Timothy S. Klugh

TIMOTHY S. KLUGH

LITERATURE

Photograph by Timo Reiche

I am so sick of “the end " doomsayers! In my lifetime since I was born in 1968, the world was supposed to end in 1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, and now in 2010 too. The most popular future prediction now is 2012. It seems we have failed at reaching the end quite miserably. Where are all of these doomsayers at when their predicted "end of the world" disasters do not happen? And don't think this is a new thing!

In the early 1800's there were religious groups focused on the end of days. When the year 1000 was approaching, doomsayers were expecting the world to end with the return of Christ. When that failed, they predicted it would come at the end of a thousand years directly from the year that Christ died. They picked the year 1033. Again, it did not happen. This was the “Millennium” ending, and it would also be predicted for the years 1260, 1370, 1504, 1524, 1525, 1673, 1694, somewhere between 1793 and 1795, 1836, 1863, 1890, 1915, 1999, 2000, and 2007. Some pastor named Harriet Livermore got away with predicting the end of days twice. First, she predicted it would end in 1843, and when it did not happen, she predicted it again only this time in 1847. Again, the end did not come. Some religions have predicted specific dates for the end to arrive and have survived credibility regardless of no end occurring on the years they were predicted. Other religions kept their credibility about the end arriving by simply not stating a specific year. Psychics have predicted dates for the world to end and their predictions have so far failed. Some have used astronomical events to predict the end of the world and failed, most likely because most astronomical events have already occurred over and over in the universe’s history and did not end this world. Some have played it very safe by choosing years that will never happen in their lifetimes or our lifetimes, such as the years 2129, 2239, 2280 or even the ominously far away year 11120. This obsessive habit of looking for the end (for at least the most part) started around 30 to 40 AD, just after Jesus died and early Christians waited for the end like it was just on the horizon. Regardless, it has really picked up in the amount of predictions in the last century.

The masses have always focused on the end as a time of fear, revenge, justice and/or destruction. This has made the influence of the end something that has been used to control people or make vast amounts of money from them. When the time passes and the prediction is proven false, most of these predictors just fade away. It is the predictors who predict no specific date, just that the time is growing close, that can influence their will on others forever.

Will the world end? Most-likely it will. If the universe began about 13.8 billion years ago, then it is conceivable that the universe will end. However, long before the universe ends, there is a great astronomical catastrophe that will happen near us. Our own Milky Way galaxy is 13.21 billion years old, and it will collide with the approaching Andromeda galaxy in about 4 billion years. Will that be the end? Because the stars in both galaxies are very far in distance from the other stars in their same galaxies, it is not probable that any stars in either galaxy will collide. So, the collision of the galaxies does not appear to mean the end of the world. However, our sun looks like it will be the one to bring the end of this world. The sun is 4.5 billion years old at this time, about the same age as our world, and about the same age as our moon. The sun’s current age is a little less than the half-way point in the life of our sun. It is suggested that the sun will die in 5 billion years. When it does, our world will end as well. Regardless, any astronomical events that could end the world are too uncommon and too far in the future to worry about.

Our most trusted reference that discusses our doom with great detail also discourages us from seeking out the exact date of the end. In the Holy Bible, the first book of Thessalonians states that the day of the Lord will come “as a thief in the night”. This simile clearly indicates that no one will detect the coming of the end nor will we be able to predict it. No matter how terrifying the description of the end of times as stated in the book The Revelation is… no matter how sobering the thought of the sun destroying our world in its death throes is… we can do nothing about it and, considering the number of failures in predicting end dates in the past, and considering how long it is till the sun dies, we will not see the end of the world in our lifetime.

Besides, why not stop searching for our final curtain? Who not stop fearing the end of the world? Why not just live for today? Why not live this day to do good for yourself and others around you? The end of your own life is the only sure thing that you can count on and will happen long before the world ends.

Therefore, with the time you have in your stay here on this planet, make your life a life about doing things that are good, bold, productive, and valiant… not cowering or being frustrated about a future doom. Let fear and anger not rule your life, for that is all that searching for the end will fill you with. Live for today and your life upon this world will have been worth something when the end finally comes.

Addendum

There are those who do try to do good in this life but some only do good because they fear what will come with the end. What is the value of doing good in the life if it is only done out of fear? Why not do good simply because you want to do good… simply because it's the right thing to do? Why not love each other just to love? Don't let Judgement Day be the reason you do good. Don't let the fear of going to Hell be the reason you do good.

At the same time, don't let the rewards God will give you be the reason you do good. Christ said the two greatest commandments were to love your God and to love your neighbor. Christ’s final commandment was to love one another. Why not follow Christ’s example just because you want to live that way… and not because of what you are afraid of… or what you expect to receive as a result of your efforts? It is said that life is a test that God gave us to see how we will do on our own. Do you really want to return to God and explain that the reason you did good was because you were scared of being punished or you wanted rewards? I don't think seeking such things in trade for our good behavior in life is what God's test is all about. I think God wants us to do good just because we wanted to do good.

Main essay written on 05/08/2010
Addendum written on 05/09/2010
Revised on 06/04/2017

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