How Will It End?

In this episode, we’re going to explore different viewpoints on the end of the world—otherwise known as the apocalypse.

¹But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. ²For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, ⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵holding to a form of [b]godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NASB

A few Bible verses about the end times:

• The Book of Revelation
• Daniel 7
• Daniel 9
• Daniel 12
• Matthew 24

Abrahamic Beliefs

• Christianity
  • There are various interpretations of end time events within the Christian community
  • Commonly agreed upon events are the moral decay of mankind, calamity from war, famine, and pestilence in the land, the return of Christ, and the ushering in of God's Kindgom
  • Most Christians associate fire with the end of the world
• Judaism[4]
  • Judaism is still awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, which is involved in the apocalypse
  • This event will bring about the restoration of Israel and the resurrection of the dead
• Islam[5]
  • Although Islam sees Jesus/Yeshua as a prophet instead of the Son of God, Islamic prophecy expects the return of Jesus during end time events
  • Good will triumph over evil

Science

• The sun will eventually die (probably by supernova[1]). At some point the sun will expand as a red giant,[2] and during this process the earth will be ingulfed by the sun—put plainly, the earth will burn up.
• The earth could also be annhilated by a stray asteroid (or other space debris) colliding into us.[3]
• Climate change also poses a threat
• Nuclear war could also wipe us off the face of the earth

Hinduism[6]

• There is a cyclical view of time which is divided into four Yuga cycles
• The Yuga cycles "descend" from purity to chaos
• We are said to be in the fourth Yuga cycle: Kali Yuga
• This cycle is marked by war and strife
• It ends in a cataclysm event that respawns the first Yuga cycle and takes people back to a state of purity

Jainism[7]

• Also has a cyclical view of time
• Avasarpiṇī and utsarpiṇī make up the two periods of time
• Utsarpiṇī is ascending time (a time of goodness and religion)
• Avasarpiṇī is descending time (a time of decaying goodness and religion)
• According to Jains we are in avasarpiṇī
• At the end of avasarpiṇī, we will return to utsarpiṇī

Norse Mythology[8]

• Ragnarök - "fate of the gods" or "doom of the gods"
• This time period is marked by natural disasters
• "The sun will be darkened, the stars will vanish, and the earth will sink into the sea"[8] (see Matthew 24:29)
• 2 human survivors will repopulate the earth when it reemerges from the sea

Zorostrianism[9]

• A battle of good and evil
• Resurrection of the dead
• Punishment of the wicked

You can see this article for even more beliefs on the end times.

Patterns

While we do not agree on the details, the common thread is that most religions acknowledge we are currently in a state of moral decay and trying to get back to an Eden-like state.

Disclaimer

I believe that all religions and cultures trace their origin back to Adam and Eve. While I believe the Bible to be the true and preserved Word of God, I believe that we can find bits of truth in other religions and cultures. The purpose of this series is to examine the themes that remained universal to highlight universal knowledge--in this case, the pattern of moving from a time of morality and spiritual goodness into sin and immorality, then back to morality.

References

1. Ethan Siegel. "This Is How We'd All Die Instantly If The Sun Suddenly Went Supernova". Forbes. December 27, 2019
2. Matt Williams. "Will Earth survive when the sun becomes a red giant?". Phys.org. May 10, 2016
3. Ryan Whitwam. "NASA: Asteroid Could Still Hit Earth in 2068". Extreme Tech. October 28, 2020
4. Yehuda Shurpin. "Does Judaism Believe in the Apocalypse?". Chabad.org; visited January 2021
5. "Religions on the End of the World". History.com. November 6, 2009
6. "The Yuga Cycles & Yogic Astronomy. What are the Four Yugas?". The Human Origin Project; visited January 2021
7. "Avasarpiṇī". Wikipedia; visited January 2021
8. "Ragnarök". Encyclopædia Britannica; visited January 2021
9. "Zoroastrian Apocalypse". Oxford Reference; visited January 2021