Encyclopedia
Eschatology is a part of
theology and
philosophy concerned with the final events in the
history of the world or the ultimate destiny of
human kind, commonly phrased as the end of the world. In many
religions, the end of the world is a future event prophesied in
sacred texts or folklore. More broadly, eschatology may encompass related concepts such as the Messiah or Messianic Age, the afterlife, and the soul.
The Greek word
means "age"; some translations may read "end of the age" instead of "end of the world". The distinction also has theological significance, for the "
end times" in many religions may involve the destruction of the planet , but with the human race surviving in some new form, ending the current "age" of existence and beginning a new one.
Most Western monotheistic religions have doctrines claiming that 'chosen' or 'worthy' members of the one true faith will be "spared" or "delivered" from the coming judgment and wrath of God. They will be ushered into
paradise either before, during, or after it depending upon the end-time scenario to which they hold.
Buddhism
Buddha predicted that his teachings would disappear after 500 years. According to the Sutta Pitaka, the "ten moral courses of conduct" will disappear and people will follow the ten amoral concepts of
theft, violence, murder, lying, evil speaking,
adultery, abusive and idle talk, covetousness and ill will, wanton
greed, and perverted lust resulting in skyrocketing
poverty and the end of the worldly laws of true dharma.
During the
Middle Ages, the span of time was expanded to 5,000 years. Commentators like Buddhaghosa predicted a step-by-step disappearance of the Buddha's teachings. During the first stage,
arahats would no longer appear in the world. Later, the content of the Buddha's true teachings would vanish, and only their form would be preserved. Finally, even the form of the Dharma would be forgotten. During the final stage, the memory of the Buddha himself would be forgotten, and the last of his relics would be gathered together in Bodh Gaya and cremated. Some time following this development a new
Buddha named
Maitreya will arise to renew the teachings of Buddhism and rediscover the path to Nirvana. Maitreya is believed to currently reside in the Tushita heaven, where he is awaiting his final rebirth in the world.
The decline of Buddhism in the world, and its eventual re-establishment by Maitreya, are in keeping with the general shape of Buddhist cosmology. Like Hindus, Buddhists generally believe in a cycle of creation and destruction, of which the current epoch represents only the latest step. The historical Buddha Shakyamuni is only the latest in a series of Buddhas that stretches back into the past.
Christianity
Christians in the
1st century AD believed the end of the world could come during their lifetime.
Jesus in
Mark 13:8 compared the end of the world with a mother's birth pain, and the image implied the world was already pregnant with its own destruction, but no one but God knows when it will happen. The Mark 13:8 passage, as well as Mathew 24:6-8, are often misunderstood as these indicate that the wars and rumours of wars are signs that the end is yet to come not that it has come. When the converts of Paul in
Thessalonica were persecuted by the
Roman Empire, they believed the end was upon them. However, doubt rose when as early as the 90s Christians said, "We have heard these things [of the end of the world] even in the days of our fathers, and look, we have grown old and none of them has happened to us". In the 130s Justin Martyr declared God was delaying the end of the world because he wished for
Christianity to become a
world religion. In the 250s
Cyprian wrote that Christian sins of that time were a prelude and proof that the end was near.
However, by the
3rd century most Christians believed the End was beyond their own lifetime; Jesus, it was believed, had denounced attempts to divine the future, to know the "times and seasons", and such attempts to predict the future were discouraged; yet the End was given a date with the help of Jewish traditions in the
Six Ages of the World. Using this system, the End was fixed at 202, but when the date passed, the date was changed to AD 500. After AD 500 the importance of the End as a part of Christianity was marginalized, though it continues to be stressed during the season of
Advent.
Some current Christians place the end of the world within their lifetime or shortly thereafter. As evidence to support these ideas, many point to the prolific news coverage of tragedies around the world, sometimes "Biblical" in proportion, and offer interpretations of various passages from the
Bible. Also, some Catholics believed that
the third part of the Fatima message, which was to be disclosed by the Vatican in 1960 but finally was published under the pontificate of
John Paul II, was a prophetic message from the Blessed Mother about the end times, but they now believe it to be a symbolic message closely related to the assassination attempt of the late Pope.
