Apocolyptic views by different religions

                   Apocalypse is a word used to mean a prophecy of the end of the world. Apocalypse was originally a Greek word, Apokalysis, which means, “lifting the veil”. Which means it is something that brings to the open something that was hidden to human eyes.  It is possible that the word is a shortened form of the phrase, apokaupsis eschaton, which literally means “Revelation of the end of the aeon, or age”.  Later in the second century, the term was used on many books written in that era. This gave the word the meaning that we use it for today, a destruction of the world as we know it There are many ways for someone to attain a form of apocalypse. These ways are dreams, Angels, a person posing as a beast, or antichrist, visions of the future, the use of imagery, and mystical symbolism. The Apocalyptic viewpoint held by many religions and people today originally have origins in the Judaic belief of a final battle between good and evil. Many religions of past and present hold some form of an apocalyptic view. Apocalypses are usually written by a prophet during troubled times, and was used to show people that there will be a deliverance for the Israeli people during troubled times. These writings were adapted by many religions who transformed them to fit there beliefs and cultures. I am going to explain a few of the different religions that have some form of an Apocalypse, and how they believe the world would end.

                   First, I will begin with the Jewish religion and their views on an apocalypse. Hebrews have always have believed that they are the chosen people and want to be dominant in the world. At this time, the Hebrew people believe that God has lifted his hand to protect them and has left the world to its enemies before it is time for him to return. The earlier prophets lived during a time of war between nations. Seeing that they were far from gaining any kind of control in the nations around them, the later prophets prophesized that the “day of the lord” would come and this age would come to an abrupt end and a new age would began. The prophets said there would be great natural signs on earth and in heaven. There will be bloody battles between Jews and Gentiles, anyone not from the Jewish religion. During these wars all enemies of Israel shall fall. The Jewish messiah finally comes into the picture and brings everything to a blissful state. There will be no hunger, illness, or death during this time. The Messiah will also resurrect the dead, and make it possible for all of humanity to live in a redeemed world, and instead of hell, sinners will have to live in an eternal state of guilt. The Jews are now free and have dominance over the nations, religion, the “day of the Lord” has come, and everything not of the Jewish religion has now been destroyed.  The Jewish people believe that their Messiah will bring knowledge to their enemies, which will make them realize the wrong they have done to Israel. The Messiah will also attract different cultures and religions to the Jewish religion and make it the only religion on earth. The final battle between God and Satan is fought and everything is now right in the eyes of the lord. The Apocalyptic books studied by Jewish religion can be found in the Old Testament with books as Daniel, and Enoch, books not found in our bible, and of course the Book of Revelation. One of the differences between the Jewish Apocalypse and the Christian Apocalypse is that Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Prophesized Son Of God. Therefore, in the Jewish culture the end of the world is something that will happen to deliver them from evil and make their culture and beliefs the only beliefs in the world. This makes the Jewish Apocalypse something brutal for anyone not of the Jewish religion.

                   Following this, I will talk about the Christian Apocalypse, which was adapted from the earlier Jewish Apocalyptic beliefs. The Christians made some changes to enhance their religion and viewpoint on how the apocalypse would be played out. Christians do believe that Jesus is the prophesied Son of God and follow a viewpoint that could be looked at as more understanding. Christians hold the view that a major war will happen in Israel, but this war is more of a fight between God and Satan, good and evil, not between nations and cultures. The Christians main apocalyptic book is the book of Revelation. Revelation does state that, like in the Jewish beliefs, there will be natural signs that only the followers of Jesus will be able to understand. After the warnings of the nearing battle of Good and Evil, the followers of Jesus will be sent to Heaven so they can watch the ongoing battles on Earth. For 1000 years the people that are left behind, non-believers, are to live under the reign of the Anti-Christ. Meanwhile, extraordinary battles are being fought between good and evil. In the end, Jesus is triumphant, the heavens and earth will be recreated, and all the followers of Jesus are resurrected, reborn, and will live in eternal bliss on earth. Everyone else will be thrown in the bowels of hell to live in eternal damnation. Again, like in the Jewish Apocalypse, anyone that does not follow the Christian religion and believe in Jesus Christ is destroyed and forever damned.

                   Islam is another religion that has adapted its apocalyptic views from the early Judaic beliefs. Islamic beliefs do have a Messiah, but Jesus is not the one they believe to be the Messiah. They believe a boy named Mahdi is the Messiah. Mahdi was a boy that lived in the 9th century and at the age of nine, he disappeared on a promise that he would return to bring Islam into power as the standing religion. The Islamic Apocalypse is very similar to the Christian and Judaic Apocalypse. The difference here is the religion in dominance is the Islamic culture, instead of Christian, or Judaic culture. Being more like the Christian Apocalypse there will be an Anti-Christ and a second coming of the Messiah. The world will then be run by Islamic power and a blissful universe is left for all of humanity. Once again, another culture stating their religion is the only way to eternal life and if you do not follow the religion, you will be forever condemned.

