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User:Jeremygbyrne/The End of the World (As We Know It)

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File:Four horsemen woodcut.jpg
Four Horsemen Woodcut used in cover design of The End of the World (As We Know It)

The End of the World (As We Know It) is a 2006 non-fiction work by Sylvia La Some. The book was developed during research into the monetization of wikifacs, and was designed to expand from its initial thirteen-chapter structure, over time, into an Encyclopaedia Eschatonnica comprising the authoratitive reference for information on the subject.

Contents

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Brief

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Main page: User:Jeremygbyrne/TEOTWAWKI

The book was professionally ghostwritten as an eLance project, from a brief provided by the "author", outlining the book's structure and providing chapter outlines and research sources.

Introduction

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One of the greatest mysteries we confront is whether there is existence beyond this existence; life after death. The idea that individuals persist in some form after the death and decay of their biological bodies is the foundation of most forms of religion, and from this idea spring others. Many early cultures seem to have believed in a cyclic universe, based on the cycle of the day and year, often cycling from Golden Age through decay and back. Others, rare perhaps before around 5,000 years ago, came to believe the world itself, like every individual, might one day come to an end.

These days we can worry about devastation in so many ways: the end of our way of life (ie. Pseudoextinction), our nation, our civilisation, species, planet and even the entire universe. But what's likely snd what's fantasy? Is the World really going to End?

Eschatology is inevitably connected with the idea of the survival of the soul after death. The Day of Judgment is taught by many faiths to be the first opportunity for souls to enter Heaven, ie. it's The Resurrection of the Dead, without which there is no immortality. But the eschatology of most religions is also deeply concerned with sin and salvation; reward and punishment; the depraration of the sheep from the goats — with the inevitable possibility of social control which comes through the promise of Judgment after death. Alternately, the End Times offer a "theology of Hope"; much of Jewish Eschatology and much of the major influence on Islamic Eschatology is a promise of liberation of the oppressed (and the righteour punishment of the oppressor). Eschatology can readily become a call to revolution, and indeed the Messiah, Madhi and even sometimes the normally peaceful Jesus are seen as warrior/liberator figures. (How is this challenged by Apokatastasis, the idea of Universal Salvation championed by Church fathers like Origen?)

Esoterica for future development

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  • Consider Jesus' Harrowing of Hell in respect of Apokatastasis
  • Pauline eschatology is specifically linear (developing the Jewish ideas of liberation eschatology).
  • Has the "Kingdom of God" Jesus promised been fundamentally misunderstood? Note the differences between the Synoptic futurism and John's emphasis on the present. (Refer Albrecht Ritschl on this topic; he says the Kingdom of God is the Godly life, and Jesus its exemplar, that Jesus believed he had brought it about and it had nothing to do with the future, except its spread and enhancement; [1].)
  • Process theology?
  • Joachim of Fiore
  • "Revelation" is "proleptic anticipation" of the event (ie. portrayal of its inevitability); see Ragnarok
  • Perpetual cycles vs Alpha and Omega, beginning and end; perhaps about the importance of the individual in the Grand Scheme of Things?
  • 20th Century USA needs an enemy, else there can be no End Times in our lifetime (like we've been promised as no people have been promised before), no Second Coming possible?
  • Thus, once Communism gone, Islam had to be brought in
  • Talk briefly about long history of the idea, its fashionability and its cultural significance
  • Mention legend, prophecy and universal analogy
  • Mention the Anthropic principle: perhaps we necessarily live in a world whose symbols can be interpreted to match our expectations?
  • Is it ever a good thing for Everything to End?
  • Great clashes between sides who see themselves as mortally and intractably opposed are common in human history,

so perhaps stories of great, world-ending conflicts resonate with us, and we readily see them reflected in our own times.

  • The Return of the King and the War at the End of the World

Chapters

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Ways to Go Out

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The End of the World as reality: what are the possibilities?

Note Asimov's A Choice of Catastrophes.

References:

see Shoemaker-Levy 9 (1-2km fragments), Chicxulub (10km; 100 million megatons), impacts on moon; Tunguska 1520-magaton (2150 km2) blast radius; other major extinctions now being blamed on asteroids too; note their impact is measured in statistical likelihood in given periods, eg. 1 in 300,000 years. Comets (ie. Keiper belt objects) come in much faster than asteroids.

