End Times

[Xorkoth]

I think that it's entirely possible that the Earth will be unable to sustain even close to the population of humanity in the not-so-distant future. Between overfishing (and seafood being a primary source of food for many people in the world), overfarming, pillaging the Earth of nonrenewable natural resources, accelerating climate change leading to widespread destruction of habitats and more violent storms, and deforestation leading to a drop in levels of oxygen in the atmosphere, we'll be fucked eventually, and so will a lot of other life on the planet (but not all of it, I don't think. Life will go on, but it will be different).

I'd like to think we can turn things around but unfortunately the same patterns of destructive greed and sociopathy have been happening in our species throughout history. It's just that now we actually have the ability to destabilize the planet, and not just to inflict suffering on humans directly.

 

[P.o.T.u.S]

People have always been fucked up/bad shit has been happening but in the present time we can just find out all the bad shit that is happening all over the world so it seems like it is progressing but its always been there its just our communication has made it possible to know every bad thing that happens and not just whats happening in your personal space/local area

 

[Xorkoth]

That's very true and is part of why it seems so bad. But the other reason is that we're rapidly fucking up the balance of nature. Our power to do so has increased hugely over any other time in our species' history because of our technology. That's the difference between now and other times IMO.

 

[nuttynutskin]

There is indeed death, famine, plague, war right now as there was 20 years ago and 50 years before that. And so on. I imagine there might even be less disease and death these days, judging by the huge growing human population and the use of showers.

Idk, I think it might be showing it's self differently. We might not be going through the bubonic plague although there was the whole ebola thing not that long ago. Besides that look at the U.S. for example with the rates of cancer, diabetes, obesity etc. and this is a 1st world country with with advanced technology and access to pretty much unlimited information.

What would have been "the end times" have been cancelled from what I've been able to make out. It would have happened by now. I can't see it getting any worse, either, I think it has gotten about as bad as it could be and it can only get better by now.

I respect your opinion, but what exactly makes you think it's been cancelled out? Things are bad but I think there's plenty of room for things to get much MUCH worse.

I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. All the evidence shows this planet will benefit from a large reduction in humans, and industry. Even in my own lifetime I have seen green spaces turned into dumps. Nature needs to stop us and now.

I think I had this discussion in another thread, but sometimes I wonder if there's really any difference between pessimist and realist lol. Either way indeed there is no doubt that we're overpopulating and slowly (or quickly) killing off the planet.

 

[nuttynutskin]

Things aren't exactly going well, per se, so I don't think people who keep bags packed full of survival gear are losing their minds, they might just be the most practical of the bunch.

My question is tho, if there is some type of armageddon do you really want to survive it? I guess it would depend on the circumstances. Personally I think I would rather have the asteroid/God/nuclear warhead take me out in one fell swoop than eventually run out of rations in my bunker or die from radiation poisoning.

There are lots of shitty people with highly potent weaponry so who knows what might happen, I'd just rather people suffer less than more if the world starts crumbling down.

That may be why Revelations appeals to me. Fuck starving to death, bring on the second coming you know?

 

[swilow]

^So you are a religious person then?

Look ye at thy first post.

Idk, I think it might be showing it's self differently. We might not be going through the bubonic plague although there was the whole ebola thing not that long ago. Besides that look at the U.S. for example with the rates of cancer, diabetes, obesity etc. and this is a 1st world country with with advanced technology and access to pretty much unlimited information.

Can you draw some parallel's between passages in Revelations and the way they are "showing it's self differently" now? I was curious why you think we are experiencing Christian eschaton right now and you haven't yet presented any support for your claim so I am still curious...

 

[nuttynutskin]

^So you are a religious person then?

Define religious. I'm not religious in the organized sense, I think that tends to brainwash people. But as far as religious ideas go they could be considered anything from christian to pagan. In short I don't know what I am, I haven't figured it out yet. I view religion more as a personal path than a blanket statement.

Can you draw some parallel's between passages in Revelations and the way they are "showing it's self differently" now? I was curious why you think we are experiencing Christian eschaton right now and you haven't yet presented any support for your claim so I am still curious...

Pretty sure I already covered this. I never said we were without a doubt, I just said "I find the way certain things from the Bible (particularly Revelations) correspond with what's going on in the world now a bit compelling."

Take it how you want, that's just my personal feeling. If you're looking for some definite proof then you're not going to find it here, and I never claimed you would.

 

[swilow]

^No, I absolutely know you won't be able to provide proof of the future. That would be crazy.

I'm just hoping you could point to specific verses of Revelations and demonstrate what part of the current global situation you think they represent.

Define religious. I'm not religious in the organized sense, I think that tends to brainwash people. But as far as religious ideas go they could be considered anything from christian to pagan. In short I don't know what I am, I haven't figured it out yet. I view religion more as a personal path than a blanket statement.

I guess I was trying to make a joke based on your comment "bring on the second coming". It was maybe not very funny.

Anyway, your summation of your religious beliefs is similar to my own in that I take bits and pieces from everything. I would, however, avoid taking all that much from the Book of Revelations; I think its interesting writing but nonsensical. The world can be bad enough without imagining that we are merely pawns in some cosmic game of chess. I fail to see how that type of religious view provides anything but fear. Frightened people can be desperate to be looked after I suppose...

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

I'm not a particularly religious person although I'm spiritual and acknowledge there may be a higher power in one way or another. But I find the way certain things from the Bible (particularly Revelations) correspond with what's going on in the world now a bit compelling. Of course other religions have versions of the apocalypse or whatever you want to call it as well, but for some reason I feel Revelations especially consistent. Anyways, thoughts?

