Six hours until the comet struck. Calamity had already erupted among the people; looters and rioters dictated the streets, men with shrouded identities run amok with fists clenched unwilling to die without a fight, abandoned cars littered the roads, families huddled together closely, accompanied only by the monotone hum of the television static as they stare intently at the ominous glaring countdown, even the news team had abandoned their post, gatherings at the churches as people pray harder than ever for God to harbour a place in heaven where they may seek salvation, individual ways to accept the inevitable.
The comet had the whole world simultaneously in awe as it seemed to appear out of thin air. Scientists left baffled how this colossal heap of astral rock could negate their keen gaze. The news rapidly hit our television screens leaving the world overwhelmed. Religious figures assured us the rapture had arrived; those leading a pure life would be met by the serene pearly gates of heaven, however the more pragmatic attributed this to simple probability. We would be met with the same cruel fate the dinosaurs suffered sixty-six million years ago. This comet would culminate all life on Earth. We would become nothing more than any of the other eight balls of rock and gas in our solar system; a mere blip in the time line. No matter your theory as to what this comet prophesied the outcome was indisputable; imminent doom.
The day news struck I received an enigmatic phone call. This heaven sent method of telecommunication picked me from the depths of melancholy and lifted me over the moon. I would be saved. The government had prepared for such threats, they planned to bring the best and brightest and board them upon a rocket located i...
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...as not an elaborate play, this was no figment, this was real. Sitting in that seat felt like an eternity in its self, every emotion I had bottled and held in tightly exploded and inflicted me with the barrage of its emotional shrapnel. I deserved this. I was supposed to feel heroic, being part of an elite circle to further the life cycle of man. I instead felt like a traitor, a renegade deserting my planet in its final hours. I prayed to God in my final moments on Earth. I prayed that the comet would impact Earth prematurely and destroy the Earth along with my guilt. An abrupt thunderous voice from above sealed my fate. "Preparing for take-off". This was it, The Ark would ascend into the dark ocean of the celestial heavens and arrive in a new world. The ark rumbled as it prepared to launch. I clasped by fists and closed my eyes tightly.
"Three, two, one. Blast off".
The 21st century is the age of information and technology and as the human species continues to advance there are growing concerns that the human race is close to its end. Jerry Oltion uses his text Judgment Passed as an allegory for the belief of the Christian salvation and the state of the modern world. In Jerry Oltion’s text planet Earth is depleted, causing humans to send astronauts into space to colonize another planet named Dessica (Oltion). These astronauts are in space for twelve years and when they return to Earth they learn that the end of the world has occurred without them. The astronauts learn through old newspaper articles that Jesus Christ returned to earth and saved everyone. This causes the astronauts to ponder the reason they were not saved like all the people on Earth and the other colonies in space. Throughout Judgment Passed there are metaphors for the Christian belief of what happens after death such as the realm of limbo and then there are the metaphors that are a depiction of today’s world and its possible future such as Jesus Christ representing a hierarchy political figure. Therefore, Judgment Passed is more than a short narrative for entertainment, it is allegory for the Christian belief system and it is a metaphor for the human condition of the modern world.
The meteor crashing into the moon was spasmodic, yet it left the world to crumble in it’s wake of destruction. The sun seems to not exist, because of the volcanic ash that has diffused throughout the air. Fresh produce no longer exists, and death comes sudden to those who are too weak to go on. “‘ I feel like it should be a dream and when I wake up none of it will have happened, said Miranda.’” (Pg.27) As the world dwindles away, Miranda dreams about her best friend Becky in heaven, and mounds of food surrounding her. The dreams tantalize her, making her more desperate for strength through the h...
Burke, Garance. "Believers' Reactions Mixed to Unfulfilled Doomsday." Msnbc.com. 2014 NBCNews.com, 22 May 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
The human mind harbors a very rich imagination when it comes to the envisioning of our demise, demonstrating the individual’s appeal towards this notion, because we love to play with the idea of an impending apocalypse and what comes after it.
Throughout history we have experienced disasters as individuals and groups; caused by events such as fires, natural disasters, rape, murder, school shootings, terrorist attacks and bombings where numerous first responders have lost their lives. During one of the deadliest days in history, Thomas Burnett Jr. was on United Flight 93 which was hijacked after leaving Newark International Airport. Mr. Burnett placed a call to his wife and said “I know we are all going to die. There is three of us who are goin...
The human race is obsessed with its own demise. We are mesmerized by tragic events, particularly natural disasters like tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes. There is not a country in the world that has not experienced some catastrophic natural disaster. In 2011 alone, there was Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, another earthquake in New Zealand, the twister outbreak in the US, and massive flooding in Australia, all which contributed to making 2011 “one of the costliest years for natural disasters” (Llanos, 2011). Natural disasters show no prejudice; they can affect anyone, in any country, at anytime. Therefore, it is not surprising that the end of the Winter Solstice marking the end of the 13th Maya Calendar, on December 21, 2012 has generated an international interest.
