The word eschatology is composed of the Greek eschatos (ἔσχατος), the last. The eschatology (Speech on the End of time) concerns the Théologie and the Philosophie in bond with last times, the last events of the history of the world or ultimate the intended of the mankind, usually called the “ End of the world ”. In many religions, the end of the world is a future event prophesied in the crowned texts or the Folklore. More largely, the eschatology can embrace concepts which are dependant such as that of Messie or the Messianic Temps, the after-life and the heart.

The Greek term αιών ( aïôn ) means “age”; certain translations can be included/understood by fine of the fine age instead of of the world . The distinction revêt also a theological significance, because the time of the end in many religions can include the destruction of planet (or of all the living beings), but with the survival of the human race in a new form, putting a term at the current age of the existence, and beginning a new age.

The majority of the Western religions Monothéiste S have doctrines which affirm that members “selected” or “worthy” of the only true faith “will be saved” or “will be delivered” of the judgment and the anger of God to come. They will be sent to the front paradise, during, or after the latter, according to the scenario of times of the end which they retain. As well as the anger of God at the end of the age, it there with the anger of the man.

dharmic Religions

Hindouisme

Traditional prophecies Hindu, as described in the Purana S and of many other texts, say that the world will fall into chaos and degradation. There will be a fast rise of perversity, greed and conflict, and this state was described like:

“When the falseness of the fraud, the lethargy, drowsiness, violence, the discouragement, anger, the illusion, fear, and poverty prevail when the men, filled of sufficiency, will be considered equal to the Brahmines, then it will be the Kali Yuga . ”

This will follow appearance of a misadventure, “the Lord will appear as a Avatar of Kalki It will establish uprightness on the ground and the spirit of people will become as pure as the crystal. This will result in what Sat or Krta Yuga (golden age) is established. ”

Note: The translation of the quotations is approximate

Buddhism

As of its beginnings, Buddhism was seen declining. According to the Sutta Pitaka , Bouddha predicted that its lesson would disappear after 500 years: the ten precepts moral will not be any more practiced and will be replaced by their opposite; will follow one period of misery and the end of the reign of truth Dharma. At the time medieval, Buddhism having apparently exceeded the pessimistic forecasts of its founder, the lifespan of the doctrines is lengthened to 5000, then 10.000 years, but its fine remainder certain. Commentators such as Buddhaghosa describe its obliteration: at the time of a first stage, the Arahat S will not appear any more in the world; later, the lesson will be emptied of their contents, then will entirely disappear; finally, the memory of the Buddha itself will be erased, and its relics will be joined together with Bodh-Gaya, place of its illumination, to be incinerated there. A certain time afterwards, new a Buddha, called Maitreya, will appear “to give the wheel of the dharma on the way”, and Buddhism ressuscity will again show the way towards the nirvana. According to the tradition, Maitreya would currently reside in the sky of Tusita, where the Bodhisattva S await their final rebirth in the world. Gautama, Buddha of our era, had succeeded itself many Buddhas of last the.

The cycles of decline and re-establishment of Buddhism reproduce the cycles of creation and destruction of cosmology Hindouiste. One distinguishes in a cycle three times (or five periods, according to the authors): that of “truth dharma”, that of the “pretense of dharma” and that of the “end of the dharma”, mòfǎ in Chinese and Mappō in Japanese (末法), in whom is located Buddhism since practically its beginnings. This concept played a big role during the disturbed periods of the history of the China and the Japan which saw the birth of sects millenarists. Certain currents making a big part with the devotion (Pure Ground, Bouddhisme Nichiren) are based on this belief to promote their teaching, with for argument that in these times of end of dharma “traditional” Buddhism based primarily on the asceticism and the meditation lost its effect, and that only the devotion can still save.

abrahamic Religions

Judaism

See also: Eschatologie Jewish

The End of time described in the Book of Daniel, devoted expression, called A' harit HaYamim (אחריתהימים End of the Days) of which the most important stage, at the point to be often confused with the whole process, is called Yemot HaMashia' H (ימותהמשיח Messianic Times). This belief is however far from being additional: it appears in the thirteen principle of Maïmonide and this one written in its comment on the Mishna Sanhédrin, where these ideas are exposed for the first time, that those which do not believe in it do not form part of the people of Israel and do not have thus a share with the Monde to come.

