If we're going to keep talking about the end of the world, we might as well be correct
With the quantity of horrible news we face every day, it's easy to believe we're living in the End Times—and perhaps we are. We say we live in a dystopia all the time, using phrases like "apocalypse" and "armageddon," but what do those words mean? Is it the same thing? What about "doomsday?"
What exactly is the Apocalypse?
According to Greg Carey, author of Ultimate Things: An Introduction to Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Literature, the term "apocalypse" refers to any period when a supernatural being—such as a god—reveals mysteries or the future to a human. It also alludes to "an impending cosmic disaster in which God destroys the reigning powers of evil and restores the righteous to life in a messianic kingdom," according to Merriam-Webster.
Of course, it is not how the word is widely used nowadays. When you google "apocalypse," you get a more concise meaning that is more in line with how we use the term today: "the total final annihilation of the world, as portrayed in the biblical book of Revelation" or "an event involving devastation or damage on an awesome or catastrophic magnitude."
So, "apocalypse" often carries religious implications, but not necessarily. When we fantasize about what a nuclear holocaust may look like, for example, we tend to call it "the apocalypse." Nuclear annihilation, like other things that could inflict global damage, is manmade, yet this idea has its roots in the Bible.
What exactly is Armageddon?
You could hear "armageddon" used in the same way that "apocalypse" is used to indicate a desolate, ruined wasteland or the end of civilization. That's not quite correct.
According to Britannica, Armageddon refers to the location of the final battle between worldly evil and God as described in the New Testament. The term might refer to either the location of the fight before the Day of Judgment or the conflict itself. That conflict may result in some sort of Armageddon, but it will not be the apocalypse.
What exactly is Doomsday?
You've probably heard of the Doomsday Clock, which the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists uses to predict how near mankind is to extinction, but what exactly is doomsday? This one, like the apocalypse and Armageddon, has religious roots, but its definition has evolved as the evils of the world have stretched beyond the scope of what is contained in centuries-old writings.
The term can allude to either the end of the world or, more broadly, a period of immense danger. In Christianity, it explicitly refers to the Day of Judgment. According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, it is "the end of the world, or a moment when something really dreadful will occur."
According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, its Doomsday Clock places the apocalypse at midnight and then repositions the clock's hands annually to demonstrate how near we are to disaster based on threats to humanity and the earth such as nuclear escalation and climate change. So, doomsday and the apocalypse are basically interchangeable, while doomsday normally alludes to a significant event, whereas the apocalypse is widely thought to be a little more continual.
#Apocalypse #Armageddon #Doomsday
SOURCE: lifehacker
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