Tag: end of the world

The Future (and Past) of an Uncertain World

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

It’s been relatively quiet this week on the news front. The war in Ukraine seems to have settled into a slow advance and retreat with most of the action coming by way of long-range drones. The war on Iran by US/Israel has become like a boxing match with the combatants ducking, bobbing, and weaving while only an occasional punch is thrown, with the damage loudly disputed. “Did too!” “Did not!” At this point, I’m not sure what to believe, except that the price of gasoline keeps going up, in my area now at about $4.50/gallon for regular.

How long this will continue is unknown. Iran is supposed to be controlling passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, allowing some in and out, while denying others. The US is supposed to be blockading the southern end of the Strait to prevent any Iran/China affiliated tankers from moving into the open ocean, but, once again, everything about these moves is questionable. Perhaps by design.

The warnings are piling up along with the timelines. Iran will have to shut down its functioning wells due to a lack of storage space next week…or is it next month? The world economy is going to descend into chaos and financial recession (depression) unless the Strait is opened immediately…or will it? Supply chains, fertilizer shipments, and LPG tankers are at risk to countries which need them. It’s likely that some version of these will manifest quite soon, almost certainly before the end of summer, and none of it is looking good for the average person regardless where they live in the world.

But life goes on.

I’ve just finished reading Immanuel Velikovsky’s book, Worlds in Collision1. It was quite a slog and toward the end, I started skipping over the repetitive parts. Still and all, it was an interesting read which sought to explain many of the unexplainable things which “regular” science has not been able to. Mammoths in Siberia flash frozen with fresh flowers and grass still in their mouths. Extreme floods all over the world at the same time. Solar and lunar movement stopped as described in the book of Joshua. The plagues of Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea at the time of the exodus by the Hebrews. Sodom and Gomorrah. The annihilation of Sennacherib’s army of 185, 000 soldiers in a single night. And more, a lot more.

Some of his assertions seem plausible, others are completely outlandish and raise an eyebrow. Or two. For instance, the theory that the planet Venus was once a comet which almost collided with Earth could be correct. His extensive research and footnotes posit that Venus was not counted among the planets until late in the B.C. era, but showed up suddenly everywhere around the world in extremely diverse cultures. I mean, it is quite possible that this could have happened. Yet, the claim that Venus came so close to the earth that their atmospheres actually touched and created huge electrical sparks and storms does seem a little far-fetched. Further, the position that during this “close encounter”, Venus dripped naphtha and petroleum in such great quantities that it seeped into the earth and produced our current oil fields also is questionable. At the same time, the manna from heaven, ambrosia, also was a product of Venus, but in a highly edible, nutritious, and tasty form, completely unlike the naphtha which destroyed.

Call me open to the potential but quite skeptical about the claims. Nevertheless, Velikovsky, who had been consistent with his treatment of science, archaeology, and religion throughout the book, all at once veered off into a philosophical thought at the very end, in fact, the next-to-last page before the epilogue.

“The average man is no longer afraid of the end of the world. Man clings to his earthly possessions, registers his landholdings and fences them in; peoples carry on wars to preserve and to enlarge their historical frontiers.” — Velikovsky, Worlds in Collision, pg. 356

The average man alive today carries on because the events he described happened as much as 3000 years ago and no longer pose a threat to life on Earth, but he is wrong in one respect. Many people are increasingly afraid that we are living on the brink at the end of the world and that life as we know it (knew it) is going to end in a cataclysmic catastrophe of some sort or another: all-out nuclear war. The imminent return of Jesus Christ2 with its attendant “rapture” and appearance of Anti-Christ. Climate change which has apparently changed now that the Big Boys have seen the need for massive amounts of electricity to power their AI data centers. Extensive famines. Unheard of diseases, like the “newly mortal lethal, and deadly” hantavirus which is being prepped as the New Covid Dampanic, er, pandemic. And on and on and on.

But life goes on and I’m planning to live until I die. In the meantime, a friend gave me a book to read, Technological Slavery, by none other than Ted Kaczynski. Yes, that Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. Oh, dear, from Velikovsky to Revelation to Kaczynski. Who knows what I might pick up next? Nostradamus? Or a virus caught by accidentally swallowing a mouse turd which can only be cured by subsequently swallowing rat poison?

Oh, dear!

  1. Download a free copy here. ↩︎
  2. See my recent article on the meaning of the Mark of the Beast. ↩︎

The End of the World. I Feel Fine.

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

“Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn’t take one more step.” That line from Don McLean’s 1972 smash hit, American Pie, sums up the current world condition quite well.

Today, there is such an abundance of bad news—corona virus, stock market meltdown, layoffs, quarantines, lockdowns, threats of martial law, etc., that anyone could be forgiven if it seemed that another step was impossible. Yet, life goes on, in spite of everything which appears to be destroying our accustomed and familiar way of life.

How do we go on, then? What changes will we need to make or be made for us? How will we adapt to those changes? What will be different in the future? These are all valid questions for which answers are needed and which everyone must seriously consider. There are a lot of things which we don’t know and can not answer, but there are some which require nothing more than common sense to understand.

1. You are in control of yourself and the way you respond to the situation around you. Maintain that.

2. Don’t panic or give into the palpable fear. Keep a level head about you. Stay calm. This alone will allow you to maintain some semblance of normality in your day-to-day living.

3. Don’t believe everything you read or hear, especially about the corona virus. There are so many conflicting stories, reports, “expert” opinions, and official declarations readily available that it is difficult to determine what is true and what is false. Use your own good judgment about what is best for you. Corona may be an existential threat. It may be much ado about nothing. Or somewhere in between, which I suspect, but I do not know where to draw a conclusion.

4. It is not the end of the world, especially as concerns the stock market and the economy. Humanity has experienced financial collapses like this before and survived. Somehow, someway, we will work our way through the current one as well and another generation will be born to carry on.

5. Keep a positive attitude. While the situation may seem disastrous (and disaster is likely to happen), it is important that we maintain a positive outlook about the future. Depression, anxiety, and fear will drag you down. Don’t allow your circumstances to get the best of you. Remember, you are in control of yourself and the way you respond to your situation.

With all that said, it is important that we face some truth honestly. Our world has drastically changed within the last few months and, in spite of all the talk about a return to “normalcy” once the Covid-19 pandemic subsides, it is quite sure that many things we took for granted yesterday will not be in place tomorrow. Things will be different, some dramatically, some less so, but the equation has had another factor introduced into it and the implications of that are still to be seen and worked out.

Get used to the idea that the old system we are familiar with is being dismantled and another one will be erected in its place. There will be major changes along the way, both positive and negative. One positive change we can look forward to is the willingness to rely more on ourselves and our families, neighbors, friends, our faith, and our local community. If this actually happens (I believe it will), we will learn to depend less on distant, authoritarian governments, large faceless corporations, and bureaucratic institutions to provide for what we need in our daily lives. We will also learn what is really important and what is not.

All of us are going to participate in this, whether we like it or not. We have the opportunity to assist in shaping the economy and society which will rise out of the carnage and destruction happening around us. Everyone can participate in bringing this about, wherever we are, by changing our attitude from “Somebody ought to do something!” to one of “What can I do to help?” Look around you. There is plenty to do. Find a place where you can make a difference and get to it. Start close to home, branch out from there.

A better world awaits.