When And How Will The Physical World End? (2)

• ‘End Time In Human Understanding Is Totally Different From God’s Time’

• ‘We Believe That When Souls Die, They Reincarnate, Come Back To The World And Get Rid Of Their Bad Behaviours’

• A Day In The Eyes Of The Almighty God Is Like A 1000 Years, But When The Time Would Come Nobody Knows’

•‘The World Will Have No End, It’s We, The Inhabitants That Will Be Changing’

‘… Not In The Nearest Future’

(Dr. Ayodele Fagbemi, Assistant Regional ECK Spiritual Aide of Eckankar, Southwest of Nigeria)
FOR us in Eckankar, the issue of the world coming to an end is not at hand and we don’t believe in hell. We believe that when souls die, they reincarnate, come back to the world and get rid of their bad behaviours, correct their bad lives, which are basically anger, lust, attachment, greed and vanity. These are the real sins of the world. If they succeed, they eventually go back to God and become co-workers with Him. It is even there in the Bible that we are co-workers with God.

It is true that the world will come to an end, but not now, not even in the nearest future. Again, not in the way that people think it will. Each person’s life will come to an end, but we don’t believe in one major lifetime. We believe in the law of karma and reincarnation. The real sins are not the way one dresses, wear trousers, or put on lipstick or cover or not cover the body. That is our view.

Nations will always fight against nations, because this earth plane is not meant for peace. All that we are experiencing today is to purge us so that those that repent are the ones that are god-like. They are the spiritually developed ones. There will never be peace on earth, as it is a training ground for souls. So, the fact that we are having wars and such things is part of the design, which will be continual. However, it doesn’t signal that the end of the world is near.

Man will always come back to the world until he is able to purify himself, and know that there is nothing on this earth. Look at the houses and high-rising buildings around; they can perish in one day. Look at the tsunami, earthquake, mudslides and what they have done to people. Until we realise that all these things are not important, that what is important is godly behaviours, which can be acquired and exhibited by loving one another just like all the masters have said. That is when we can have heaven on earth. We believe there are several heavens not just one.

For example, St. Paul in one of his writings, said: ‘I saw a man in the third heaven.’ If there is a third heaven, then there could be fourth and fifth heavens and so on.

And as Jesus said, ‘in my Father’s House, there are many mansions.’ The mansions are not houses like we have them here, but levels of heaven, which are the places you will go when you die, depending on how godly you were while on earth.

The important question now is: what can people do to behave in godly manner? Because it is lack of godliness that is ruining our economy— greed, lust and not caring for the other person. These are the issues we should focus on. If we all turn a new leaf and start to live godly life, there may even be no need for the world to come to an end. If we behave in a godly manner then, there will be heaven on earth.

‘When You See The Sun Rising From Another Direction Know That The End Is Here’

(Arc. Taofeek Wunmi Agbaje, National President, Jamatul Islamiyya of Nigeria & Overseas)
WE believe in the end-time and we believe when it comes, the judgment will start. Our belief is not different from that of our Christian brethren. We believe that certain signs such as earthquake, wars, nations fighting one another and such things will signal the end-time. And when you see them manifesting, you know that the world is coming to an end.

But the major thing that will herald the end of the world in the Muslim belief is called Dajar, which is the anti-Christ. We believe that when Dajar comes, that is the period of the end of the world. He will claim to be Christ. We also believe that Jesus Christ is coming back, just as we believe He is not dead. We believe He is coming back to judge as usual, even though we do not believe He is the Son of God. We don’t also believe He is God because He was born and had to die just like every other normal person.

We believe when these signs are at hand, zakat, which is a major pillar in Islam, people with enough money will not be willing to give to the poor. So, there will be no money to give the poor, or even for people to pay their zakat to assist the less privileged in the society.

Now, when we say end time, the way we understand it is different from the way Almighty God understands it, because a day in the eyes of the Almighty God is like a 1000 years. But when the time would come nobody knows, but at least, we are seeing some of the prophecies, which our prophet did mention. We still believe that a lot of people can still be redeemed before the end comes. So, whether we build new mosques now or not, the belief is that before the world ends, people can still be saved.

It does not mean we should just fold our hands and watch things without doing anything before the end comes. There are people that need to be saved before the end comes. Definitely, there will be more mosques and more churches that will call people to order. It is for people to get ready.

The mosques and churches are using this period to call those outside the kingdom to repent and change. Those who are atheists don’t believe that the physical world will one day come to an end, because they don’t believe that God is actually responsible for their existence.

We believe that God created the world and everything therein and He has the power to also end the world in one day. Is there anybody that knows how God created him in the first place? We don’t know how Almighty God created us, and you think God, Who created man without his consent cannot take him at His will?

We have it in the Qur’an. In some of his sayings, our prophet made us understand that we should be praying specifically for the last day, because those that will be alive to see the last day will suffer terrible things.

But the critical thing is that the Dajar will start to rule the world. When there is only one religion, a lot of people will be following the wrong leader thinking that he is actually the messiah. It is difficult for us as human beings to know this antichrist. It is just a sign— when you start to see signs that are not normal, maybe injustice increasing more than ever before. For instance, we’ve seen Anglican churches in England blessing same sex marriage, which is unheard of. It is part of the end time.

The big sign is when the sun rises from a different direction, know then that the actual end has come.

‘Traditional Rulers Believe That The World Would Not End’
(Dr. Sefiu Arifayobiega, Arole Faleye 111, an Ifa Priest)

ONE thing I want us to understand in life is that everything about God is a mystery. There is no statement uttered by God that will not come to pass. Though the Bible recorded it that the world would come to an end one day, the world will never end because there is nobody that’ll confirm that God will destroy the world. Things were done differently during the time of our forefathers. But today, because of civilisation, our mode of dressing, lifestyle and other things, which are no longer what they used to be, they signify the fact that things have changed.

During Noah’s time, when God destroyed the world through flooding, He instructed Noah to build an ark, where both sinners and saints took refuge. And God didn’t because of anger throw them out. But Noah complained to God and He promised never to destroy the world with water again. He asked for a sign and God told him that to fulfill His covenant, whenever there is heavy rainfall and the rainbow appears, the rain would stop. It means He won’t destroy the world again.

According to the Ifa oracle: Ita ruku lawo Ita ruku, Ita ruku lawo Ita ruku, Ita ruku ta ta ta, a di’fa fun igba ton’tode orun bo wa saye.

The divination made us to know that the world will have no end. Generations will come and go, nobody can say the world would end. If the world were going to end, God would have done that since because of the gravity of our sins, which are enough to destroy the world.

Christians advise us to watch and pray for the arrival of the bridegroom. This is true, but that doesn’t translate to the opinion that the world would mend.

Jesus Christ is not the bridegroom. Death is the bridegroom. Jesus is not coming back. Rather, it will be through somebody, which is the bridegroom — death.

We, traditional rulers believe that the world would not end. All the signs we are seeing, as written by the Bible, are meant to be because it has been written and it must come to pass because it’s the word of God and He knows how He changes everything.

The world will have no end. It’s we, the inhabitants that will be changing.