The Start of the End

Sunday Morning Reflections

If you live in Southern California, you could easily relate to all these (or not of course—you don’t need to).

Now for that matter if you live in or near New Zealand, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya or Japan or in any of the recent war torn or earthquake battered nation, you can definitely relate.

Or you can also relate if you have been following or you have been glued to CNN or any news network, be it on cable, radio, television, internet, cellphone app, your next door neighbor (officemate or schoolmate) who knows everything or your iPad or your daily newspaper if you still subscribe or buy one (I do).

What the heck am I talking about?

It is all these talk about the End-times, the Fatima Secrets, the Mayan Calendar ending in 2012 and all these earthquakes and wars that are happening one after the other as the bible seems to have foretold.

And with all these in the backdrop, the Los Angeles area (where I am currently based) this Sunday morning was pouring rain but churches or at least the church I went to was almost packed and the parking lot filled up.

What’s the deal?

I am guessing, people respond to something tangible or something scary and something inside them telling them “You know what, what they say in the bible might actually be true and might actually be coming to pass.” Or a natural calamity such as the Big One is not really a matter of if it happens but when it happens.

And I don’t blame them.

The Gospels (or at least I know the Book of Matthew and the Book of Mark) say “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains…” (all these in reference to what is to come during the end times).

Okay, if we want some data, I recently read somewhere online that earthquakes worldwide (at least those over Intensity 5) has been consistently high or even on the up and up since the year 2000.

Okay.

And unrest, civil unrest, civil wars, or wars, or even rumors of wars, has also been happening one after the other.

Okay. I know all these does not mean anything.

But if you think about it, somebody back in the old days of donkey-riding and cobblestoned roads and messages hand-delivered or sent by smoke or pigeons or something else have written down that at the end-times, all these will happen.

Yes, as in what do we care about all these happening in our future?

But just in case it does, here it is, I am writing it down just as I have seen (foreseen) it.

And yes, maybe just maybe "that future" might be "our today", yes, some couple of thousands of years later.

It is also uncanny that the Mayan Calendar ends in the year 2012, isn’t it? I wonder why?

And many other “seers” or “crystal ballgazers” or “prophets” have seen these end-times as well.

I know, every generation has these signs happen to them as well and they are all gone (and still no end-times).

But there is one other bible prophecy connected to this that is good to mention just about now …

“And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.“

Okay that one has not happened yet.

But conditions that have come to pass just in our generation have made this apparently “last condition” imminent if not a foregone conclusion as I am writing this. And it very well have been proclaimed to every nation on earth—what with cable, satellites, the internet, ipods, ibooks, and all our modern conveniences making this happen.

Okay, a scary thought, if you really think about it.

And maybe, just maybe, that is probably part of the reason why our church was packed this morning. They might have known something I don’t.

Or maybe, just maybe, they are just like the rest of us mortals, we have lost a job, lost a loved one, got a bad report from the doctor, recently had a divorce, a foreclosure, a setback, a heartbreak, anything.

I know, lots of people are hurting now, and it doesn’t look like it will get any better soon. Yes, especially with the rising gas prices, the unemployment, businesses closing, news of corruption, civil unrest, rising taxes, the radiation leaks in Japan, etc. etc. etc.

I know.

Maybe, just maybe, we might try one more thing we haven’t tried before.

Maybe we can go to church. Maybe we can join the mass of hypocrites coming together over there. Maybe we can try to find a "reason" to all these. Maybe we can find a purpose to what we are all having to go through.

Believe it or not. The end of all these as we know it, might just be around the corner. Somebody can have a suitcase nuke or a bomb in a bag, arm it, detonate it and start Armageddon or World War III.

