End Times
Now Playing: The Prophecy Of The Popes
“Wow, Pope Benedict is resigning,” I said to my girlfriend Monday morning as she was in the kitchen gathering some things together before she left for work.
“Uh-oh, that means people will start freaking out over the Prophecy of the Popes.” I had mentioned the prophecy a few years back, but didn’t expect her to remember it.
Yet, she stopped what she was doing and uttered:
Yeah, that’s really creepy.
Move over, Mayan “apocalypse,” because Malachy is in the house.
From the free encyclopedia Wikipedia (I usually don’t use Wikipedia as source, but I thought the following write-up was pretty decent):
The Prophecy of the Popes, attributed to Saint Malachy, is a list of 112 short phrases in Latin. They purport to describe each of the Roman Catholic popes (along with a few anti-popes), beginning with Pope Celestine II (elected in 1143) and concluding with current pope Benedict XVI’s successor, a pope described in the prophecy as “Peter the Roman”, whose pontificate will end in the destruction of the city of Rome.
The prophecy was first published in 1595 by Arnold de Wyon, a Benedictine historian, as part of his book Lignum Vitæ. Wyon attributed the list to Saint Malachy, the 12th century bishop of Armagh in Ireland. According to the traditional account, in 1139, Malachy was summoned to Rome by Pope Innocent II. While in Rome, Malachy purportedly experienced a vision of future popes, which he recorded as a sequence of cryptic phrases. This manuscript was then deposited in the Roman Archive, and thereafter forgotten about until its rediscovery in 1590.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Here is the short phrase (translated from Latin) attributed to Pope Benedict’s replacement, “Peter the Roman:”
In the extreme persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit [i.e., as bishop]. Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations: and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the terrible judge will judge his people.
“And the terrible judge will judge his people.”
Creepy indeed.
Speculation is mounting regarding potential successors to Pope Benedict XVI. But Ghanian Cardinal Peter Turkson has been mentioned as a favorite.
Peter Turkson. Peter the Roman? Gulp.
In all seriousness, a number of Doomsday preppers- not mainstream ones- will most likely replace December 21, 2012, with St. Malachy’s medieval prophecy as motivation for their preparedness activity, if they hadn’t factored it in already.
Suum cuique pulchrum est (roughly translated from Latin as, “to each, their own”).
As for me, I’ve mentioned it before- the last time being to some young journalists working on a post-Mayan “apocalypse” piece- but will share it with readers again.
Whenever I hear these kinds of predictions, I think of the Bible (New Testament) and the First Book of Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 2:
For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
You can read more about St. Malachy and the Prophecy of the Popes on Wikipedia here.
Just don’t blame me if you can’t get to sleep tonight after taking it all in.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Chicago-Area Preppers And Their Guns
Some time ago, I received a message from Aurora Aguilar, a project editor with Chicago public radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM. Her request was one that I’ve received with increasing frequency over the last year or so. She was hoping to interview a prepper. Not just any modern survivalist- but one who is “stockpiling guns.” I gave Aurora names and contact info of more well-known and visible preppers who might be willing to talk to her, while at the same time cautioning her about the shying away from publicity that’s common among survivalists. I explained:
If you don’t know already, many preppers tend to be secretive about their activities. Not because they’re doing something illegal, but rather because of something called operational security (OPSEC).
Last night, I came across Ms. Aguilar’s piece on preppers and firearms. Published on the WBEZ website Wednesday, “Preppers: Guns are the most important tool in preparing for the end of civilization,” is the second story a in a series entitled “Our Guns,” which are “conversations with gun owners.”
Another hack-job?
Hardly. Aguilar pretty much hit this assignment right out of the park.
Now, the headline “guns are the most important tool in preparing for the end of civilization” may be a bit of a stretch. Guns are certainly a tool but the “most important” one? Debatable. Also, while some modern survivalists prepare for the “end of civilization” plenty of others prep for emergencies, man-made and natural disasters, and the end of civilization- as we know it. Firearms could have a role to play in those scenarios as well.
But Aguilar comes back strong in the body of the article. Consider the following statements:
“A growing group of Americans who believe life, as we know it, will end”
“In a family of war veterans, hunters and farmers, guns are thought of as tools, meant to provide food and protection”
“The fear that their stockpiles of food or weapons could be stolen stops preppers from talking.”
“After all, the entire family needs to be prepared.”
“Preppers go through a lot of ammo because many practice shooting at least once a week. They also see ammo as an investment. They believe people will need ammo if there’s a catastrophe.”