Less likely possibilities:

And then there's Religious Apocalypse: see below!

Relevant books
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Randomness
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  • Transformation of existence extends all the way to the "Kingdom of Heaven".

The Beginning of the End

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Once we've got that boring stuff out of the way, the human imagination really begins to open up.

Discuss the impact of Big Bang theory on the "Steady State" of the 50s and 60s.

  • Ragnarök, a typically fated Apocalypse (see its Portents and the Final Battle); is Old vs New (as per Gods & Titans), not Good vs Evil; aftermath is cycling back to Golden Age
  • Fimbulwinter, the End Time when strife occurs
  • Gradually overtaken by Christian eschatology
"expectations of a heavenly helper, the need to opt for positive righteousness, the future millenium, and universal salvation" from Zoroastrianism?
Hubbard claimed to be Maitreya
  • Pseudoextinction, the idea that people like us may cease to exist
  • The Alternative to the End
Fictional
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Relevant books
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End of Days, The Original Series

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Discuss feedback and adoption of eschatological beliefs between main faiths (as per [2]).

Gospel apocalyses (ie. Matthew) are hadith. Islamic eschatology re-visits the near pre-millenialism of the Gospels, and may have originally been seen as an apocalyptic Christain sect. As per Jesus' comments about the Kingdom, Muhammed said that some alive in his time would live to see Dajjal. Like Jesus, he was born amidst a great clash of civilisations (Byzantium and Persia), and may have been driven by Jewish eschatological aspirations surrounding the rebuilding of the Third Temple in a Sassanid Jerusalem. Much Islamic material is attributed to K'ab al-Ahbar, a converted Jew ([3]). Note that the Q'uran is not an apocalyptic book. In Islamic writing, it is common for the speaker to explain esoteric foreign words to the listener (rather than translating them into Arabic), as part of assimilating this essentially foreign material. (see [4] for listing of Muslim "Portents of the Hour", such as "men will wear silk", and Allah withdrawing the Q'uran from the world, leaving it to be taught by demons; also typical of Apocalyptic teachings of the ascetics (who, we note, were overly concerned with sexual purity etc.) In the last battle, everyone is sorted into their respective sides (waverers are rejected) and evil outnumbers good. Traditional clerics are turned into Monkeys and beautiful (but Western-influenced) mosques are destroyed. Although it is a widely quoted aphorism that Muhammed (like Jesus) did not know the Hour (based on the several Q'uranic references to only God knowing), but this doesn't stop speculation, even in the hadith. In Islam, God ends the world when the level of unbelief has fallen beyond supportable levels, so the ten signs of the Last Day (see Kitab al-fitan, "The Book of Tribulations" by Nu'ayam ibn Hammad (albeit one of many who wrote books by that title; after 1100 the Sunni fashion changed to calling everything Ashrat al-sa'a), who is the equivalent of Augustine [disambiguation needed] and Maimonides) are bad news for Muslims. The Kitab al-malahim by Ahmad ibn Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn al-Munadi deals with the Eastern (ie. Iraqi and Persian) traditions. Later "traditionalists" in Islamic scholarship tended to sideline apocalyptic writings, "proving" them "weak" or "forged", and much material can only be founnd outside the "six canonical books".

Note Paul Casanova's idea that Muhammed and the early Muslims were drive by the idea that the end was imminent. David Cook (author claims that there is no example in the Islamic tradition of continuity from the Tribulation to the Day of Ressurrection and Judgment.

Islamic eschatology occurs after the Day of Judgment and is fixed and immutable, while apocalyptic occurs before, and is subject to change.

Note: Dabbat al-ard (the Beast from the Earth, who marks belivers and unbelievers with a Mark all can see) and immediately precedes the Resurrection and Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog). Also Evil (sarikh) and Good (munadi) heralds announce things. Note Cycle of Twelve Rulers (probably from the 12 sons of Ishmael) to rule before the end leads to the Shi'a Twelve Imam tradition, while the Sunni attempted to stretch the 12 by adding extra Caliphs in groups of 3, 6 and 9, leading to its eventual abandonment (as "forged").

