SHERRY SHRINER Part 3: Decoding the End of the World

by CBS Miami

“There has been much speculation about what drugs, if any, would lead to the bizarre May 26 attack at a Miami causeway that left Poppo, 65, missing about 75 percent of his face. The tests ruled out the suggestion that 35-year-old Eugene may have been under the influence of bath salts, which mimic the effects of cocaine or methamphetamine and have been associated with bizarre crimes in recent months.”

by National Gallery of Art

“…I do not consider either the just, or the wicked, to be in a supreme state, but to be, every one of them, states of the sleep which the soul may fall into in its deadly dreams of good and evil, when it leaves Paradise following the serpent.”

-William Blake

“The book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, contains a series of warnings to Christians to maintain and guard their faith, then relates a series of allegorical episodes that demonstrate the consequences of spiritual defection. Blake’s The Great Red Dragon and Woman Clothed in the Sun illustrates passages that describe “an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads…”

by Compelling Truth

“The end times is a period of time during which God will defeat Satan and the ungodly powers on earth, instate Jesus as King over all the world, and destroy and rebuild the earth and heavens. The exact events and their order are debated across denominations and hermeneutical interpretations. According to a dispensational, straight-forward reading of the Bible, the end times consist of the rapture of the church, the seven-year tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon in which Satan and the demons are cast into the Abyss, the 1000-year reign of Christ, the release of Satan and the final battle, and the creation of the new heavens and new earth.”

by Phillip C. Almond, The Conversation

“The Antichrist was the perfectly evil human being because he was completely opposite to the perfectly good human being, Jesus Christ.

Just as Christians came to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, so they thought that the Antichrist was the Son of Satan. Jesus was born of a virgin. So the Antichrist would be born of a woman who was apparently a virgin, but was really a whore. Where Christ was God in the flesh, the Antichrist was Satan in the flesh.”

by Ryan Nelson, OverviewBible

by BibleGateway

“Prologue

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” (English Standard Version)

by Got Questions

“The New Jerusalem, which is also called the Tabernacle of God, the Holy City, the City of God, the Celestial City, the City Foursquare, and Heavenly Jerusalem, is literally heaven on earth.

In Revelation 21:1 God does a complete make-over of heaven and earth. The new heaven and new earth are what some call the “eternal state” and will be “where righteousness dwells.” After the re-creation, God reveals the New Jerusalem.”

by Mark J. Perry, AEI

“Below are the 41 failed doomsday, eco-pocalyptic predictions (with links):

1. 1967: Dire Famine Forecast By 1975
2. 1969: Everyone Will Disappear In a Cloud Of Blue Steam By 1989 (1969)
3. 1970: Ice Age By 2000
4. 1970: America Subject to Water Rationing By 1974 and Food Rationing By 1980
5. 1971: New Ice Age Coming By 2020 or 2030
6. 1972: New Ice Age By 2070
7. 1974: Space Satellites Show New Ice Age Coming Fast
8. 1974: Another Ice Age?
9. 1974: Ozone Depletion a ‘Great Peril to Life (data and graph)
10. 1976: Scientific Consensus Planet Cooling, Famines imminent”

and more…

by Stephanie Pappas, Live Science

“The apocalyptic worldview springs from a desire to reconcile two conflicting beliefs.

“‘The first is that there is something dreadfully wrong with the world of human existence today,’ he said. ‘On the other hand, there is a sense that there is a higher good or some purpose for existence, a hope for a better future.’

Viewing the world as a flawed place headed toward some sort of cosmic correction reconciles these two beliefs, [Lorenzo] DiTommaso said.

And because believers are certain that their sacred text can never be wrong, failed doomsday predictions only convince them that their own interpretations were flawed, opening the door to new predictions. Historically, those who have predicted doomsday, including the early Christians, have been persecuted and oppressed, so the prospect of a final judgment is comforting, DiTomasso said.”

by Merriam-Webster

(adjective)

1. of or relating to the cosmos, the extraterrestrial vastness, or the universe in contrast to the earth alone
2. of, relating to, or concerned with abstract spiritual or metaphysical ideas
3. characterized by greatness especially in extent, intensity, or comprehensiveness

by Samoon Ahmad M.D., Psychology Today

“There is a popular belief that social media and websites that amplify in-group outrage play a major role in radicalizing individuals, but these sources only exacerbate preexisting sentiments; they do not cause them or explain the motivations that underlie the radicalization process. Similarly, many models do an excellent job of following the path of radicalization to extremism. They also note that extremism is a heterogeneous phenomenon that can occur under a wide array of conditions.