“The idea is to always be prepared…”
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Aguilar gets its. She demonstrates that she has a good handle on what the Prepper Movement is about.
Too bad the same can’t be said about many of her colleagues.
A terrific, refreshing article, which can be found on the WBEZ website here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Doomsday Prepper Peter Larson’s Underground Shelter
Fans of the National Geographic Channel hit TV show Doomsday Preppers- remember Peter Larson? Larson appeared in the series pilot back in the summer of 2011. I blogged back then:
The Larson family- Peter Larson lives with his wife, children, and grandchildren in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. Fearing a nuclear strike (it looks as if Peter is describing an electromagnetic pulse attack in the show), the Larsons have constructed a Rocky Mountain retreat for twelve. For those of you who don’t know what an EMP attack is, it’s when a nuclear device is detonated in the atmosphere, where it’s theorized the resulting electromagnetic pulse generated by the blast will “fry” microchips at the heart of electronic devices, rendering them useless.
Well, Mr. Larson is back in the spotlight again these days. From the CNN website last night:
Inside a Doomsday Prepper bunker
Gary Tuchman talks to a peaceful man in Utah who is proud to call himself a survivalist. He built an elaborate $65,000 bunker stocked with supplies, money and weapons. Watch this up close look at his hideout.
Nice setup. And nicely done by Gary Tuchman and CNN, considering the number of hack-job pieces out there these days on underground shelters and their owners.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Mayan ‘Apocalypse’ Update
All is well.
Calling it a night… and a b’ak’tun.
Edwin Hawkins Singers, “Oh Happy Day” (1967)
YouTube Video
Mayan ‘Apocalypse’ To Begin This Morning
Late in the afternoon yesterday Shepard Smith was on FOX News saying that the “official” start time of the Mayan ‘Apocalypse’ is 11:11 AM Eastern Time Friday, December 21, 2012.
That’s a little more than an hour away for me here in Chicago.
Despite assurances from various governments, astronomers, geologists, scientists, and countless other experts, the fact is, lots of people around the globe are concerned about this event. Especially here in the United States. Back on December 4 I blogged about the results of a May Reuters/Ipsos “end times” poll and said:
One of the findings was that 12 percent of Americans surveyed agreed with the statement “the Mayan calendar, which some says ‘ends’ in 2012, marks the end of the world.”
“12 percent.” As percentage of the U.S. population in 2011, that’s approximately 37.4 million Americans who might agree with that statement about the world ending in a couple of weeks.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Possibly 37.4 million Americans out there that believe the world is ending today.
Time will tell if they’re correct.
Like, by the end of today.
Stay tuned…
Heading Into Or Already In The Bunker?
Considering we are already at the eve of December 21, 2012, and I’ve heard believers in something cataclysmic taking place Friday and who also own underground shelters are on the verge of heading into them (if they’re not already in the bunkers), does anyone from this group care to share anything with the rest of us who’ve chosen to dismiss the date and remain topside? Mature replies only.
Preppers Under Attack, Part 2
“All this prepping, it gives people an identity, a group to belong to. But it definitely is emerging as the ‘new kid on the block’ as far as cults go.”
- Dr. Peter Behrens, Penn State-Lehigh Valley professor
Last Friday night, I blogged that it seems to me “preppers” are coming under increasing attack these days.
Funny how things can change so dramatically in just a few days, as “seems” is now a significant understatement in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut, shootings.
But before I talk more about that horrific incident and its possibly-implied “relationship” to prepping, I want to discuss a recent piece I came across on the Nazareth, Pennsylvania Patch website. On December 13, Elizabeth Rich wrote about preppers/survivalists and said:
According to Dr. Peter Behrens, preppers are buying into a cult.
Dr. Behrens, a Penn State-Lehigh Valley professor who specializes in the history of psychology, abnormal psychology and personality psychology, says that the most recent form of Doomsday preparations have all the earmarks of an active, recruiting cult.
“From a psychological perspective [Doomsday prepping] is bizarre. Members spend so much time and energy readying for the end of the world. Prepping is just people trying to control what is beyond their control.”
Dr. Behrens believes that clusters of preppers and the movement as a whole has all the markings of a cult.
“I think this is just a modern iteration of the phenomenon of people believing that the end is coming in their lifetime. That idea is so selfish, so self-centered, so narcissistic. It’s mind control.”
