By Betty Smith
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Most Christians believe the world as we know it will end – perhaps tomorrow, perhaps centuries in the future.
Some follow the events in the book of Revelation literally, believing it paints the picture of Armageddon and the new heaven and new earth. Others regard it as a metaphor for the trouble that will plague mankind at the end of the current era, before the triumph of God.
Literature and legend abound in stories pitting good against evil, and forecasting the end of the earth. On a children’s level, Chicken Little perturbs his fellow barnyard beasts by peeping that the sky is falling. Science fiction versions cite a nuclear holocaust or ecological catastrophe as a portent of doom.
And, in one of the most ambitious and well-known struggles of light and dark powers, Frodo the Hobbit and the fellowship of the ring combat the malevolent forces of Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Currently, the “Left Behind” series written by television minister Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, tells a story, based on the Revelation prophecies, of people who remain on earth after the rapture. The first volume, published in 1995, had sold seven million copies by 2002. Sales of its successors numbered several millions each.
In the first volume, airline pilot Rayford Steele is flying toward England when dozens of passengers vanish from his 747. Journalist Buck Williams is a passenger on the plane. During the book, they accept Christ and are saved. Nicolae Carpathia, who becomes the charismatic leader of the United Nations, emerges as the Antichrist figure. Williams, Steele, a minister, and other Christians band together as the “tribulation force,” who battle Carpathia and his legions during ensuing events.
Most ministers say they teach their congregations to be prepared for the events depicted in Revelation. They cite Jesus’ words to the disciples, that no man knows the hour or time of his second coming.
“The Christians who are ready will be watching even thought they don’t know the exact day or hour,” said Pastor James Bokovoy of Tahlequah Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, there has been almost constant conflict between Israel and its Islamic Arab neighbors, or between Arab states themselves, as the fighting between Iran and Iraq demonstrates.
Bokovoy watches the continuing unraveling of events in the Middle East, and also believes the attitudes of people in general – abandoning their faith, being seduced by doctrines of demons, arrogance, loss of control and godlessness – contribute to an environment suitable for the events described in Revelation to begin.
“It will be terrible times, the Bible says,” Bokovoy said.
The Judeo-Christian tradition, with its belief in the coming of a Messiah or the second coming of Christ, is not the only one predicting the events leading up to the end of today’s civilizations.
Muslims, despite their current differences with Jews and Christians in general, share a common foundation of belief in Abraham and other early religious figures. They consider Muhammed the great Prophet of Allah, and consider Jesus a prophet, too although not the literal son of God.
Muhammed forecast the appearance of the Mahdi, a holy man who would bring good to the earth. The Quran foresaw the second spiritual advent of the prophet in the latter days. When those events occurred, the proper message of Allah would be interpreted in its positive form on the earth.
“The Muslims have for nearly a century awaited the appearance of the Mahi and Messiah, whose advent had been prophesied by the holy prophet of Islam,” Arif Humayun wrote.
In the century after Muhammed lived, Muslims conquered much of the known world, from the borders of China to Spain and parts of France. Although they were expelled from these territories later (from Spain in 1492, a turning point for the Spaniards, who also expelled the Jews that year and helped an Italian fellow named Columbus), many believe the followers of Islam will regain power.
Some Hindus have a belief in pralay, the day the earth will be destroyed by natural furies.
Zoroastrianism, which prevailed in ancient Persia and still exists in the Middle East, also has its version of the struggle between good and evil.
“Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed world religions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind, directly and indirectly, than any other single faith,” Mary Boyce wrote in “Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices,” published in 1979.
She said Zoroaster was the first to teach about individual judgment, heaven and hell, the resurrection of the body, the last judgment, and life everlasting.
Some secular prophets also have made predictions about end-time events that are popular with their followers.
Nostradamus, a French visionary who died in 1556, produced a cryptic series of quatrains written in medieval French that can be interpreted in many ways.
According to his advocates, he foresaw the French revolution of 1789, the two world wars, named Hitler, Franco and Mussolini (although he referred to Hitler as Hister), the rise and fall of England, the advent of flight, space travel and nuclear power, and the fate of various popes and kings.
However, writings on Nostradamus fail to mention the predictions or interpretations that didn’t play out. He did prophesy the non-Christian empire in the Middle East would collapse before the end of the 20th century, for example.
Nostradamus wrote about the end of times. Some of his followers believed that would happen soon, others not for 5,000 years or so. His quatrains describe death, disease, earthquakes, fire, destruction and other cataclysmic events.
American psychic Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) predicted events leading to the second coming of Christ would begin around 1998, shortly before the millennium. Dr. Mark Thurston wrote in “Millennium Prophecies: Predictions for the Coming Century from Edgar Cayce” (1997), that the millennium would see geographic, social, political and economic changes – including the reappearance of the mythical island of Atlantis.
