The question concerning the end of the world and the afterlife has always interested people, which explains the existence of various myths and representations, many of which are like a fairy tale. To describe the main idea is used eschatology, which is a character for many religions and different historical currents.
What is eschatology?
The religious teaching about the ultimate destinies of the world and humanity is called eschatology. Allocate an individual and worldwide direction. In the formation of the first, an important role was played by Ancient Egypt, and the second by Judaism. Individual eschatology is part of the worldwide direction. Although the Bible does not say anything about the future life, in many religious teachings the ideas of posthumous recitation are read excellent. An example is the Egyptian and Tibetan Book of the Dead, and also the Divine Comedy of Dante.
Eschatology in philosophy
The presented doctrine not only tells about the end of the world and life, but also about the future, which is possible after the disappearance of imperfect life. Eschatology in philosophy is an important trend, the contemplated end of history, as the completion of an unsuccessful experience or illusions of a person. The collapse of the world simultaneously implies the entry of a person into an area that unites the spiritual, earthly and divine part. The philosophy of history can not be separated from eschatological motives.
The eschatological concept of the development of society has spread in the philosophy of Europe to a greater extent thanks to a special European thinking that considers everything that exists in the world by analogy with human activity, that is, everything is in motion, has a beginning, development and end, . The main problems of philosophy that solve with the help of eschatology are: the comprehension of history, the essence of man and ways of improvement, freedom and opportunities, and still different ethical problems.
Eschatology in Christianity
If compared with other religious currents, Christians, like Jews, deny the assumption of the cyclical nature of time and argue that there will be no future after the end of the world. Orthodox eschatology has a direct connection with chiliasm (the doctrine of the coming millennial reign on the land of the Lord and the righteous) and messianism (the doctrine of the coming coming of God's messenger). All believers are sure that soon the Messiah will come to earth for the second time and the end of the world will come.
At occurrence, Christianity developed as an eschatological religion. The message of the apostles and the book of Revelations reads the thought that the end of the world can not be avoided, but when it happens it is known only to the Lord. Christian eschatology (the doctrine of the end of the world) includes dispensationalism (concepts that view the historical process as a consistent distribution of divine Revelation) and the doctrine of the admiration of the church.
Eschatology in Islam
In this religion, eschatological prophecies concerning the end of the world are of great importance. It is worth noting that the arguments on this topic are contradictory, and sometimes even incomprehensible and ambiguous. Muslim eschatology is based on the prescriptions of the Koran, and the picture of the end of the world looks like this:
- Before the great event occurs, there will come an era of terrible ungodliness and unbelief. People will betray all the values of Islam, and they will be bogged down in sins.
- After this, the kingdom of the Antichrist will come, and it will last 40 days. When this period is over, the Messiah will come and the Fall will end. As a result, for 40 years on the earth there will be an idyll.
- At the next stage, a signal will be given about the onset of the terrible Judgment , which Allah himself will conduct. He will question all living and dead. Sinners will go to Hell, and the righteous to Paradise, but they will have to pass through a bridge through which they can be translated by animals that they sacrificed to Allah during their lifetime.
- It should be noted that the Christian eschatology was the basis for Islam, but there are some significant additions, for example, it is stated that the Prophet Muhammad will be present at the Last Judgment, which will mitigate the fate of sinners and pray to Allah to forgive sins.
Eschatology in Judaism
Unlike other religions in Judaism, the paradox of Creation occurs, which implies the creation of a "perfect" world and a person, and then they go through the stage of falling to the brink of extinction, but this is not the end, because by the will of the creator, they again come to perfection. The eschatology of Judaism is based on the fact that evil will come to an end and eventually win the good. In the book of Amos it is stated that the world will exist 6 thousand years, and destruction will last 1 thousand years. Mankind and its history can be divided into three stages: the period of devastation, the doctrine and the era of the Messiah.
Scandinavian eschatology
Mythology of Scandinavia differs from other eschatological aspects, according to which everyone has a destiny, and the gods are not immortal. The concept of the development of civilization implies the passage of all stages: birth, development, extinction and death. As a result, the new world will be born on the ruins of the past world and the world order will be formed out of chaos. Many eschatological myths are built on this concept, and they differ from others in that the gods are not participants but events.
Eschatology of Ancient Greece
The system of religious views in antiquity in the Greeks differed, because they had no idea about the end of the world, believing that what has no beginning can not be complete. The eschatological myths of ancient Greece were more concerned with the individual destiny of man. The Greeks believed that the first element is a body that is irretrievable and disappears forever. As for the soul, eschatology indicates that it is immortal, happening and destined to communicate with God.