The End Of The World?

by Britt Gillette
Since the beginning of human history, speculation about the end of the world has fascinated mankind. Myths and stories about the end of the earth exist in almost every religion and culture ever known. And yet, somehow, men seem unsatisfied with the answers they receive. They turn to Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, or ancient Hindu writings hoping to uncover some modicum of truth that will satisfy their innate desire to know something about the future and the ultimate fate of the world.

Never has mankind's fascination with the end been more prevalent than it is today. Fears of global warming saturate the...news media. Worry over a nuclear holocaust persists into its sixth decade. And storylines of asteroids, comets, aliens, or bio-engineered super-diseases wiping out all planetary life continue to dominate the themes of many Hollywood blockbusters. Throughout the world, people are plagued with the same recurring questions. Will the human race become extinct? Will nuclear war or global warming destroy the biosphere? Will the world as we know it continue to exist?

The answer to these questions and many others concerning the end of the world are not found in the writings of Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, or any other self-professed psychic. But they can be found in the Bible, which has a track record of 100% accuracy when it comes to future events.

What the Bible Says

According to the bible, the earth is eternal. So despite what some people say, we shouldn't worry about the earth itself being destroyed. However, throughout the ages, the nature of the earth has changed, and it will change again in the near future.

The Book of Genesis teaches that God created the earth and everything in it to be perfect. However, the nature of the earth changed when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. This act prompted God to place a curse on the earth, and it radically transformed the nature of the earth itself. Several centuries later, the human race had become so corrupt that God decided to destroy it with a flood. However, God spared Noah and his family, allowing them to repopulate the earth of the present day.

Throughout these changes, the earth as a creation has remained intact. But its nature has been radically altered twice. The bible teaches that it will soon be altered third time, and this time, the result will be far different from the previous ages.

The New World

Verses throughout the bible point to the creation of a new earth. This shouldn't be viewed as an entirely new physical creation by God. Rather it should be viewed as a highly transformative process whereby the current earth is reshaped by the hand of God to create a different world. The prophet Isaiah described this process over two thousand years ago:

"Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth - so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more." Isaiah 65:17-19 (NLT)

The nature of the present earth will change dramatically. It will be transformed from a place of sadness and weeping to a place of intense happiness, where "the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more." The creation of this new earth is also mentioned by Peter who encourages us to live our lives in accordance with God's will. He encourages us to do so, because he knows this present age will soon pass:

"And God has also commanded that the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish." 2 Peter 3:7 (NLT)

"But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment." 2 Peter 3:10 (NLT)

"Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! You should look forward to that day and hurry it along - the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God." 2 Peter 3:11-13 (NLT)

From these passages, it is clear that God will one day use fire to create a new earth from the present world. It will be dramatically different from the one in which we live. But how different? What will the new earth look like? The bible provides us with a vivid illustration.

What Will the Future Earth Look Like?

The Book of Isaiah contains a wealth of information on the nature, quality, and characteristics of the new earth. One of the first references is found in Chapter 11:

"In that day, the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and yearlings will be safe among lions, and a little child will lead them all. The cattle will graze among bears. Cubs and calves will lie down together. And lions will eat grass as the livestock do. Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes and pull it out unharmed. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. And as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord." Isaiah 11:6-9 (NLT)

God will finally lift the curse He placed on the earth following the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. This curse created a conflict between the animal kingdom and mankind with many humans killing animals and many animals killing humans. But on the new earth, "nothing will hurt or destroy." And the number of people who know the Lord will be as endless as the waters in the sea.

Isaiah continues his description in Chapter 65:

"No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only sinners will die that young! In those days, people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. It will not be like the past, when invaders took the houses and confiscated the vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees and will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! The wolf and lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Poisonous snakes will strike no more. In those days, no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken!" Isaiah 65:20-25 (NLT)

Babies will not die, and the lifespan of the human race will be extended well beyond current expectations. Life expectancy will be so great that the death of a one hundred year old person will be a notable tragedy. People will enjoy the fruits of their labor without fear that someone will come and steal what they have. The people of the new earth will be so close to God that He will answer their prayers before they have even prayed them! Animals who are natural enemies in our age will become friends on the new earth, and all the animals of the earth will be herbivores.

