Is The World Ending!?

According to the Top Three Religions

By Avery Postma

Fri March 22, 2024

One thing that everyone in all religions seems to be able to agree on is that at some point the world will come to an end, and civilization will cease to exist. The timing and logistics of the matter are debated though. Some common trends can be seen and some even relate to events that are currently happening.

Across the world, the three most populated religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Britannica). Each of these religions agrees that there will be a battle and that widespread despair will occur when the end time arrives. 

According to the religion of Judaism, as the End of Days nears, two different routes could occur. One of these routes is filled with kindness and an abundance of miracles. The Messiah will be “given dominion, honor, and kinship so that all peoples, nations, and languages would serve him; his dominion would be an everlasting dominion that would never pass, and his kingship would never be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14)

The other path describes a scenario of society going through a painful and slow deterioration filled with suffering. God’s presence will feel far away and his people will struggle to feel his guidance.

In either scenario, there will be economic fluctuations, social rebellion, and widespread anguish. There will be a great war like none that has ever been seen before. This war will be between the powers of good and evil. Evil will be forever destroyed. Nations will fight against the Jews and the land of Jerusalem.

According to the religion of Islam, prophetic quotes by Muhammad say that there will be a battle, and that signs and wonders will occur. “The sun is folded up; the stars fall, losing their luster (Quran 81:1-2); “The oceans suffer to burst forth; and the graves are turned upside down” (82:3-4); “What is the day of noise and clamor? … It is a day whereon men will be like moths scattered about and the mountains like carded wool” (56:4-6).

Muhammad said: “It will not come until you see ten signs” He references smoke, Dajjal the Antichrist, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus son of Mary whom Allah is pleased with him, the Gog and Magog, and land-slidings in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from the Yemen. This will drive people to the place of their assembly. (Vol. 4:6931)

There will be suffering, and everyone will be terrified. Each person will be given a book with a list of all their earthly actions. They will be weighed on a scale. If they are able, then they will cross the bridge of al-Ghazali. It’s a frightful thing to cross, and it is said to be “sharper than a sword and thinner than a hair.” Those who make it across do so through their good deeds listed in their book. They will enter the gates of paradise. Though the damned will not be able to make it and will fall, being caught by the angels of hell with their hook and grapple.

A silver lining in the end times according to the Christians is what they call The Rapture, a time when all of God’s people, who love him, will be taken up to heaven before the torture of the end times occurs, so that they may be spared from it. Those left on Earth will suffer. Christians believe that once the gospel of Jesus Christ has been spread to everyone on Earth, the end times will begin. The signs will include the earth’s water rising above the height of the mountains, the waters then receding, a great earthquake, the mountains falling, the stars and constellations falling out of the sky, the sun going dark, and the angels trembling. There will be a terrible battle in Jerusalem, where the surrounding countries will fight against the people of Israel. 

2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

The scriptures in many manuscripts say that the end times will be unexpected, and no one can truthfully determine when it will come. Signs will be seen though, and some are being seen today. Currently, the signs that can be seen are the war in Israel, the love of money, earthquakes, floods, and droughts occurring more often because of climate change, and many people turning away from their religions of the past. Although no one can be sure when the end is coming, can it be said that it might be soon?