Apocalypse!
has begun.
Norse mythology contains many apocalyptic stories but the best known is Ragnarok, in which the gods themselves are doomed at the end of the world.
Similar events to other end-time happenings occur such as earthquakes, the sun loosing its light, monsters, Armageddon, the earth destroyed by fire and a rebirth. Before the destruction there will be fierce snows and terrifying winds. There will be winters with no summers. Wars will engulf the entire world and brother will kill brother. Wolves will swallow the sun and the moon and the stars will disappear from the heavens. When things can get no worse, Odin and Thor appear. There is a great battle among the gods, wolves and serpents. In the end, fire will be poured out upon the Earth until it remains no more and all of the gods are dead. But there will be good places made of gold where life begins anew.
The last of the myths point to contemporary science's Entropy and Heat Death Laws, which are compatible with the Hindu stories of death and destruction. One must therefore be familiar with or have a desire to study the Hindu apocalyptic myths in order to understand how modern end-time scientific events will unfold.
The Entropy Law is defined by a circular explanation which states that all creation appeared within a determinate period of time in eons past and will soon complete its winding down to a state of unfitness for all life. The earth is running down. The clock will soon stop ticking. When Earth reaches Entropy no more activity will occur.
Heat death is comparable to a state of eternal rest. The Earth, which began with order, will end in disorder. The Greenhouse Effect could possible be a source of Heat Death. Entropy and Heat Death work together. When all of the Earth's energy has been expended it has then reached maximum entropy, known as the final equilibrium state of Heat Death. Very complicated, esoteric and not nearly as interesting as the previous cosmic myths.
- ..."Apocalyptic imagery is very much a part of the way we see reality today. The recent experience of genocidal holocaust and the ever-present threat of a nuclear war bring these myths all too close to home..."
(The World of Myth; p.77)
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