In his book "The Origins of the World's Mythologies, "the Harvard Sanskritist E.J. Michael Witzel explores the commonalities among the world's mythologies. He strikingly concludes that many of the world's mythic themes can be traced back well beyond the bounds of written history.
The author, Witzel, claims that there is a more or less consistent narrative that can be found in the myths and scriptures of the peoples of Eurasia, North and South America, and even Polynesia. From their common features, he argues that this narrative very likely dates as far back as 40,000—20,000 BC. Using a name taken from geology for one of the protocontinents, Witzel calls this the Laurasian mythos. It encompasses the history of the world from the generation of the gods to the end of time. As such, it recapitulates the human life cycle from birth to death:
Laurasian mythology also tells of the destruction of our world. It may take place as a final worldwide conflagration—the Gaterdamerung or Ragnar in the Edda, Siva's destructive dance and fire in India; by molten metal in Zoroastrian myth or by devouring the world; or by fire and water in Maya and other Mesoamerican myths; or as in the Old Egyptian tale of Atum's destruction of the earth. However, the end also takes other forms, such as ice and long-lasting winter, for example, in the Edda, or in Iran with Yima's underground world, or again, a flood.
Witzel includes the biblical apocalypse in this picture. Like most scholars, he sees the Persian religion Zoroastrianism as the immediate source of this idea, which percolated into Judaism around the sixth century BC and thence into Christianity, "the end of the world, judgment of humans, and emerging paradise in Zoroastrian myth," he says, being the source "from which the Christian belief in the end,' the final judgment, and paradise are derived" .
Like most stories that are derived from dogmatic religions, things end in doom and gloom. Not necessarily true. Even "the End" is not literally true - there is simply an end to [SOMETHING].
If you find yourself here, and you are exploring this subject, you will see things differently - for you it will be a BEGINNING.
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The Rapture will actually be a separation of a reality that choses not to ascend, and one that does. [THAT] is the choice, and the judgment ...christian|TOREN
God's REALITY is actually an infinite possibility of Realities - however, each has an end. They are finite. This is one time you cannot nudge timelines, or jump to other variations. You will be sorted-out to the appropriate new reality for you - the one (of two) you are best fitted for. One will begin a downwards spiral to oblivion - the other spirals up on an infinite journey of Ascension.