Eschatology

Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negative world events will reach a climax. Briefly: the eschaton is the all-inclusive term evoking this predicted climax of a particular theological or political worldview. The scope of expected consequence is global and not local. Eschatology denotes the theory, discussion, techniques, behaviors and orientation toward the eschaton. Theories of afterlife may also be a dimension of eschatology in certain contexts—in these contexts the afterlife of an individual is a kind of hologram or particular microcosm of the overall eschaton. The Eschaton is, furthermore, related to telos: a Greek word simultaneously denoting purpose, climax and end (ie. death, terminus etc. but also perfection, completion etc.). Eschaton is the ''end'' dimension referred to within ''telos''. What is not teleological is probably not eschatological.

Abrahamic Particularity of Eschatology

Preoccupation with eschatology is classically associated with Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. A distinction between Abrahamic eschatology ( ἔσχᾰτον re: ''eschatology'' is a Greek word) and the Hindu Kali-Yuga cycle, for example, is that the Hindu vision of this end is mythological and cosmic in scope whereas the eschaton in Abrahamic religions is understood and expected to be historical and terrestrial according to the terms of the creed.

Many—or perhaps most—world religions and folk religions have stories about the end of the world. In most of these traditions, apart from the Abrahamic, whether or not the end of the world is something to look forward to or even accelerate towards by application of personal and communal effort is highly questionable. Apocalypticism in the sense of millenarianism, generally, is the particularly Abrahamic element of eschatology in this sense.

High Medieval & Modern Judaism as an Outlier

Judaism here is an outlier: as early as the twelfth century CE Maimonides notes that opinion as to the character of the messianic age is divided, and speculation—while perhaps not enforceably preventable—is largely a recreational pastime unsuited to the scholar. Even in the Talmud strong reservations are expressed about the likelihood or even of the desirability of the Messiah’s arrival. This is not to say that Judaism has no fundamentalists concerned with eschatology—it does—but the theme is less pronounced and less central to discussion in most centuries on record versus the role of eschatology in Christianity or even in Islam. Liberal sects of all Abrahamic religions tend in this direction of skepticism or may maintain some remove from these ‘mysteries of the tradition,’ leaving space for awe and unspeakability from a perspective of humility on the basis of human limitations in conception.

Fundamentalisms of all sorts, correspondingly, tend to emphasize eschatology.

Hybrid or Syncretic Origins of Judeo-Christian Eschatology

Zoroastrianism and Gnosticism may seem to be exceptions here--but these are precursor religions to Judaism and Christianity respectively. The Babylonian captivity put Judaens in contact with Zoroastrianism, prior to the re-establishment of the cult in Second Temple Judaism which is (for the most part) where legible historical records of its practice and beliefs begin. The Alexandrian and Roman conquests of Judah put Judaism in contact with gnosticism, prior to the emergence of Christianity.

Afterlife as a Dimension of Eschatology

Belief in an afterlife--which is especially inflected in Christian eschatology--and beliefs concerned with what may compose human experience and/or relationship to divinity in the afterlife is more universal to all of the world's great (ie. numerously subscribed) religions with the partial exception of certain trends or tendencies of attitude in substantive sects within Buddhism (wherein a belief in reincarnation may or may not be essential according to communal tendency) and in liberal Judaism (wherein 'belief' in general is subordinate to practice, and belief in a subjectively experienced afterlife may be less common in significant proportions of some communities depending on time and place).

Reincarnation may be seen as substantively distinct in implication and phenomenological description from eschatological (and largely Abrahamic) ideas of resurrection. The reincarnated soul dies into a new terrestrial life. The degree to which Christian ideas of the resurrection resemble this mapping of posthumous continuity of the soul is but slight—they seem in some respects far-removed from one another as conceptions of life after death.

Resurrection

Since all Abrahamic faiths belief have traditions about a resurrection--occurring at a particular and singular time (namely on the Last Day, the Day of Judgment, or in other words at the advent of the Eschaton) Abrahamic beliefs about afterlife and eschatology may be considered an overlapping domain and this further underlines the particularity of the eschatological to Abrahamic faiths.

Not all Jews believe in the resurrection and in second temple Judaism, the Sadducees were agnostic as to questions having to do with the Resurrection: perfect unanimity on this subject was never recovered in the faith if, indeed, it ever existed at any point in time.

It may well be the case that the earliest Jewish writings which seem to reference the resurrection (such as Ezekiel's valley of dry bones) have explanations other than a resurrection at the end of time (re: Ezekiel may have been talking poetically about reviving the community of Judah, not about a universal reconstitution of all human flesh from all times occurring all at once at the end of history et. al).

Millenarianism vs. Eschatology

Millenarianism is not identical to eschatology, but these territories have been and will likely continue to be overlapping domains.

A certain fervor or expectation of the end may be a feature of all Abrahamic theologies, historically. In Christianity and Judaism, the fervor of these beliefs are connected to messianic expectation: Either the Messiah will come (in Judaism) or he will return (in Christianity).

The Islamic eschaton often has somewhat more to do with Jihad or with the lesser Jihad, but also retains many dimensions and specifics of Judeo-Christian eschatologies.

The eschatological dimension of faith is not always active in a manner that is heavily foregrounded at all times, in all places, or in all communities belonging to these traditions. Eschatology will generally not be denied, on the occasion of inquiry with a Priest, Cleric, Pastor, Rabbi or Imam--but it may not always provide the focus of homily, liturgy or communal attention and energy.

