Many
religious faiths teach that the end of
the world, or Apocalypse, will occur at
some unknown point
in the future. While such an event is often symbolised by the
destruction of human civilization or the elimination of all life on
Earth, educated religious scholars often view the 'end of the world' as
a metaphor for the personal death.
Some religions
have doctrines claiming that 'chosen' or 'worthy'
members of the one true faith (of the same religious doctrine) will be
"spared" from the coming destruction, and be ushered into paradise, as
a reward for their struggles on earth. In such religions, the unworthy
(the unfaithful, or those of other religions) are usually said to face
an eternity in hell or fruitless spiritual wandering. Heaven and hell,
according to moderate views are not literal terms, but metaphors for
states of being in spirituality; in both life and afterlife.
Predictions for
the end of the world
A number
of predictions for the end of the
world have been made
throughout history. Notable end-of-the-world incidents include:
In 1843, William Miller made the first of
several predictions that the
world would end in only a few months. 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.
Many fictional (and non-fictional) stories from
the era of the Cold War
were based on the belief that a nuclear war was inevitable, and that
this would result in the destruction of all life on the planet Earth
Nostradamus
is
alleged to have written a prediction that a great
catastrophe would occur in July the year 1999. Many followers of his
writings took this to mean that the end of the world would occur. When
the chosen date came and went, translators of his works began revising
them with new interpretations of what the prediction actually meant.
The Y2k bug, which was supposed to wreak havoc
on computer systems and disrupt life as we know it.
A large number of
meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere every day,
though few of them survive the effect of atmospheric friction. It is a
probability that a meteorite of sufficient size could strike the planet
at some unknown moment, causing catastrophic effect and possibly even
ending life on earth as we know it. Astronomers have calculated that
given its present orbit, asteroid (29075) 1950 DA will come very close
or collide with the Earth on 16 March 2880. Other Earth impacts with
comets in deeper orbits could occur with less warning.
Based on observation of other stars, science
predicts that in about
five billion years, our sun will expand into a red giant, evaporating
the Earth, and thus ending all life there.
The same star evolution theories state that the
Sun is increasing its
luminosity, at a very slow rate. Thus, some astronomers predict that in
less than one billion years, the Earth will be too hot for life as we
know it to survive.
The
Mayan long count
calendar ends abruptly on 21 December (or 23
December) 2012. Many people have taken this as a sign that the world
will end though it is not known if the Mayans believed this.