Millennialists concentrate on the issue of whether the true believers will see the
tribulation or be removed from it by the
Rapture, a question which causes division in evangelical circles. Amillennialists believe the end times encompass the time from Christ's ascension to the Last day, and maintain that the "thousand years" is metaphorical.
Current biblical scholarship, particularly form criticism, tends to view the apocalyptic language in the Bible as being addressed to events at the time of the authors of its various books. Revelation, for example, is interpreted as a polemic against Rome, and a deep theological expression about the futility of temporal power in the face of faith in God. Similar non-canonical works previously accepted as valid by the Christian Church, such as the Apocalypse of Peter present a variety of apocalyptic scenarios and may have originally been intended as spiritual allegories.
Such readings of scripture typically dismiss attempts to find apocalyptic prophecy or codes in the Book of
Daniel, the so-called mini-apocalypse in
Isaiah, and in Revelation. Scripture, in their estimation, does indeed have significance today but its historical and cultural basis cannot be ignored. If the texts were addressed to a disaster many millennia away, it makes little sense that the prophet speaking would have any audience at all. It is a great deal more likely that the prophet was addressing the situation of his people in that moment. Over time, essential truths continued to be spoken by the Scriptures, but their underlying purpose is seen, in this mode of exegesis, to have little to do with the end of creation and more to do with the failings of secular institutions and the emptiness of a life without faith.
Still other Christians anticipate that biblical prophecy will be fulfilled literally, as it has in the past. They see current world and regional wars, earthquakes, hurricanes and famines as the beginning of the birth pains which Jesus described in Matthew and Mark .
Hinduism
Hindu traditional prophecies, as described in the
Puranas and several other texts, say that the world shall fall into chaos and degradation. There will then be a rapid influx of perversity, greed and conflict, and this state has been described as:
"Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya Glanirva Bhavathi Bharatha,
Abhyuthanam Adharmaysya Tadatmanam Srijami Aham'.
Bhagavad Gita
"Whenever there is decay of righteousness O! Bharatha
And a rise of unrighteousness then I manifest Myself!"
Thus whenever there is intolerable evil and chaos in the world, there is an appearance of an
avatar. In the current yuga known as the Kali yuga - "The Lord shall manifest Himself as the
Kalki Avatar... He will establish righteousness upon the earth and the minds of the people will become as pure as crystal."
In Hinduism, there is no eternal damnation of souls. There is no end times as well. After this evil Kali yuga ends, the next yuga or epoch would be Satya yuga where everyone will be righteous, followed by Dwapara yuga, followed by Treta yuga, followed by another Kali yuga. Thus the time is cyclical and the time epochs keep repeating infinitely. However the extent of tolerable evil and degradation in each epoch is different and therefore the threshold that is necessary for the manifestation of God's incarnation is different for each yuga. The current yuga is the most evil and so the threshold for the appearance of the
avatar is so high that the world needs to degrade to the maximum levels.
Islam
In
Islam, it is believed that on the Day of Reckoning,
God will judge the dead, sending the righteous to Heaven and unrepentant evildoers to Hell.
Some
Ahadith include a Muhammad-like holy warrior, the Mahdi , who will be accompanied by the Prophet
Jesus to fight the Antichrist, various Beasts, the
Gog and Magog tradition, angelic heralds with trumpets, civil war, natural disasters and signs in the heavens, and a clash between Jesus and the Antichrist.
Mahdi will fight Antichrist; but it will be Jesus who kills him at the gate of Ludd. Then
Gog and Magog will appear from all directions, drink all water. Jesus and the believers
will go to the mountains; Jesus will pray to God Almighty and He will send worm like
creatures that will attack Gog and Magog on their necks. Then huge birds with camel like
necks will carry their corpses away. The earth will be washed with rains. There will be peace
on earth for 40 years. Jesus will marry and pass away at the end of the 40 year period.
