Monday, April 5, 2010

Movies about the "Apocalypse"

I want to start by saying that even non-believers may find this post interesting. People talk about the "end times", "last days" and the apocalypse. Lets start by correcting some misconceptions. Apocalypse does NOT mean what people think it does. It means a REVELATION. Okay, the word has nothing to do with an end to anything.

Wiki - Apocalypse

Next, the word Armageddon does not mean the end of the world. It is a place surrounded by mountains in the Holy land where a battle is to take place at the end of the current age. Now, lets add a little to the conversation. The battle that takes place there is STOPPED by God. It is not a battle that takes out the world.

Wiki - Armageddon

Finally, the phases "End Times" and "Last Days" do NOT refer to the end of all people or the earth. They refer to the end of Satan's days as leader of this world. This is not something to be feared. In Revelations it says that after those times Jesus will rule on earth for 1,000 years.

One might ask why I have bothered writing the preceding. It is because of the misconceptions that are so prevelant. You have people claiming to be "Christians" that do not have the vaguest clue what the bible says because they never read it or read it without paying attention.

What brought it up was the movies that have been coming out about the end of the world. Horrible things, no basis in the bible while claiming to.

The Book of Eli

The movie is about a man who has the last surviving bible AFTER Armageddon. Huh? Didn't they even bother reading the book? Apparently not. In the movie it is his goal to save the book. Hey, if he finds himself in a world where the book has been disproven, why is he trying to save it?

Legion

This film, Legion, is about as backwards as it can be. Dumb is not the problem, it is pure evil. In the movie, God is the bad guy and Satan is the good guy. God wants to kill all people and Satan tries to save us. I don't hardly know where to start. Firstly, the philosophy is traditional gnostic. Secondly, it shows again a misunderstanding of "The End Days" as taught in Revelations. Revelations teaches that Armageddon is stopped and Jesus reigns on earth, not that God kills everyone in a great battle with evil.

Lets clarify something. We are taught that Armageddon is the final battle of good versus evil. That is not what the Bible says. Nowhere does it say God fights or even that good fights. The battle is of evil against evil. It says the spirit of demons enter the leaders of the world and they all gather at Armageddon to fight each other.

People seem to assume that Satan is powerful. It does not say that. He is deceitful. He can only exercise the power he is given by sinful people. God had little difficulty removing Satan from Heaven. Nowhere does it say that Satan is all powerful, all knowing or omnipresent. It just does not say that anywhere. It says he is deceitful.

Armageddon the movie

I liked the film. It has nothing to do with God, the Bible or the battle of Armageddon. It uses the name of the place to represent the end of the world. Again, a misuse of terms.

2012

Why bother say anything. 2012 is just silly. They base it on the Mayan calendar. Well, the Mayans did beleive in God and IF they thought the world ended in 2012, we don't know what they thought would happen next. Currently, there is a movement that says that in 2012 we will come into a new consciousness. In other words, the start of a new beginning not the end of the world. This is consistent with what the Hope believe.

In Conclusion, if I ever have a conclusion. You either believe the Bible or you do not. If you believe the Bible then you should read it and understand that the "Last Days" are a time of triumph and tribulation. If you do not believe the Bible then it's symbology won't make any sense and is pointless to worry about.

I have always been annoyed, annoyed, by people who become Christians and rush to the end of the book and then want to talk about end times. My feeling is always the same, try getting down the basics. They are simple. Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Focus on faith (belief that leads to action) and don't worry about breaking a rule along the way, you will break many. Worry more about redemption than sin. You cannot save anyone, only they can save themselves and beating them up will not help them. Say what you believe and live it. Admit you make mistakes.

As for "the end times", it is just a phase. Don't fear it. The Nazis, Stalin, Mao and all the despots throughout history managed to make things perfectly miserable for many, they did not need the end times. Nero was sufficiently good at throwing christians to the lions, he didn't need the end times. The black plague killed millions and did not need the end times. The world is not club med.

The bible says that if you are a believer it only gets harder. Read about the life of the apostles and you will begin to understand that they were not sent on vacation and were persecuted. Persecuted, not given mansions. It is said that Peter was crucified and asked to have the cross placed upside down because he did not feel worthy of dying as Christ did. He was not given a Ferrari, he walked.

If these are the last days of Satan's power on earth, good. Still, I got up this morning and if you are reading this then you did too. What did you do with the day, did you help someone? Do not misunderstand me, I am not happy to hear discussions about microchipping people, one currency, an international government, monitoring the population or a myriad of things going on and being discussed by government. I am not happy with it and I have written about such things.

As a Christian I cannot but help see that things are headed in the wrong direction. Perhaps we will repent, perhaps not. In either case I do know how the book ends and I believe things shall end as it says. I just can't get worried or concerned about it. I hear about Christians who run away to the hills or join militias or pray against the bad guys. Whatever. I came to play not hide. I don't believe in murder regardless of the reason and I will not pray against others only for them.

I have studied cults, satanists, luciferians, the illuminati, rosicrucians, vampires, werewolves (there wolves), witches, wiccans, pagans, mormons, masons, heck, just about all of them at some time. I always read the other guys books to see where they are coming from. Learned that from Patton. But, the most important thing is to know your own beliefs.

I think Prince (the singer) said it best. Tonight I'm going to party like it is 1999. Let us focus on what we do and not what is inevitable or may challenge us. I guarentee, we all get challenged. I wrote this because of a comment left by a follower. She mentioned that she liked it when I was positive. I wanted to explain my positive beliefs. I hope this has helped.

In sum. I believe we are born, we live, we die and go to a better place. I believe that while we are alive we can do as much good as we are capable of. It can be small things like taking in an abused dog. Or, it can be big things like moving onto an island of lepers to care for them. We are each called as we are, to do what we were designed to be capable of doing. Our hearts and minds together are our compass.

For Christians who believe these are the end times, my answer is still simple. It says that we will be required to take a mark, the mark of the beast. At a minimum your job is to not receive any mark. Simple. If you fear and believe these are the end times, do not be fearful, refust to take any mark and help your brothers and sisters.

During the beginning of the church, christians were subjected to being thrown to the lions, it did not stop them from practicing their faith nor did they involve themselves is civil disturbances. They formed no army, no militias and were firm in their faith. Do the same. Shame on you if you lift up arms, that is not what you were told to do.

I have no repsect for those who would kill abortion doctors. I have no respect for those doctors or abortion. I have no respect for murder. I have a lot of respect for redemption, forgiveness, grace and respect. If an abortion doctor asked me what I thought of what he did, I would tell him, not punch him in the face or yell at him. We are told to have an explanation for what we believe, that is all we can give the world, that and to try to help. Be well.