Introduction to the topic: when will the world end?

The controversies on “when will the world end” have been fixed in people’s minds for thousands of years; it evokes various feelings such as admiration or even fear. Whether as predetermined by the so-called prophets of old or from the religious point of view or even in the face of astrophysical theories in the contemporary world, the question of how and when the world might end still lingers. Regarding the type of scenarios, the threats and risks range from massive natural disasters to man-caused disasters in terms of both likelihood and severity.

Some paint a picture of the future which has the world being annihilated by extraterrestrial events such as the death of the sun while others paint the picture of the future which is characterized by abrupt events that are easily foreseen such as climate change, nuclear war and even rise of artificial intelligence.

Of course, the interest in the topic remains high due, to the fact that the end of the world is beyond our comprehension, as well as human existence and the role of this existence in the cosmos. That is why it is possible to admit that the focus on the different points of view on this topic helps not only to face the people’s biggest phobias but also think about the chances of life in general.

Religious & Scientific Perspective

Religious as well as philosophical aspects of the end of the world are both as old as the concepts themselves and provide the deepest insights into the nature of the end and the future of humanity. In Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam, eschatology is described as the time when the last judgement and a change of heart will happen. In Christianity there is the idea of Apocalypse that says that at one point God will come down and create a new heaven and a new earth, and in Hinduism there is a cycle of creation and destruction whereby the current age that is the Kali Yuga will come to an end.

Thus, the religious outlook on the world’s end lays comfort in the fact that after the demise, something new will be created, so both physical and spiritual alternatives are sufficient to make sense of it. The analysis of these spiritual attitudes will allow the discover approaches to how humanity understands the concept of the end of the world not only from physical but also a metaphysical perspective.

However, from scientific view point, the end of world is not an issue of tomorrow, but it is true that end of the world is sure somewhere in future only. One of the best known is a solar-cycle theory which will result in the destruction of the Earth in about 5 billion years. The Sun will burn out and turn into a red giant and this will engulf the inner planets including the earth. Another possible is a natural death by the action of expedited astro-events, any of which have threatened the mass extinction of species.

Also, non-accidental but natural events such as super volcanoes, super nova explosion’s, a nuclear war, or climate change may pose a tremendous threat to life on earth. These, however, are realistic threats by futuristic scientists, that are actualized by the fact that newer technologies, like the methods and approaches towards asteroid deflection or climate change are possible, as a sign that people are not helpless in the face of these apocalyptic scenarios. It is important particularly for the scientific threats to be understood as they are in order to properly address solutions necessary for the future of our planet.

To appreciate a different level of the reality of the end of the world, let us contemplate how the world began.

For instance from a religious point of view. It can be noted that most religious and spiritual beliefs are graced with many stories about the creation of the world. In Christianity for example the Book of Genesis mentions that creation of the universe took six days, Indian creation is cyclical, a perpetual process where divine forces create preserve and destroy the universe.

On the same note, indigenous people have a concept that tells a story of the world and equally having harmony between the earth/elements and spirit. These stories not only give an account on the creation of the world but also gives guidance on on its destruction, it also has elements of life, death, and regeneration. Through these spiritual teachings, one can get clues of the whole journey of this world from its formation right to its destruction, which should comfort as well as enlighten people hence during tough times.

While In Big Bang theory the whole universe started approximately 13. It is estimated to have been 8 billion years old, created from a single, very dense mass which literally exploded. Relatively, matter cooled and coagulated to form galaxies, stars and planets over this period.. About 4. Around 5 billion years ago the dust and gas which narrowed around the young sun came together to form the earth.

The early planet Earth was a ball of hot liquid but through processes such as planetary differentiation and cooling, the crust of the earth became rigid thus allowing for the evolution of life. Knowledge of its formation takes an individual closer to a number of scientific factors which would ultimately bring about the end of the world. Explaining about the forces of attraction, movement of stars, formation of planets, the scientists can predict that of the future of the earth and the whole universe and thereby connecting its genesis to its end.

