The Perception of God & "The World Enders" (Necromongers)

I was watching a documentary today (Waiting for Armageddon), there was a part where a man was saying that "God would come back and would not be happy".  This of course is in reference to "Armageddon" from the Fundamentalist Evangelical view of Christianity.  Something that came to my attention is this idea that God is not here on earth, as if God only exists in a contained space or dimension.  From an Islamic viewpoint and that of many other people of faith such as typical Christians and Jews, God is seen as being with us now.  However, for those who think they have some sort of monopoly on God, this view is different.  They think that God exists in some hidden place and that one day God will come again.  This of course is really diminishing the power and glory of God's ever present reality.  God is with us every day and every where...in the Holy Qur'an...God says that he is closer to us (all beings, not just Muslims) than our jugular vein.  So, if God is closer to us than our jugular vein, then how could God be in a distant place of existence?  

God is here now with all of us, however some see him and some don't depending on how they see the world we live in and themselves.  This brings me to the concept of "The Rapture" that is professed in a fundamentalist manner by Christian Evangelicals. (typical Christians do not have this emphasis and speeding up process of the end of the world)  The kind of things that Pat Robertson talks about on the 700 club is rather scary to say the least.  If you look at the reality of our world, yes there are a lot of bad things, but there also a lot of good things.  The problem I see with this end of times thinking is that people become reserved and either sit back and wait or promote it's ending.  This is great for those who want to escape reality and think that by believing in some sort of fairy tale like the Lord of Rings will save them from dealing with the reality of life is sad.  As intelligent human beings living in a modern world with so much knowledge at our disposal...why do people submit to such fanaticism and medieval outlooks on life?  

We as Muslims believe that Jesus and The Mahdi (Messiahs) will come, but not necessarily in our lifetime or in our century.  It could be many millions of years from now that this event may happen, however it is said in the Holy Qur'an that the end will eventually come, which is scientifically correct because the Sun does have a lifetime of existence before it implodes/explodes.  But that could be billions of years from now, so what do all these end of days promoters do when nothing happens while they are still alive?  Do they create problems in the world to speed up the process?  Hopefully not, but then again there have been crazy people in the past and we still have them today. 

Some people believe in this Mayan Calendar with the world ending on 2012, well...let's see, if you are a Christian, Jew or Muslim you should not believe in "Pagan" calendars right?  So, why do all these people keep talking about this 2012 date as if they believe in it?  Are they not respective people of their own faiths with an idea of when the world would end?  What things need to take place before that happens?  And if all those things take place and the world does not end...then what?  Do you still believe in your faith?  

One thing I would say is that I do not believe the world is gonna end anytime soon, however God could do it now or billions of years from now, it is not for us to decide.  We as Muslims are taught to work in our regular jobs and provide for our families and be good citizens until we leave this world or if the last our of the universe comes.  We are not supposed to speed up this process or to do evil and make mischief.   

"And when it is said to them : Do not make mischief in the earth, they say : Verily we are in fact peacemakers." -The Holy Qur'an

As a person of Persian heritage, my people have been on this earth for at least 7000 years, which the last 2500 years have had a Shah or King.  They were initially Pagan, then were Zoroastrian for most of the rest of it's history until the coming of Christianity and later Islam for the last 1400 years.  Every generation thinks that the end is coming and they talk about the world ending.  However, it has not happened...time after time.  So, why are these people of various faiths believe the world is ending soon?  Why are they so arrogant?  Why do they think they are so important that the time is now?  People actually have fooled themselves into thinking that the world has not had these problems before.  They actually believe that for the last 7000 to 9000 years of recorded human civlization that people have not had problems such as War, Terrorism, Famine, Disease, Natural Disasters, etc.  

Yes, we should always be ready for the end times, however we should not promote or speed up it's coming.  God is the one who decides, however we should do our best to keep it from coming by being good people and to live a good life without creating mischief on this earth.  Some example of the mischief makers are the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Mexican Evangelical Christian Drug Cartels, Hutaree Militia, Muslim/Christian/Jewish Fundamentalists/Extremists, Criminals, etc.  

I recommend a book called: "

The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation" Description: "Ordained minister Rossing is ready to do battle with evangelicals both within and outside of her Lutheran Church camp. Rossing, who teaches New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, begins her sparring by taking on the widely popular Left Behind series and all it presumes to communicate about the future of the world. Claiming that the Left Behind authors' interpretation of prophetic biblical verses is "fiction," Rossing firmly asserts that the Book of Revelation has a completely different purpose than to predict upcoming world uprisings and the eventual end of the earth. Instead, Rossing believes that this biblical vision is meant to inspire humanity to seek out "repentance and justice." Rossing also maintains, somewhat unfairly, that rapture enthusiasts extol a careless, abusive attitude toward God's created world, since rapture theology declares that the followers of Christ are soon to be removed from it. More significant is Rossing's belief that Revelation does not offer a prophetic look at Jerusalem as the inevitable battleground between good and evil, but rather extends the promise of a New Jerusalem that will open its arms to all nations in peace. While Rossing's scholarly work is well organized and obviously carefully thought out, evangelicals may take issue with the blanket statement that "most Christian churches and biblical scholars condemn Rapture theology as a distortion of Christian faith with little biblical basis." This book will likely upset Christian conservatives while appealing to many in mainline denominations."

There are signs in every holy book in regards to the end of times, however all the prophecies first need to be truly fulfilled and only when it is God's will....will such a thing take place.  God willing, we have billions of years left to advance our civilization and proceed with spreading our seed across the galaxy.  Who knows, maybe that is God's will to spread humanity across the galaxy before the end of times?  The Holy Qur'an mentions things like "Men, Jinn, and all that exists".  All that exists...ponder on that.