I have paid attention to modern Christian apocalypticism since about 1996, because I, myself, was fascinated by a lot they had to say.
Roman Catholicism, most intriguingly, has a certain conservative faction that is very much obsessed with it. It's not a reflection on the Church itself regarding this--it doesn't advocate any of it--but with over 1 billion members and the Vatican's attentions on assaulting liberal dissent, conservative dissent has been allowed to grow unimpeded.
Most interestingly, a lot of what they have judged on is on what Mary has stated during her various worldwide apparitions during the last two centuries, with most attention being paid to Fatima in 1917 and Medjugorje of the last two decades.
The messages from Mary herself are not incredibly specific. Her latest message from Medjugorje is typical of most of her monthly messages:
(Message of January 25, 2002)
"Dear children! At this time while you are still looking back to the past year I call you, little children, to look deeply into your heart and to decide to be closer to God and to prayer. Little children, you are still attached to earthly things and little to spiritual life. May my call today also be an encouragement to you to decide for God and for daily conversion. You cannot be converted, little children, if you do not abandon sins and do not decide for love towards God and neighbor. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Basically, the call she advocates is for us to go back to faith, to love, to prayer, and to peace. (FYI, by "conversion" in the above message, it means a conversion of our hearts, not the literal evangelization it normally implies.) However, if you ever happen to pick up a book on Christian apparitions, it normally contains interspersals of Mary's words with plenty of "editorial" passed off as true interpretation. For instance, one of these books would likely list the above message and say:
"Well, it's no wonder Mary stated this. With a society deeply ingrained in the liberal ideology of the 1960s and the Clinton era, it is imperative that we convert to God's true will."
Of course, unless you have read one of these books, you won't understand fully what I mean by "editorial." Here's another situation:
St. Malachy in the Middle Ages wrote down a list of all the Popes and a brief, but cryptic, description of them, until "the end." So far, they have been completely correct. Apparently, there are two more left. Now, according to this, the death of the current Pope is supposed to be the true spark of "the end." The next Pope is supposed to be evil, factioning the Church greatly, taking 2/3 of the Church with him to "destruction." His reign is supposed to coincide with the Antichrist, who is to reign the exact amount of time Jesus was on Earth--approximately 3 years. True Christians are going to be persecuted, whether that means a physical persecution like during the Roman Empire or verbal/emotional isolation.
Now, the "editorial" goes on a two page rampage about how this Pope will be liberal. Assuming that the death of the current Pope really will spark the above events as predicted, I don't know how that can be possible. All but a small handful of the voting cardinals have been appointed by the current Pope. All of them are either as conservative as him or worse. The current activity from the Vatican is overwhelmingly anti-liberal, so the Pope's successor will likely continue these policies, perhaps zealously going beyond what the currently frail Pope could do--hence, my belief that the "evil" Pope will be, in fact, conservative. I'm thinking like the essentialism of the Pharisees, who lost sight of the true intent of Christianity.
Regardless, like the film "12 Monkeys," I do not write this with the hope of changing anything, but to just learn; to understand the process ahead of time of how everything will eventually fall apart. You can't escape God, so it is worthless to believe that somehow you can outsmart Him whatever his future plans may be. How Jesus will destroy the proverbial temple and rebuild it in three days, etc. Interesting stuff to me...
Melon
------------------
"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time
Roman Catholicism, most intriguingly, has a certain conservative faction that is very much obsessed with it. It's not a reflection on the Church itself regarding this--it doesn't advocate any of it--but with over 1 billion members and the Vatican's attentions on assaulting liberal dissent, conservative dissent has been allowed to grow unimpeded.
Most interestingly, a lot of what they have judged on is on what Mary has stated during her various worldwide apparitions during the last two centuries, with most attention being paid to Fatima in 1917 and Medjugorje of the last two decades.
The messages from Mary herself are not incredibly specific. Her latest message from Medjugorje is typical of most of her monthly messages:
(Message of January 25, 2002)
"Dear children! At this time while you are still looking back to the past year I call you, little children, to look deeply into your heart and to decide to be closer to God and to prayer. Little children, you are still attached to earthly things and little to spiritual life. May my call today also be an encouragement to you to decide for God and for daily conversion. You cannot be converted, little children, if you do not abandon sins and do not decide for love towards God and neighbor. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Basically, the call she advocates is for us to go back to faith, to love, to prayer, and to peace. (FYI, by "conversion" in the above message, it means a conversion of our hearts, not the literal evangelization it normally implies.) However, if you ever happen to pick up a book on Christian apparitions, it normally contains interspersals of Mary's words with plenty of "editorial" passed off as true interpretation. For instance, one of these books would likely list the above message and say:
"Well, it's no wonder Mary stated this. With a society deeply ingrained in the liberal ideology of the 1960s and the Clinton era, it is imperative that we convert to God's true will."
Of course, unless you have read one of these books, you won't understand fully what I mean by "editorial." Here's another situation:
St. Malachy in the Middle Ages wrote down a list of all the Popes and a brief, but cryptic, description of them, until "the end." So far, they have been completely correct. Apparently, there are two more left. Now, according to this, the death of the current Pope is supposed to be the true spark of "the end." The next Pope is supposed to be evil, factioning the Church greatly, taking 2/3 of the Church with him to "destruction." His reign is supposed to coincide with the Antichrist, who is to reign the exact amount of time Jesus was on Earth--approximately 3 years. True Christians are going to be persecuted, whether that means a physical persecution like during the Roman Empire or verbal/emotional isolation.
Now, the "editorial" goes on a two page rampage about how this Pope will be liberal. Assuming that the death of the current Pope really will spark the above events as predicted, I don't know how that can be possible. All but a small handful of the voting cardinals have been appointed by the current Pope. All of them are either as conservative as him or worse. The current activity from the Vatican is overwhelmingly anti-liberal, so the Pope's successor will likely continue these policies, perhaps zealously going beyond what the currently frail Pope could do--hence, my belief that the "evil" Pope will be, in fact, conservative. I'm thinking like the essentialism of the Pharisees, who lost sight of the true intent of Christianity.
Regardless, like the film "12 Monkeys," I do not write this with the hope of changing anything, but to just learn; to understand the process ahead of time of how everything will eventually fall apart. You can't escape God, so it is worthless to believe that somehow you can outsmart Him whatever his future plans may be. How Jesus will destroy the proverbial temple and rebuild it in three days, etc. Interesting stuff to me...
Melon
------------------
"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time