But the most important, according to Cayce, was a spiritual change. He said the millennium would lead to a spiritual change as drastic as that which resulted from the coming of Christ 2,000 years earlier. Anyone who seriously seeks understanding of the spiritual nature of Christ would be able to attain it.
The Association for Research and Enlightenment, founded by Cayce in 1931, continues his teachings in Virginia, while the followers of Nostradamus maintain various Web sites.
Modern-day Christian writers also have called upon the faithful to continue working for good as the final days approach.
Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch concentration camp survivor and author of “The Secret Room,” write in 1974 that the world was ill and dying. She said false teachers suggest there will be no time of tribulation before the rapture, but that Christians needed to remain strong in their values. She said more than 60 percent of the body of Christ had already entered into the tribulation, citing torture in China and Africa, and wrote there is a need to develop a personal relationship with Christ today.
Ruth Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, wrote in 1975 that Christians needed to prepare to go through the tribulation before the rapture.
“I would rather prepare myself to go through the tribulation and be happily surprised by an unexpected rapture, than expect to be raptured only to find myself going through tribulation,” she wrote in a letter to Dave McPherson, author of “Late Great Pre-Tribulation Rapture.”
The Rev. Jared Schopper of Boudinot Baptist Church hasn’t read the “Left Behind” series, but he respects LaHaye and thinks the books follow Revelation and its prophecies.
He said at the time of the tribulation period, “the church, I believe, will already have been raptured into heaven.”
He believes the prophecies in Revelation are “so close to the mark that it doesn’t even need stating,” and “we’re living now in a period of grace.”
In the end, people will be held accountable for their lives and actions on earth.
“Heaven should not be taken for granted. We should seek out the Lord’s word and obey what is commanded,” he said.
Schopper agrees that no one knows the time of the second coming, but people should be prepared when it happens. If people knew the date, many would party beforehand and repent just before that time.
“Keep looking up, but keep your hand on the plow. We still have to make a living; we still have to take care of the earth,” he said.
While Schopper agrees with the concepts LaHaye sets forth, he has a different opinion about the current “The DaVinci Code” movie and the book that inspired it. The book, and movie, hypothesize that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and produced a child, whose lineage continues to this day.
“It’s the same old talk, but with different subjects,” he said, adding that while many people will see the movie out of curiosity, it won’t have much effect here in the Bible Belt.
The Rev. Thea Nietfeld of Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Tahlequah does not teach apocalyptic beliefs nor a literal view of the events spelled out in Revelation. However, members of the congregation discuss current events in a weekly forum and frequently refer to ecological and other themes during the worship service.
“We look at the evidence; we look at the idea that global warming is going to influence us, fights over resources are going to have an influence on our future,” she said.
Rather than preaching doom, or waiting for a better world in the next life, UUs work to make this earth better and create a better life for humans here.
She said apocalyptic views tend to be negative, and harmful in building a belief of working in common for the best possible world on earth.
“To the extent that apocalyptic views drive politics, we seek to bring rational ethical considerations, like the common good, to the approach that ‘we’re all going to die, anyway’ or ‘is this a sign from God?’” she said.
The Rev. Terry Stone of First Assembly of God watches the events of today and compares them to teachings in Revelation.
“The Christians who are ready will be watching, even though they don’t know the exact day or hour,” he said.
Stone has read most of the “Left Behind” books and enjoyed two movies based on them. But he also disagrees with the message of “The DaVinci Code.”
“You can see where people are really uncertain about the Bible,” he said.
He believes the rapture will precede the times of tribulation, although some have said it will come midway through those seven years. Those who remain on earth can expect to suffer greatly during those years.
“At the same time, there is hope given to us through Jesus,” he said.
Christ, who will lead the armies of good on a white horse, will rule and reign over the earth for 1,000 years.
“When that is over, there will be a new heaven and earth, and God’s people will forever be with him,” he said.
Bokovoy said while rough times are ahead, he is optimistic about what the future holds for Christians. His church doesn’t believe in the rapture as portrayed in “Left Behind” and its successors, where people are taken away unaware.
Bokovoy pointed to Christ’s teachings to the apostles in Matthew 24, when they asked Jesus if he would return during their lifetime. He told them no one knew the date of the second coming.
“He was telling them things he held then as beliefs were going to be important in the future,” he said.
Many people look at current wars and rumors of war as a sign that the ultimate struggle, and God’s triumph, is near – or very near.
Bokovoy believes people will have time to repent and accept Christ during the times of tribulation. There is chance for salvation for all, although all will not take advantage of that opportunity.
“The gospel will be preached at the end of the world for all nations, and then the end will come,” he said.
Betty Smith writes for the Tahlequah (Okla.) Daily Press.