Thus, the question is whether the world will end one day, when will the world end?

It’s a fact that the world as we know it will cease to exist; however, the time will be on a scale of billions of years and the exact cause will depend on certain natural occurrences. One of the most widely accepted theories of the scientific circles regarding the phenomenon of the end of the world is the lifecycle of the sun. In roughly about 5 billion years, the sun will start burning all the hydrogen in its core, thus evolving to become a red giant and swallowing the inner planets, including the earth. Farther on, in the next 1-2 billion years, stellar brightness will increase, resulting in the global heating of Earth and rendering it unsuitable for life.

Besides the evolution of the Sun, there are other natural and cosmic processes that would result in the destruction of the world. Asteroid impacts are not currently a significant threat, as evidenced by the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, but a less likely possibility in the near future. Furthermore, slow dangers include supervolcanoes, gamma-ray bursts, or even the progressive degrading of the Earth’s magnetic field.

On a cosmological level, it is known that entropy, for instance, the heat death of the universe in the future, can affect everything on a large scale. This would happen as the universe expands and cools down ultimately dying out in as much as work and other forms of life are concerned. Despite the fact that these scenarios are still quite distant, they can show that, from the scientific viewpoint, the existence of the world’s end is not just a mere possibility, but the necessity.

According to the religious and philosophical point of view, the question of whether the world will end one day or not is solved differently. Religious and spiritual ideas are in harmony with the concept where people explain that the earth is ending but it is not the destruction but the change or a cycle.

In Christianity, the end of the word is associated with the apocalyptic or the’second coming of Christ.‘  The western religion’s last day is a day of judgment whereby the righteous shall be saved and the wrong shall be condemned, but this is succeeded by the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1). This indicated nothing of the sort of climax but rather points towards the evolution into an even more perfect environment.

In Hinduism there is the concept of Yugas, which are cycles that determine the universe. We are now in the Kali Yuga, the age of darkness and destruction, but at the termination of the Kali Yuga, the cycle of creation of the universe is believed to have started afresh with the Satya Yuga, the age of truth and divine order.

In the same manner, as the wheel of time, the world end relates to impermanence of things, which is another teaching of Buddhism according to which all the worldly things are temporary and subject to alteration. However, spiritual emphasis is given to one’s freedom from the process of birth and death or cycle of rebirth known as ‘Samsara’ rather than annihilation of the whole world.

According to Islamic understanding, the end of the world is associated with a Yawm al-Qiyamah, or Day of Judgment, when every individual will be called to account for his or her conduct. This includes the satisfaction of the urges and yearly sins as well as the doom of the world as we know it in favor of a new endless existence in the paradise or in hell.

Such spiritual believes are usually linked to tendencies where the end of the physical world that numerous cultures refer to is not necessarily the end of life but rather a rebirth or spiritual enlightenment. In many traditions, the end is not related to the destruction of the earth and people’s physical body but the change of one’s behavior or the gaining of enlightenment.

Conclusion

Thus, we can classify the given information as given from the spiritual and scientific points of view as both present valuable, but rather diverse concepts regarding “When will the world end”. Religiously, most of the existing religions like the Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and the Buddhism among others, does not regard the end as the complete annihilation but as a transformation to another form of life, either by regeneration, judgment or deliverance. They include emphasis on moral or spiritual regeneration, apart from annihilation as a solution for the human vices.

The scientific view is based on facts of nature, it is suggesting the end of the world through such natural disasters as expansion of the sun, space phenomena, climate shifts, and others. To scientists, the end of the world is still a ways off, but specific time frame that is yet to come, but the fact that it will happen in billions of years is still a fact. Both of them express the transient nature of the world; however, while the science describes the processes occurring physically, spirituality tends to stress continuity in the other world. Finally, all these viewpoints make humans reflect on such issues as the nature of life, and the possibility of beginning anew.

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