WHY End Of The World
End Of The World
Every once in a while we read in the papers about some group of deluded fanatics who fancy that the end of the world is here. Under the leadership of a self-appointed prophet, they cast aside their worldly possessions and hurry to the revealed spot to wait in hope and terror the Day of the Lord.
But the sun rises as usual, and one by one the dupes sneak home, frustrated and bewildered. The amazing thing is that despite so many “miscalculations” in the past someone else is sure to set another past, someone else is sure to set another date and repeat the very same hoax. People never seem to learn from the mistakes of others.
There are two interesting features of this whole business: first, that the end of the world is a very fascinating subject, one that easily arouses the curiosity and wonder of men; second, that nearly every prediction of impending doomsday claims to be based on the scriptures.
Also, read my previous similar story Veneration Of Images
Actually, there is a great deal in the scriptures about the end of the world Many of the prophets of the Old Testament, Christ Himself in the Gospels, St.Paul in several of his Epistles, St.Peter, and especially St.John in his Apocalypse or Book Of Revelation, had much to say on this subject. And any number of weird notions and preposterous conclusions can be “justified” by misinterpreting and misapplying these texts.
These Bible texts about the end of the world are prophecies that concern the future. Some of them are literal, and some allegorical or fugitive, so it is not easy to determine their exact meaning. Even the Catholic Church does not pretend to know completely what God has revealed only in part.
WHAT DO WE KNOW?
The fact that the world will end is certain and there is little doubt about the major details of the final event. “But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief; in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and in it shall be burnt up” (2Peter 3, 10). “And when the Son of Man shall come in His Majesty, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His Majesty. And all the nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25, 31).
The day of the Lord consists of five manifestations of God’s Omnipotence, whose literal reality cannot be doubted by any Catholic:
1. The destruction of the physical world through fire;
2. The raising all the dead in their own bodies;
3. The appearance of the Man-God, Jesus Christ, in majesty;
4. The revelation of all the hidden things of man’s conscience and God’s providence;
5. The separation of good from the wicked, and the consequent eternal reward or punishment that each has earned.
Revelation also tells us that the Day of the Lord will be preceded by certain definite signs. The world will not come to an end before these signs appear. On the other hand, no one can foretell the exact day from these signs.
PRINCIPAL SIGNS
The principal signs or events usually enumerated by theologians as preceding the Last Judgement are:
1. The general preaching of the Christian religion all over the Earth;
2. The conversion of the Jews;
3. The return of Henoch and Elias;
4. A great apostasy from the Faith;
5. The appearance and reign of Antichrist;
6. Extraordinary disturbances of nature;
7. A universal conflagration;
8. The trumpet of resurrection and the appearance of the “Sign of the Son of Man” in the heavens.
The first of these signs was announced by Christ Himself: “And the Gospel of the Kindom shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations and then shall the consummation come” (Matt. 24, 14). It must not be concluded from this prophecy that all men will ultimately embrace the catholic Faith. Our Lord says that the Gospel will be preached everywhere, not that all will accept this preaching and be converted.
The final conversion of the Jews is based on St.Paul’s inspired teaching: “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren of this mystery, that blindness in part has happened in Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in. And so all Israel should be saved” (Rom. 11, 25). Again, not all Jews will become Catholics, but it seems reasonable to assume that they will someday flock to the Church to great numbers.
The belief that Elias and Henoch will return to herald the second coming of our Lord and convert the Jews was widely held among the Fathers of the Church. So, as far as it regards Elias, this belief is based on the prophecy of Malachias: “Behold I will send you Elias the Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (4,5 ). Our Lord’s reference to John the Baptist as Elias (matt. 17, 10) is explained by Agustine as follows: “As there are two advents of the Judge, so there are two precursors. He sent before Him the first precursor and called him Elias because Elias was to take the same part in the second coming that John had in the first” (Tract. In Joa. Vii, 5).
APOSTASY AND ANTICHRIST
That a great defection among the faithful will occur before the end of the world is the prophecy of Christ and St.Paul. This “mystery of iniquity”, when “the charity of many shall grow cold”, is described partly as the cause and partly as an effect of the appearance of Antichrist. It must be noted that St.Paul’s writing on this subject is somewhat obscure to us because it is based on this earlier, verbal teaching.
St.paul does not use the word “Antichrist”, which is taken from St.John’s writings. This term may be the mere personification of all the forces of evil opposed to Christ and His Church. Yet it seems that St.John points to a concrete individual, while St.Paul is quite explicit: “And then that wicked one shall be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of His mouth; and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming, him. whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish.” (2 Thes. 2, 8)
GREAT TRIBULATION
It is enough to recall our Lord’s own graphic description: “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be pestilence, and famines and earthquakes in places. For there shall then be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be. And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be moved.
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn. And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty. And He shall send His angels with a trumpet and a great voice: and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds” (Matt. C. 24).
In these days of atom bombs, it is not hard to visualize the destruction of the face of the earth. We do not know whether this final conflagration will be due to natural or supernatural forces, but the time and the circumstances will be determined by God. He also knows the day and the hour. Christ knew, not as a man but God, but He was not free to reveal His Father’s secret (cf. Mark 13, 32).
Lest anyone accuse us of being alarmists, we make our own the words of St.Paul: “We beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together unto Him, that you be not readily shaken out of your right mind nor kept in alarm, as though the day of the Lord were upon us” (2 Thes. 2, 1).
But more significant are the words of Divine Judge: “Watch ye, therefore, because ye know not what hour your Lord will come. Wherefore be you also ready” (Matt. 24, 42).
Read My previous similar ones Why Latin
