The End-Visions of the Apocalypse
The cycle of life continues over and over again with the birth and death of the universe. It is a continuous cycle. At every new beginning the creation is in the hands of a higher source, Brahma. The sustainer of life is Vishnu, and the destruction of life is caused by Shiva. A cycle, or "Day of Brahma" lasts 4,320,000 years. At the beginning of each "Day of Brahma" the world is recreated, and this continues for 14 manavaras, until it ends with a great flood rearranging the continents. The flood destroys all living things except those saved to repopulate the earth. At the end of this cycle the earth is exhausted of all its resources and is prepared for recreation.
Ragnarok: The Twilight of the Gods
The inevitable destruction of the universe and all the gods had been known by Odin. There were signs in nature that marked the beginning and the end of the universe, such as the animals gathering food for winter, which lasted for three seasons. Three cold, long winters would follow and then the earth would quake like never before. The earthquakes would be caused by Loki, the evil giant. Loki previously killed Odin's son, Baldur, then was locked up for centuries as punishment. Churning with thoughts of revenge, Loki brakes free and joins all the other enemies of the gods. For the first time, Odin will not be able to help others, he would be fighting his own battles. Humans would be killed by the multitudes. Odin, himself, would be slain as well as all the other gods. The earth would be destroyed. The only god left would be Alfadur ("all father"), god of the gods, who would create a new earth.
The Beast 666 (Revelation 13:15-18)
The beast can be compared to Satan. He is powerful, crafty, and compels many people to follow him. His followers are branded by his number, 666.
The Final Battle of the End (Revelation 19:11-22)
The King of kings, which can be compared to God, is victorious. All the followers of the lord, great and small, gather together and partake in a feast. The feast symbolizes the gathering of all the lords followers to rejoice or celebrate in their faithfulness and love of the lord.
The Judgement (Revelation 20:11-15)
After your death on earth, all the dead will be judged according to the record of what they had done in life, The book of life. If your name is not in the book of life, then you are God's opponent, not his follower. Those that are not in the book of life will experience a second death in the burning lake of fire and eternal damnation.
The End: Visions of the Apocalypse and Ragnarok: The Twilight of the Gods are two very different stories. The End tells of the cycle of life and the birth and death of a new world. Ragnarok is the story of the inevitable destruction of the universe. In The End the destroyer is Shiva, a higher source, while in Ragnarok the destroyer is Loki, an evil giant. In The End, the world ends with a great flood, which rearranges the continents. This flood destroys all living things except those saved to repopulate the Earth. The Earth is left to recreate and repopulate itself. On the other hand, in Ragnarok, Loki, the evil giant, combines his forces with all the other enemies of the Gods and destroyes everything and the earth is annihilated. All the gods are slain as well as all the living creatures on the earth. The only god remaining is Alfadur, god of the gods, who would create a new earth.
The End and Ragnarok, two different myths, both tell of an inevitable destruction of the Earth, whether it be of a flood or a great giant. They also both tell of a way the Earth is recreated, either by organisms saved to repopulate the earth, or by a god of gods. Another similarity between these two myths is that in neither of them contian a hero. The Beast and The Judgement are both stories in Revelation of the Bible. Both of these stories basically explain what will happen to you if you are not a follower of God.
Immanuel Velikovsky in his 1950's book Worlds In Collision proposes that many myths and traditions of ancient peoples and cultures are based on actual events: worldwide global catastrophes of a heavanly origin, which had an amazing effect on the lives, beliefs, and writings of early mankind. "Worlds In Collision is a book of wars in the celestial sphere that took place in historical times. This book is based in the evidence of historical texts of many people around the globe, on classical literature, on epics of the northern races, on sacred books of the peoples of the Orient and Occident, on traditions and folklore of primitive peoples, oś old astronomical inscriptions and charts, on archaelogical finds, and also on geological and paleontological material." Worlds in Collision
There is the story of Jesus and the story of Buddha. In the story of Jesus, there is a hero deed represented. Jesus goes into the desert for forty days, there he undergoes three temptations from the Devil. He is tempted to change stones to bread, to control the world if he bows down to the Devil, and ado jump of the top of Herod's temple. Jesus refuses all three temptations in the name of the lord, God. In the story of Buddha, Buddha goes into the forest and comes to the tree of illumination, where he too undergoes three temptations. The first of lust, the second of fear, and the third of submission to public opinion. All three of these temptations offered to Buddha correspond to the temptations offered to Jesus.
Bierlein, J. F.Parallel Myths. New York: Ballentine Books, 1994.
Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. New York, New York: Doubleday, 1988.
Lindsey Trella is a 9th grade student at West Essex Junior High School. She lives in North Caldwell, NJ, a wee town where there's absolutely nothing to do. Lindsey likes Ben Folds 5, Foo Fighters, Beck, Dave Matthews Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers,Big Bad VooDoo Daddies, ...Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey, SNL, Seinfeld, playing guitar, her dog, Zoyee, and her rabbit, Ulysses. Lindsey also likes to dance,...crazy...a whole lot!