More detailed notes:

  • The ten signs of the Last Day (see Kitab al-fitan, "The Book of Tribulations" by Nu'ayam ibn Hammad (albeit one of many who wrote books by that title; after 1100 the Sunni fashion changed to calling everything Ashrat al-sa'a), who is the equivalent of Augustine [disambiguation needed] and Maimonides) are bad news for Muslims. The Kitab al-malahim by Ahmad ibn Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn al-Munadi deals with the Eastern (ie. Iraqi and Persian) traditions.
  • In Islamic writing, it is common for the speaker to explain esoteric foreign words to the listener (rather than translating them into Arabic), as part of assimilating this essentially foreign material.
  • Note Paul Casanova's idea that Muhammed and the early Muslims were driven by the idea that the end was imminent. David Cook (author claims that there is no example in the Islamic tradition of continuity from the Tribulation to the Day of Ressurrection and Judgment.
  • Note Wahabbism seems to be dedicated to fitna; the natural ally of the "Saints"? This would explain US/Saudi connections including the post-911 flights.
  • Islamic eschatology "proper" describes what occurs after the Day of Judgment, and is fixed and immutable; their apocalyptic writings occur before the Day, and are subject to change.
  • Note that the apocalyptic literature deals with the three early civil wars as malahim and assumes everyone is in Heaven (to avoid the theological problem of deciding who was right amongst the Companions of the Prophet on either side). Also, building these into the apocalyptic helps explain how the fitna are part of the progress towards the End of Days.


Zoroastrian eschatology
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Jewish eschatology
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  • Mashiach ia a normal human, on whose arrival:
  1. All of the people of Israel will come back to Torah
  2. The people of Israel will be gathered back to the Land of Israel
  3. The Holy Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt
  4. Israel will live free among the nations, and will have no need to defend itself
  5. War and famine will end, and an era of peace and prosperity will come upon the Earth
(Full Signs of the Messiah mainly from Isiah)
  • Maimonides wisely suggests that we'll find out if someone is the Messiah only by assessing his life in retrospect
  • Many Reform Jews believe in Messianic Age: The World to Come as a Utopia, but less in the literal Messiah

Note Pirqei al Mashi'ah (336) tells of the Muslims and Jews reuilding the Third Temple together and falling out when the Jews' sacrifices are not accepted by God (following the machinations of Satan).

The Messiah and the Beast
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A common motif; evidence of dualism. Great clashes between sides who see themselves as mortally opposed are common in human history, and thus stories of great, world-ending conflicts resonate with us, and we readily see them reflected in our own times.

The Return of the King and the War at the End of the World: don't forget Jesus as Messiah was the fulfilment of Jewish Eschatology, and should have summoned the end of the world. (Knowing this helps explain why he felt the need to talk about the end of the world in the Synoptic Gospels.)

  • The Enemy
  • The Beast Unchained

The Last Book

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The development of Christian Eschatology and the Revelation of John the Divine.

Note changeover during the 20th century from liberal humanist views which took the Second Coming as metaphorical for the ongoing triumph of the (earthly) kingdom (see Henry Fosdick) to a futurist eschatology (eg. Johannes Weisse "Preaching on the Kingdom of God", 1892) which promised not a gradual development of salvation, but a Deus Ex Machina salvation by the arrival of God. Note particularly Albert Schweitzer "The Mystery of the Kingdom of God", who believed an assumption of an eschatological viewpoint on the New Testament reduced inconsistencies in the liberal analysis. (He did this by ignoring John and some of Luke.)

Note this guy's careful distinguishing of the Tribulation and the Wrath, which he says helps simplify the muddle of pre-, mid- and post-trib Rapturalists. Also has two "second comings" in his interpretation (one in the clouds as marriage to his Church, the other on a white horse to slay his enemies at Armageddon).

