target date. When 1914 passed, they changed their prediction; 1914 became the year that Jesus invisibly began his rule.  
1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994, etc. were other dates that the Watchtower Society or its members predicted. 1975 looked likely as it was computed as the 6000th anniversary of the creation of Adam in the Garden of Eden in 4026 BCE. They interpreted Psalms 90:10 as defining the length of a generation to be 80 years. Since 1914 plus 80 equals 1994, they predicted Armageddon would occur around that year. This prediction came from the grass-roots level; the Watchtower Society did not officially proclaim it. The latest estimate is 6000 years after the creation of Eve, for which no date can be determined with any accuracy. The Jehovah's Witnesses are no longer setting dates, but expect the end of the world, as we know it, at any time.
1919: Meteorologist Albert Porta predicted that the conjunction of 6 planets would generate a magnetic current that would cause the sun to explode and engulf the earth on DEC-17.
1936: Herbert W Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God, predicted that the Day of the Lord would happen sometime in 1936. When the prediction failed, he made a new estimate: 1975.
1948: During this year, the state of Israel was founded. Some Christians believed that this event was the final prerequisite for the second coming of Jesus. Various end of the world predictions were made in the range 1888 to 2048.
1953-AUG: David Davidson wrote a book titled "The Great Pyramid, Its Divine Message". In it, he predicted that the world would end in 1953-AUG.
1957-APR: The Watchtower magazine quoted 6 a pastor from California, Mihran Ask, as saying in 1957-JAN that "Sometime between April 16 and 23, 1957, Armageddon will sweep the world! Millions of persons will perish in its flames and the land will be scorched.'  
1959: The Branch Davidians of Waco TX believed that they would be killed, resurrected and transferred to heaven by APR-22.
1960: Piazzi Smyth, a past astronomer royal of Scotland, wrote a book circa 1860 titled "Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid." It was responsible for spreading the belief in pyramidology throughout the world. This is the belief that secrets are hidden in the dimensions of the great pyramids. He concluded from his research that the millennium would start before the end of 1960 CE.
1967: During the six day war, the Israeli army captured all of Jerusalem. Many conservative Christians believed that the rapture would occur quickly. However, the final Biblical prerequisite for the second coming is that the Jews resume ritual animal sacrifices in the temple at Jerusalem. That never happened.
1970's: The late Moses David (formerly David Berg) was the founder of the Christian religious group, The Children of God. He predicted that a comet would hit the earth, probably in the mid 1970's and destroy all life in the United States. One source indicated that he believed it would happen in 1973.

1974: Charles Meade, a pastor in Daleville, IN, predicted that the end of the world will happen during his lifetime. He was born circa 1927, so the end will probably come early in the 21st century.
1978: Chuck Smith, Pastor of Calvary Chapel in Cost Mesa, CA, predicted the rapture in 1981.
1981: Teleminister Arnold Murray taught an anti-Trinitarian belief about God, and Christian Identity. Back in the 1970's, he predicted that the Antichrist would appear before 1981.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church predicted that the Kingdom of Heaven would be established in this year.

1982: Pat Robertson predicted a few years previously that the world would end in the fall of 1982.
1982: Astronomers John Gribben & Setphen Plagemann predicted the "Jupiter Effect" in 1974. They wrote that when various planets were aligned on the same side of the sun, tidal forces would create solar flares, radio interruptions, rainfall and temperature disturbances and massive earthquakes. The planets did align, as seen from earth, but nothing unusual happened.
1984 to 1999: In 1983, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, later called Osho, teacher of  what has been called the Rajneesh movement, is said to have predicted massive destruction on earth, including natural disasters and man-made catastrophes. Floods larger than any since Noah, extreme earthquakes, very destructive volcano eruptions, nuclear wars etc. will be experienced. Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Bombay will all disappear. Actually, the predictions were read by his secretary; their legitimacy is doubtful.
1986: Moses David of The Children of God faith group predicted that the Battle of Armageddon would take place in 1986. Russia would defeat Israel and the United States. A worldwide Communist dictatorship would be established. In 1993, Christ would return to earth.
1988: Hal Lindsey had predicted in his book "The Late, Great Planet Earth" that the Rapture was coming in 1988 - one generation or 40 years after the creation of the state of Israel. This failed prophecy did not appear to damage his reputation. He continues to write books of prophecy which sell very well indeed.
Alfred Schmielewsky, a psychic whose stage name was "super-psychic A.S. Narayana," predicted in 1986 that the world's greatest natural disaster would hit Montreal in 1988. Sadly, his psychic abilities failed him on 1999-APR-11 when he answered the door of his home only to be shot dead by a gunman.

