It’s Easter Sunday and My Thoughts On End Times

UPDATE June 15, 2023: I wrote and published this Easter Sunday 2022. Today I read the following article: https://www.timesofisrael.com/scientists-create-synthetic-human-embryos-from-stem-cells-without-an-egg-or-sperm/?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral Scientists create synthetic human embryos from stem cells without an egg or sperm. Say WHAAAT?????? I’d suggest you read BOTH. This world is on a collision course that’s happening faster than ever. Please SHARE them BOTH. Who ARE these people?????

UPDATE: I began writing this several months ago…So, today on Easter Sunday, I thought it would be an appropriate time to finish it and publish it. Since then Russia has attacked Ukraine killing thousands and destroying everything in sight. There is evidence of deliberate bombings of maternity hospitals, train stations and deliberate killing of civilians. In our ignorance we thought we had seen the last of evil tyrants like this with Hitler and Stalin. Shame on us for not remembering that history repeats itself. Despite the U.S. giving Ukraine millions of dollars of arms it seems we have lost the will to REALLY follow up on our pledge of “Never Again” after the horror of the Holocaust. It’s really inevitable that there will ultimately be an Armageddon. In this article I explore whether it’s not already happening.

My orignial article:

More and more I read and hear people talking about “End Times” or “End of Times” , “Last Days” and “End of Days”. Just when it seems that we were returning to some semblance of “normal” along comes Omicron, a Covid variant that seems to be highly contagious. Let’s add to that shortages of nearly everything and a rate of inflation that is the highest in 40 years! How about thousands of Russian troops lining up on Ukraine’s border, Israel probably secretly bombing a nuclear enrichment plant in Iran last week, and looters who are “smashing and grabbing” and then being released without any bail? A grammar school teacher having 3rd graders “re-enact” the Holocaust with one Jewish student being made to play the role of Hitler? I dread hearing Biden’s speech tomorrow on the latest Covid variant and what his plans are for all of those unvaccinated. He’s already warning us of a “very dark winter”. NYC is closing back down, as are many universities, restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues. The NFL and NBA are cancelling games. Joy to the World!

So what exactly IS “End Times”? Many Christians believe that the biblical Book of Revelation depicts an “apocalypse”, the complete destruction of the world, preceding the establishment of a new world and heaven. In it John talks of demonic beasts, one of which “was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words” (Revelation 13:1-2). There are also references to natural disasters; “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.”  Revelation 6:12-13 In the New Testament the last battle between good and evil before the Day of Judgment is known as Armageddon. In the Old Testament, Daniel 12 , Daniel who lived several hundred years before Christ that “evil people” will do even MORE evil. Think of mass shootings, Jeffrey Epstein, etc. The return of Jesus Christ is known as “the Rapture”, but that term appears nowhere in the New Testament. According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, “In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul wrote that the Lord will come down from heaven and that a trumpet call will precede the rise of “the dead in Christ” (4:16). Thereafter, “we who are still alive and are left will be caught up” (in Latin, rapio, the standard translation of Paul’s original Koine Greek) “together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (4:17). The Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) mention Jesus’ return to earth from heaven; e.g., The Gospel According to Mark cites Jesus as foretelling a “ ‘coming in clouds’ with great power and glory” (13:26).”  Both living and dead believers will ascend into heaven to meet Jesus Christ at the Second Coming.

Preceding the Rapture according to scripture there will be the Great Tribulation, a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end. The Great Tribulation is a relatively short period of time where everyone will experience worldwide hardships, persecution, disasters, famine, war, pain, and suffering, which will affect all of creation, and precede judgment of all when the Second Coming takes place. I’ve read in some texts it lasts around 7 years and will occur BEFORE the second coming of Christ. This seven-year period is considered to be the final week of Daniel’s Prophecy of Seventy Weeks, found in Daniel chapter 9, with each week representing 7 years.

What does Judaism believe about “end times” and the Messiah? Moshiach is the Hebrew word for “messiah.” In Talmudic literature the title Moshiach, or Melech HaMoshiach (the King Messiah), is reserved for the Jewish leader who will redeem Israel in the End of Days. one day there will arise a dynamic Jewish leader, a direct descendant of the Davidic dynasty, who will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, and gather Jews from all over the world and bring them back to the Land of Israel. All the nations of the world will recognize Moshiach to be a world leader, and will accept his dominion. In the messianic era there will be world peace, no more wars nor famine, and, in general, a high standard of living. Judaism does not believe in Armageddon. The Scriptures have many references to the Messiah. In Deuteronomy 30:1 Moses prophesies that, after the Jews have been scattered to the four corners of the earth, there will come a time when they will repent and return to Israel, where they will fulfill all the commandments of the Torah. When do Jews believe this will happen? Every day but the Torah states it will be before the Hebrew year 6000…….right now we are in 5782! Many Torah authorities are of the opinion that we are in the “epoch of the Moshiach” and the Messianic redemption is imminent.

The Islamic religion also has a belief in “end times” that is very much like the Christian belief. Much of it comes from “hadiths” or sayings from the Prophet Mohammed which are seperate from the Quran. According to certain hadiths, the apocalypse will come in stages. In the first, the world will be filled with injustice, and Muslims will be oppressed. Then two saviors will arise: “the awaited one,” or Mahdi, a divinely guided caliph who will unite and empower Muslims, followed by a bygone prophet who will come back to earth to support the Mahdi and defeat evil. This prophet will not be Muhammad, as one could have expected, but Jesus, praised in the Quran as the Messiah and the “Word of God.” Hmmmm….sounds good BUT…. Islamic literature seems to suggest that Jesus will return to abolish Christianity and confirm the truth of Islam.  So much for THAT happy ending!

How about Buddhism? In the end times the ten courses of Buddhist moral order will decline and be replaced by ten immoral ones: violence; murder; theft; lying; evil, abusive andidle talk; covetousness and ill will; greed; and lust. A new Buddha called Maitreya will appear. Sanskrit says “He will teach the Dhamma [eternal principles of religion], lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and proclaim, just as I do now, the holy life in its fullness and purity. ” As for the end of the world, Buddhism prophesies that in the year 4600 , six suns will encircle the Earth and incinerate it. And we’re worried about climate change????

In Hinduism, there is the story of the god Vishnu coming back in the last cycle of time as a figure called Kalki, who rides a white horse, carries a sword that looks like a comet and destroys the forces of evil. They believe in there being 4 “yugas” or “ages” each lasting between 400,000 and 1.7 million years. They believe we are in the LAST one, the Kali Yuga which will last 432,000 years. Hindu scripture states the following:

“Social status depends not upon your accomplishments, but in the ownership of property; wealth is now the source of virtue; passion and luxury are the sole bonds between spouses; falsity and lying are the conditions of success in life; sexuality is the sole source of human enjoyment; religion, a superficial and empty ritual, is confused with spirituality— Vishnu Purana^[2]“ Ultimately the human race is destroyed. Not very encouraging.

So there you have it. An awful lot of consistancy across religions that seems to match what we are seeing on the Earth today. Certainly food for thought on this Easter Sunday the day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross. Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again! All I can say is he better get back here soon!!!

Happy Easter everyone and remember……..It’s Later Than You Think!!