Apocalypse: Why the World Must End

        Similarly within Christianity, the Revelation of John centers around the arrival of the Antichrist or the Beast 666 and "the final battle of the end." During this battle the faithful and true rider of the white horse, Jesus, will bring with him the Word of God as he triumphs over  the Beast 666. Once again, God intervenes in the ensuing chaos and in his presence the Earth and sky vanish and the dead stand before his Great White Throne. The dead face their final judgment against the Book of Life which holds records of their lives. Anyone whose name cannot be found in the Book of Life is damned and thrown into the Burning Lake. In this apocalypse myth, however, God goes on to destroy the first heaven and in its absence a new heaven and Earth appear with the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming out of heaven. God maintains his position as the all-powerful through this final judgment and recreation of heaven and Earth by declaring himself "the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End."

        Hindu mythology, on the other hand, teaches the inevitability of the destruction of the universe in every cycle. In the beginning, the world is created by Brahma, then sustained by Vishnu, and finally destroyed by Shiva. When the universe is exhausted of its resources, it is ready for recreation. Shiva takes the form of Rudra, the Storm god, and enters the Sun, drying up all water on Earth and breathing out clouds. Brahma then sends a wind that drinks up the waters and covers the Earth in watery chaos, the primordial state from which a new world can be created. The creation, sustainment, and destruction cycle within the Hindu apocalypse myth once again maintains the status the supreme being, or in this case supreme beings, as the almighty through the continuous role of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva in each of their domains.

        Overall, it is apparent that within the destruction myths of each belief system the world must end. Within Islam this is demonstrated through God's destruction of the world and final judgment of mankind. This notion holds true again in Christianity which preaches God's role as "the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End" through his recreation of heaven and Earth. Likewise, Hinduism teaches the inevitability of the destruction of the universe in the cycle of creation, sustainment, and destruction. The world must, thus, end in order to maintain the position of the supreme being as almighty since he is the only one capable of destroying it.