1988-MAY: A 1981 movie titled "The man who saw tomorrow" described some of Nostradamus predictions. Massive earthquakes were predicted for San Francisco and Los Angeles.
1988-OCT-11: Edgar Whisenaut, a NASA scientist, had published the book "88 Reasons why the Rapture will Occur in 1988." It sold over  4 million copies.
About 1990:  Peter Ruckman concluded from his analysis of the Bible that the rapture would come within a few years of 1990.

you'd have to ask the fundamentalists about that. i'm sure they'll be along eventually.

The "rapture" wackos are one of the greatest threats this society faces, IMHO.  In its extreme, that sort of nonsensical thinking leads to psychotics like the Christian Reconstructionist movement, of which Gary North (of Y2K fame) is perhaps its most prominent member.

I hope all the arrogant rapture freaks burn in their Hell for all eternity for their arrogance and false pride.

Fuckin' A-men :)

No comment [:)]

kinda what I suspected...
Not what I was taught in church, at least...

I cannot help but believe that the world would be a better place with about 1/2 its current population.

However, I'd like to be part of that 1/2.

Ideally the 1/2 would be the half [i]above[/i] the median I/Q.

and

No natural disaster (meteor, plague, flood, fire, famine, war, etc.) would be necessary.  

Hey, if you're gonna dream, dream big!

why fret over the doom and gloom, if it happens we'll deal with it (have no choice) until then thank Christ, enjoy life and buy ammoman Swiss special[;)]

Wow, now that's irony.  Arrogantly condeming those you hate because of arrogance.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

As for my own feelings, I was kind of bummed Y2K didn't send the world spiralling into the dark ages.  [:D]  Actually, I look forward to any event that could change the way society works.  I just don't look forward to the time of chaos between the breakdown and reforming of society, and there's also the possibility that if society is reformed it could be worse than what exists now.


Aenima by Tool
[b]
Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this

Bullsh*t three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks

Here in this hopeless f**king hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any f**king time. Any f**king day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.

Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car.

It's a
Bullsh*t three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks

Here in this hopeless f**king hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any f**king time. Any f**king day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.

Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipsh*ts.

Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will cuz
I sure could use a vacation from this

Silly sh*t, stupid sh*t...

One great big festering neon distraction,
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied.

Learn to swim.

Mom's gonna fix it all soon.
Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to be.

Learn to swim.

F**k L Ron Hubbard and
F**k all his clones.
F**k all those gun-toting hip gangster wannabes.

Learn to swim.

F**k retro anything.
F**k your tattoos.
F**k all you junkies and
F**k your short memory.

Learn to swim.

F**k smiley glad-hands
With hidden agendas.
F**k these dysfunctional,
Insecure actresses.

Learn to swim.

Cuz I'm praying for rain
And I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mom please flush it all away.
I wanna watch it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all away.

Time to bring it down again.
Don't just call me pessimist.
Try and read between the lines.

I can't imagine why you wouldn't
Welcome any change, my friend.

I wanna see it all come down.
suck it down.
flush it down.[/b]

I love that song.  Had it on repeate all night of 12/31/1999.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Lets clarify a few things first.

1. Life does not end when the body ceases to function.

2. "Life" aswe know it is SPIRIT, which is simply energy. Energy has no beginning and no end.

3. Our "World" as we know it is based on FEAR.

4. Whenever one thing expires, another begins.

5. We all agreed to be here, in this time and this space to witness these times and events.

Am I personally looking forward to the end of this Unconsitutional, fear mongering, spirit obliterating, freedom hating "World" in which we currently reside? You're damn right I am.

Because when it does end we can begin anew in the "World" in which all spirit resides and to which all spirit returns.

"When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, 'This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know,' the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything--you can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him." -- Robert A. Heinlein from "If This Goes On—" in Revolt in 2100

Post from Kar98 -

[b]Kar, Kar, Kar[/b], you should be ever so thankful that you have me here to expound upon the Gospel of Our Lord and Savior, [b]Jesus Christ[/b]!

