The 21st century was
supposed to be a century of human’s triumph. Yet, it’s becoming characterized
by signs and stories of Biblical proportion that some prophets and disciples
seemed to have written about in the Bible concerning the last days. For
instance, Matthew 24:11, reads, there will be false religions and/or false
teachings. Today, we are witnessing some people teaching radical religious
views that are too extreme or lack anchor in the Bible or even in the Koran for
that matter. Mathew’s 24: 7 reads, in those days, nations will rise up again
nation, kingdoms against kingdoms. Today, this is not far from the truth and it
needed not to be reemphasized to anybody. So is it also true, we are
experiencing rise in deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS, SARS, cancer and other
diseases which have no cure. In the book
of Daniel 12: 4, it reads, in the last days, human’s knowledge would increase.
Today, human beings are becoming more enlightened than any other time in human
history. Unfortunately, the knowledge that human beings are acquiring seemed to
create uncertainty about the future of human existence.
Yes, you might have heard in 1999
that the world would come to an end in the year 2000. It did not. You might
have heard in 2001 that the world was coming to end on May 22, 2011, it did
not. Or you might have heard that the world was coming to end on December 21,
2012, and it did not. I guess we will have to wait to see when the next false
prophet comes up with a new doomsday prediction.
The point is human beings are
becoming so pessimistic and destructive. I guess humanity have reasons to be
fearful. When you turn on your television set; you hear or see news about
apocalyptic tsunamis, hurricanes, destructive earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and droughts and diseases outbreaks all over the world. You might ask yourself, are
these just random acts of Mother Nature acting violently on us or are they
premonitions of the end time? I wonder myself about all these unusual
occurrences and what they mean for our world.
Thus, how do we fit into this
equation? Are we convinced that the world is coming to end? Could the threat of
nuclear war would be another sign that we human beings are buying into the
doomsday mentality? If so, what can we say about states like Iran and North
Korea that are aggressively pursuing the development and the potential use of
deadly nuclear weapons? Is it possible that rogue nations like North Korea are
aggressively at work enhancing Creator’s hands to usher in the doomsday that
the Bible and other main world’s religions prophesized come sooner? Could it be
possible that the world’s nuclearized states are they seal signs the Bible
talks of in the book of revelation? I wonder
myself. But who knows? Didn't Jesus choose
Judas Iscariot as his disciple but in the end didn't he betray the Son of Man?
So anything is possible in God’s Grand Scheme of Things. Forget that thought for moment. But, we could
all agree that the threat of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons is becoming
threatening to human’s existence. That itself is our own Judas Iscariot that might
bring our own demise.
I know it’s too extreme to suggest
that nuclear states might be part of the creator’s plans about the end
time. But, humanity should be reminded
of its own destructive capacity especially when it to using human’s knowledge
to advance ill-intentions. This brings me to the point of free will and its
consequences. As human beings, we have
the ability to make choices in life. But, the question is, are we going to use
the 21st century knowledge and technological advancements to usher
in our own demise or are we going to use our technological know-how and existing
humans’ intelligence to enhance humanity’s living conditions e.g. eradicating
poverty and illiteracy across the globe?
The choice is ours. We need to ask
this simple question, who can we follow or believe, doomsday fundamentalists who
propagate false information and use their knowledge to bring destruction to
humanity or technocrats and enlightened peace loving people who use their
knowledge and technological expertise to improve human life and that of our planet?
I chose to look positively into the
future. I believe that this century would be a great century. A century in
which we use human knowledge and technological
skills to eradicate major diseases like cancer, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and many
other deadly diseases. Instead of building nuclear bombs, I hope states choose
to build schools and research labs to work on finding cure for incurable diseases.
Instead of going on the Mars, I hope states choose to go to desperate corners
of the world to save people from hunger, starvation, diseases and illiteracy.
Instead of everyone harboring hates and bigots against each other, I hope each
of us choose to harbor loves and cares for one another. What a beautiful world
could that be when all people of the world consciously decided that we are one
people living on one planet with one destiny.
It sounds like utopia doesn't it? But
given everything I have been through, that is an ideal world that I want to
live in. I believe that human beings are too enlightened to engage in
unnecessary nuclear wars that would destroy life as we know it. Yes, I
recognized, there are ego maniacs who like world’s attention including
acquiring deadly weapons to enhance their egotistical zest for power and
recognition or those who terrorize and /or silent the weak among us to stay
unopposed or indefinitely remain in position of power as we are witnessing in
most corners of the world.
As a
metaphysician, I am hopeful, the younger generation of the 21st
century does understand the purpose and meaning of life and engaging in an act
that destroys human life is not one of them. So when I hear people talking of a
nuclear holocaust or nuclear doomsday, I find it ironic that the same human
beings who cherished and loved life would work so hard to bring that enjoyable
thing call life to its end by engaging in a nuclear holocaust. What about you? What do you believe? Are you optimist or
pessimistic? Are you going to use your enlightened mind to contribute to” human
greatness” or use it to bring about a doomsday?
Of course, the choice is yours.
You have a free will. What you use it for is your choice. However, the
challenge is this, are you going to accept the responsibility that comes with
it? I hope every responsible enlightened human being in this world would say,
“Yes” to taking responsibility of the consequences of his or her action(s)
wherever they live. If your action causes or contributes to ethnic conflict
between two tribes, take responsibility and mediate them before more lives
could be lost. If your action resulted into contracting diseases like HIV/AIDS,
take responsibility, do the right thing. Don’t spread it to others but seek
treatment instead. If your action contributes to the threat of nuclear
holocaust, then, you better think tenfold for the lives of almost seven
billions human beings on this planet could be lost because of your reckless
action.
In conclusion, it is undeniable. The world as
we know it is very dangerous place especially when everyone claims free
will which he or she doesn't know how to use it. Yes, we are entitled to act on our free will. The
question is would you accept responsibility and its consequences. If we all
take personal responsibility of our actions, then, we are always going to make
great decisions that contribute to greatness of life on planet earth and not its
destruction. Thus, as human beings, let not waste our enlightened minds on
things that do harm to humanity, let us not be consumed by pessimism, such
pessimism on our part would take away our resolve to think right and/ do right
especially when it comes to making important life’s decisions in this century.
Think forward, act with resolve and with humanity in minds, the world is not a
battlefield, it’s an interactional field.