On the new earth, Jerusalem will be the center of the world. It will be the dwelling place of the Lord, and people from every nation will travel to Jerusalem to worship and to have their disputes settled. War will no longer exist. Because of this, armies and weapons will no longer exist. The Lord will settle all disputes, and the people will devote the energy they previously expended on war to prosperous living and worship of the Lord. Peace and prosperity will be abundant, and there will be nothing to fear.

Knowing what we now know about the new earth, who would not want to live there? Unfortunately, the bible also tells us that many will turn down their invitation to this blessed new world. The only way to get there will be to place one's trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be the undisputed ruler of the new earth.

When Will This Future World Arrive?

Because the new earth is the creation of Jesus Christ, it will not arrive until after His Glorious Appearing. In the interim, many politicians, idealists, and others will conjure their own ideas of how to create such a world. But placing faith in any of these people or their schemes will only lead to disappointment.

For the bible is clear that the new earth will only arrive when God comes to physically dwell among His people:

"I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, 'Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.'" Revelation 21:3-4 (NLT)

When God dwells among men, the earth will no longer harbor death or sorrow or crying or pain. It will be a new world. The old world will have come to an end - its evils gone forever.

Conclusion

Those who worry about the end of the world or live in fear of a great worldwide catastrophe are not living their lives in accordance with God. For God tells us to live boldly and without fear of the things of this world:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

Don't worry about global warming or a nuclear holocaust. Don't live in fear of a worldwide pandemic or asteroids or comets or aliens or massive volcanoes. The Lord is in control of everything, and He has already revealed what will happen to this present age. He will usher in the end of the world and transform the earth into his own dwelling place. Therefore, if we are to have fear of anything, it should be the Lord Himself. The prophet Isaiah agrees:

"Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else." Isaiah 8:13 (NLT)
Jesus reminds His disciples of this command while teaching them not to fear persecution:

"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28 (NLT)

In short, don't fear the end of this world. Celebrate it. Christ is coming. And when He arrives, He will eliminate all the evils of this world, including our fear and worry. article source ishttp://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/the-end-of-the-world-315362.html

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Why an Atheist Can Believe in God

Contrary to what many believe, many atheist - if not most - would never say "God doesn't exist." Unfortunately, many dictionaries also have definitions like "Denial of the existence of God," which is a misrepresentation. In fact, if once you understand what atheism really means, you'll see why an atheist can believe in God. Here are the three basic beliefs that lead one to be an atheist:

1. Evidence and experience should...be the basis for any belief.

2. An assertion should be proven by the person or persons who make it.

3. The case for God has not been proven.

With no experience to convince me, and no proof of the existence of God, I don't have a reason to believe in the existence of he or she or it. But I can't say he doesn't exist, since I can't prove this belief either. In fact, why would an atheist waste his time trying to prove a concept as nebulous as God can't or doesn't exist? Suppose I told you that a blue snake in the sky ruled the universe. If all I had for evidence was a some speculative story-book, you wouldn't believe me would you? No?

That would make you an "aserpentist," by the way. Now, would you start gathering evidence to "prove" that no invisible blue snake was up there? No. As the maker of the assertion, I would have the obligation to prove it did exist. You would be entirely justified in dropping and ignoring the whole matter until given some reason to look at it again.

Atheism is simply non-belief due to unconvincing evidence.

Where does this leave agnostics then? An honest classification would be as a type of atheist, right? If a person won't say he believes in God, he is atheistic. Although there is confusion in the terms, sometimes those who call themselves agnostics are just afraid of the other "A" word label. "Agnostics" are more accepted in society after all.

Now, since words refer to something - even if it is only to ideas - we can say that God exists as an idea, and a powerful one. Perhaps some atheists even like various versions of this idea (I like "the force" from the movie "Star Wars.") The various concepts of gods are often the cause of wars and horrible crimes, but they can also be uplifting concepts, or at least useful in some way.

I refer to these ideas as "useful lies." Regardless of their truth or falsity, some ideas can be beneficial as "operating principles" or "guides to life." Consider the idea that everything happens for a reason, for example. It doesn't have to be true to be useful, since it certainly can get you looking for the lessons and other values to be found in bad scenarios.

An atheist could say then, that a god exists as a common belief, or "useful lie," and that as such, he may even do some good. But more than that, since an atheist simply hasn't been convinced, he can believe in a God in heaven too. For this, he just needs God to come down and shakes his hand, or otherwise make his presence known.

