The End of the Age

Some people of faith who believe in the prophetic teachings of the Bible look around at the obviousness of increased dramatic weather and natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes in recent years, at the increase in warring conflicts and tensions around the world, at the incredible pace of technological advancement and grow concerned.

I for one believe that their concern is not unfounded.

As Jesus Christ wound down his final days on earth that would culminate with his final teachings and his ultimate sacrifice, he stopped to rest on a hill east of the city known to many as the Mount of Olives.

Christ and his followers had come to Jerusalem for the Passover festivities, and during his first visit to the city he had been questioned by the scribes and Pharisees at the temple. When they left, Jesus pointed the temple buildings out to his followers and stated that "there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

This got some of the disciples to thinking about Jesus' promise that he would come back to the world at the end of the ages, and one of them asked him directly as to "What sign there will be of your coming?"

For all of the studies that many have undertaken of books such as 'Daniel' and 'Revelation' in the Bible, worthy studies of valid information supplied to mankind by a loving and just God who wants us to be prepared and who hides very little from those who seek knowledge, it is Jesus' own reply to the disciple's question at the Mount of Olives that yields the most direct answer as to when the world as we know it will come to an end.

End of Days?

Every once in awhile, I sit down to watch some TV, nothing special is on my agenda, and a show or movie catches my attention and ends up drawing me in to watch the whole thing.

That very thing happened yesterday with Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1999 apocalyptic themed movie "End of Days", which I watched on the 'Encore' movie network.

I grew up in the whole Schwarzenegger-Sylvester Stallone-Bruce Willis-Harrison Ford-Clint Eastwood era of movie watching. I simply enjoy watching these actors performances in most of their action adventures.

This group of actors has delivered more memorable one-liners than any collective group in the history of cinema. Their films have come during the era when special effects have allowed almost anything to happen and seem realistic.

The plot of "End of Days" finds Schwarzenegger portraying an ex-cop turned private security specialist. He is providing security along with his partner, played by Kevin Pollack, for a wealthy Wall Street financier played by Gabriel Byrne.

Problems begin when Byrne's character's body is taken over by Satan himself. It is the devil's goal to mate with a chosen human woman in the final hour before the end of the Millennium.

That chosen woman is played by the beautiful Robin Tunney. The film is also highlighted by one of the final appearances (the last in a major film) from veteran actor Rod Steiger.

As the rest of the world prepares to celebrate the coming of the year 2000, officials of the Church are trying to track down and stop the mating process of Satan and his chosen concubine. Per the story line, this would result in the birth of a child who will usher in a 'hell on earth' scenario.

Schwarzenegger's character is an unbelieving, pragmatic dupe whose own wife and daughter were brutally murdered a few years earlier. He has descended into a battle with alcoholism in the aftermath, and is now just moving through life using his particular 'skill set' to provide private security services.

He finally is forced to realize that in this case, he is providing those services for the Dark Prince himself. Thus begins his mission: to protect Tunney from becoming the devil's mate, something which she was apparently born to become.

Roll Out Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Doomsdays of Summer

Well, it’s now August the 23rd, and we are all still alive, thank God. For those of you who may have missed out, and thus not been aware of your impending demise, yesterday was thought by some to be a possible “Doomsday” date.

You remember Doomsday, right? End of the world. Armageddon. End times and all that. Ring a bell?

Anyway, yesterday was believed to be a possible Doomsday after noted Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis opined as much in a piece published earlier this year by the Wall Street Journal.

Lewis is no quack, mind you. He is the professor emeritus of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University. His was not actually a prediction, but a warning of a possible date where some action could be taken by radical Muslims.

Lewis’ theory went something like this: August 22nd of 2006 corresponded with the Islamic calendar night when Mohammed (is it Mo? Mu? I never remember) flew first to Jerusalem, then to Heaven, and then back again. There were no planes back then, to fly into buildings or otherwise. So whether this flight took place freestyle, ala Superman, or on a magic carpet is unknown.

In any event, he was warning us that the linkage of this special day in Islam, along with it’s Israeli connection, might be just the type of day that the radical Islamofascists against whom we have been at war might like to use to pull off a new large-scale attack.