Many people are resistant to the notion of end times. For some it's just defeatist pessimism that serves no use other than to encourage negativity and despair. Others reject it because the idea is Christian even though it is universal in one form or another. Then there are the people who say that the world has always had problems, wars, famines, disasters of various sorts. In reality, we are much better off now than we have ever been.
I can see some justification for these attitudes as negativity and pessimism do exist, and it can't be denied that, in many respects, we are better off than ever before. At the same time, none of that changes the reality that the signs we are approaching some sort of collapse, both spiritual and material, are very clear, and it requires a degree of almost wilful blindness to ignore them. I speak in terms of the West as that is what I know but I strongly suspect that where the West leads everyone else will follow. Materialism and atheism are rampant everywhere, and these are the two key significators of the end times. They have never been as pronounced as they are now. Add to that the fact that religions have all reached a point of spiritual exhaustion. There may be good still left in them on some levels but real spiritual good, salvific good, is draining away. Alternatives to religion are widespread but so many are shallow, without real substance, almost as if they were designed to catch those fleeing materialism as part of a two-pronged attack on the soul.
Critics might assert that writing about the end times is fear-mongering and provokes anxiety during global crises, but they miss the point that if the end times really do exist and we are in them we had better know how to respond. To ignore a situation can be fatal. One always operates best from a position of understanding. It is quite true that fear-mongering paralyses people but spiritual preparation enables us to face what may come from a point of inner strength and knowledge. If the house is catching fire isn't it wise to point that out so steps can be taken?
Doubters would also say that people have claimed they were in the end times on many occasions over the centuries with nothing untoward happening. Perhaps, but past error does not excuse ignoring obvious warning signs in the present. The object in writing about these things is not to convince anyone of anything they don't already believe but to support those who feel something is amiss and would like to make sense of it all. At times like these when the outer world and its institutions are crumbling, understanding why it is happening and how to respond becomes critical.
People also react against the idea of end times because it seems sensationalist and that's fair enough. It is an emotive phrase, but what it really means is the end of old, unsustainable ways of living. The end times are only about external collapse on one level. On a deeper level, what they call for is an internal spiritual upgrade. I'm not entirely happy with that expression because of its mechanical connotations but it serves to emphasise that, in the face of the breakdown of outer structure, we need to discover the light within and build an internal sanctuary. That is a big task not, as it might sound, a glib catchphrase. It requires daily practice of prayer, meditation and the retuning of the soul. It demands clarity of thought and purity of motive which sounds simple but is a lot to ask of any human being and needs a strong degree of honesty with oneself and ability to look into all the dark corners of the psyche with humility and detachment. But it will pay dividends because the more you centre yourself within, the less you will be damaged by fear or anger or any one of a number of negative responses to outer turmoil.
Another objection that might be raised is that if we are in the end times and everything is predestined to collapse, why should people bother trying to improve the world or put things right? In that case, isn't talking of spiritual survival just a form of escapism?
What matters is state of mind, the one thing you take with you when you leave this place. One should always try to make things better and not turn one's back on destruction and decay, but we can take an analogy from human life. We try to heal the body but there comes a time when we have to accept the inevitable. Saying this is the end times is not saying, do nothing. Do whatever you feel called to do. Things can always be made better in some way, and passive fatalistic acceptance will guarantee that nothing will ever improve. At the same time, you should know that cycles have beginnings, middles and ends and there are strong indications that we are in the end part of a particular cycle. You can make that as good as it can be but you cannot alter the trajectory of a cycle.
Looking at the world today from the spiritual perspective shows we are in some kind of crisis. That is what I mean by end times. How long this period will last and what comes afterwards, nobody knows. The period may last a long while or not. Outer collapse may come in some form, great or small, external destruction from comets may even come as some speculate, but none of that really matters. The essential point is that we live in a world that has lost contact with God. We have sought to become our own God and that is to invite consequences. At such time each individual must seek to realign his being with the word of God. That is all the phrase end times means. God has been chased from out there so now we must look for him in here.
2 comments:
I agree that these are the End Times, even among those who recognize the phenomenon, there are differences in what people mean by the term - in what is the cause (or the many causes) and why it is happening. The conversation Can get stuck at this level of wrangling over definitions and causes, in which case it does little good.
But I think the main stumbling block is that many people see the purpose and meaning of their own lives as bound-up with the dominance and growth of the society or group (national, racial or whatever) with which they identify. In a nutshell they Need to feel that "we" are *winning" - and the End Times idea would mean admitting that they (and everyone else) will Lose (in this sense of losing), sooner or later.
This pushes us into considering the nature of purpose of mortal life as such. Is our individual life *primarily* to be regarded a part of something bigger and external, that is to be measured in material/ physical terms such as survival domination, growth? If so, the End Times must be bad news, and at best only an opportunity for short term gain.
But if we can instead know our mortal life as a time of learning and development and preparation for eternal life (as You have often said); then (in principle) this purpose can be pursued just as well in the End Times as in the early phases of a vigorous civilization.
Or maybe Better pursued in the End Times.
The above analysis may even suggest that the End Times are the best kind of times for the sort of people who are (mostly) alive today; because we, now, of The West are so materialistic, so this-world orientated, they we seem to neglect post-mortal existence altogether - and to live entirely for this life and world.
To acknowledge these as End Times can therefore be a valuable framework for life as we Ought to be leading it anyway; and that fact that some materialist options are closed off can be regarded as a tough but necessary life-lesson - almost compelling us to confront what we so often deny but really need to learn.
It's always necessary to emphasise that it is a privilege to be alive in the end times because it is potentially a time when much spiritual progress can be made. In the earth is a training ground scenario this is when the lessons get harder but the efforts to overcome the conditions that prevail at such times can result in greater rewards than at other times when the world helps rather than hinders the spiritual path.
Also, many people may be driven to seek a deeper truth when the outer world falls into ruin of some sort. Your point about winning and losing is very relevant here. What wins in a materialist's ideal world and what happens after that?
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