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Imani Whitehead
Mrs. Elaine Bak
English Composition 1020
21 April 2016
Who Knows Best
Typically when apocalypses are thought of, natural disasters, war and zombies are the
first to come to mind. This could certainly be the cause of the end of the world, but what if it is
more than just science and disease? What if other higher spiritual beings are involved? Many
religions have their own theories on the end of the world. The two most practiced religions,
Christianity and Islam, both believe the natural disaster, war, and disease theory to be true. As a
matter of fact, both these religions have almost identical prophecies of the end of the world. We
will explore the conflicting views of the end of the world and how they shape these religions
from past to present.
Christianity is the most practiced of all religions in the United States and around the
world. The Holy Bible, which consist of 66 books, is the main resource of knowledge for past
and present day Christian believers. Many different excepts point to the fact that Christians
believe in the rapture or Christs second coming. The rapture is when Jesus, the Christians
savior, makes an appearance in the sky and all Christians ascend into heaven. 1 Thessalonians
4:16-18 say, For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died
will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the
earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord

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forever. So encourage each other with these words. According to the bible all Christians will go
to heaven if they truly believe that Jesus is the savior. Anyone left on earth after the rapture will
be stuck in hell on earth, the Armageddon. The last book of The Bible, Revelations, explains a
time after the Rapture that no human wants to experience. Christians hold true to this belief and
are taught to focus on their heavenly home when they are experiencing difficult times here on
earth. "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall
there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Revelation 21:4

As the Bible goes on to describe the end times as a time full of wars, natural disasters and
diseases. The bible depicts how Jesuss disciples ask him about end times. He rarely explains to
his disciples the end of the world, but when he does, he heeds many warnings. Jesus says, As it
was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the
flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah
entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took
them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37-39) In
this case Jesus is comparing the future end times to the past that Noah was involved in. The point
Jesus is making is that the end will come when the people of this world least expects it. Christian
takes this warning to heart. They strive to live as Christ-like as possible because they will not
have a clear warning of when the last day will take place. Similarly to the Islamic beliefs, many
of his disciples write down Jesuss words as he explains to beware of false prophets and do not
be ignorant to them either.

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On the other hand, Islams prophet, Muhammad, gives his followers a very similar
warning on the end of the world. Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established till two
big groups fight each other whereupon there will be a great number of casualties on both sides
and they will be following one and the same religious doctrine, till about thirty Dajjals (liars)
appear, and each one of them will claim that he is Allah's Apostle, till the religious knowledge is
taken away (by the death of Religious scholars) earthquakes will increase in number time will
pass quickly, afflictions will appear, Al-Harj, (i.e., killing) will increase, till wealth will be in
abundance ---- so abundant that a wealthy person will worry lest nobody should accept his Zakat,
and whenever he will present it to someone, that person (to whom it will be offered) will say, 'I
am not in need of it, till the people compete with one another in constructing high buildings, till a
man when passing by a grave of someone will say, 'Would that I were in his place and till the sun
rises from the West. (Book 88 Hadiths 237) In the Islamic belief Muhammad is a well-respected
prophet and the closest to a savior for Muslims. They believe in Jesus as well, but as a prophet,
like Muhammad. They do not believe Jesus is the son of God or that anyone is for that matter.
Muhammad writes down warnings about to end of the world in the Hadiths. He gives his
followers a more specific and detailed prophecy of what will happen when the end times come.
The Islamic religion requires its believers to believe in the end of the world. It is the fifth article
of faith:
1. God
2. His angels
3. His books
4. His apostles
5. The Last Day

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6. The predestination of good and evil by God.

7. The bodily resurrection of all people at the last day.
The end of the world alone is a big part of the Islam religion and culture and because of that,
Islamic people take their religion very seriously. They want to live their lives as closely as the
prophet instructs them so that they don't end up in the wrong place. "Know they not that
whoever opposes God and His Messenger (Muhammad), certainly for him will be the Fire of
Hell to abide therein? That is the extreme disgrace" (Quran 9:63)
These two religions have many similar views on the end of the world. Both Christianity
and Islam warn about people who pretend to be noble teachers, because in the last days all
scholars and followers of Jesus or Allah will leave earth. This makes it easier for there to be
frauds that lead people in the wrong direction. Also, both religions believe that Jesus will return
in the final days. While they both believe this to be true, there is a huge difference between the
two beliefs in this subject by itself. When Jesus returns for the Christians, he comes strictly for
business. Christians believe he returns to win a war against the Anti-Christ. On the other hand,
Islam believes Jesus fights a war against Jewish believers and declares himself Muslim. After
that he gets married and dies at the age 40. For centuries Christians and Islams fought each other
for their beliefs. Jesus is the Christians savior and the Son of God. Islamic believers do not
believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They believe he is a prophet like Mohammad and because
of this, the two religions have had their disparities. Another difference found is Christianity is
vague and symbolic in their views on the end of the world. While there are some specific points
in Christians view, Islams view on the end of the world is more detailed and specific.
The views of the end of the world from both Christian and Islamic religions have shaped
our world today more than any other religions. Because these views are so similar, many people

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set out to live their lives the way it is instructed by the two major prophets of each of these
faiths. Simply put, most of the world wants to end up in a paradise past the point of their human
lives and on to eternity. Additionally, they do not want and not end up in the gates of hell, where
they experience eternal torture.

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Works Cited
1. Ali, Maulana Muhammad. Holy Quran. Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore
USA, 2011.
2. Bibles, Free, and Christian Bible Store. "King James Version." (2000).
3. Bloesch, Donald G. "Holy Scripture: Revelation, inspiration and interpretation."
Reading 85364.589 (1994)
4. Hadith. In The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Ed. John L. Espositi. Oxford Islamic
Studies Online. May 4, 2016.
5. Horner, Noel. UCG.org. 27 January 2003. Article.
6. Moltmann, Jurgen. The coming of God: Christian eschatology. Fortress Press, 2004.
7. Robinson, B.A religioustolerance.org. 14 July 2013. Article