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Stand Up and Speak

the d.a.v c.m.c and the u.n.o jointly organised a stand up and speek compaign here at d.a.v public school ,b.s.e.b colony patna to protest against womens exploitation ,and child labour
the function was attended by his excellency ,r.s. gavai ,the governer of the state as the chief guest.other guests includes the state's civil service officers and ministers and chairman of various boards/authorities.the programme was hosted by his excellency ,r.s. gavai ,the governer of the state as the chief guest.other guests includes the state's civil service officers and ministers and chairman of various boards/authorities.the programme was hosted by the teachers and staff association of d.a.v public school b.s.e.b patna-23
as a key initative of the united nations, the un mellinnium compaign advocated for the achievements of its mellinnium goal through this program
the un's millinnium goals are as follows:
¢¾ eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
¢¾ achieve universal primary education
¢¾ promote gender equality
¢¾ reduce child mortality
¢¾ improve maternal health
¢¾ combat hiv/aids,malaria and other diseases
¢¾ ensure environmental sustanibility
the d.a.v c.m.c had provided this aspecious chance to d.a.v b.s.e.b to host the programme which was held on 17 of oct. from 4 to 6 p.m in the school ground
cultural programmes that were held on this functions includes dancing,speech,drama and singing programme.
around 10 school of d.a.v had participated in this programme.the first performance was made by the students of d.a.v b.s.e.b colony patna through a drama "smirti" .the whole drama was so good that the president and director of d.a.v c.m.c stand up and clapped for the players.the main characters of this drama were mohan,mangru,sudha,inspector madam,sabzi wala,chana wala,doctor and judge sahiba e.t.c
the drama was divided into 4 scenes.the topic/theme of this drama was womens empowerment and child education and poverty.the drama was directed by Dr.anjani kr anjan and Mr abhay sir jointly.the script was beautifully written by anjani kr.
the photographs of this programme was sent to the UN office for publication as banners ,in magazines e.t.c
after the whole programmes,boxes of snacks were distributed to the childrens.lunch for the students and participents were available too.
yusuf hassan
class x

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Top Resolutions for the New Year

It’s that time of year again when we resolve to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. We all have different resolutions, but they all tend for fall into five categories:

Get Healthy
Get Financially Fit
Self Improvement
Improve Family/Relationships
Improve Your Community


Get Healthy
This is the most common category that our resolutions fall under, with losing weight being the most popular. Our goal may be to lose 20 pounds, get rid of that gut or to fit into those jeans in the back of our closet (it’s been two years since we put those on!). We may decide to join the gym, diet for a month or change our eating habits to get and keep that weight off. We may have a fitness goal. The plan may be to get to the gym three days a week or walk/run fifteen miles a week. Maybe we are finally going to run that marathon!

Giving up or cutting back on one of our vices is another one of our most common resolutions. For those of us who still smoke, this is when we decide to give that up. Quitting drinking or drugs is another vice we try to get rid of as well. For some of us, caffeine may be our drug. This year, we are going to skip that third cup of coffee.

Get Financially Fit
Finance seems to be on all of our mind this time of year. We’ve all just spend more money on the holidays than we wanted to and are reviewing our finances from the past year. What happened to all that money? This coming year, we are going to save more money, spend less, pay off our debt, and get our finances organized so that we know where all that money went. We are going to setup a budget and stick to it!

Self Improvement
All of our resolutions fall into this category for the most part, but we have specific goals to make us better. We want to get rid of those traits that we don’t like; we are going to stop procrastinating and be more patient and relaxed. We are going learn to play the guitar, finally. And we are making resolutions to go back to school and learn something new. We all have something about ourselves that we are going to improve.

Improve Family/Relationships
Spending more time with family and those that we love has always been important and at this time of year, we want more of it and we want quality time together. We want to stop arguing with our spouse and enjoy “Date Night” with them. We want “Family Night” with our kids once-a-week, breaking out the cards or monopoly. Talking to Mom every week and taking Dad out to lunch once a month is another one of our goals.

We are going to touch base with all of our friends more frequently. What has George been up to lately, we are all going to find out.

Improve Your Community
We all want to make a difference in our community. We resolve to volunteer more time to help out at the local library reading to children, picking up trash at the local “Clean the Park” event or helping out at the local senior center.

Our vision isn’t local anymore either; now we are trying to improve our planet. With global warming and environmental issues at the forefront of our everyday lives, we are resolving to do our part to improve our planet. Buying/using “Green” products is high on our to-do list. We are planning on buying hybrid cars, products with environmentally friendly packaging and energy efficient light bulbs. We are also resolving to change our habits by driving less, lowering the heater and taking shorter showers to use less water.

