Changes

In comparing some of the main apocalyptical beliefs in the Old and New Worlds, several key themes are evident. For the New World, some myths do seem to have cosmic battles between the stars, sun, and heavenly bodies, but they are not put in a context of good versus evil or some great cosmic battles. The Old World myths, on the other hand, often emphasize a kind of judgment and major battle between good and evil. Interestingly, most of the myths we have about end times come from the 1st millennium BCE or later. Prior to this, myths seemed to imply that the world had been already destroyed in the great floodFlood, at least in the eyes of Near Eastern societies and perhaps Greece as well. A type of final judgment becomes more important later on, even when the religions differ as to the nature of life, with Western beliefs and those of the Near East emphasizing a linear view of end and beginning, while in east Asia and south Asia it was more common to see a cyclical process of destruction and renewal. In the New World, it was more similar to Asian beliefs, in that there is a process of renewal and destruction. However, this did not mean that people were evil or there had to be a good reason for the end of the world. Some Aztec beliefs suggest suggested failure to sacrifice could cause the end of the world, but this does not imply that it is a type of moral failing. It simply means a god or gods would not be happy and that alone could end the world. Christian and Islamic beliefs are more similar to the Zoroastrian belief of end times. In these beliefs, resurrection and final judgment also allows those who are righteous to live in a post-Earth paradise. In the Norse tradition, after the great cosmic battle, life begins anew but not exactly in a cyclical process as it is in Hindu beliefs but rather than a new form, in many ways similar to the Flood story with a man and woman starting humanity again. For the Old World religions and belief systems, particularly for the Near Eastern and European cultures, the concept of end times or eschatology is central to belief systems, where it justifies worship and beliefs in how you live your current life. This is also true in Hinduism and Buddhism to an extent, but the end of the world is also external to events of an individual and renewal is seen as part of the process of life itself.