Will the world end on May 21?
Posted on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 09:56 AM
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Death, Larkin wrote, is -
"The sure extinction that we travel to And shall be lost in always. Not to be here, Not to be anywhere, And soon; nothing more terrible, nothing more true."
He could be a bit dark, Larkin, but that's allowed, it's a dark enough world betimes - and certainly his wise words are completely unforgettable.
I often think of his poems when I witness people doing increasingly desperate things in the faint hope of escaping what Larkin knew can never be outrun.
That's why, the other morning, I stopped to watch a man who was wearing a big sandwich board and marching up and down 34 Street leafleting passersby. I asked him for one and he handed it to me without a word. I was struck by the urgency of his gaze.
His leaflet claimed that the Rapture would occur this Saturday, May 21. How thoughtful of him to warn us all. His leaflet didn't mention if he meant Greenwich Mean Time or Eastern Standard Time. It occurred to me that it would have been helpful to know this.
So there you have it. A percentage of the world's population will simply vanish, ascending straight into Heaven, and the for the rest of us it'll Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome for about five months.
The leaflet quoted scripture:
"And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man."
- Revelation 9:5
Five months of torment and torture, I don't really know in aid of what.
Magic snakes, burning bushes, floods and arks, forbidden apples, ruptures and raptures and rising up from the dead. It's odd, isn't it, the mighty stories we tell ourselves to make light of the threatening dark.
I read this week that an Irish American man named Robert Fitzpatrick blew all of his $140,000 retirement savings on an ad buy to warn the public that a Global Earthquake will strike us on Saturday. He didn't mind spending it all, he said, because he's be in Heaven on Sunday and - I suppose - they don't have a WalMart.
Can you imagine how Fitzgerald will feel by Sunday evening if the promised Rapture has not occurred? He'll be without his life savings, he'll be sunk. But he's not worried, though: "It is the date," he told Daily News.
Poor bugger.
Death is very sad. It's insuperable. It comes for us all. The need to escape that harsh truth has seduced men and women since the dawn of time. I suppose Fitzgerald will have ample time to contemplate those ironies when he's forced out of retirement by the end of the month.
13 comments
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Elijahovah | May 20, 2011, 01:01 PM EDT
Pass the word to Robert Fitzpatrick that the date for astral impact to south pacific is the G.Jan 19 Bin Laden has been threatening since the Venus epiphany of 2006 (thrice 1458 years since the Flood's Venus epiphany J.Jan 6). The 40 days of Noah return to 365-day calendar, and in all 365-day calendars those dates are also the same for the rapture of jesus Sunday April 5 to May 15 in which he had to be killed by the world to be raptured. The only difference is 3rd day versus immediate rise. Thus the true church must gather J.Nov 27 =G.Dec 10 knowing they will be killed. But Jesus did this to save his church, and the same with the true church they do this to save those who listen like Lot in Sodom did, flee to the highest mountains. Zoar was lower elevation and he lost his wife because he was not satisfied in the best escape; be satisfied YOU who were willing to give up all for this false May 21, and wait for your christ to die again on Dec 10. That is the sign that I Elijah give you. My own death like that of John Baptizer could never motivate you as much as the death of the Christ again. Be patient, at least it is STILL this year, soon ahead.
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Gearoid4 | May 18, 2011, 04:34 PM EDT
Well, you can still be a fervent Christian and reader of the bible while recognizing the zany nature of the end-of-world predictions that we have to deal with. The Book of Revelation authored by the apostle John do mention physical and social upheavals before God's final judgement but no timeline is given. We bible thumpers are well and alive. We are not worried about the kookiness of a few.
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HorsesInMdstrm | May 18, 2011, 01:47 PM EDT
Perhaps the normal crew of bible thumpers is a little worried that this might really happen but that they'll still be here. Wouldn't that be embarrassing?
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olovely | May 18, 2011, 09:33 AM EDT
Where are all the bible thumpers? You lot suddenly got awful quiet, I notice. Are you not a bit embarrassed by this cult and its predictions?
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gandalf55 | May 17, 2011, 03:42 PM EDT
So the world is ending again!Oh,well,I think eibhlean7 has the right idea!Y2k wouldn't have been near as much fun without all of the end of the world partying!And just think,next year is 2012,and we get to do it all over again!Leave it to our looney friends to give us excuses to party that we haven't thought of.
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IAPRINCESS | May 17, 2011, 02:17 PM EDT
If it is inevitable, relax and enjoy.
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TheOldPerfessor | May 17, 2011, 02:05 PM EDT
Since the world has been spinning for five billion years according to scientists, or 6,000 years according to Republican presidential hopefuls, I think it's good for at least Tuesday.
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PatriciaMarya | May 17, 2011, 01:27 PM EDT
In a strange way, this talk of May 21 as the Beginning of the End can be taken many ways - the end of our world as we know it now might be beneficial - people would start recycling, getting that this is all Finite, that nothing lasts forever.
I had the same feeling this weekend that I had during the afterdays of 9slash11, that when something becomes inevitable, you do not panic, you accept. We talk of running off to Paris or Las Vegas and our Bucket Lists, but push come to shove, we really just go about our day to day business. We panic a wee bit, missing family ways off, but if you have been clear in your life and with your relationships, really, what is the worry? You have to live each day to the fullest and be In the Moment. We have been saying that since the Sixties, here's hoping relax and start to get It! In the meantime, I am glad that I got to visit Ireland last February and take my Mother's Cremains to a magic spot in HollyMount for bring her to rest in her and my dreamland.
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MMLeprechaun | May 17, 2011, 10:50 AM EDT
There are many well meaning but misinformed individuals in the world today, unfortunately. My wonderful Irish family taught me to live each day, which is all we've been given, to the fullest and place the future in the hands of God! Saves wear and tear on the nerves and bank account.
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eibhleann7 | May 17, 2011, 10:33 AM EDT
A good excuse to have a End of the World Blowout and play R.E.M..
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healthreform | May 17, 2011, 09:38 AM EDT
Harold Camping is NOT a Christian. He is an Idiot.. When the END DOES NOT HAPPEN HE WILL KEEP THE MONEY
SEE HERE
http://haroldcamping-21.blogspot.com/2011/05/harold-camping-no-money-refunds-on-22nd.html
or just google "HAROLD CAMPING 21 BLOGSPOT"
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colkelley | May 17, 2011, 09:38 AM EDT
My world won't end, but the gullible fool who spent all of his life savings on his personal misinterpretation of a fairy story will have HIS world end.
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