Judement Day

Nearly two millennia ago the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth asked him a question that has intrigued people ever since: "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3, King James Version).

People in every generation since have wondered about this. A common question that plagues the human race is "Will the world literally end?" If so, how? Why? And when? It is almost inevitable that the world and the human race end someday, but just how soon? Whether it is through a natural disaster, world war, overpopulation, killer diseases or environmental degradation, there are said to have been many proposed explanations for how the world will finish. Religious people aren't the only ones asking these questions. In recent decades people from many walks of life have expressed concern about the possibility of the end of the world as we know it. For thousands of years, astrologers, psychics, politicians, educators, and scientists have been trying to come up with clues to when it all will end. There is a source, the Bible, which aids humans, specifically Christians, in trying to come up with some answers. Many places in the Bible such as Revelations, Ezekiel, Matthew, Daniel, and I Corinthians all give some clues to how and when the end of the world will come.

Experts from different fields share the concern that we could see the end of civilization in this century. These concerns have created an age of anxiety, especially in a world where so little seems certain anymore. Many others say there is no need to be concerned about the world ending. They point to epidemics of end-time panic that have raged in the past, such as Y2K. They list many failed past predictions regarding the end of the world. Such criticism is justified to a point. Doomsday predictions have flourished for centuries; but date setters have been wrong so far. The problem with most of these prognostics is that, the specific chronological details were the ideas of men who badly misinterpreted information in the Scripture.

Nostradamus has become one of the world's most widely known and read prophets. All of his predictions have come true. 300 years ago, Nostradamus predicted all of the popes, correctly up until the year 2000. According to him, we only have 4 popes left until judgment day. Further more, his enthusiasts have credited him with predicting numerous events in world history, from the great fire of London, the rise of Napoleon and Hitler, to the September attack on the World Trade Center. There are some skeptics that believe his prophets are largely manufactured by modern day supporters who fit his words to events that have occurred. There is no evidence in the academic literature to suggest that any of Nostradamus quatrains has ever been interpreted as predicting