  • Note particularly the Divine Drama of the Third Book
Critical interpretations
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  • Also, the Catholic Encyclopedia notes Peter Vischer's theory about the addition of Christian material to a Jewish book
Controversy
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Is the Book of Revelation a later-period ring-in, or even a forgery? User:Jeremygbyrne/Revelation mystery

Relevant books
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Symbols of the Apocalypse: Culture and Interpretation

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The images and ideas from Revelation have become so diffused through the culture, we see them all around us.

Revelation
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Could the symbols in Revelation (including 666) be describing the state of the sky at a particular time, rather than a person?

  • Manly Hall discusses Seven Churches, Angels, Bowls, Trumpets etc.:
When related to the Eastern system of metaphysics, these churches represent the chakras, or nerve ganglia, along the human spine, the "door in heaven" being the brahmarandra, or point in the crown of the skull (Golgotha), through which the spinal spirit fire passes to liberation. The church of Ephesus corresponds to the muladhara, or sacral ganglion, and the other churches to the higher ganglia according to the order given in Revelation. Dr. Steiner discovers a relationship between the seven churches and the divisions of the Aryan race. Thus, the church of Ephesus stands for the Arch-Indian branch; the church of Smyrna, the Arch-Persians; the church of Pergamos, the Chaldean-Egyptian-Semitic; the church of Thyatira, the Grecian-Latin-Roman; the church of Sardis, the Teuton-Anglo-Saxon; the church of Philadelphia, the Slavic; and the church of Laodicea, the Manichæan. The seven churches also signify the Greek vowels, of which Alpha and Omega are the first and the last. A difference of opinion exists as to the order in which the seven planers should be related to the churches. Some proceed from the hypothesis that Saturn represents the church of Ephesus; but from the fact that this city was sacred to the moon goddess and also that the sphere of the moon is the first above that of the earth, the planets obviously should ascend in their ancient order from the moon to Saturn. From Saturn the soul would naturally ascend through the door in the Empyrean.

The Mahdi and Dajjal

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The last of the great Monotheisms, Islam's End of the World draws on the symbols and ideas of the older Peoples of the Book.

See http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t53138.html for list of Islamic signs.

Identifying the Antichrist

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Discusses the many identifications with the Antichrist made to famous people over the years. (A favourite "End Times" game for all the family.)

Relevant books
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Gazing into the Abyss: Modern Prophecy and the End of Days

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If Muhammed is the Final Prophet, who're these guys?

Failed Prophecy
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Date setters
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(note conclusion)

Relevant books
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Immanentizing the Eschaton: Attitudes to Annihilation

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Is there a Conspiracy to bring about the end of the world?

Not to be confused with:

Also:

Childhood's End

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Transformation of human consciousness, ala Childhood's End; return to the Golden Age.

Also, Apocalypse as metaphor for the Culture Wars

Surviving and Thriving
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Revelant books
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Conclusion

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Even if there is an end, only date-setters are silly enough to try to specify it. As the Bible says:

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25)
Of that day or of that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. (Mark 13:32)

And who'd want to know, anyway? Paranoia and panic about coming annihilation could destroy any society.

Why be a pessimist? Nobody's going to enjoy the Tribulation, so why bring it on by seeing it in the clouds?

"Ala marlaa pirua selaney" [sp?!]

Of course, until we're safely clear of the Millennium (and World War III) the End of the World fad is likely to persist, as our Appendix certainly shows.

Appendices

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A: The Devil's Glossary

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B: The Apocalypse in Art

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Characteristics of Apocalytic art.

Main article: Apocalypse § Characteristic_features
Movies
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Books
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Main article: Apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_science_fiction § Religious_and_supernatural_apocalypse_(Eschatological_fiction)
Online Resources
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List the best, with commentary

Index

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Style and tone

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The book varies from detailed and scholarly (eg. analysing cross-cultural eschatology) to light and fluffy (eg. discussing Antichrist identification) and the sensationalist (eg. dicussing the Revelation controversy).

Auctorial pseudonym

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La Some in writing The End of the World styled herself "Rev. S R La Some", having obtained ordination as a minister of the Universal Life Church (under her real name of Sarah Ellen Bennett) in February 2006. [5]

Books with similar titles

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Short works

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TV and film

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Similar books

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References

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  1. ^ ULC Certificate
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Unfinished work

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These pages need to be checked at some stage for useful material.

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