He will be buried in Medina right by Prophet Muhammed and his companions.
And then corruption and disbelief will become common again; the beast of earth will appear;
and the sun will rise from the west which would be signaling the final hour. Then there
will come a wind that will take all believers and leave earth full of disbelievers
and the trumpet will sound for the final destruction.
Judaism
In
Judaism, the end of the world is called the
acharit hayamim . Tumultuous events will overturn the old world order, creating a new order in which
God is universally recognized as the ruler over everyone and everything. One of the sages of the
Talmud says, "Let the end of days come, but may I not live to see them", because they will be filled with so much conflict and suffering.
The
Talmud, in the tractate Avodah Zarah, page 9A, states that this world as we know it will only exist for six thousand years. The
Jewish calendar functions completely on the assumption that time begins at the Creation of the world by God in
Genesis. Many people think that the years of the
Torah, or Jewish
Bible, are symbolic. According to the ancient Jewish teachings continued by today's Orthodox Jews, the years are literal and consistent throughout all time, with 24 hours per day and an average of 365 days per year. Appropriate calibrations are, of course, done with leap years, to account for the difference between the lunar calendar and the solar calendar, since the
Jewish calendar is based on both. Thus the year 2006 equals 5766 years
since creation on the present Jewish calendar. According to this calculation, the end of days will occur in the year 2240.
According to Jewish tradition, those living during the end times will see:
- Ingathering of the scattered Jewish exiles to geographic Israel,
- Defeat of all of Israel's enemies,
- Building of the third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and the resumption of the sacrificial offerings and Temple service,
- Revival of the Dead , or the Resurrection,
- At some point, the Jewish Messiah will become the anointed King of Israel. He will divide the Jews in Israel into their original tribal portions in the land. During this time, Gog, king of Magog, will attack Israel. Who Gog and the Magog nation are is unknown. Magog will fight a great battle, in which many will die on both sides, but God will intervene and save the Jews. This is the battle referred to as Armageddon. God, having vanquished this final enemy once and for all, will accordingly banish all evil from human existence. After the year 6000 , the seventh millennium will be an era of holiness, tranquility, spiritual life, and worldwide peace, called the Olam Haba , where all people will know God directly. The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah has many identical aspects to the Islamic belief in Qiyamah, such as the title of, "Day of the sounding of the Shofar".
"All Israel have a portion in the world to come." The Ramban interprets the world to come as the ultimate good and purpose of creation. He therefore holds that the world to come actually refers to the resurrection of the dead. An event that will occur after the messianic age has already begun. The Ramban holds that all Israel, even the sinners, have a portion in this epoch of resurrection. .
Mormonism
Members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that at the beginning of the Millennial Era,
Jesus Christ the Lord will appear in his Second Coming at what is now
Jackson County, MO and usher in a thousand year era of peace called the Millennium, when Satan will be bound. The wicked will be removed from the earth and the righteous will be caught up in a cloud while the earth is cleansed. Every man or woman to ever live on the Earth, will be
resurrected , or transformed into a state of
immortality .
Afterwards, the
Last Judgement will occur, in which all beings will be placed into one of three heavenly kingdoms; the
Celestial Kingdom,
Terrestrial Kingdom, and
Telestial Kingdom. In the
Doctrine and Covenants,
Joseph Smith Jr., translator of the
Book of Mormon and first prophet, leader, and seer of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, puts the kingdoms into levels of glory;
sun, the
moon, and the stars. The sun being the brightest, is relative to the glory of the celestial kingdom, which is for those who obey all the commandments, live righteously, become baptized, and marry in a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The moon, being the second brightest, is relative to the terrestrial kingdom, which is for those who are righteous in a sense, but do not constantly obey every commandment and/or are not baptized or married in the temple. The stars, being the least brightest, are relative to the telestial kingdom, which is for those who are not righteous, meaning they constantly do not obey the commandments and are not baptized or married in the temple. A very small group of people go to what is called
Outer darkness, which is where
Satan will eventually be sent with his hosts of angels.
