Dylan+Cordivari

= = = Apocalyptic Religion =



The apocalypse is something that many people know is going to come in the end. People do not however know when or how it will come. There are many different stories that are thought to be true or false. There are things like the four horsemen and even the zombie apocalypse. No one is for sure what will happen but some religions think they know what will happen and what signs will come about leading up to the apocalypse. Christianity and Islam have their own views on what will happen. Can people fix themselves by knowledge of the end so we can all prevent this?

Christianity:
Christianity has a pretty detailed description of what is going to happen during the apocalypse.

The main theory is the one containing the four horsemen (Conquest, War, Famine and Death.). The four horsemen are said to appear during the stages of the apocalypse. The Lamb which is Jesus is said to open the first four seals on the scroll with seven seals and one horsemen appears four each of the first four seals. When the first seal is removed a white horse appears and then Conquest is unleashed. He carries a bow. "(Rev 6:1-8 NIV) I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" {2} I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. "  when the second seal is broken a red horse appears and the rider holds a sword. This one is called War. "{3} When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" {4} Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. "  The third seal is opened and the black horse is unleashed. The rider carries a set of scales. His name is Famine. "{5} When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. {6} Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"." The fourth seal let out the final horse. This horse's rider was known as Death. This is the final of the horsemen to be revealed and he is the most dangerous and deadly. He rides along side the other horsemen and as they let go their parts of the bedlam he lets out his part to it. Then for the fifth seal they talk about the Christians that died. "And when he had opened the fifth seal, saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of god, and for the testimony which they held:". "And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."- Revelation 6: 9-11. The sixth seal is the great earthquake that in turn opens the world for further evangelism. The seventh seal calls forth the seven trumpet judgments. " in the seventh trumpet are the seven bowl judgments. The seventh bowl judgment concludes with fall of the cities of the earth and the return of Christ in Revelation 19." This is the christian look on the end of the world and as detailed as it is there are still huge holes that keep people on their toes. No one knows when it will all end and the fact that it is seemingly that some of these have come true such as the first three seals it is very uncertain when the other will open if any were indeed open.Their view on this is something that could be helpful to people of that fate if this were to ever start to happen. Maybe. Just maybe they can fix themselves and prevent this wrath from happening. Some Christians find this to be possible. They think if they live life good to god then they will be safe in the end.

Islam:
Islam has a take on the end of the world that does indeed have steps like Christianity, but it is almost entirely different. Some of the things they predict how ever have indeed been said to come true. In the overall, they believe that there is no set end for the world and that only god himself hold that information. Very blurry hints at it will come through messengers, but we will never really know. For Muslims it seems to be that mankind is going to slowly kill itself. It has already started to. Although in the end it will still be decided by god. There are many signs for dooms day in the Koran and it was the duty of the messenger to deliver these messages. “The day will come when this earth will be substituted with a new earth, and also the heavens, and everyone will be brought before GOD, the One, the Supreme.” 14:48. This here is a pretty clear messages that the one final day will come. Also from the Koran are more signs. //“// When the horn is blown once. The earth and the mountains will be carried off and crushed; utterly crushed. That is the day when the inevitable event will come to pass.” 69:13-15. This is when that day will be here. There are signs coded inside that are said to show the coming of this inevitable event. one of those signs is the splitting of the moon. “The Hour has come closer, and the moon has split.” 54:1. This has happened already when humans went to the moon and brought back with them "Moon rocks". Later signs were the coming of a creature. It was a creature that would be instrumental to unveiling god's signs. It is said that this "creature" is the computer. “At the right time, we will produce for them a creature, made of earthly materials, declaring that the people are not certain about our revelations.” 27:82. The next sign will be gog and magog. Gog and magog will reappear. “They said, ‘O Zul-Qarnain, Gog and Magog are corruptors of the earth. Can we pay you to create a barrier between us and them?” 18:94. Next will be the appearance of God's messenger of the covenant. "A consolidating messenger, prophesied in the Quran, comes after all the prophets have delivered the scriptures, to purify and unify. This prophecy was fulfilled in Ramadan 1408."a person of the Islamic faith. The last event will be the reappearance of Jesus. //“// He (Jesus) is to serve as a marker for knowing the end of the world so that you can no longer harbour any doubt about it” 43:61. "It is our firm belief that nobody ever can estimate the exact time of end of the world, regardless of all the signs stated by Mayan and other resources, there are many other signs yet to appear before us. The end of times is near for sure, we should live our lives according to the teachings of Islam rather than believing on rumors and speculations." a person of the Islamic faith. There are other things that people think might happen such as landslides, earthquakes and the sun rising from the west etc.

Conclusion:
The fact of the matter is that if people have knowledge of all the thought outcomes and the reasons for them then maybe human kind can stop the apocalypse from coming or prepare ourselves for when it does. If we can be better prepared then some think we can survive. Some think we will get what is coming to us and only the good and pure will live, but in the long run we are humans and we can comprehend what is happening around us we just need to open up our eyes and pay close attention to it.

Works cited:
N/A, N/A. (2009, October 29). //doomsday december 21, 2012, end of the world?//. Retrieved from http://www.quranreading.com/blog/quran-learning/doomsday-december-21-2012-end-of-the-world/

N/A, N/A. (N/A, N/A N/A). //The four horsemen of the apocalypse//. Retrieved from http://www.apocalipsis.org/fourhorsemen.htm