Speculation about the end of the world and the nature of end times has fascinated humanity across cultures and faith traditions for millennia. Most world religions have scriptures, teachings, or prophecies that envision a final cataclysmic event, the end of history on earth, and/or a messianic era ushered in by a savior figure. While interpretations vary widely both across and within religious communities, such eschatological beliefs ultimately speak to innate hopes and fears within the human condition.

Christianity – Book of Revelation and Millenarian Movements

The foundational and most influential apocalyptic text in Christianity is the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, written around 95 CE near the end of the 1st century when Christians faced persecution in the Roman Empire. Full of vivid imagery and mystic symbolism, Revelation details a cosmic war between good and evil resulting in the Second Coming of Jesus, defeat of Satan, resurrection and rapture of the righteous, and violent destruction of earthly kingdoms to usher in a 1,000-year reign of God’s kingdom.

Though obscure in early centuries, Revelation would inspire radical millenarian groups during eras of societal crisis in European history, from the Middle Ages to the Protestant Reformation. 16th century Anabaptists sought to bring about the New Jerusalem in Münster, Germany based on their apocalyptic reading of Revelation and grievances with Catholic authorities and social inequality. English Puritans too evoked Revelation’s imagery and values in the English Civil War against royalist forces. 

In contemporary Christianity, beliefs on aligning current events with an imminent Armageddon run the gamut from attempts at detailed end times 'predictions' or calculations to loose symbolic interpretations to downplaying apocalypticism altogether as overly speculative. Schools of eschatological thought include premillennialism, postmillennialism, amillennialism, and different tribulation perspectives. Debates often tie into divisive issues like environmental policy, technology, Middle East politics, European integration, and global governance initiatives. Popular 20th century books like Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth have propagated dispensationalist premillennialism in some Protestant circles.

Some fringe apocalyptic Christian groups with controversial violent histories include the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas and Aum Shinryko in Japan. At the same time, modern Christian thinkers have called for reforming end times theologies to be sources of hope and spiritual renewal rather than destructive escapism.

Islam - Signs of Qiyamah and the Mahdi

The Day of Resurrection or Yawm al-Qiyāmah in Islam builds upon judgment day traditions in Christianity and Judaism, with vivid descriptions in the Quran and further elaboration in the Hadiths and Islamic eschatological literature. The timing and exact signs heralding the Day of Resurrection are ambiguous and known only to God, though there will be noticeable disruptive changes cosmically and on earth. 

Sura 82:1-5 in the Quran states: "When the sky splits open, When the stars are strewn, When the seas boil over, When the graves turn over, Each soul will know what it has put forth." Other signs range from knowledge disappearing and chaos descending to the sun rising in the West and appearance of mythical beasts. Islamic scholars historically discouraged excessive messianic speculation, noting only God knows ultimate truths about the state of the universe.

At the same time, prophecy regarding the Mahdi redeemer figure has fueled Islamic apocalyptic movements for over a millennium. According to some hadith, the Day of Resurrection will follow the Mahdi's rule on earth where he will restore justice after a period of prolonged tyranny and peace preceding a final great war.

Modern apocalyptic groups range from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad invoking Shiite prophecies to ISIS and Al-Qaeda violently seeking to usher in glory days of early Islam. Yet most contemporary Muslim scholars dismiss Islamic State's 'signs of the end times' propaganda and extremist sects as fringe, emphasizing instead Islam’s teachings on ethical responsibility and social justice in this world.

Judaism – Gog and Magog Invasion and Messianic Age 

The Hebrew Bible contains early apocalyptic sections like the Book of Daniel which details eschatological visions and prophesies the global rule of four kingdoms preceding the ultimate kingdom of God. However, most modern Jewish thinking on the 'End of Days' comes from later texts like the Talmud and mystical literature built upon Old Testament themes. 

Orthodox Judaism places supreme theological importance on the future coming of the Jewish Messiah who will restore the Kingdom of Israel and initiate the Messianic Age on earth preceding the universal Resurrection of the Dead. Events surrounding the Messiah’s coming are thought to include tribulations, war called the War of Gog and Magog, arrival of the prophet Elijah as a harbinger, ingathering of all exiles to Israel, and rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Jewish traditions also envision a ‘day of the L-rd’ involving various cosmological upheavals and downfall of all nations attacking Israel before the dead are resurrected and face divine judgment. Other themes include a banquet for the righteous and the idea of two messiahs– a Messiah son of Joseph who dies paving the way for the kingly Messiah son of David. 

Differing Jewish movements approach such teachings with varying literalist and mystical interpretations. Messianic anticipation has fueled activism and political turmoil surrounding Israeli control over Temple Mount. Some evangelical Christian groups aggressively support Jewish possession of Jerusalem to fulfill their own apocalyptic theologies.