While the exact time of Christ's return is not known, certain signs are accepted as pointing to his return:
- The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, Isa. 2: 2-3.
- The Lord shall lift an ensign and gather Israel, Isa. 5: 26 .
- The sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not cause her light to shine, Isa. 13: 10 .
- Men shall transgress the law and break the everlasting covenant, Isa. 24: 5.
- The Nephites shall speak as a voice from the dust, Isa. 29: 4 .
- Israel shall be gathered with power, Isa. 49: 22-23 .
- God shall set up a kingdom which shall not be destroyed, Dan. 2: 44 .
- War, dreams, and visions shall precede the Second Coming, Joel 2.
- All nations will gather against Jerusalem to battle, Zech. 14: 2 .
- The day cometh that shall burn as an oven, Mal. 4: 1 .
- Great calamities shall precede the Second Coming, Matt. 24 .
- Paul described apostasy and perilous times of the last days, 2 Tim. 3-4.
- Two prophets will be slain and resurrected in Jerusalem, Rev. 11 .
- The gospel shall be restored in the last days by angelic ministry, Rev. 14: 6-7 .
- Babylon will be established and fall, Rev. 17-18.
- Israel shall be gathered with power, 1 Ne. 21: 13-26 .
- The Book of Mormon shall come forth by the power of God, Morm. 8.
- Lamanites to blossom, D&C 49: 24-25.
- The wicked to slay the wicked, D&C 63: 32-35 .
- War will be poured out upon all nations, D&C 87: 2.
- Signs, upheavals of the elements, and angels prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, D&C 88: 86-94.
- Darkness to cover the earth, D&C 112: 23-24.
Native American
Several
Native American tribes have similar beliefs concerning the end times.
Hopi
Tribal leaders of the
Hopi tribe, such as Dan Evehema, Thomas Banyaca and Martin Gashwaseoma prophesy that the coming of the white man signals the end times, along with a strange beast "like a
buffalo but with great horns that would overrun the land". It is prophesied that during the end times, the earth would be crossed by
iron snakes and stone
rivers; the land would be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web, and seas will turn black.
It is also prophesied that a "great dwelling place" in the heavens shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star, and the earth will rock to and fro. White men would then battle people in other lands, with those who possess wisdom of their presence. There would then be smoke in the deserts, and the signs that great destruction is near.
Many would then die, but those who understand the prophecies shall live in the places of the Hopi people and be safe. The Pahana or "True White Brother" would then return to plant the seeds of wisdom in people's hearts, and thus usher in the dawn of the Fifth World.
Maya
- Main article: Mayan Calendar and the End of the World
The ancient and many modern Maya groups believe that the universe has been renewed four previous times. The first attempt at human life produced animals instead; the second produced a people made of clay who would eventually become certain insects ; the third attempt produced monkeys; and the fourth attempt produced us: "true humans." Each prior attempt at the human creation was destroyed by a different catastrophe which ended the universe. These stories vary by Maya group: the animals were nearly destroyed by a flood, the people of clay were nearly destroyed by a flood and then a global firestorm, the monkey-people were attacked by their own belongings and their animals.
The astronomically-based Mayan calendar will be completing its first great cycle of approximately 5,200 years on the 21nd December, 2012. Although there is no substantial evidence that the ancient Maya considered the date significant, many people have postulated that this is the "end of the Universe" from the Mayan perspective, and others believe that the Mayans meant this to symbolize the "coming of a great change."
Lakota
According to an Oglala
Lakota medicine man - "darkness would descend over the tribe...the world would be out of balance. Floods, fires and earthquakes would then ensue."
A "White Buffalo Calf Woman" will then purify the world. She will then bring back harmony and spiritual balance.
White buffalos have been born in 1994, in 1995 and in 2006 at a farm in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Many tribal leaders thus feel that the prophecy is being fulfilled.
