On the other hand, at no time since the
Christian era, have the precursor signs described in Matthew applied
so graphically and forcibly to any epoch as they do to our own times. When
has nation arisen against nation more than at this time? When have "famines"
– another name for destitute pauperism, and the famished multitudes of the
proletariat – been more cruel, earthquakes more frequent, or covered such an
area simultaneously, as for the last few years? Millenarians and Adventists
of robust faith, may go on saying that "the coming of (the carnalised)
Christ" is near at hand, and prepare themselves for "the end of the world."'
Theosophists – at any rate, some of them –
who understand the hidden meaning of the universally-expected Avatars,
Messiahs, Sosioshes and Christs – know that it is no "end of the world," but
"the
consummation of the age," i.e., the close of a cycle, which is
now fast approaching. [Bold emphasis added.]
(Quote
Source: The Esoteric Character of the Gospels
http://theosophy.org/Blavatsky/Articles/EsotericCharacterOfTheGospels.htm#FNT5)