                   Now I would like to move on to a religion that is a little different from the last few religions. 

Hindus have a somewhat different viewpoint for an apocalypse. The Hindus believe in multiple gods that have different purposes to make the earth whole.  In the Hindu religion, one human year is equal to 360 god years. Hindus believe that there is a cycle of ages; this cycle leads up to a time of a much needed cleansing in humanity. First, there is the age of Krita Yuga, which is an age of perfection and no sin. This age will last about 1,728,000 human years. Following this is the Treta Yuga stage, in which humans are a little less than perfect, and a little more sinful. This age will last about 1,296,000 human years. Then follows the Dwapara Yuga stage, which humans become a little more sinful, and looses more virtues.  This age lasts 864,000 human years. The final stage is the Kali Yuga stage, which is also known as the Age of Darkness. This age is very corrupt with many humans having no religion, humans life spans dramatically drop due to sinful activity, and children become pregnant at very young ages. During this age a man named Kalki, whom is an avatar of Vishnu, will be born and save us from the corrupt things in this world. On his white horse and flaming sword, he comes and demolishes all the sinners in the world. Sparing the righteous, the world becomes in a blissful state again and the cycle is then restarted. One full cycle is considered a Mahayuga, 1000 of the Mahayuga cycles will began a stage called the Kalpa. This brings me to the second Apocalypse that happens in the Hindu religion. During the Kalpa stage, Earth will be destroyed, and rebuilt to start over with a new beginning.  First, it will rain for six whole days, which will flood the earth. Twelve suns then rise and dry up all the water, fire and wind engulf the entire world. The earth is then flooded one more time by rain, after this flood Bramha, the Hindu creation god, sits on a lotus flower absorbing the energy as he rests until the time to recreate the earth. A good story of how the world may recreate and cleanse itself, but it seems like more of a fairy tale then what would happen in reality.

                   Another Culture that is somewhat like the Hindu culture would be the Buddhist culture. The Buddhist culture is a very metaphysical culture that believes we can become one with god once we reach full enlightenment. Buddha is a man that has came to the people in different bodies of man, at different times throughout history to teach the word of god. One of the times Buddha was on earth teaching, he predicted that his teaching would be forgotten by humanity after 500 years. During this time, humanity would also forget the ten moral conducts and participate in the act of the ten immoral conducts. These conducts are theft, violence, murder, lying, evil speaking, adultery, abusive and idle talk, covetousness, and ill will, wanton greed, and perverted lust. This behavior results in a nation of poverty and the loss of true common sense in most humanity. Later the time of this happening was extended to 5000 years compared to the 500 Buddha first predicted. They also added steps to how humanity would forget about Buddha and his teachings. Starting with humanity slowly forgetting the teachings of Buddha than Buddha completely. In the time of the disappearance, Buddha comes back to teach us again, and to help us rediscover the path to being free of suffering and rebirth. The Buddhist belief in creation is the same cycle that Hindus believe. A repeating of humanity being cleansed that leads up to a destruction of earth and a rebirth of humanity. Less of a fairy telling story, this religion is more of a self helping and spiritually being close to the higher self, and being.

                   Moving on to the Mayan Civilization, where many believe they predicted the earth to end on Dec. 21, 2012. Believing that time was the most important thing on earth, the Mayans studied the stars and lived their lives documenting time and making many calendars with spirits named after their days. One of these calendars, called “the long count”, ended on Dec. 21, 2012. To understand why the calendar ended on this date, you would have to understand the prophecies of the Mayans. The Mayans believed that they lived in the fifth world and that the world has already been destroyed four previous times. In “the long count” there are other places shown where the calendar and past worlds have ended. Although, upon knowing the beliefs of the Mayans it does not mean that they stopped the calendar on that date because it is the date of the end of the fifth world. It could mean that something big is going to happen in the skies that day, or they just stopped at that date and did not have the time or the knowledge to go past that date. I do not know what is going to happen on Dec 21, 2012, but since the Mayans were so Astrologically smart I will be waiting for some kind of extraordinary event.

