- The end of the world is not so nigh after
all
-
- The end of the world has been cancelled.
The Last Battle between good and evil will not be taking place - at least
not at Armageddon.
-
- Plans for a virtual-reality simulation
of the Apocalypse on the site where the Bible says it will happen have
been scrapped by the Israeli government, which is worried about whipping
up too much Millennium fever.
-
- Millions of pilgrims are expected to
go to the Holy Land over the next 18 months. Among them will be fundamentalist
Christians who may try to hasten the Second Coming with prayer or more
provocative action - like the members of an American cult recently deported
for planning bloodshed on the streets of Jerusalem.
-
- But all is not lost for faint-hearted
pilgrims who really do believe the end is nigh but would rather stay safely
at home. Archaeologists working with the computer giant IBM still plan
to use a video camera to capture real-time pictures of the Jezreel Valley
- which could mean the final contest between God and Satan being available
for viewing over the internet.
-
- The village of Megiddo, an hour's drive
from Haifa in the Jezreel Valley, was to have been the site for a new multi-media
celebration of worldwide destruction. Armageddon - which means the Mount
of Megiddo in Hebrew - is identified in the Book of Revelation as the place
where the kings of the world will be gathered to watch the Final Battle.
-
- "We have decided not to do it,"
said Zeev Margalit of the Israeli National Parks Authority, which manages
the site at Megiddo. "So many people have different ideas about the
story of Armageddon, we could not portray it in a way that would be agreeable
and sensitive to all."
-
- Extensive archaeological remains have
been discovered under the mound at Megiddo, including a palace built during
the reign of King Solomon, 10 centuries before Christ. A state-of-the-art
display called the ArchaeoVision Kiosk will be installed near the remains
to show a 3D image of the palace with animated courtiers superimposed on
real-time pictures of the site. The camera on the palace will also show
the wide sweep of the valley. Eventually, it will be possible to show live
pictures on the Megiddo web site, which already offers a 3D tour of the
remains.
-
- The project was originally developed
by British scientists in the IBM laboratories at Hursley near Winchester.
Brian Collins, senior program manager, said his company was approached
because of its pioneering work at Ename in East Flanders, where a prototype
virtual-reality kiosk has been used to recreate a medieval Benedictine
monastery. IBM Israel has now taken it over.
-
- There were very few visitors when the
site manager Ahmed Agbaria showed me up to the Contemplation Cove, a simple
observation platform decorated with Scripture.
-
- "Many Christians come here,"
said Mr Agbaria. "Mostly Americans. Some people are coming and sitting
here, praying and singing songs, and think they might see something. Some
people say it is happening in 2000, but I don't know." A chuckle betrayed
what he really thought of that idea.
-
- But why was it so quiet? He smiled. Ironically,
it seemed that many visitors had been put off visiting Armageddon by the
threat of the Mother of all Battles. "Saddam and the US. People are
afraid to come."
|
