The Little Book of the End of the World (10 page)

THE MILLENNIUM

Prior to his final battle with Jesus, Satan is sentenced to 1,000 years in the pit and, as such, the number has become an important part of the Apocalypse. This millennium has become increasingly more important in modern times, with the passing of any period of 1,000 years becoming a landmark to be acknowledged.

Few of the dates in the Bible should be taken at face value, especially within Revelations: it’s possible that these thousand years are an exaggeration of the hundred years that the Roman Empire had been ruling over Israel at the time of writing.

The millennium has since become an important part of philosophy and religion, lending its name to other fields that are not associated with religion or with Revelations. Millenarianism is a general acknowledgement of a great change that will come to the world and may refer to technological or cultural advancement, or perhaps some discovery that will improve quality of life.

Millennialism acknowledges this 1,000 years in which Satan is banished to the pit, and looks forward with hope to the period when this occurs, seeing it as a golden age for humanity when Jesus’ reign over the Earth is unaffected by greed or other evils.

There are other beliefs that further expand on millennialism, each belonging to different Churches and speaking volumes about their opinions on the End of the World: premillennialism is the belief that Jesus’ Second Coming will take place before the 1,000-year peace, and his reign will be literal and physically on this Earth; postmillennialism is the belief that the 1,000 years will occur before Jesus’ Second Coming and that the events of Armageddon will take place in Heaven, not on Earth; and amillennialism completely rejects the importance of the number 1,000 and views this millennium, and the rest of the Book of Revelations, as nothing more than a symbol.

8

THE END OF THE WORLD IN OTHER RELIGIONS

Judaism, Islam and Christianity may be the most widely practised religions in the United Kingdom and Europe, but they do not have exclusive rights to the End of the World. In fact, the similarities that we have seen between the Abrahamic religions and some of our more primal fears extend to other religions as well.

ZOROASTRIANISM

Zoroastrianism is not a widely practised modern religion, but it has had a significant impact on modern philosophy and it is also one of the clearest religious examples of the struggle between good and evil.

Zoroastrianism has its origins in Ancient Persia – modern Iran – where the philosopher Zoroaster, or Zarathustra, collected various local beliefs to form one unified religion for the area. Zoroaster recognised a dual nature for humanity, realising that both mankind and nature itself are torn between good and evil, between order and chaos, or, to use the Zoroastrian names, between Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu, or Ahriman.

Ahura Mazda, no relation to the motoring brand, is a creative force, with the literal translation meaning ‘light of wisdom’; its opposing force, Ahriman, leans towards darkness and destruction. One of the defining aspects of Zoroastrianism is that both of these forces are equally powerful and exist independently of the other: both energies complement each other, with difficulty arising when they are no longer in balance. This is an interesting comparison to the Christian view of good and evil where Satan as the Devil is depicted as a fallen angel and, as such, created by God.

Zoroastrian beliefs also place special emphasis on the divinity and purity of water and fire, both of which are considered necessary for life.

The Endtimes of the Zoroastrian faith, or
frashokereti
, depicts a final triumph of good energy over evil after a battle between the agents of good –
yazata –
and
the
daevas
, or forces of evil. A Messianic figure, Saoshyant, will play a pivotal role in this battle, after which he will resurrect the dead. All of humanity will be judged by passing through a molten river, which will not harm the good, but will burn away those who are evil. Those who are deemed righteous will be granted immortality and will live amongst the
yazatas
in a state close to godliness.

This complicated vision of the End of the World predates Christianity and Revelations by several hundred years: Zoroaster lived around the sixth century
BC
but the religion is based on local beliefs that go back much further.

BAHÁ’I

The Bahá’i faith is often treated as one of the Abrahamic religions – it has shared origins with Judaism, Christianity and Islam – but the practise of the religion places a great emphasis on faith itself and any display of faith, regardless of the Church or individual beliefs. As such, the religion does not see itself as different from other religions, but rather that all religions share their faith, with all practising different elements of the same beliefs.

The Bahá’i faith sees the central figures of all religions as messengers from God to provide for the needs of his people at any given time. Religious truth comes not in one moment or one teaching, but through ‘progressive revelations’ that furthers the development and evolution of religion and humanity. There is no true Endtime in Bahá’i, but a period that brings an end to the belief system of one culture or religion and then opens up another.

Bahá’i has its origins in the mid-nineteenth century when the spiritual leader, the Báb, claimed to be the coming of the Muslim Messiah, or Mahdi. The Báb also wrote that he would be followed by another figure, ‘He whom God shall make manifest’, the final messiah figure that is common to many Eastern and Western religions and philosophies.

The Báb was executed for heresy, but one of his followers, Bahá’u’lláh continued his teachings and later claimed to be the predicted ‘He whom God shall make manifest’. Bahá’u’lláh’s goal was to unite humanity under one religion and one cause that would acknowledge and respect all of the beliefs that had gone before. As such, the Bahá’i faith believes that Bahá’u’lláh’s existence brings an end to the process of progressive revelation, and that the next stage of enlightenment will not be achieved until humanity accepts his teachings.

