Doomsday unavoidable, say religious leaders
Worried about the end of the world? Your time is always nigh, say Hong Kong's spiritual leaders
As some Hongkongers await the end of the world today, religious leaders have warned everyone expecting life to carry on as usual that their own doomsday is coming sooner or later.
"Everyone has their own personal doomsday, which is the day you die," said Imam Sulaiman Wang at Wan Chai's Masjid Ammar & Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre. "If you die tomorrow, then tomorrow is your doomsday.
"We are used to lying to ourselves - that I'm in my 20s or 30s and there is lots of time - but you really don't know. The Angel of Death can come at any time."
The latest doomsday prophecy says the world will end today because an ancient Mayan calendar only runs until this date.
Wang said the doomsday cited in both Christianity and Islam has no fixed date. He said the first indication that it has arrived would be the return to earth of Jesus Christ - whom Christians consider the son of God and Muslims consider a prophet.
"Only God knows when doomsday is coming, neither angels nor mankind know," said Wang. "What we have to do instead is make sure that we have fulfilled our purpose so that we are in the best state to meet God."