www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9731623
First there was the tsunami that ki lled some 250,000 people in Southeast Asia. Then came Hurricane Katrina with its devastating toll on the Gulf Coast, followed by an earthquake t hat took tens of thousands of lives in South Asia. Now, Hurricane Wilma, one of the most powerful storms ever measured in the Atlantic Basin, is stalking the Florida coast, and experts are warning of a deadly avian f lu pandemic. It's enough to make just about anyone pause to look for meaning in the ma dness. For many who await Judgment Day, the writing is on the wall. com, its "Rapt ure Index" has been hovering around 160 - the highest levels since just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. According to the Web site, "the higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the ... When the number is above 145, it advises: "Fasten your seatbelts!" "There is a resurgence of End Times thinking," says Stephen O'Leary, an e xpert on apocalyptic thinking and an associate professor at the Universi ty of Southern California. Anxiety about doomsday always lurks under the surface and resurfaces periodically, he says. "It's a very traditional way of coming to terms with disaster. Current events have provided rich fodder for religious groups devoted to watching for the End Times, when the faithful believe that they and nonb elievers will ultimately be judged. Nowhere is this more evident today t han on the Internet, where scores of Web sites analyze the news through a biblical lens. While predictions of an apocalypse are part of many rel igions, including a version in Islam that is very similar to the Christi an one, it is evangelical Christians who are sounding alarms in US chu rches and online. Among the most commonly cited biblical passages describing the beginning of the end are in Matthew, where Jesus warns that "nation shall rise aga inst nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, an d pestilences, and earthquakes," and this passage in Luke: "And there sh all be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;
Glossary of End Times terms The race to interpret the news Many evangelical Christians believe these events signal the End Times, as spelled out in the Book of Revelation, which go something like this: Fi rst there is the Rapture, in which God's loyal followers suddenly disapp ear from Earth and enter his kingdom. Then comes the Tribulation, a seve n-year period of rule by the Antichrist and severe hardship on Earth. Du ring this time, nonbelievers who remain on Earth will have a chance to c onvert to Christianity but will be hounded by the Antichrist and his min ions. Then comes Armageddon, when God comes back to defeat Satan in a de vastating battle. Ultimately, there is Judgment Day, when those who are with God live on in Paradise, and others are eternally condemned to Hell . There are scores of Web sites that interpret current events through the p rism of biblical passages, seeing divine signs not only in the weather, but in the war in Iraq and events at the United Nations. com "explains how virtually everything we are seeing, from hurricanes and tsunamis to tensions with Damascus are fulfilling prophes ies." org strives "to document the final moments of human history as it unfolds and to announce the return of Jesus Chri st on earth." New Orleans warning Some Web sites serve as a pulpit for those who believe that God sent Katr ina to smite New Orleans for its sinning ways and to send a warning to t he rest of the nation.
Slide shows Rebuilding from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is a complex mix of social, e conomic and political pressures. Click to see how these forces are playi ng out in America's recovery efforts.
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