The Twenty-Fifth Hour
People should fear most the Last Trumpet with which God will announce the end of the world. The advent of the Qiyamah or the Final Day is as sure as its consequences are eternal.
The thought of the twenty-fifth hour somehow takes us into a strange realm beyond our neat and comfortable ideas about the twenty-fourth hour. We happily begin another day at the end of the twenty-fourth hour. Full of life, hope and promise. As always. The Twenty-Fifth Hour? is the title of a book published in France, analyzing world perspectives of the day. According to its author, this twenty-fifth hour is the hour of doom, an hour which could arrive at any moment. Why? Because the world is divided into two groups, both of which are committed to the total annihilation of the other. Inevitably, this will mean the annihilation of the whole human race. The blind arms race of these two blocs has turned the world into a vast storehouse of lethal weapons and is leading the world to the brink of destruction.
Is human warfare then going to bring upon us the Last Day? The Day of Judgement? We certainly seem to be rushing towards it on a terrifying parallel with the last earthquake with which God will bring this world to an end. The period of trial that God has ordained for man will then be over, and an eternal, perfect world will replace the present one. But only after God’s last earthquake—the earthquake of the Final Day. Then will come God’s judgement of all human beings. Then it will be known, with terrifying certainty, whether one is to be sent to Paradise or consigned to the everlasting flames of Hell. The moment is upon us. The twenty-fifth hour, the hour of doom, must be expected at any moment. Each morning we must ask ourselves if we will live until the evening. Will there be a single soul who can outlive the final holocaust?
People are rightly apprehensive of nuclear warfare. However, they should most fear the blowing of the Last Trumpet with which God will announce the end of the world. Nuclear war may or may not be a certainty, but the advent of the Qiyamah or the Final Day is as sure as its eternal consequences. Eternal bliss will then be the reward for good deeds, while there will be nothing but eternal damnation for evil deeds.
