Tag: end of the world

There Will be Wars…And Peace

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

End of May, 2026.

The war with Iran which erupted on February 28 in an attack by America and its “stalwart” ally, Israel, (is it the other way around?), seems to have ground down into a stagnant affair of threat and counter-threat, occasionally punctuated by a missile strike on a facility by Iran or a boat sunk by the US. Israel doesn’t appear to be an active part of the conflict at this time, but is concentrating on destroying southern Lebanon in an attempt to eradicate Hezbollah in the same way that it has with Gaza and Hamas. The Strait of Hormuz is still restricted to traffic with only a few ships squeezing through the stranglehold imposed by Iran and the blockade imposed by the US. The Trump administration produces nothing but sound and fury, headlined by his incessant Truth Social posts, while the Iranian side posts its own version of the “negotiations”, refuting and denying everything which comes from Washington.

The war, which we were told would last only a few days (or a few weeks at the most), is now three months along and there seems to be no end in sight to the hostilities. Each side appears to be hanging on with determination, expecting to outlast the other and win by default. In the meantime, the world situation concerning the supply of oil gets worse and worse, with the dread day of “tank bottoms” looming closer and closer all the time. Even if the strait were to be completely opened to shipping tomorrow morning, oil inventories would not begin to be replenished for at least a couple months due to infrastructure damage and the length of time it takes to move oil from wellhead to gas pump. The chances that the strait will be opened soon, however, are still quite slim, so the shortages caused will probably continue to worsen, along with world-wide economies which are highly dependent on the free flow of oil. Severe, even catastrophic financial collapse is well within reason, bringing with it its own troubles.

All the while, the war in Ukraine still grinds on, one day at a time, with no clear end in sight and the distinct possibility that the European nations of NATO and Russia will officially come to blows in a hot war, potentially including the use of nuclear weapons. Donald Trump continues to blow up fishing drug-running boats and make noises about invading Cuba. The Taiwan issue is simmering on the back burner, but could explode at any moment. International tensions are rising everywhere, it seems, with peaceful life on Earth becoming more and more tenuous all the time.

There will be wars and rumors of wars. It’s the end of the world, at least as we knew it. What are we to do?

Is it really the “end” of the world? Are we doomed to violent extinction? Will we be enslaved in an AI-driven system of machine control with robots doing all the work while useless mouths are eliminated in one fashion or another? Are we rushing headlong into Armageddon? Will Jesus really come back to snatch rapture us, that is, the “true believers” out of the chaotic mix just before condemning all the others to a state of eternal punishment? Who knows? ¿Quien sabes?

Life can be peaceful once certain things are understood. I am going to die. I have no control over geo-political issues. Some things are certain, anything is possible. The pension promise from the US government, a.k.a., Social Security, could be wrecked at a moment’s notice…or without any notice at all. An EMP or massive solar flare might take out the entire electrical and electronic grid, forcing me to carry water from the local river in five-gallon buckets–just to survive. Yes, anything is possible, yet, in all this turmoil and unknowing, there is peace because I am learning to simply put my faith in Almighty God, trusting that whatever happens, I will be all right and I do not have to worry about how I’m going to pay the bills.

That being said, I intend to continue on as I have been, reducing my debt load, building personal and neighborhood relations, working in my garden, developing my CAD skills, preparing my household for the future in the only way I know how, and encouraging others to act in the same manner, in their own way, with what resources they have. And, perhaps more importantly, I am going to speak the truth as I see it, even if I do run into resistance from others or encounter a bad case of writer’s block, as has happened recently.

After 67+ years of inner strife and turmoil, I am learning what peace, real peace, is all about. It is a good thing and life is beautiful.

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.