However, a great deal of research seems to evade the question of why some individuals are more susceptible to radicalization than others. Understanding these risk factors provides a way to prevent extremism rather than undertaking the arduous task of rehabilitating extremists, and it would seem that the old adage, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’ is particularly appropriate since rehabilitation often happens following an act of violence.”

by BCcampus

“The topics of conformity, social influence, obedience, and group processes demonstrate the power of the social situation to change our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. We begin this section with a discussion of a famous social psychology experiment that demonstrated how susceptible humans are to outside social pressures…”

by TED

As humans, the desire for certainty in ourself and our life is our most fundamental need for survival. At least this is what best-selling author and motivational speaker Anthony Robbins presented in his 2006 TED talk titled “Why we do the things we do.”

by Seamus Coyle, BBC

“The poet Dylan Thomas had some interesting things to say about death, not least in one of his most famous poems [‘Do not go gentle into that good night’]:

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

It is often assumed that life wages a battle to the last against death. But is it possible, as you suggest, to come to terms with death?”

by Rhea Marshall-Denton, Ph.D., Connecte

“Having goals, dreams and desires implies looking forward and planning ahead…Considering that the future is uncertain and that being faced with the unknown is uncomfortable, we tend to develop strategies to avoid or reduce uncertainty. These may work in the short term. When intolerance to uncertainty becomes the rule, however, striving to eliminate it altogether paradoxically contributes to increased anxiety and suffering, and ultimately impedes our ability to reach our goals (Dugas, Gosselin & Ladouceur, 2001). “

by Melissa Dittmann, American Psychological Association

“In the middle of the jungle in Guyana, South America, nearly 1,000 people drank lethal cyanide punch or were shot to death, following the orders of their leader, Jim Jones. Mothers and fathers gave the deadly drink to their children and then drank it themselves. People screamed. Bodies trembled. And within a few minutes on Nov. 18, 1978, 912 people were dead.

Jones’ followers originally came to the Guyanese community, known as Jonestown, seeking paradise and an escape from racism and persecution in the United States. Instead, they found something that resembled a concentration camp in which they worked long hours with little food and much abuse, those who escaped Jonestown have reported.

Twenty-five years later, social psychologists continue to examine how Jones came to command such enormous influence over his followers’ thoughts and actions. Jonestown, they say, offers important lessons for psychology, such as the power of situational and social influences and the consequences of a leader using such influences to destructively manipulate others’ behavior.”

by Dr. Barry Simon, Jewish Action

“All the codes involve searching for so-called ELS — Equal Letter Sequences — words separated by the same number of spaces.  That is, one takes the entire Torah or a specific book, drops spaces between words and looks for new words in the resulting stream with, for example, every fourth letter rather than successive letters.  The spacings considered can be quite large — for example, Drosnin’s celebrated location of Rabin’s name has a spacing of 4,772 letters, that is, there are skips of 4,771 “unused” letters between the letters that happen to spell out his name.”

by Garrett Smith, Jews for Jesus

“The Bible presents us with a mysterious king. Some of the most seemingly enigmatic, yet detailed, descriptions of this king occur in the prophetic book of Zechariah, written over 2,500 years ago. Over the centuries, various attempts have been made to explain this kingly figure. Some have concluded that he is the long-awaited Messiah. Others say we can’t know anything about him for sure. Still others say he is the carpenter from Nazareth about whom the whole world wonders.”

by BibleGateway

Revelation 9:1-3, 7-10 (New King James Version)

“Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. ² And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. ³ Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power

…

⁷ The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. ⁸ They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. ⁹ And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. “

by Harvard Health Publishing

“‘Suicide can shatter the things you take for granted about yourself, your relationships, and your world,’ says Dr. Jordan. Many survivors need to conduct a psychological ‘autopsy,’ finding out as much as they can about the circumstances and factors leading to the suicide, in order to develop a narrative that makes sense to them. While doing this, they can benefit from the help of professionals or friends who are willing to listen — without attempting to supply answers — even if the same questions are asked again and again.”

by NATO

“Security in our daily lives is key to our well-being. NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.

POLITICAL – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.

MILITARY – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defence clause of NATO’s founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.”

by Facebook Help Center

“Your account should represent you, and only you should have access to your account. If someone gains access to your account, or creates an account to pretend to be you or someone else, we want to help. We also encourage you to let us know about accounts that represent fake or fictional people, pets, celebrities or organizations.”

by Arlin Cuncic, verywellmind

The 5 criteria met in cyberbullying:

1. Intention
2. Repetition
3. Power imbalance
4. Anonymity
5. Publicity

by Tahir Rahman, ResearchGate

Abstract

“Extreme overvalued beliefs (EOB) are rigidly held, non-delusional beliefs that are the motive behind most acts of terrorism and mass shootings. EOBs are differentiated from delusions and obsessions. The concept of an overvalued idea was first described by Wernicke and later applied to terrorism by McHugh. Our group of forensic psychiatrists (Rahman, Resnick, Harry) refined the definition as an aid in the differential diagnosis seen in acts of violence. The form and content of EOBs is discussed as well as group effects, conformity, and obedience to authority. Religious cults such as The People’s Temple, Heaven’s Gate, Aum Shinrikyo, and Islamic State (ISIS) and conspiracy beliefs such as assassinations, moon-hoax, and vaccine-induced autism beliefs are discussed using this construct. Finally, some concluding thoughts on countering violent extremism, including its online presence is discussed utilizing information learned from online eating disorders and consumer experience.”