During his life, Bahá’u’lláh wrote a book called
The Seven Valleys
, which outlined the various levels of enlightenment that the human spirit must travel through. These are Search, Love, Knowledge, Unity, Contentment, Wonderment, True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness. Absolute Nothingness might sound like an act of ultimate destruction, similar to that found in the Endtimes, but this stage actually involves closeness to God, during which the spirit is reduced to nothing in the glory of God’s presence.

TAOISM

Taoism is more of a system and practice for belief than an organised religion. The word
tao
is translated as ‘way’ and the faith emphasises the practices for a way of life that respects the natural order in all things, without necessarily attributing that to the worship of a god.

There are, however, still gods in the Taoist belief, and like many of the other beliefs we’ve discussed, there is a prophesied Endtime which will occur at a time when worship and virtue fall into decline.

Taoism also has its own Messianic figure in Li Hong, a potential reincarnation or descendant of Laozi, the writer of the Tao Te Ching, Taoism’s holy book. Li Hong is foretold to arrive to settle a great disturbance in the order of Heaven and Earth; like many messianic characters, Li Hong would also rescue a chosen people who would be marked by their devotion, virtues and practices during their life.

BUDDHISM

Buddhism is based around the teachings of the Buddha, or ‘the enlightened one’, a teacher in Northern India around the sixth century
BC
. Buddha’s teachings aim to help humanity to set aside their suffering and achieve enlightenment and contentment. This is not a short journey, and the concept of rebirth is integral to Buddhist belief, and the spiritual journey continues well after the individual’s physical death.

Buddhists do not believe in a God so much as in the cosmic force of Karma, a force that drives our ongoing rebirth, with good deeds and thoughts rewarded in later stages of the spiritual journey. Buddha foresaw the decline of both his teachings and the Buddhist faith after 5,000 years when society would collapse and require the coming of a new spiritual figure, Maitreya, who would make himself known when the teachings of the Buddha had been completely forgotten, meaning that humanity most needs spiritual salvation.

The number seven also occurs in Buddhist eschatology: in the ‘Sermon of the Seven Suns’, Buddha outlines a possible End of the World scenario where the appearance of a second sun – and five subsequent suns – will dry the Earth and turn everything to sand and dust until it meets a final fiery end.

Rather than a prediction about the End of the World, the Sermon of the Seven Suns can be read as a meditation on the cyclical nature of Buddhism, and a gentle reminder that even the ongoing cycle of karma and rebirth is not infinite. Like many other cultures and religions, the Buddhist world may still end in destructive fire, and if you have not lived an appropriate life prior to the end, you will not be saved.

Buddhist teachings have been adopted around the world, and even spread to other religions as a means to meditation and spiritual happiness, with the languages of karma passing into secular use.

HINDUISM

Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion and is probably one of the world’s oldest traditions. But referring to Hinduism as a religion is a problem in itself: this faith is practised across Asia, with many individuals incorporating elements of local beliefs, folklore and even other religions into their practices, including Buddhist meditation and karma. Other aspects of Hinduism embrace a polytheistic approach, similar to the classical religions with their families of warring gods.

With the scope and breadth of the practices it incorporates, Hinduism has no central authority, nor a canon or scripture to adhere to. There are so many differences in the Hindu belief system that it is even possible to reconcile atheism with Hinduism by using the Hindu practices to meditate and ponder on the self and creation, rather than a god in any form.

One facet of Hinduism suggests that there is a single divine being with three different roles: Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the overseer; and Shiva, the destroyer. All three are responsible for moving the world through a continuous cycle of creation, life, destruction and rebirth.

There are four stages, or
Yugas
, to this cycle, each corresponding with a decline in virtue. Over the course of these four yugas, Vishnu the overseer takes on different roles according to the needs of the world. At the end of each cycle, Vishnu becomes Shiva in order to destroy the world and is then transformed into Brahma in order to remake it.

The final yuga, the era closest to destruction, is called the Kali Yuga, or the ‘age of vice’. The name Kali is taken to refer to a demon of sin, but it is also the name of the separate goddess who is the consort of Shiva. During the Kali Yuga, the demon Kali will come into conflict with the final avatar of Vishnu; humanity will find itself lost in drink and drugs, rulers will become corrupt and unjust, and worship of the gods will fade.

In Hindu thought, an avatar is a manifestation or incarnation of a god, which covers both their descent or appearance to interact with humanity on an earthly plane and also the notion that they could be reborn in human form.

The Kali Yuga brings an avatar of Vishnu to Earth, fulfilling a role known as Kalki, as he rides on a white horse, armed with a blazing sword – the similarities to the Four Horsemen should not be ignored.

Kalki and Kali will engage in a great battle between good and evil, with Kali assisted by his twin generals Koka and Vikoka, demons that bear similarities in both names and actions to the biblical Gog and Magog.

Once evil has been defeated, Kalki will rule the Earth for a period of 1,000 years in a new golden age, that will restart the cycle of four yugas.