The book of Revelation is actually about the fall of the Roman empire, and it was written in a code and with metaphor by a Christian in exile on a Greek island called John of Patmos, since then if you were Christian and writing against, or speaking out against the Roman empire you could be put to death, or exiled like what happened to him.

 

[ChrisGo]

The way I see this topic. A civilization will advance to a point where technology has the capability to destroy that same civilization. The people must learn to be disciplined with the technology to benefit, what we call, the better of humanity. Now days we have different kinds of technology that are doing the exact opposite of each other. We screw with our food supply so much that we practically get no nutrients out of it. Companies like Monsanto have genetically altered crops so that it's basically no longer what god gave us. That way they can patent their own genetic make up and sue people for possessing it in there crops even if by accident. Industry technology is suppose to better our lives with providing and convenience, at the same time, most industries are destroying our environment. Then we have military technology in which it's purpose is to kill and destroy. Simple as that. Now yes we have technology that that are suppose to be more efficient like solar and wind power. But they're are still limited. So in my opinion we are see-sawing back and forth between destroying and rehabilitating our world. It seems that we are doing more bad than good though.

Another argument is that our planet goes through natural cycles that could cause the "End of Time". No one has ever been able to stick around to tell anyone else about it so no one really knows. Many theorist believe that is the purpose of the in explainable, odd structures found all over the world. Some with hieroglyphics to tell a story that no one can seem to decipher correctly. Once again. No one has been able to stick around to tell us about them, so...no one knows.

And then there's the threat of and outside cosmic event that could render our planet, or at least the majority of it, charred and pummeled. Uninhabitable. Scientist say that and asteroid impact is inevitable, it's just a matter of time. Not to mention a huge solar flare or even a gamma ray burst from a near by star could cause us harm. The cosmos is full of all kinds of events that could effect us in a negative way and could happen at any given moment and we would never now it.

Now, the Bible never says exactly what is going to happen in the end of days. Just a series of event that lead up to it. I believe that most of what is in revelations is more of a metaphor than literal. Which is why so many different people have so many different opinions about the end of the world according to the Bible. I do believe that we are on the brink of a drastic change. Whether it's the end of our world as we know it or and enlightened shift in our existence, there's no way of telling. I think it all depends on the intention and decision of our brothers and sisters of this world. Maybe we will all wake up and realize that we heading for certain doom and change our way of thinking and save ourselves. Maybe ignorance will prevail and we will drive the remainder of what's left into the ground. Maybe mother Gaia (Mother Earth) will do it for us to preserve herself. We can speculate all we want but the bottom line is that we as humans are responsible for the continuity of our well being and existence.

I believe that everything is connected through consciousness. Whatever we project, we also receive. So if some sort of natural or cosmic disaster takes us all out, then perhaps we still would cause it through negativity and bad intentions. "Self-fulfilled Divine Intervention". Sorry for such a long post. I tried to shorten it as much as possible. Sometimes complicated things can be so short and simple.

 

[swilow]

^That was a good post. Thanks

And then there's the threat of and outside cosmic event that could render our planet, or at least the majority of it, charred and pummeled. Uninhabitable. Scientist say that and asteroid impact is inevitable, it's just a matter of time. Not to mention a huge solar flare or even a gamma ray burst from a near by star could cause us harm. The cosmos is full of all kinds of events that could effect us in a negative way and could happen at any given moment and we would never now it.

The vulnerability of earth is beautifully described by Carl Sagan, ruminating on the Pale Blue Dot image (NSFW for size):

NSFW:

From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known

The amazing thing is that earth has always been this vulnerable and yet we seem have to have gotten pretty far...

A possible end of world scenario could be when they turn the matrix off.

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

It's not exactly inevitable that something will hit the earth. The universe is so large that objects usually have a huge empty space around them and never see much of anything. That being said if even a small cosmic object strikes earth it will be catastrophic, plus the sun will eventually expand and engulf us.

I think the only role our "consciousness" has in our demise is our drive to keep living in a good world. I don't think there will be any divine punishment becuase some higher creature/ being/ force is upset with us.

 

[ChrisGo]

It's not exactly inevitable that something will hit the earth. The universe is so large that objects usually have a huge empty space around them and never see much of anything. That being said if even a small cosmic object strikes earth it will be catastrophic, plus the sun will eventually expand and engulf us.

Given the number of asteroids that are floating around our solar system and some have an orbit that comes close to Earth. One of them is bound to hit us eventually. Not to mention all the rocks in the Kuiper Belt that can sometimes get knocked out of orbit. The 2013 TV135 asteroid is suppose to hit us on August 26th 2032.

 

[swilow]

^There's no mention of impact on the wiki page for that asteroid...

 

[Xorkoth]

They don't want us to know about, maaaaan.

 

[methamaniac]

That may be why Revelations appeals to me. Fuck starving to death, bring on the second coming you know?

If you understand the symbolism, numerology, foreshadowing, and allegory throughout the bible it makes revelations a lot more 'compelling'. It all connects.
I recently ran across a series that did a very good job going through revelations. PM me if you want the link and I will find it. It's over 20 hours long tho.

 

[ChrisGo]

^There's no mention of impact on the wiki page for that asteroid...

It says 1 in 63,000 chance of hitting earth on that day. What I read about a year ago said that it would. Hmm. I wonder which on is right.

 

[ChrisGo]

^ My point being. That there is a chance and the further we go into the future, the more those chances will surface.

 

[swilow]

It says 1 in 63,000 chance of hitting earth on that day. What I read about a year ago said that it would. Hmm. I wonder which on is right.

Perhaps we deserve the former.