Apocalypticism

Apocalypticism is enthusiasm about what will happen at the end of the world.

Etymology of Apocalypse

Online Etymology Dictionary

Late 14th century, "revelation, disclosure," from Church Latin, apocalypsis "revelation," from Greek apokalyptein "uncover," from apo- "from" + kalyptein "to cover, conceal" (see Calypso). The Christian end-of-the-world story is part of the revelation in John of Patmos' book "Apokalypsis" (a title rendered into English as "Apocalypse" circa 1230 and "Revelations" by Wyclif circa 1380).

Etymology of Revelation

Online Etymology Dictionary--"reveal"

Late 14th century, from Old French reveler (14c.), from Latin revelare "reveal, uncover, disclose," lit. "unveil," from re- "opposite of" + velare "to cover, veil," from velum "a veil" ... Revealed religion, as opposed to natural religion, is attested from 1719.

Online Etymology Dictionary--"revelation"

Circa 1300, "disclosure of information to man by a divine or supernatural agency," from Old French revelacion, from Latin revelationem (nominative case, revelatio), from revelatus, past participle of revelare (see reveal). General meaning "disclosure of facts" is attested from late 14th century; meaning "striking disclosure" is from 1862. As the name of the last book of the New Testament (Revelation of St. John), it is first attested circa 1400 ...; as simply Revelations, it is first recorded 1690s.

Apocalyptic jargon

Adventism

The Church does not have a dogmatic definition of the sequence of events that will happen at the end of the world. Not every verse in Scripture is asserted as "literally true" by the Magisterium (Latin, "teaching authority"; a single word standing for the "apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers" in Paul's epistles). No one will be exempted by the age in which they live from the obligation of justice to personally repent of all of our sins and to make reparation for our own wrongdoing. The dogmatic teaching of the Church is in the Nicene creed: "He will come [Latin, "advent"] again in glory to judge the living and the dead."

Catholics are therefore Adventists, but without any "countdown to kickoff" clock running and without any definite map of the end-time (Greek, "eschatological") events. We know THAT Jesus will come and make all things new, but we do not know HOW or WHEN.

Eschatology

Eschaton is Greek for "the end."

Eschata is the plural of eschaton, so it means "end things" or "last things."

Eschatology means "study of the end things"--striving to understand what God wants us to know about the end of the world.

The Rapture

• Carl Olson, Will Catholics Be Left Behind?

The dogma

From the Nicene Creed in 325 AD:

"He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead."

How should we prepare for the end of the world?

In view of the Church's dogmatic Adventism, "what must we do to gain eternal life?"

• Repent of our personal sins and believe the Good News.

This is how we "accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior." Jesus is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." When he reveals that He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead, He reveals that He is the Good Shepherd who personally guards and guides each member of the flock.

• Make amends to those whom we have hurt.
• Obey God's commandments and the precepts of the Church.
• Cultivate the natural and supernatural virtues that make us fit to take our place in the Communion of Saints
• Love God with our whole hearts, our whole minds, and all our strength and love our neighbor as ourselves.
• Spend today in God's service. There is a proverbial saying to the effect that yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not come, so today is the day to live life to the full (Latin proverb: "Carpe diem," "Seize the day!").

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil” (Mt 6:33).

God is not going to grade us on how accurate a map of the future we have drawn from reading the Scriptures. No calendar specifying the sequence of future catastrophes has any saving value.

Trying to calculate the amount of time left before the Eschaton, the End of Everything, is a waste of the time God has given us. God does not expect us to follow hand-drawn maps of a future that has not yet arrived; He expects us to pick up our cross and follow Jesus here and now. If God decides that we are to see Jesus coming in Glory, He will provide what we need at that moment--just as He has provided and will provide what we need at every moment in our lives.

At the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus reveals to Peter that he will be murdered for the sake of the gospel. When Peter asks Jesus what is going to happen to the Beloved Disciple, Jesus replies, "What concern is it of yours? You follow me" (Jn 21:22).

None of us knows whether we will be alive to see the End of Everything. We do know that, in any event, we will come to the end of our lives, one way or the other. The gifts and tasks that God has given to other Christians in other ages, past, present, or future, is none of our business. At the end of our lives, we will face God's judgment of how we have lived our own lives. It is none of our business how other Christians will or will not be put to the test. God will ask us, "What did you do with what I gave you?"