Let’s hope we all follow through on our resolutions and improve life for each and everyone of us. Whatever your resolution is, good luck!

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Can American Businesses Survive In The Global Economy?

The American economy can go either way according to most newspapers and television commentaries. The experts say that we have a 50% chance of going into a recession while some say we have almost no chance. Trying to decipher their confusing messages can be difficult. That leaves most American businesses unsure of what the...future holds for them. Are they still going to be able to compete or are they going to suffer a slow and painful decline downwards. The best way to answer that question and determine how to improve the business environment is to look at the American businesses strengths and weaknesses.

Success and failure is all about strengths and weaknesses. When we rationally see the strengths and compare them against the strengths or weaknesses of other countries we can better determine our chances of success. It is almost the same as when you bet on two boxers one of which has endurance and the other one quickness. The one you feel will win depends in part on how you see the situation. If you feel the quickness will take out the opponent in the first few rounds then he is the better bet but if you feel that the two boxers are going the distance then endurance counts.

Looking at the American business world and comparing it to the challengers you can also see better who is going to win in the end. We know that the world is a high-tech place where efficiency and cost matter. The one who produces the cheapest products is likely to win as long as their products have reasonable quality and don't break down often. With Chinese cheap products and America's high quality both countries will need to come closer to the middle.

Strengths of American Businesses:

High Technology: Powerful and growing businesses require email, Internet, cell phones, computers, robots and more. The technological advances of the U.S. are difficult to surpass and few countries even come close. American businesses can grow simply because they can manage different international locations as though they were a block away. Few foreign countries can do this. In addition, America also has the ability to develop and implement modern technology like robotic arms and complex systems that increase productivity.

Power Supply: China is attempting to get its hands on as much natural resources and energy as possible. The U.S. is also doing this but is much further in the game. While the U.S. is moving towards alternative energy supply and thinking beyond fossil fuels China is still trying to accumulate basic energy. American businesses have no problem with black outs, rolling power outages or a lack of energy. This is a benefit because their environment becomes predictable.

Strong Law Enforcement: It may seem silly and out of place but a strong law enforcement system helps to keep the business environment fair and equitable. When businesses can be cheated when making partnerships, employees embezzle and politicians bribed there is lots of risks built into the environment. Businesses want to know there is a deterrent and opportunity to regain what is lost through unfair practices. You will find that China as well as most nations outside of Europe or the U.S. has difficulty curbing crime.

Sound Fiscal Policy & Self Adjusting Markets: American policy makers have been generally concerned with how well the economy is doing. The democratic system allows the population to remove senators, presidents and congressmen out of office when they are not producing results. Therefore, a single politician can complete little damage in a single term. When small mistakes happen the markets can adjust themselves by offering something new that makes money. For example, if people demand companies to reduce pollution then these consumers will gravitate towards clean businesses while leaving the rest of the businesses behind.

Weaknesses of the American Business:

Poor Public Education: The American education system is declining and children are falling behind much of the world in terms of science, languages, math, and more. The advancement of these core subjects are important for the improvement of society as the new high-tech world will need scientists and technology workers like never before. However, as we keep allowing skilled workers to immigrate our school systems are falling behind only because there is little direction and lots of politics.

High Labor Costs: Workers are cheaper then they are in other countries. The problem in the U.S. is that companies aren't getting what they are paying for. The average high school graduate is barely able to grasp the concepts of a manufacturing business let alone work within it while the government raises the minimum wage. A Chinese worker is able to press a button like the American worker but for about 1/10th the cost. Only productivity will make the American worker worth his/her wages.

Taxes: American businesses pay a lot of money in taxes while companies from other countries may pay a lot less. The taxes in American businesses are simply extra overhead that must be pulled from the cost of the product. In a tight economy where people don't want to pay extra the cheaper products (with less tax burden) will win out. Have you ever wondered what happened to the television and radio producers in the U.S.?

International Policy: America has come to mean, "bully" to many people overseas. To thwart America's power is a sign of resolve and fashion. As our politicians continue to play favorites with countries that violate international law, demand compliance with American desires and try and finagle other countries its reputation declines. A bad reputation means that both international businesses and whole countries may not only distrust us but prefer to do business with someone else.

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