The Now of Armageddon
Humans have the ability to engage in rational thought and reason for the greater good. But unfortunately, the ego frequently battles with reason and oftentimes wins. If a person, or a group of people with collective thinking want to have control, for example, they will resist a more reasonable solution to a problem that would have a better outcome. This is why the Qur’an teaches that men have been given the “Trust” or have been designated as “Vice-regents” over the earth but have been “foolish” [failed to effectively use reason to preserve the earth but instead have become destroyers]. In various Surahs (chapters) in the Qur’an believers are taught to seek knowledge and use their reason. However, instead, many modern believers and nonbelievers engage in irrational thinking to create circumstances that serve self instead of the collective good.
Hannah Arendt, writing in The Human Condition, states that consciousness is an “ever flowing stream,” but in actuality, every aspect of life was meant to move forward constantly adapting and changing to improve its condition. The human ego is that which dams the flowing stream so that conditions stop progressing such that the Truth is no longer able to evolve humanity into its fullest potential. The duality of light and dark, evil and good, heaven and earth, veiled and unveiled, is in a constant struggle for dominance. It is the Battle of Armageddon as prophesied in the Bible (Revelation 16:12–16), that will occur near the end of time, but which has been ongoing since the beginning of time and will be resolved in finality when the earth is destroyed.
The Battle is always occurring which also includes the duality of truth and falsehood which vies for human possession. The human ego when allowed to dominate the personality must win at all costs, even by denying truth so that its self-will may fulfil its seeking of power. Scripture refers to the battle between the spirit and the flesh or sacrificing human desires that are harmful for self or others to submit to God for the collective good, and the over attachment to the temporal world which leads to seeking selfish desires. The material world is an illusion that covers human understanding with dark veils, not allowing the ego driven person to see truth, but only self. The result of selfish desire is over competitiveness and aggression expressed though the addiction of constantly yearning for power.
The Qur’an refers to the “greater jihad’ as the battle of control over the “nafs” or ego, and the “lesser jihad” as going to war to defend oneself against an unprovoked attack. Gaining control over one’s ego is the more difficult battle. The word “islam” means submission — submission to God, which entails the significant challenge of sacrificing self to fulfill God’s purpose. Jesus was the extraordinary example of full submission to God to fulfill God’s purpose sacrificing his life to be crucified, while Judas represents the ego driven person whose path led to destruction.
This is why humans are unable to collaborate in a global world, but like their barbaric ancestors constantly use war to dominate. When believers in God who were meant to resist the pull of ego and self no longer resist the illusion of the temporal world, then humans become like beasts who are unable to use reason and then subsequently herd together on the path to destruction which leaves a world destroyed by fire.