The Little Book of the End of the World (12 page)

Jerusalem is known as
Zion
in Hebrew, with Zionism becoming the name of this longing, and an associated movement involving the Jewish people’s longed-for return to Israel, to build a Jewish nation there. Like many movements with their origins in any religion, Zionism has become increasingly political in a way that can no longer be viewed as exclusively religious.

The Zionist movement became popular towards the end of the nineteenth century as incidents of anti-Semitism became commonplace through Europe. Eastern Europe and the Russian Empire saw violent outbreaks against Jewish communities, with some states even expelling Jewish inhabitants.

The First Aliyah began in 1881 when a group of around 30,000 Jews migrated to Israel, under the control of Ottoman Palestine at the time. While there was always movement towards Jerusalem by various devout Jews, this was the largest single migration of people, and was followed by the Second Aliyah in 1904.

By the 1930s, over 200,000 Jews had migrated to Palestine, and with the rise of Nazism in Europe, a further 250,000 set out to relocate. By the middle of the 1940s, Jews accounted for nearly a third of the total population of Palestine.

In the wake of the Second World War, the Jewish population of the area started to rebel against British control, and in 1947 the British Empire announced its withdrawal from the area. The United Nations planned to divide the territory into three separate states: an Arab state, and a Jewish state, with Jerusalem an independent city-state that would govern itself. This proposal was accepted by the Jewish Agency, but the Arab League and Arab Higher Committee refused to agree.

Before any further discussions could take place, on 14 May 1948, Jewish leader David Ben-Gurion declared an independent Jewish State on land roughly corresponding to the classical boundaries of Israel, laying claim to some areas that were within the borders of neighbouring states. Seeing their claims to land challenged, these Arab countries declared war and invaded the new Israel.

Israel faced opposition from all sides, the world had seen enough wars in the early twentieth century and international pressure led to various ceasefires, although peace was never officially declared in the area. In fact, the State of Israel continues to face opposition from its neighbours and even within its own borders, with the Palestine Liberation Organisation fighting for independence from the Israeli government.

The area has remained in contention throughout the twentieth century and well into the twenty-first, with various international bodies getting involved in peace treaties or border negotiations. With the complex political climate of Israel and its neighbouring countries, there appears to be one certainty: if human conflict brings about the End of the World, it looks like politics will be forever involved in any religious conflict in this area.

PART 3

THE APOCALYPSE THROUGH HISTORY

We’ve already seen how the story of Georgius the Roman soldier migrated to Britain, becoming an armour-wearing knight; similarly the role of religion began to become all the more important in the political sphere. The world was starting to become a much smaller place, but also a world with room for many different beliefs and interpretations.

The Middle Ages made way for the Age of Enlightenment and the Renaissance: in turn, these made way for the Age of Revolutions. Political, scientific and industrial changes swept the globe as humanity changed its focus from the gods above to the humanity within.

Where science and philosophy had been the domain of the nobility or clergy, new thoughts meant that these arts were respected and practised for their own sakes. As critical eyes looked at the world around us, eager to uncover its secrets, that same criticism was applied to both the human condition and our beliefs.

Despite the rise of humanism, religion was not forgotten: in fact, some of the great scientists and philosophers of this era were men of faith who used their critical eye to search for truth in the Bible and other holy books.

The effects of all these various revolutions, of humanism and development are still felt today: even in the twenty-first century, scientists, philosophers and theologians have different ideas about how and why the world will end. So far, none of them has come to pass.

The following are just some of these ideas.

10

CULTS, SECTS AND SCHISMS

Revelations and the End of the World were just one aspect of the Bible that humanism and science could look at. While Genesis provided ideas about the origins of both humanity and the world around us, Revelations suggested what might become of us.

Scientists looked at the events of Revelations, wondering if they could really occur, while philosophers focused on the dream-like nature of the Apocalypse and its hidden meanings. Even artists embraced the End of the World, with painters, sculptors and authors finding inspiration in imagery from both the Old and New Testaments.

This emphasis on the Endtimes led some Christian religious movements to focus on suffering and the religious enlightenment that could come from it, drawing inspiration from the life of Jesus. But stories like those of the sacrifice of Georgius, or the Old Testament hardships faced by Lot and Noah, gave further fuel to the fire.

Sin, and redemption, became important to these religious movements; different interpretations of Jesus’ actions and writings led to different Churches, all operating under the umbrella of Christianity but with their own unique take on the Bible. And as these Churches moved further away from each other, familiar passages from the Bible developed new meanings.

This continued with the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century, opening up the Bible to a new group of scholars. These were people who had previously only heard words spoken or taught to them, relying on someone else’s interpretations of the Bible’s teachings. Now, not only was the Bible read by philosophers and scientists, by people who may not have practised the religion, but also learned men and women who brought experiences of commerce or law to their interpretations of the book.

Faith and religion became increasingly more personal, with smaller denominations and their beliefs proving as popular and enduring as larger Churches. In fact, even the core of Rome-based Christianity could not survive the various divisions of thought and interpretations, with the eleventh century seeing a schism that created the distinct Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church.