A good size asteroid can come crashing to our lovely planet and (even with all these mighty telescopes we have glued to the skies for this purpose) we might not detect it in time or we might not be able to deflect it (as in the movies ‘Deep Impact’ or was that ‘Armageddon’?). If that happens, humankind would be like the dinosaurs of old and, somebody else who are smaller, nimbler and more adaptable would inherent our planet. How fun it is to think that millions of years later, a new breed of animals will find our fossilized remains and wonder what we really look like or how we lived.

Or all these Global Warming talk could all be true and we are indeed turning our blue planet into a revolving timebomb for our kind at least.

I know, the civilizations of old, the ancient writings, tablets and manuscripts, the latest technology, the new breed of scientists, the religious, the biblical scholars, your Uncle George or your Aunt Martha, everybody they are all talking and believing one form or another.

But it all comes down to one thing – the End of the World.

Is it upon us now?

Who knows right? I certainly would not want to say that it is. Even Jesus of the Gospels said that no one knows the day or the hour. Yes, if he is correct and if he is who he said he is, then that would include Nostradamus, the Jewish Prophets (i.e. Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, John), Islamic Prophets, Druidic Prophets, the Mayans and everyone else.

Now as I look outside our window looking at the clouds, the pouring rain and hearing the strong winds, my mind wonders to that one another mention of the end times in the bible. And that would be in the last book of the New Testament (yes the Apocalypse or the Revelation).

That one thing that has intrigued many people for generations—the Mark of the Beast.

I know, like who would even do that, let themselves be tagged or barcoded in the forehead or the hand?

Let’s read a version of that verse right here:

“All people were forced to put a mark on their right hand or forehead. Whether they were powerful or weak, rich or poor, free people or slaves, they all had to have this mark, or else they could not buy or sell anything.

This mark stood for the name of the beast and for the number of its name.

You need wisdom to understand the number of the beast! But if you are smart enough, you can figure this out. Its number is six hundred sixty-six, and it stands for a person.”

Okay, we really need some good insight on this one. And I have heard people saying there will be microchips implanted and all that and we have even seen that happening in recent years. Even our pets have that. But that does not need any wisdom to really understand. I mean, that’s too simple. [I am thinking that is should be something more subtle than that]

But then today I was watching the news and it shows this mark onscreen where you can use your cellphone (okay your smartphone or your iphone of course) to scan it and you can send a donation to the victims of the Tragedy in Japan.

I mean, that is so cool. Yes all you need to do is to download the app and be done with it, anywhere you are in the world.

And I did a quick search and found out what this mark is and I read in a website somewhere that it is called a QR Code.

A QR Code? “What is that?” I know, me too.

And the website gave the answer as follows: A QR code is a barcode, similar to one you’d see on a pack of potato chips or on a HDTV box.

Now take a look at this photo.

Yes, that a cellphone, okay a smartphone. That is a righthand. And yes you still press your phone next to the side of your forehead (and ear of course). You still use it to call somebody or be called.

But nowadays, that isn’t its main function. Your smartphone is now your GPS, your web browser, your Facebook and your Twitter interface, you use it to send and receive, text messages, picture messages, videos, emails, reports, presentations, brochures, invoices, watch movies, watch television shows, play video games, read a book, listen to music, pay your bills, do your online banking, find out where your kids are, it is your Mcgyver Tool, your James Bond Tool, your Martha Stewart Tool, your Rachel Ray Tool, and it is your Coupon and your Shopping Tool.

Come on, you can’t leave home (or your house) without it now. Some people will die within ten minutes without their smart phone or at least wouldn’t be able to function without it.

Rich or poor, more and more people are owning one, anywhere in the world.

And to me, it’s just a matter of time until we either implant them inside our bodies (the hand, the head would be good places I guess) or everyone else needs to carry one with them like one needs water to drink or air to breathe.

Scary isn’t it.

Think about it. And maybe you might want to join the rest of us hypocrites next weekend in coming to church. [And you know what? One more wouldn't hurt.]

Now we buy and sell everything with our smart phone. In fact, we do almost everything using our smart phone.

03-20-2011