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Unlike Valerie Lucus-McEwen and her concerns about the preppers featured on the National Geographic Channel TV show, according to Rich, Dr. Behrens attacks the prepping movement as a whole. It having all the markings of a cult.
A cult, huh? Would that make Doomsday Preppers evaluators Practical Preppers their Grand Poobahs then? And could National Geographic Channel now claim non-profit status on their taxes for spreading “the word” via the Doomsday Preppers TV show? Of course a uniform will be needed. Try this one on for size.
(Editor’s warning: video could be offensive to some)
Since I completed the first draft of this post, I’ve come across two more web articles that don’t paint the modern survivalist movement in a positive light.
In fact, some might argue they’re attempting to connect prepping with the Sandy Hook school shootings.
From The Telegraph (UK) website yesterday:
Connecticut school shooting: Adam Lanza’s mother was preparing for disaster
The mother of the gunman who killed 20 children and seven adults in America’s worst school massacre, was a gun-proud “survivalist” preparing for economic collapse, it has emerged.
Nancy Lanza, whose gun collection was raided by her son Adam for Friday’s massacre at Sandy Hook school, was part of the “prepper” movement, which urges readiness for social chaos by hoarding supplies and training with weapons.
“She prepared for the worst,” her sister-in-law Marsha Lanza told reporters. “Last time we visited her in person, we talked about prepping – are you ready for what could happen down the line, when the economy collapses?”
And then there’s this from The Independent (UK) site this morning:
Mother of Sandy Hook school gunman Adam Lanza was a ‘prepper’ survivalist preparing for economic and social collapse, say reports
Friends and family have portrayed Mrs Lanza as a paranoid ‘survivalist’ who believed the world was on the brink of violent collapse.
Yep. Undoubtedly, preppers are under attack these days.
Sources:
Rich, Elizabeth. “Are Doomsday Preppers a Cult? A Lehigh Valley Professor Says Yes.” NazarethPatch. 13 Dec. 2012. (http://nazareth.patch.com/articles/are-doomsday-preppers-a-cult-this-professor-says-yes-7da6a028). 17 Dec. 2012.
Foster, Peter and Swaine, John. “Connecticut school shooting: Adam Lanza’s mother was preparing for disaster.” The Telegraph. 16 Dec. 2012. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9749217/Connecticut-school-shooting-Adam-Lanzas-mother-was-preparing-for-disaster.html). 17 Dec. 2012.
Williams, Rob. “Mother of Sandy Hook school gunman Adam Lanza was a ‘prepper’ survivalist preparing for economic and social collapse, say reports.” The Independent. 17 Dec. 2012. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mother-of-sandy-hook-school-gunman-adam-lanza-was-a-prepper-survivalist-preparing-for-economic-and-social-collapse-say-reports-8422298.html). 17 Dec. 2012.
On TV: Armageddon Arsenals
It was only a matter of time before a show like this popped up on TV. From a message I received yesterday from Kelly McLear, a producer over at Orion Entertainment:
Armageddon Arsenals to Premiere Dec. 13 on Discovery’s Destination America
Orion Entertainment production goes inside the fascinating world of weapons preppers
Denver, Colorado–Officials from Orion Entertainment have announced that ‘Armageddon Arsenals’ will debut Dec. 13 at 10pm Eastern on Discovery’s Destination America network. The series explores the weapons and security aspects of the massive new prepping movement, focusing on individuals and families across the country who are preparing for a variety of worst case scenarios–many of them more plausible now than ever.
“Once thought of as a fringe movement,” says Orion Entertainment President Chris Dorsey, “millions of Americans now call themselves doomsday preppers and are taking extraordinary measures to plan and prepare for catastrophic events. While some viewers might find weapons caching extreme, by the end of the episode many will be asking what they should be doing to prepare. There is a lot of uncertainty and fear in the country and preppers are a manifestation of the larger national movement toward self-reliance.”
The one-hour pilot features weapons preppers in Texas, Utah, and Colorado who have amassed significant arsenals but who have also created elaborate security strategies to stay safe should the unthinkable happen. As one of the featured preppers warns, “If things get really bad it won’t matter how much food and water you have stored if you can’t protect it.”
‘“Armageddon Arsenals’- Trailer”
YouTube Video
“If things get really bad it won’t matter how much food and water you have stored if you can’t protect it.”
Likewise, you can’t eat or drink bullets when TSHTF.
I’m guessing many preppers would say weapons are important, but so too is food, water, shelter, and other vital “preps.” As to the types and number of weapons? Individual circumstances play an important role in determining what’s “right.”