What would one do if you knew the world was going to end in 5 minutes? Would they do all the things they always desired to do but never got the time for? Would one get down and pray for absolution or would they sit back, relax and anticipate for the apocalypse to come. Everyone has some idea that they will be judged at the end of time of all the every day decisions that they make. There are 4 main areas of curiosity about the Last Judgment and the end of the world that this writer will familiarize you on in this paper, what it will be like preceding The Coming, When the Judgment will take place, the two types of judgment, and the conclusion afterwards.
As time went on that morning, sketchy pieces of information about rescue plans and other efforts came to light; screen shots of the downtown devastation permeated the air waves and it instantly appeared that we, as a nation, were never prepared for such an event. Why was this happening? Will there be other attacks? If so, will they be near me or my family? These were some of the questions I asked myself before many of the facts became known over the days, months, or even years ahead.
The fear of the world ending has for a long time, even though the thought isn’t always at the top of our mind nor our biggest problem but it is still a worry that affects many. Whether it's an asteroid hitting earth, a zombie apocalypse, or a killer plague, we often think about what we would do when the world ends. We think about our families and our daily lives taking a turn for the worst. Some people even suffer daily from the fear that the world might end at any second and it's known as the doomsday phobia. Although most of us don’t have the doomsday phobia it is still something that we think about. Most of us think about the end of the world as only a sify movie while there are others preparing for a day that the syfi blockbuster movie
I had multiple preconceptions about this article and the book of Revelation. Before reading the book I just thought of it as strictly apocalyptic. In church that...
On a cold winter’s morning on the 28th day of January in the year 1986, America was profoundly shaken and sent to its knees as the space shuttle Challenger gruesomely exploded just seconds after launching. The seven members of its crew, including one civilian teacher, were all lost. This was a game changer, we had never lost a single astronaut in flight. The United States by this time had unfortunately grown accustomed to successful space missions, and this reality check was all too sudden, too brutal for a complacent and oblivious nation (“Space”). The outbreak of sympathy that poured from its citizens had not been seen since President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The disturbing scenes were shown repeatedly on news networks which undeniably made it troublesome to keep it from haunting the nation’s cognizance (“Space”). The current president had more than situation to address, he had the problematic undertaking of gracefully picking America back up by its boot straps.
Before beginning this essay proper, it is important to first comprehend some of what is meant by the term eschatology, and how it is understood in the Book of Revelation. Eschatology broadly defined is that part of theology which deals with conceptions of the ‘end times’ and of the final things of the world and humanity. Within it sit many concepts, such as heaven and hell, divine judgment, the second coming, the defeat of evil and the new creation, among others things. As such, it encapsulates any discussion about the ‘end times’. This is certainly an apt title for much of the Book of Revelation then, with so much discussion of divine judgment on the first earth, the second coming of Christ and the coming of the New Creation. Within the pages of this text, however, a more complex eschatology is portrayed. While in the grander literary scheme of the text we see the ultimate destruction of death and hades and their throwing into the lake of fire...
Halfway up it was beginning to look doubtful, the wind was picking up and everyone was getting out rain gear to prepare for the storm. I voiced my doubts to Phil and he said we might as well keep going until the lighting got too close. So we did. The thunder grew in volume and the echoes magnified the noise to a dull roar sometimes. Then suddenly it began to ebb. The wind died down and lightening came less frequently. I exchanged relieved looks with Phil after a bit, but kept the pace up--I didn’t want to take chances. Eventually it hit us, but by then it was nothing more then a heavy rain. We kept moving, if slower, and made it over the ridge with no other problems. That night I enjoyed the meal a little more and slept a little deeper realizing how much is important that easily goes unnoticed until something threatens to take it away.
My internal organs thumped against my chest as I dragged my bag along the carpet floor and into the corridor. As I walked into the long hall, I glanced up and noticed the sign telling me I could get on. My entire body could barely hold itself together with the anticipation of the monumental, dream-come-true event about to take place. I said to myself, "I'll soon be in the air." I slowed my pace to further enjoy what was happening. Swarms of people walked around me as I treasured knowing that one of my lifetime goals was now inevitably going to occur. The excitement and adrenaline running through my veins could have killed a horse.
Eschatology has long fascinated many including myself since the beginning of time. There is just something that tends to fascinate our finite minds of the end of times. Over this time, many thoughts and perceptions has arouse from a wide variety of sources including scholars, theologians, scientists, sociologist, religions, colts, and many more. Consequently, each sources’ idea are different and unique from the others. The particle eschatology that is found throughout the New Testament tends to be the most studied and quoted collections of eschatological ideas that have been around since the creation of the Canon thousands of years ago. There are numerous books in the New Testament that directly and indirectly allude to the end of times. The most famous of these books, Revelation, is debated to be the most iconic literacy book on eschatology that answers a lot of question an as well creates a score of other new questions.