The End of the Days is traditionally divided into a number of successive times:

  • Hevlei Hamashia' H and Ikbata deMeshi' ha (Messianic preambles). It is one era of world sufferings, in which fits in particular the war of Gog and Magog , i.e. Israel against the nations, prophesied by Ezéchiel and Zacharie. This apocalyptic confrontation is known under the name of Armageddon.
  • Return of the prophet Élie, who brings the Messie, and beginning of Messianic Times themselves.
    • You hiyat hamètim (Resurrection of dead the)
    • Yom HaDin (Day of the judgment)
    • Establishment of the Olam Haba (world to come) for eternity.

Christianity

basic Article: Eschatologie Christian woman

The term eschatos is used in the New Testament to indicate that with the Second Advent of Christ, the end will start. Jesus taught with his disciples, during his ministry and at the time of sound Ascension, which it would return and which it would judge the alive ones and deaths, such that the Christians in their profession of faith affirm it.

the ambiguity of the texts.

For the Christians, they are word of God and not word of man. It seems that God looks in only one glance three kinds of events which appear different with a human glance:

- the death of the individuals

- end of the human societies or a generation (end of a world)

- end of the world, (events of the last generation which will live on ground)

One finds a proof of these multiple directions in a text of the Gospel of Matthieu 24,37-42. It is about a passage where Jesus speaks about his return in glory, mystery usually reserved at the end of the world. However it also described there the individual death of a man, then of a woman: “Like the days of Noah, thus will be the advent of the Son of man. In these days which preceded the flood, one ate and one drank, one took woman and husband, until the day when Noah entered the arch, and people did not suspect nothing until the arrival the flood, which carried them all. Such will be also the advent of the Son of man. Then two men will be with the fields: one is taken, the other left; two women grinding: one is taken, the other left. ”

This text explains in fact how the things will occur at the time or Jesus-Christ will return to seek her Eglise, therefore those which will have accepted Jesus-Christ like Saver and Lord of their lives. There is no relationship between the fact that the text speaks about a man then of a woman. This is not important with the biblical direction. What is important and that it is necessary to raise in this text are the circumstances in which that will occur. One can say, in short, that the world will not realize of the imminence of the return of Jesus-Christ. Such is the case today. " … and people did not suspect nothing until the arrival flood… " This text makes a comparison between the circumstances before the flood and those before the return of Jesus-Christ. One can quote another text of the Gospels:

Luc 12:39 - 40 You know that if a father were informed at what time a small drainage canal (robber) must come, it would take care and would not let bore its house. You thus also, are ready, because the Son of man (Jesus-Christ) will come per hour that you will not think.

Historical

Christians of 1st century a. J. - C. believed that the end of the world would occur during their life. Jesus, in the Gospel according to Marc, chapter 13, verse 8, compared the end of the world with the pains of the childbirth of a mother, and the image implied that the world “was already engrossé” by its own destruction, but nobody with share God can know the moment to which that will occur. When the converts of Paul to Thessalonique were persecuted by the Roman Empire, they believed that the end had arrived. However, the doubt went up when in the Nineties apr. J. - C. the Christians said that it observed that what they believed which would arrive to them did not produce. In years 190, Justin Martyr declared that God delayed the end of the world because he wanted that the Christianisme becomes a world religion . In years 250, Cyprien wrote that the Péché S Christians of this time were a prelude to the proof that the end was close.

However, about the 3rd century, the majority of the Christians believed that the End was beyond their generation; Jesus, believed, had denounced the attempts to make divination on the future, to know “times and the seasons”, and such attempts to predict the future were discouraged, though a date was fixed for the End using the Jewish traditions in the Six Ages of the World. By using this system, the End was fixed at 202, but when the date had passed, it was changed for 500 apr. J. - C. After 500 apr. J. - C., the importance of the End as element of Christianity was marginalized, although one insists still traditionally above at the time of the season of the Avent.