Hinduism - Kalki Avatar and Ages of Brahma

Hindu eschatology stems from the cosmic timeline in Puranic texts based on the perpetually repeating cycles of four ‘Yugas’ or ages over 4.32 billion human years, tracing the rise and decline of righteousness on earth before finally being consumed at the end and restored at the beginning of the next cycle. This grand timescale contextualizes numerous prophesies and incarnations associated with the end of each Age - Kali Yuga being the last as the darkest and most degenerate before destruction.

The current Kali Yuga age is said to conclude around the year 438,000 CE as per calculations in the ancient Vishnu Purana and Linga Purana. Mythic narratives state Vishnu’s 10th and final avatar Kalki appearing atop a white horse, wielding a fiery sword to purge the world of adharma before renewal. Some Brahmanical traditions also describe a final battle and forces of good defeating evil. Elements of Hindu nationalism have at times evoked Kalki to justify militarism. Other thinkers interpret Kalki symbolically, representing the inner battle against spiritual ignorance.

Beyond mythic avatars, Hindu astrological traditions analytically detail the end of Kali Yuga in a series of celestial alignments causing worldwide dissolution and rebirth. Astrological end time calculation has burgeoned online recently, with 2076 CE being one popular proposed date based on alignment of all nine planets under Aries. However, Hindu teachings again emphasize cosmological world-ages ultimately being repeated indefinitely outside human control or understanding

Buddhism - Maitreya Buddha and Dharma Decline

Buddhist eschatology stems from principles of cyclic existence where everything arises, changes, and ceases over immense durations of time. Building on the endless rounds of rebirth in samsara, orthodox scriptures depict the rise and decline of the Buddha’s teachings over thousands of years with no ultimate beginning or end point. The historical Buddha Shakyamuni predicted his teachings would completely vanish after 5,000 years into a degenerate ‘Latter Days of the Law’, before being restored by the next Buddha Maitreya.

The Lotus Sutra details in metaphor a ‘Three Periods’ framework – the Former Day of the Law with Shakyamuni Buddha when his teachings prosper, the Middle Day of decay, and Latter Day of 10,000 years when Maitreya renews Buddhadharma leading to enlightenment for many. Tibetan Buddhism modifies this into four periods, adding another 10,000 years when teachings remain though achieving enlightenment is very rare. Some Japanese Nichiren sects interpret this chronology more imminently, seeing deep spiraling degeneracy in the modern age and awaiting supernatural intervention.

In Chinese folk traditions, the Latter Days involve lawlessness and anarchy rather than just dharma decline. The monstrous Four Perverse Beings emerge tyrannizing the people before being defeated by Hotei fat buddha shown with children at his feet. While not emphasized doctrinally, such mythic battles echo Hindu and even Christian motifs. Other elements like the Tibetan Gesar epic history chart cycles of chaos followed by just rule. Common to most views is Buddhism’s ultimate position seeing time and manifestation as infinite, transcending any fixed point

Zoroastrianism - Frashokereti and Saoshyant Prophecies 

One of the earliest organized eschatological belief systems lies in the ancient Persian faith called Zoroastianism founded by the prophet Zarathustra, later evolving into Zurvanism. Prominent Zoroastrian apocalyptic scriptures include the Bundahishn and Book of Arda Viraf detailing a final epic battle between good and evil that destroys the cosmos followed by burning of all molten metal.

Central is the figure of Saoshyant, born of a virgin, who leads humanity through this Frashokereti or ‘Renovation’ process - resurrecting the dead for a final judgment before all souls reach peace and eternal perfection in incarnation of the divine. Fire and molten metal flow to make a great bath for sinners’ redemption at judgment even as the righteous join God.

Within Zurvanism, finite time was split into four millennial cycles, seeing historical ages decline from virtue into vice and turmoil. But Zoroastrian teachings generally avoid forecasting exact years for eschatological events given the emphasis on human free will and choice central to the faith. Their prophecy holds opportunity for both salvation and damnation.

Some scholars trace Judeo-Christian apocalypticism back to Persian influence during the Babylonian Exile period. And ideas of final judgment and resurrection of souls preceded similar developments in Abrahamic faiths. Zoroastrian ethics too profoundly informed the much later rise of Islam in the same region. But as a marginalized religion today both in Muslim Iran and Parsi diaspora in India, Zoroastrianism survives keeping doctrines focused on personal morality rather than politicized end times fervor.

Perhaps there are insights still relevant from end times teachings in how human civilizations rise and fall over time, how higher purpose can manifest through crisis, and struggles innate to the mortal journey that fuel destructive conflict but may also cultivate redemption within and between communities.

For in the end, prophecies function more as mirrors into human society and our place within the cosmos than magic mirrors predicting an unknown future.