It's The End of the World as We Know It Quiz

Answer: eschatology

"Eschatology" is derived from words in the Greek language--"eschatos", meaning "last", and "logy", meaning "the study of". In English, the term was first used during the sixteenth century to refer to the study of "death, divine judgment, and the afterlife".

However, the term has been often used recently to include also the study of the apocalypse, or studies about the trials and tribulations associated with "the end times" or "the end of the world".

Answer: Kali

According to the Vishnu Purana, Kali will have influence over the fourth and final stage (or "yuga") of the cycle of stages in which the world exists. This final stage is the Kali Yuga. The final stage will be marked by evil leaders who no longer care about the citizens of their nation. People will grow ignorant of spiritual matters and focus on avarice and lust; they will murder one another for no reason and without remorse or guilt.

When Kalki defeats Kali and all the evil that remains on Earth, the world will be destroyed and then recreated so that the cycle can begin again.

Answer: Messiah

According to Jewish teaching, Jesus is not the Messiah; the Messiah will not be a divine being, but rather a human leader descended from King David of the Old Testament, a leader who will reunite all Israelites and bring about a time of world peace. This Messiah is scheduled to return 6,000 years from the moment of creation.

In November 2011, we human beings were in the Jewish year of about 5772. Thus, we still have a little ways to go.

Answer: Ragnarok

The word "Ragnarok" comes from two Old Norse words meaning "the reigning ones/the gods" and "fate/end". In the end, according to the Gylfaginning, Chapter 51, there will be many battles among men and much killing for the sake of greed. Then there will be three back-to-back seasons of winter, and the sun, the moon, and the stars will disappear.

The earth will shake so that trees are uprooted and mountains crumble. Eventually, the gods themselves will do battle, and most will not survive. Surtr will cover the entire earth with fire, and then the earth will be submerged in water.

However, the good news is that Thor's sons and a few other gods will survive along with two humans; from these, life and the earth will begin anew.

Answer: Mesopotamian

According to Berrosus, a Babylonian writer and priest of Bel Marduk, the earth would last for "twelve times twelve sars". A "sar" is 3,600 years, so the earth should exist for 518,400 years. Unfortunately, there are no surviving texts containing Mesopotamian horror stories of the end times.

The ancient Greeks considered Berrosus an important philosopher and astronomer, and they erected a statue of him in Athens.

Answer: Mayan

The Mayan calendar is a complex system of various calendars, actually. One part of the Mayan calendar, often referred to as The Long Count, is based on a number of days that begin in 3114 B.C. (the date of creation in Mayan culture) and progressively continue until December 12, 2012.

As there are no numbered days following this date, some have assumed that the Mayans believed time would end at this point. As the Mayan calendar and the Gregorian calendar (the one most contemporary societies use) are not based on the same standards or fixed marks, scientists must find common events recorded by both the Mayans and those who have used Gregorian calendars so that they can create a correlation between the two calendars. Usually, the common recorded events are astronomical events, such as eclipses or comets.

However, a University of California, Santa Barbara, professor has questioned the accuracy of this correlation. Scholars may have misinterpreted events recorded by the Mayans; thus, what appears to be the last date on the Mayan calendar may not be 12/21/12 after all.

Answer: Michel de Nostredame

Michel de Nostredame, or Nostradamus as he would come to be called, was a sixteenth century doctor and mystic whose writings about the future have often been shockingly accurate. At least they have given many cause to think carefully before dismissing him.

For example, he wrote of a "child of Germany" that would create much mayhem and murder, and he referred to this "tyrant" as "Hister". Most have assumed, of course, that he meant Hitler. Nostradamus wrote that his prophecies extended to the year 3797; however, this does not necessarily mean that the world will end at that point, but rather that he was unable to see events beyond that date.

Answer: 1666

From 1642 to 1646, England was torn asunder because of civil war between those who sided with King Charles I and tradition and those who sided with members in Parliament who believed reform was needed throughout the country. The war grew very bloody as lines were also drawn between people because of their class and their religious faith.

In 1649, King Charles I was executed for treason, and the monarchy was soon replaced by a Council of State. Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan ideologue, then assumed authority and created basically a military dictatorship.

After his death and his son's failed attempt to take control, the nation found itself again under the leadership of a king--Charles II. By 1665, London was suffering from the Bubonic Plague, which killed off an estimated 100,000 people or 20% of the city's population.

In 1666, the Great Fire of London was more than most could understand or accept. The fire destroyed St. Paul's Cathedral, 87 lesser churches, and 13,200 homes; 70,000 people were homeless. Of course, Christians knew from their Bibles that "the end times" were supposed to be characterized by great trials and tribulations.

These horrors coupled with the numbers in the year of 1666 caused many to fear the end of the world had come. The Bible explains that the number of the beast, the embodiment of Satan during the last days, is 666.

Answer: The Rapture

Many Christians believe that just before the tribulations of "the last days" begin, the true followers of Christ will be gathered in the blink of an eye and transported to Heaven. Meanwhile, those "left behind" will have to suffer horribly in a world left to the whims of anti-Christ.

This is the basis of the popular "Left Behind" series of books. Of course, there are many Christians who do not accept this teaching. Many argue that those who believe in a "rapture" prior to the last days have misinterpreted Biblical passages that were merely describing the ecstasy experienced by those who rise to meet Christ during his "Second Coming" or the "final resurrection".

This whole issue is a source of much disagreement and conflict among Christians.

Answer: Heaven's Gate

Heaven's Gate was founded in the 1970's by Marshall Applewhite, who had a near-death experience, and Bonnie Nettles, his nurse. Nettles died in 1985. In 1997, Applewhite led thirty-eight others to kill themselves so they could release their souls from their bodies and join aliens in a passing space ship. Supposedly, the earth was going to be "recycled", and the only way to save oneself was to get off the earth. Of course, all of the Y2K paranoia re-inforced their fears.

The 39 members took an overdose of phenobarbitol mixed with applesauce and washed it all down with vodka. Applewhite's authority seemed to be derived from his belief that he was related to Jesus, or as he put it, he was an "Evolutionary Kingdom Level Above Human".