Certain Christians of today place the end of the world during their life or shortly after. As obviousnesses to support these ideas, much finger sometimes the tragedies of the topicality, “biblical point” in their proportion, and offer interpretations of various passages of the Bible. In the same way, certain catholics believed that the third part of the message of Fátima, which was to be revealed by the the Vatican in 1960 but was finally published under the pontificate of Jean-Paul II, was a message of prophetic of the Blessed Virgin over times of the end, but it appeared according to papal interpretation being a message symbolic system strongly related to the attempted murder of the last Pope.

The question of knowing if the true believers will see the end is cause of division among the evangelic circles .

Islam

basic Article: Islamic Eschatologie

In the Islam, the Day of the judgment or Yawm Al-Qiyāmah (Arab: يومالقيامة: " Day of the résurrection"), Allah will ressuscitera deaths, and will accommodate the beneficial ones and the piles with the Paradis and the malfaisants, the criminals, corrupted, not repenting and the Mécréant S in Enfer. The historical origin of the Islamic eschatology is similar to the Christian eschatology, Mahomet having told it with his/her companions (Sahaba). Some thought that the end of the world would arrive at their own end.

The hadîth thus say that a warlike saint, the Mahdi, that the Duodécimain S identify with the last Muhammad Al-Mahdi them Imam) which will defend the Islam of the Antichrist, various animals: Dabbat Al-ard and of Gog and Magog (Yajouj-Majouj, Arab: يأجوجومأجوج), angel hérault with trumpet, Civil war, disasters natural and signs in the universe and a battle enters the Antéchrist and Jesus. It is a version similar to that described in the New Testament whose this version must derive.

Drawn from the Coran and the Hadîth, the Signes of Qiyamah of Mohammed Ali Ibn Zubair approaches the arrival of Illuminé, the Mahdi, followed: “The ground will crumble, the fog or smoke will cover the skies during forty days. This will appear on all the ground, which will cause with the believers to catch something of similar to a small cold, whereas the incroyants are struck more extremely by all that. To finish, a cold wind will come and kill all the believers, leaving only the incroyants on ground which will be the witnesses of the Last hour. The Ange Israfil will sound the trumpet, and the resurrection of all the human beings will start. The Coran will be high since the heart of people.

The Imam will create a state of the world It will teach you a simple life and a high thought. While thus starting, it will establish an empire of Allah in this Monde. It will be the final demonstration and the proof of the miséricordieux wish of Allah to accustom the man to the right ways of the life.

The Antichrist will emerge from a road in an area between Châm (current Syria-Lebanon-Palestine) and Iraq and will start to call people with his worship. Among most which will follow it there are the Jews, the women and the Bedouins.

Seventy thousand Jews of Ispahan (in current Iran) will follow it and they will travel in the whole world, just as the wind the rain in all the directions blows, except for Mecque and Médine, because it will be defended to him to enter there. The length of its stay will be forty days

One day will be like one year, one day like one month, one day like one week and the remainder of the days will be as usual.

It is one-eyed (C. - with-D. an eye is good and the other is damaged) and between its two eyes KAFARA (i.e. Kâfir or incrédule) will be written that only the believers will be able to read.

It will cause large Fitna (disorders or temptations).

It will order with the skies and it will rain, it will order with the ground and it will produce vegetation.

It will have with him a Garden and a Fire, however its garden will be a fire and its fire will be a garden.

The Prophet warned against him while saying: " Whoever hears of him, then leaves and moves away it from him.

And whoever reached it, whereas he recites the verses of the beginning of Surah Kahf on him” or “… that he recites the verses of the beginning of Surah Kahf ". Mouslim

Note: the translation of the quotations is approximate

Next the announced ends of the world

  • December 21st 2012: According to the Eschatologie précolombienne the completion of the 12th and last Baktun of the Maya Calendar and Aztec Calendrier corresponds to the End of the world itself. No consensus is still made on the nature of this one.
    • Of the beliefs New Age interprets this date as a total awakening of the mankind (the end of the world takes here a direction Symbolique: the rise). Others, on the contrary, expect a more drastic event: Apocalypse, inversion of the poles, etc

Internal bonds

External bond

  • catholic Gate on the eschatology
  • Resource Web of Christian eschatology (protesting)
  • Contribution of Asia to the political eschatologies of the Occident
  • end of the world among Mormons

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