APOCALYPSE

(04,20,2020) Apocalypse is a word that has been dreaded by countless generations for the last two millennia. It has been interpreted as ‘the last days’ or ‘day of judgement’. We are all, doubtless, being judged, at this time, for our behavior. Make no mistake though! God did not send this virus to destroy us. Mankind brought this upon itself, much in the same manner that it has been destroying God’s green earth for over one hundred years. How we react and how we treat our fellow man, in these difficult times, is the true test of our character. God will judge, harshly, those people like the P.O.T.A.S. (President of the American Supremacists) who say ‘me first’, as the P.O.T.A.S. did when he attempted to stop the 3M company from exporting life-saving N95 masks to Canada. By this one action, the P.O.T.A.S. has shown that in a crisis, such as a ship sinking, he would be the first one to run past the women and children, shoving them aside, as he headed to the lifeboats, crying “me first”. However, the word ‘Apocalypse’ has been bandied about for so long, infusing false images in our minds, to the point that we envision the most horrible scenarios imaginable. But, we were promised, after the great flood, that destruction of the earth would not be wrought upon us again. Jesus spoke of these times as a sign of the coming of the Messiah. “Look for the light!” he said. Though I’m paraphrasing here, I was reminded of this on April 7, of this year, when a little boy, wrote a poem to his father, an emergency responder at the ‘front line’. The young lad asked, ” in all the darkness, where is the light?” It made me weep for this little boy who, like so many others, are dreading the coming darkness. During that same day, I had commented, to my daughter, about the disgusting incident of those parasites who had bought up P.P.E.’s such as masks, so that they could charge many hundreds of times more than the normal price online. My young grandson, who had overheard the conversation, made the remark, “Welcome to the human race!” Although I understood where he was ‘coming from’, it made me sad to think that young people, such as my grandson, had adopted such a cynical view of his fellow man. We can reassure our children by informing them that these troubling days are the unmistakable true sign of the coming of the ‘Light’! Jesus never spoke of the imminent destruction of mankind. He did, however, speak of the imminent destruction of the ‘darkness’. In order to beat COVID-19, we must be considerate of our fellow man. Even if we are asymptomatic, we could, unknowingly, pass on the virus to someone who is more vulnerable. That is why we are being asked to ‘stay home’! Compared to our forefathers who were asked to go to the front line at Vimy Ridge, over one hundred years ago, the request to stay at home requires only small sacrifices. Recently, on Good Friday, I was reminded of how Jesus willingly made the ultimate sacrifice for his fellow man. Now, all we are being asked for is consideration for others. Indeed, this may be a sign of the coming Apocalypse, but, through all this darkness, we can see ‘the Light’! The true interpretation for ‘Apocalypse’ is ‘Awakening’! Another translation, for this word that has been wrongfully dreaded for so long, is Enlightenment! Think of it as a promise from Jesus. In all this suffering and darkness, ‘the Light’ will shine through! To coin one of today’s phrases, this is ‘a wake up call’! After this is all over, the world will be different. Another oft used phrase comes to mind, “it’s the end of the world as we know it”! But, it is not the end of the world, period! Only by working together, on a global scale, as one human race, will we conquer the virus! Enlightenment will grow out of the darkness! The globalization of one race, rich in diverse ethnicity, will force out the darkness brought on by greedy cabals who are willing to destroy God’s green earth for their benefit! Hug your children! Tell them there is hope! Invariably, the imminent Apocalypse, promised by Jesus Christ, is a Revelation!