A way of articulating the distinction between the eschatological believer and Millenarian might be that ''eschatology'' emphasizes the inevitability and eventuality of the end as an unavoidable dimension of truth but after a certain and widely variable threshold they may not speak further on the matter. Eschatology has importance, but may or may not be the most important aspect of faith on any given day or in every situation. Whereas the ''Millenarian'' looks forward to the ''eschaton'' occurring in their own lifetime, and emphasizes this as the major theme of teaching and praxis.

Ecumenicalism of Millenarianism

Belief that the end of the world is imminent is known as apocalypticism, and over time has been held both by members of mainstream religions and by doomsday cults. In the context of mysticism, the term refers metaphorically to the end of ordinary reality and to reunion with the divine. Many religions treat eschatology as a future event prophesied in sacred texts or in folklore, while other religions may have concepts of renewal or transformation after significant events. The explicit description of a new earth is primarily found in Christian teachings (this description can be found in Chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation).

The Abrahamic religions maintain a linear cosmology, with end-time scenarios containing themes of transformation and redemption. In Judaism, the term "end of days" makes reference to the Messianic Age and includes an in-gathering of the exiled Jewish diaspora, the coming of the Messiah, the resurrection of the righteous, and the world to come. Christianity depicts the end time as a period of tribulation that precedes the second coming of Christ, who will face the rise of the Antichrist along with his power structure and false prophets, and usher in the Kingdom of God. In later traditions of Islam, separate hadiths detail the Day of Judgment as preceded by the appearance of the Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl, and followed by the descending of ʿĪsā (Jesus), which shall triumph over the false Messiah or Antichrist; his defeat will lead to a sequence of events that will end with the sun rising from the west and the beginning of the Qiyāmah (Judgment Day).

Dharmic religions tend to have more cyclical worldviews, with end-time eschatologies characterized by decay, redemption, and rebirth (though some believe transitions between cycles are relatively uneventful). In Hinduism, the end time occurs when Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu, descends atop a white horse and brings an end to the current '' Kali Yuga'', completing a cycle that starts again with the regeneration of the world. In Buddhism, the Buddha predicted his teachings would be forgotten after 5,000 years, followed by turmoil. It says a ''bodhisattva'' named Maitreya will appear and rediscover the teachings of the ''Buddha Dharma'', and that the ultimate destruction of the world will then come through seven suns.

Eschatology-Adjacent Theories in the History and Philosophy of Science

Since the development of the concept of deep time in the 18th century and the calculation of the estimated age of planet Earth, scientific discourse about end times has considered the ultimate fate of the universe. Theories have included the Big Rip, Big Crunch, Big Bounce, and Big Freeze ( heat death). Social and scientific commentators also worry about global catastrophic risks and scenarios that could result in human extinction.

The degree to which cosmology and eschatology from earlier periods of culture have influenced scientific mappings of cosmology and of extinction or supernova or cosmic heat death etc. is a matter of lively discussion in certain departments of the Anglo-European university community. That there has been ''some'' influence cannot be doubted. Isaac Newton was interested in calculating the date of the Messiah's arrival and in the process of performing such calculations (and many others) he eventually produced the calculus at which point, apparently, he ceased to investigate the date of 'the End' and went on ultimately, to accept a position as the head of the Royal Mint. The degree to which eschatological concerns and curiosities provide a background from which scientific exploration takes off is more substantive than this, but the illustration of this element in Isaac Newton's career suffices for our brief description considering the centrality of calculus--at the very least, as a necessary precursor--to effectively all modern scientific cosmological theories.

Science, however, does not assume that the universe has a purpose and if it did, according to the rules of parsimony, it would not be able to investigate or even attempt to describe that purpose. In this sense, cosmic heat death and extinction--though scientifically proven as phenomena according to our best working theories--are not technically eschatological: because they are not purposive or intentionally directed events as they have been scientifically conceived.

Exceptional Cases at the Boundary of Scientific Concern

The above-paragraph is true, except in the case of atomic war in relation to extinction--say, for example. There may well be other exceptions. Since the competencies required for examining the potential motivations to unleash atomic war lies outside the domain of classical and quantum mechanics, those disciplines can't usefully ask questions about it in a manner that is internal to the discipline itself—though the outcomes of their researches may be implicated. ''Physicists'' may ask those questions but not according to their technical imprimatur as physicists--just as human beings. The study of these sorts of problems, more recently, has gone under the heading X-Risk. As in: Existential risk, or extinction risk.

"Extinction omnicide">Human_extinction.html" ;"title="n the sense of Human extinction">omnicideis not the sense of an ending, but the end of sense," writes Thomas Moynihan to distinguish modern from antique from views of the end. All purposive or directed thought falls apart upon contemplating extinction or the meaning of extinction. The modern end cannot be conceived, because there is no narrative function or perspective beyond that available to scientific conception or according to informed and scientifically literate human conceptions at this stage of awareness and inquiry. This is a formal problem of some real consequence and concern, since incommunicability of major zones or threats in the field of existential risk does not lower the threshold of danger but (rather) will tend to increase the threat of certain (and now predominantly threatening) types of existential risk: namely the overlapping catastrophes of global warming