                   The Hopi Indians have their own version of an Apocalypse. Prophesized by Hopi Indian leaders, the Hopi Indians were warned about the coming of the white people, and the end of the world. In this prophecy, they said there would be beasts like buffalo with horns roaming all the land (cattle), railroads, streets, freeways, and oil spills. In this Prophecy, there are nine worlds; one is the world of Taiowa, the creator. The other worlds are ages that humanity goes through until the final world, or age. We are said to be in the fourth world right now. The first world was cleansed with fire, which would bring us to the second world. The second world was destroyed by ice, and the third world was destroyed by a major flood. They say a “great dwelling place” will fall from the heavens with a crash, shining blue like a star. The earth will rumble from the crash as white man battle other lands. Smoke will rise in the deserts and signs of a great destruction are near. Thousands will die; the ones who understand the Hopi Prophecies will live among the Hopi people and be safe. It is also Prophesized that the end of the fourth world will bring a gourd of ashes, these ashes drop from the sky to boil the oceans and burn the land causing nothing to grow for many years. Then a certain Hopi is supposed to come and warn the people of the coming apocalypse unless the people change there ways. The final stage is called “The Great Day of Purification”, during this time the forces of the swastika, the sun, and a third force symbolized as the color “red”, complete each other for a total rebirth, or total annihilation. The degree of the danger will depend on the justice of nature and humanity.  During this crisis, humanity will have to join, no matter if we are the rich or the poor, to survive. It is prophesized by Hopi leaders that in the time leading up to the end certain events may happen. The vision showed that Metal roads were built along with iron horses, and metal ropes that would be hanging from the air. Pieces of the moon will be brought to earth, which causes an imbalance and begins a series of destructive forces. Closer to the Great Purification cobwebs will be spun back and forth, in which people will be walking on. There will also be a great house built in the sky, while great wars of power and greed are being fought. Fires will be consuming the earth. This will bring the coming of Pahana, the “true white brother”, and the beginning of the fifth world. After this two, more worlds are to come, “the world of Prophecy and Revelation”, and “The world of Completion”.

                   A prophecy from an Apache wise man, called Stalking Wolf, has a version of an Apocalypse. Stalking Wolf said that we have a chance to stop these prophecies from happening during the first two stages out of four. After the third prophecy, there is no return from the destruction of humanity. Stalking Wolf warns us to follow the law of the creator and nature or we are doomed. He also states that we must tell our families and future generations so that we are all warned. The first vision of Stalking Wolf takes him to a land of Starvation. The elder at this land explained to Stalking Wolf that the first sign is starvation. The starvation in the land will be greater than any other starvation known to man. Men will decide to blame this starvation on nature instead of their own destructive behavior. There will also be a great disease during this stage. This disease will be born from monkeys, sex and drugs. It soon becomes a common sickness that men bring to themselves. The love of drugs brings wars and most will fight for the wrong reasons. Man will have to stop chasing the gods of sex and drugs to stop the prophesied destruction to continue its process. If they do not bring themselves close to the creation god and spirit, then the second sign will come to pass and any chance for the physical level of living to be saved. The second sign brings to pass dead animals, holes in the sky, no clouds, and no trees, piles of trash, hotter weather, and violent storms. Now the only chance to save the earth is for all humans to spiritually pray for deliverance from there destructive behavior. If humanity decides not to change there, destructive ways then all will be lost. The third sign brings Red Skies and stars as red as blood. Screams can be heard throughout the land. All the people that want to survive must go far in the wild to hide from the destructive behavior of humanity. These people must bring themselves close to the Spirit and Earth to survive the last stage. In the last stage, the children of the Earth need to stay in the wild places they are hiding in, forever moving, not to be seen by the destructive humans. For 10 years, they must stay hidden and can never come to see how the destruction of humanity is taken place or they too will die. The destruction of man will be by famine, man will become cannibals and soon fall to ruin. The creator will bring his vengeance to man. During this time, only the children of the earth will survive and start a new beginning. Humanity is now living closer to earth and spirit.

                   Finally, I will finish with the current scientific theory of how the world may end by the sun. The sun began forming about 4.5 billion years ago, along with the planets. As the sun evolved so did the other planets and life on earth. The sun continues to grow and it is said that in the next few billion years it will gradually get bigger, and warmer. The sun is considered to be middle aged at this time compared to a stars lifespan. As the sun gets bigger, it will consume hydrogen in its core. This allows the sun to get larger, brighter, and warmer then eventually colder. They predict that 1.1 billion years from now the sun will be ten percent brighter than today, and the extra solar energy will cause a Moist Greenhouse Effect. Earths atmosphere will dry out, as water vapor is lost in space. This will end a large quantity of life on earth. Some Marine life and simpler life forms may survive in oceans and small pools of water. Following this in about three and a half billion years from now the sun will be forty percent brighter. The solar energy will now cause a Runaway Greenhouse Effect. All water will be evaporated and Earth will be as Venus is today. It is highly likely by then that there will be no life on earth. So according to this theory of an end of the world, our precious earth will be destroyed in about 1.1 billion years.

                   Now after you have reviewed some of the different religions or views of an apocalypse, you can compare the differences and comparisons.  You may find a pattern in some of the views of redemption for human kind (usually saying their religion is the one) and a finally perfect world for the rest of humanity to live in. Others show that there are recycling cycles to keep humanity from becoming to corrupt. Most of them show wars between cultures and hard times before the good times come to pass. To me this reveals how no matter what religion or culture you come from we all still just want to live in a peaceful world. Some of them are more selfish than others are and think the only way to a peaceful world is for everyone to become part of their religion. I believe the only way to full peacefulness and a since of perfection, would be a time when all of humanity learns to live in total harmony without limitations on the way they receive the idea of life and of the higher being. If we learn to work together this will be something that can be within our reach. In the end, unless it is a natural occurrence, we as humanity will bring our own destruction to pass, until we can learn to live in harmony.