Norse mythology
In
Norse mythology a strong winter called the Fimbulwinter will seize the earth and bring disorder and fighting between the people of Midgard just before Ragnarok. Ragnarok is the
battle during the end of the world waged between the gods and the forces of Chaos . Not only will the gods, giants, and monsters perish in this apocalyptic conflagration, but almost everything in the
universe will be torn asunder. Only the gods Váli and Vidar will survive to rule over a new world.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism eschatology is the oldest eschatology in recorded history. By 500 BC,
Zoroastrians had fully developed a concept of the end of the world through a divine devouring in fire.
According to Zoroastrian philosophy, redacted in the Zand-i Vohuman Yasht, "at the end of thy tenth hundredth winter...the
sun is more unseen and more spotted; the year, month, and day are shorter; and the earth is more barren; and the crop will not yield the seed; and men ... become more deceitful and more given to vile practices. They have no gratitude."
At the end of the Battle between the righteous and wicked, a
Final Judgement of all souls will commence. Sinners will be punished 3 days, but are then forgiven. The world will reach perfection as poverty, old age, disease, thirst, hunger, and death are halted. Zoroastrian concepts parallel greatly with those of
Jewish,
Christian, and
Islamic eschatological beliefs largely due to the influence Zoastrianism exerted on Judaism whilst the
Levant was under
Achaemenid control and the subsequent emergence of Christianity and Islam from Judaism.
Prophetic movements
- In 1843, William Miller made the first of several predictions that the world would end in only a few months. Obviously, none of them took place, but followers of Miller went on to found separate churches, the most successful of which is the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Russell also drew from the teachings of Miller, that he learned from Barbour and formed the Watchtower Society . He taught that Christ's invisible presence began in 1874, that the Anointed were to be taken to heaven in 1881 and the end would occur in 1914. Though this proved wrong some of his followers remained, and the next leader predicted the resurrection to start on earth in 1925. This too did not eventuate, and in 1943 the dates were significantly changed, with 1874 being discarded and 1914 becoming the start of Christ's presence. The end of the world was to occur whilst some of those born prior to 1914 were still alive. In 1995 this teaching was changed, with the end of the world to be some time in the not to distant future.
Other religions
Many Neopagans and
Wiccans believe that the entire Universe continues in endless cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. This sequence is similar to the cosmic cycle contemplated in Hinduism and Jainism. The cycle of the cosmos can be compared to the reincarnation of the individual.
Scientologists generally believe thetans may cause the eventual destruction of the world, and those that are "clear" will be able to avoid such a fate.
Philosophy
Eschatology has also been a belief shared, sometimes theorized, by
philosophers. Saint Augustine has been one of the most famous eschatological thinkers, followed by
Hegel's philosophy of history, and, some have argued
Marxists – as a secular religion. Theodicy has gathered together most
Enlightenment thinkers, among whom are
Kant and
Rousseau.
More recently, many involved in futures studies and
transhumanism note the accelerating rate of scientific progress and anticipate a
technological singularity in the 21st century that would profoundly and unpredictably change the
course of human history.
See also
- 2012
- 2012 Apocalyptic theories
- 2240
- Ancient Aztec eschatology
- Ancient Egyptian eschatology
- Ancient Greek eschatology
- Ancient Roman eschatology
- Apocalypse
...
Eschatology is a part of theology [i] and philosophy [i] concerned with the final events in ...
External links
- in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
- A Discussion on Eschatological Concepts by Gregory S. Neal
- The magazine of apocalyptic art and literature
- Mayan Calendrics, Earth Changes, Eschatology
- A collection of end-of-world scenarios
- - A humorous look at apocalyptic prophecy and the history of Doomsday hysteria; listing over 400 failed and soon-to-fail End of the World predictions.
- chabad.org
- - A guide into the final seven years of this age
- - Discussion Forum focussed on Apocalyptic Dreams and Contemporary Apocalyptic Trends
