"On 6/6/6, the Possibilities Are Endless" - New York Times
It's still a few hours until midnight on the day we've all been dreading, but it looks like the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of this millennium is going to pass without ushering in the apocalypse. The end-of-the-world prognosticators will now have to go back to the Bible and see where they blew it.
This was a biggy though. For centuries prophetic numerologists have combed the Bible for clues that explain contemporary tribulations and pestilence and thereby foreshadow the end of the world. But 6/6/6 is special, and ready made for doomsayers. Snipped from the Book of Revelation, it is seen as the "mark of the beast," usually understood as the Antichrist. So ducking this bullet is no small thing.
As for me, I tried to take on my day in the same manner as St. Francis of Assisi, the beloved 12th century mystic. It is said he was once approached while hoeing his garden and asked what he would be doing if he knew that today was the last day of his life. "I would be hoeing my garden," he said.
In that spirit I moved through my day in routine fashion, mindlessly whistling away any underlying uncertainties. On a couple of occasions I turned on the cable news channels, watched the headlines, and thought, "Oh my God, it's here!" But then I realized I had inadvertently tuned in the FOX network. It wasn't the apocalypse, just some reporters warming up for it.
I did take occasion to log on to RaptureReady.com, an evangelical site that tells all you need to know about the end of time. They have breaking news updates on Armageddon, a Prophecy Gopher that makes learning about burning in Hell fun for kids, and tips on how to pack for the Rapture. I would never have come across this treasure trove had I not been hedging my bets on 6/6/6.
I'm glad our world has been given an extension. For one thing, I'm a Royals fan and that's about as close to the apocalypse as one can get. Beyond that, however, is my hope that all this silly hysteria will cause each of us to think about this earth for which we have responsibility. There are starving people around the world whose tribulations are all too painfully real. I daresay there are many Iraqi families who have experienced their own Armageddon. The horrors of crime, abuse, and domestic violence devalue life and defy hope.
On 6/7/6 let's give up this Biblical scrabble game and work on behalf of peace, justice, and love. Wouldn't that be rapturous?
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Of course the other possibility, Grant, is that we were "Left Behind" and haven't noticed it yet. Maybe only 144 people were gathered up and CNN hasn't figured it out yet.
ReplyDeleteNot being selected by God isn't so bad if we get to see Pat Robertson explain why he is still here too.
Todd, when I was a kid in the early '60s I had a neighbor who built a fallout shelter in his backyard and packed it with foodstuffs. When it was finished he invited me to take a look. Once inside he picked up a shotgun and tapped the barrel on the palm of his hand. Then he told me this was to prevent neighbors who hadn't built their own fallout shelter from trying to get in when the bombs started to fall.
ReplyDeleteWhat he didn't understand was that as horrible as a nuclear holocaust would be, it surely could be no worse than being locked up with him in a 10x10 cement room, chewing on granola bars.
But justice prevailed. On the first hard rain his shelter filled up with water. Who says Armageddon can't be fun?
I would quote reams and reams of Arthur Oakman to you about end time matters...but not wanting to bore the h*ck out of ya, I'll summarize his attitude as being....drum roll please...Jesus ain't comin' back till there is something worth coming home to. When that is seems very much up to us. Maranatha.
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