The End of Days

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Author: Metamorpheus, posted on 1/4/2011 , in Category "General"
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Abstract: Are we facing the end of days?

Perhaps one of the most powerful fears we as a society have is that of the end of days. Different people have given it different names throughout history. Armageddon, Ragnarök, Frashokereti, the Apocalypse, Eschaton, or simply the Day of Judgment; all are names that struck some sort of primal fear into the hearts of humans.

But is the end of days really The End? When we look at the ancient texts the answer is clearly No. the prophesies and oracles of different cultures and religions certainty talk about disasters and calamites humankind will need to face, but the underlying message of all these prophesies is that people can be saved and live through the troublesome time.

Perhaps the basis for much of our common beliefs on the end of the days comes from the Revelation of John in the New Testament. The very graphic descriptions of death and destruction made a lasting impression on many people. However, when you read the book until the end you can see that the disasters are only the intermediary phase of the Apocalypse. The world does not really end in the literal sense. The disasters are just a troublesome time that will eventually pass. After this happens the world will so thoroughly changed that the book talks about "The new Heaven, and the new Earth". But this should not be taken in the fully literal sense, like many spiritual writings this is a metaphor for how the world will be so changed it will be as if it is a completely new world.

These concepts are not unique to Christianity; many unrelated religions have similar ideas about the end of the world. In the Zoroastrian book Bundahishn we also find a description of the time of Frashokereti when the dark power of Angra Mainyu will affect the world again. This will be countered by the power of the god Ahura Mazda and Saoshyant—Auhra Mazda's representative on Earth—who will defeat this evil. This battle of the gods' will not be without many casualties. At the climax of it all the metal of the world will be melted into a great hot river that will burn all evil people. Those that survive this cataclysm will get to return to the state primordial peace that will spread throughout the world.

A similar concept existed also in the far north, in the Norse mythology. The ancient poem Völuspá describes the great battle of Ragnarök that will rage in the future between the gods and various monsters. This battle will come to an end when the entire world is submerged in water. Yet here too this is not the true end. The Earth will resurface from out of the sea in a much improved state.

You do not need to believe the specifics of each religion or faith to understand the wisdom of the idea of the end of days. In the past science ridiculed such ideas of the end of the world. They believed that through science all disasters can be averted. Today we all know just how wrong they were. Natural disasters still threaten our existence, and over the past few years the disasters just seem to be getting worse. Science today is rediscovering the wisdom of ancient spiritualists who knew that all the effort of humankind, all our great building of stone and metal, can disappear in a one unexpected earthquake or a hurricane. The scientists of our day and age have learnt to warn us about the dangers of global warming and other catastrophes we may be facing.

How can you face the end of time? The answer is probably to be prepared physically, mentally, and spiritually for all possible event. All ancient texts on the subject indicate that this is a disaster one can survive if well prepared.