I have the Destination America channel on my satellite TV- and I happen to like it. I plan on watching Armageddon Arsenals, and it will be interesting to see what kind of “arsenals” the preppers featured on this show have (and if the term “battery” is used even once).
Here’s hoping preppers/modern survivalists aren’t portrayed as a bunch of nutters- for their sake.
Holding my breath.
Armageddon Arsenals. Discovery’s Destination America network. Thursday, December 13, at 10 PM Eastern Time.
Quote For The Week
Our Earth is degenerate in these latter days. There are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end. Bribery and corruption are common. Children no longer obey their parents. Every man wants to write a book, and the end of the world is evidently approaching.
-Writing found on Assyrian clay tablet, dated 2,800 B.C.
Project Prepper: Mayan Apocalypse Detour?
The past couple of days, I’ve been watching quite a bit of “doomsday”-related TV on the National Geographic Channel and on H2.
Even though I don’t buy into the whole December 21, 2012, end-of-the-world thing, it was still depressing to watch. And this is coming from someone who (I think) is rather good-spirited in nature.
I have to be in order to blog about a lot of the material I do.
At one point in this “doomsday” TV show viewing marathon, I started questioning myself and wondered if perhaps I should go on a buying spree for supplies before the Mayan 13th b’ak’tun runs out.
It wasn’t an apocalyptic event I was worried about as much as the action(s) of some nut-job(s) making life for the rest of us more “difficult.”
But that’s a danger we face on a daily basis, so after weighing the evidence at hand regarding a Mayan Apocalypse occurring on December 21, I decided against taking a detour from Project Prepper by doing some “panic buying.”
Still, a lot of people are worried about this date. Remember that Reuters/Ipsos “end times” poll I blogged about back in May? One of the findings was that 12 percent of Americans surveyed agreed with the statement “the Mayan calendar, which some says ‘ends’ in 2012, marks the end of the world.”
“12 percent.” As percentage of the U.S. population in 2011, that’s approximately 37.4 million Americans who might agree with that statement about the world ending in a couple of weeks.
Well, that probably helps explain some of the shortages I’ve been seeing with prepper/survivalist-related gear and supplies.
“Preparing For Mayan Doomsday”
ABC San Diego Video
The fear of this date extends beyond our borders. Remember my post about Pic de Bugarach, a mountain in southern France, back in March, and how some believe aliens waiting in a spacecraft inside the mountain will save all nearby humans from the Apocalypse on December 21? Well, The Sun (UK) reported the following on November 16:
A FRENCH village has banned a Doomsday cult from heading to a “mystical mountain” that followers believe will save them from extinction…
Bugarach mayor Jean-Pierre Delord said his village of just 200 people had now become “overrun with esoteric weirdos” hoping to survive in six weeks time.
He said: “The mountainside is swarming with hippies, many of them naked, who drop litter and make a mess…
Regional prefect Eric Freysselinard has now issued an order barring anyone from climbing the mountain, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, on “Doomsday”.
He said: “It will be closed off for three days before and two days after the world is supposed to end.”
“Sorry about my litter. Save the Earth.”
Even the Russians are concerned. Ellen Barry wrote on The New York Times website this past weekend:
There are scattered reports of unusual behavior from across Russia’s nine time zones.
Inmates in a women’s prison near the Chinese border are said to have experienced a “collective mass psychosis” so intense that their wardens summoned a priest to calm them. In a factory town east of Moscow, panicked citizens stripped shelves of matches, kerosene, sugar and candles. A huge Mayan-style archway is being built — out of ice — on Karl Marx Street in Chelyabinsk in the south.
Despite such incidents, I still haven’t seen any definitive evidence pointing to the end of the world on December 21. In fact, as a result of all that TV, I’m now aware of other Mayan calendars suggesting life will go on after this date.
As such, there’ll be no mad rush for Apocalypse supplies on my end.
See you at the December 22 post-doomsday fire sales?
Sources:
“Officials ban doomsday followers from French village.” The Sun. 16 Nov. 2012. (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4648192/bugarach-bans-doomsday-followers-from-village.html). 4 Dec. 2012.
Barry, Ellen. “In Panicky Russia, It’s Official: End of World Is Not Near.” The New York Times. 1 Dec. 2012. (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/world/europe/mayan-end-of-world-stirs-panic-in-russia-and-elsewhere.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0). 4 Dec. 2012.
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