The phrase used by Jesus in Matthew 16:28 was almost precisely the same as used in Mark 9:1 - which states that:

[red][b]Verily, I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.[/b][/red]

It is obvious that Jesus was referring not to the end of the present World, but to the very establishment of His Church on earth, which occurred on Pentecost, just fifty short days following His death, burial and resurrection!

How do we know that Jesus was [u]not[/u] referring to the end of the present age? Look at the following statements that He made that concern the end of the present age:

[b]Matthew 24:14 -[/b]

[b][red]And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and [u]then shall the end come[/u].[/b][/red]

[b]Mark 13:10 - [/b]

[red][b]And the gospel must first be published among all nations.[/b][/red]

[b]Mark 16:15 -[/b]

[red][b]And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.[/b][/red]

Now, if the Lord thought that the end of the world was going to come shortly, very shortly, how can it be that the gospel was 'preached throughout the world' before the end of time?

It wasn't even preached throughout the Roman World until 300 or 400 years had passed. And it wasn't preached anywhere in the New World until at least after 1492 AD!

It wasn't preached in Japan until at least after 1852-54 AD, during the visit of Commodore Matthew C. Perry.

So, despite what your excerpt says, Jesus said and predicted nothing about His Second Coming occurring within the First Century AD.

If [u]some[/u] pious folks were misguided, they were misguided by themselves, not by anything Jesus had taught or revealed to them.

Eric The(WellVersed)Hun[>]:)]

Sorry, but I want to live.  I have so many hopes and dreams for my 10 month old baby girl (Amber).   Life is good, even though the world we live in may suck.  Teach them well

If you want the end of the world you are going to have to keep looking cause this aint it. This rock aint big enough. Whatever country it lands on-if it lands at all-will be fucked, but that will be the extent of it.

What ETH said works for me.

So until somebody has preached the gospel unto every ant, every tick, every dust mite, the world will not end?  Hell, we're golden!

I just love it when Eric pulls out his bible and waxes philosophical...

I swear he has the darn thing memorized...

Not a slam, simply an admiring observation...

Thanks, [b]USNA91[/b], I don't have the Bible memorized just yet.

But I am working on it! [:D]

I can't think of a better work to memorize, and it will get you through some mighty difficult times, I can tell you that!

Eric The(Learning,StillLearning)Hun[>]:)]

Good glaven no way!!!

I enjoy my life way too much to for it to end.

Might I suggest the Lord of the Rings???

Its a great book....it even has elves!!!

Post from Stormbringer -

I've read just about everything written by Tolkien, including the Ring trilogy, and, for the life of me I cannot think of one paragraph in all of it that can compare to a single line spoken by Jesus.

Can you think of any lines from Tolkien that would help ease your grief as you bury your Father or Mother, or lessen the heartache for a dead child?

Eric The(Adult,NotChildlike)Hun[>]:)]

@ErictheHun

You forgot to add that Jesus said He whould come as a thief in the night. No one shall know the day nor the hour.


End of the world predictions are mans folly. Man is a faulty creature.

Beleivers in Rapture are not running around raping women, killing for money/sport, nor are they redistributing your wealth. I fail to see how they are a danger in a society. Could they cause the end of the world just by believing that God will wisk them away at his appointed time?


Agnotic lib

[url]http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,17193,00.html[/url]

"The code is broken. It cannot be fixed. The panic is inevitable. It's a question of when," he wrote on garynorth.com last month.

"Through his Web site he can help to fan the flames of Y2K panic to create social disorder so the social systems of the world crash. It's out of the ashes of those
systems that he thinks the kingdom will rise," says Frederick Clarkson, author of the book Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy.

The kingdom? Some sort of cultish year-2000 prophecy, perhaps?

Nope. It's none other than the Kingdom of God and the return of Jesus Christ, events that North believes won't happen until a Draconian biblical law is imposed for a
thousand years.

For North, there's no better way to pull the plug on an ungodly society than fanning the flames of Y2K panic.

"He wants to make sure the banking system crashes. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy," Clarkson says.

Out of this wreckage, North and many other Christian Reconstructionist men hope to build a harsh biblical order where sinners, such as adulterers and gay men, can be
severely punished, even executed, preferably by stoning.

This guy is an idiot, it would never work. Most "Rapturist" that i know do NOT act this way. Your as paranoid as he is if you really think he could pull it off.

A guy like that would get shot in the head if he got far enough. even by me. Course i'd have to wait in line.