This set the stage for the European Reformation of the sixteenth century, which coincided with the formation of the offshoot Anglican Church under Henry VIII. Protestantism was born, laying the ground for further smaller fractions and differences in belief.

These new religious movements were very specifically based on the area and time in which they were born: the various Churches with their origins in the European Reformation have significantly different beliefs from the Anglican Church, which was mostly born out of Henry VIII’s political and personal necessity.

And for each new Church there came a new take on the End of the World.

THE RAPTURE

The Rapture is a curious element of the Christian End of the World: it is almost exclusively spoken about within Protestant Churches, and nearly absent from Catholic beliefs.

The Rapture is first mentioned in the New Testament, specifically the First Letter to the Thessalonians. This book was written by Paul, one of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles, and discusses what will happen after the Second Coming of Christ.

Paul suggests that as Jesus ascends to Heaven, humanity will be raised to meet him. To most Catholics, this is simply a reference to the resurrection of the dead in that all bodies rise again. However, some Protestant Churches have a very different interpretation of this.

The Puritan movement of the seventeenth century read this Rapture as a literal ascension of both the living and the dead: anyone who had led a virtuous life would be taken into Heaven alongside Jesus, with various depictions suggesting a sort of ‘flight’ into the heavens or a disappearance in a flash of light.

There is no definitive take on the Rapture, with different Churches suggesting it will occur before the events of the Apocalypse, meaning that the faithful will avoid the End of Days completely; others suggest that the Rapture will occur afterwards, and will be a reward for those who remained faithful through the final battles.

Regardless of the interpretation, the Second Coming is of key importance when it comes to the Rapture, with believers assuming that both are intertwined: if one should happen first, then the second stage will not be far behind.

One of the first – and best-known – historical figures to support the idea of the Rapture was Cotton Mather, a well-known American Puritan and key figure in the Salem Witch Trials. Mather predicted the Rapture to take place within his lifetime, putting forward multiple dates – obviously, none of them came to pass.

Although Mather died in 1728, many others have followed his example, predicting dates and suggestions for the Rapture and the End of the World; many Churches have adopted this as a key part of their beliefs, with the Rapture even extending to other offshoots of Christianity such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons.

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

Although Jehovah’s Witnesses only began practicing as a Church in the early nineteenth century, the religion traces its origins back to the Bible and a very specific date that suggests that the End of Days will occur very soon.

In fact, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that some of the earliest signs of the Endtimes have already come to pass.

Jehovah’s Witnesses date the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem, as featured in the Book of Daniel, to 607
BC
and, working from there, they suggest that it is 2,520 years until the restoration of God’s kingdom. Jehovah’s Witnesses also believe that Jesus began his 1,000-year rule in Heaven in 1914, returning to Earth as a spirit at the same time. The warfare and conflict of the early twentieth century have only served to reinforce the belief, suggesting that these earthly conflicts echo a greater conflict in the heavens.

For Jehovah’s Witnesses, this means that humanity is currently living through a period of tribulation in advance of Armageddon. During this period, all other religions will be eliminated, having misrepresented God in their teachings. This will make way for only the faithful to survive.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that other events prophesied in Revelations have already come to pass, including the resurrection of 144,000 faithful who currently rule in Heaven as bishops and kings.

For this Church, the Endtimes are already here – we just need to wait for the next stage to happen.

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

Informally known as the Mormonism, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is based on the Book of Mormon, a sacred text written by several different prophets. Mormonism shares its origins with Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with the Book of Mormon acting as a supplement to the Bible. However, the former book’s origins are firmly in the American continent.

Mormons believe that four tribes of Jewish people – Nephites, Jaredites, Mulekites and Lamanites – settled in the American continent during the times of the Old Testament. Separated from their homeland, these tribes nonetheless received their own versions of the prophecies and visitations that the faithful Jews received in Israel. These prophecies and events were written down and buried in what became modern New York.

One of the writers of the Book of Mormon, Moroni, appeared in the form of an angel to Joseph Smith in the early nineteenth century. He told Smith where to find the tablets that contained these teachings and how to translate them. The text became the Book of Mormon, outlining the history of these Jewish tribes after they left Israel. The book also suggests that, after the Bible’s depiction of Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, he then visited the Americas to repeat his teachings there and gather the different Jewish tribes in peace.

There is no scientific evidence that any elements of the Book of Mormon truly happened: DNA suggests that there are no common origins between the Jewish people and Native Americans, and Joseph Smith was notoriously secretive about the text of the Book of Mormon, refusing to allow anyone else to see or translate the writings. Some Mormons willingly accept this criticism of their religious text, questioning it as a truthful historical record, but still insist that Smith was divinely inspired, and this does not undermine their faith or the book’s teachings.

Although Mormonism is practised internationally, there are aspects of the religion that are uniquely American, with Mormonism helping to lend the fledgling country a sense of purpose and history, rather than following beliefs with origins thousands of miles away. The religion has strong political and nationalist ties, with 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney and outspoken radio host Glenn Beck amongst the faithful. Mormons see themselves as playing an important part in spreading Christianity around the world, and a line can be seen connecting this with some elements of American foreign policy.