Edward Novodvorsky, Period 1, 2/14/2024

Edward Novodvorsky, Period 1, 2/14/24

Modern Mythology 2024

Research Paper


Science’s Book of Revelation

Nothing lasts forever. That’s a phrase I have heard countless times, whether it be in the dialogue of TV shows, lyrics of Billy Joel songs, or debates about sports dynasties on ESPN. It is also a phrase which has become synonymous with a word which has signified the coming of the end of a civilization as we know it for millenia - “apocalypse”.

The first time an idea of the apocalypse was brought up in our course was when Mr. Miscaigna came in to talk about the Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament which communicates to its readers the end of the world. In the Book of Revelation, those who are loyal followers of Christ will be protected and, in the end, rewarded, while those who are evil will undergo a series of tribulations which will result in their demise. Throughout the Book of Revelation, there are numerous punishments and events which signify the end of the world as we know it - the seas becoming blood (Rev. 16:3), the rise of the Antichrist (Rev. 12-14), the coming of the pale horse (Rev. 6:7-8), and poisoning of all rivers and springs (Rev. 8:10-11). The catastrophic events will mark the second coming of Christ, after which a paradise is created for those who remain righteous.

When I first heard Mr. Misciagna talk about the Book of Revelation, I thought about the messages that the book contained. The Book of Revelation is the final eradication of evil and of darkness, and signifies the dawn of a new age. However, in order to achieve said paradise, the world has to go through events which result in the death of many.

Around a month after our conversations on the Book of Revelation, we covered the idea of Ragnarok, or the apocalypse in Norse mythology. While the story of Ragnarok itself was very interesting, what surprised me the most was how similar the tale was to the Book of Revelation. Both Ragnarok and Revelation involve harsh seasonal changes, with the Fimbulwinter in Ragnarok and the burning of 1/3rds of all trees and all the grass in the Bible (Rev. 8:7). More significantly, after all of the hardships mentioned in the Book of Revelation, after all the suffering and death during Ragnarok, the world is reborn in a better light in both scenarios. As mentioned previously, at the end of the Book of Revelation, Christ returns, and the world enters a new age. After Ragnarok, the surviving gods, including Vidar, Vali, and Magni, reunite and begin to build a world without evil.

A world without evil. It almost sounds too good to be true, and yet, it had me thinking - is there a possibility that modern science could have predicted a similar fate for humanity? Will we have to undergo certain trials and tribulations in the distant future, in order to establish a peaceful utopia for our civilization? This was my leading question when I began to research the scientific apocalypse - is there light at the end of the tunnel?


While there are many theories as to how the Earth and the universe might end, for the most part, they are all bleak. In terms of our Earth’s future, the prevailing theory is that, as the Sun’s luminosity continues to increase, Earth’s global temperature will approach the boiling point of water, almost certainly spelling the end of life on Earth (Eicher). In 6 billion years, the Sun, after converting hydrogen to helium, will become a gas giant. It will exponentially increase in size, swallowing up Mercury, Venus, and, potentially, Earth (NASA). Somehow, this is the best case scenario for Earth, as it leaves everything up to events outside of our control. However, with rising global temperatures, the rate of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has grown exponentially, something which could help propel the temperature to the boiling point of water quicker than it normally would have. There is also the real possibility of global conflict. With tensions rising between the United States and China by the day, and wars propping up both in Europe and the Middle East in the last 2 years, the day of revelation might be closer than we think.

The theories for the end of the universe, the end of everything, are even grimmer. The current scientific consensus is that the universe will end in a Big Freeze. Dark matter and dark energy will continue to propel the current expansion of our universe, until galaxies and stars are spread apart, and the formation of new galaxies and stars will cease. The older galaxies and stars will either die or be swallowed up by black holes. Black holes themselves then will die, leaving the universe with nothing (Betz).

At first glance, this isn’t quite the end the Book of Revelation had in store. There is no paradise, no light at the end of the tunnel. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this could align with Revelation if we assume one thing - there are no righteous people on Earth. If that is the case, no one will survive the apocalypse. The rest of the book could match up with the scientific theories provided to us in modern discoveries - much as there are drastic changes in weather in the Book of Revelation, climate change and the boiling of the oceans are examples of the predicted dramatic changes which will lead to the death of humanity. In addition, if everyone dies on Earth as a result of high temperatures, evil will also cease to exist, as is the case in the Book of Revelation.

This begs the question - are there righteous people on Earth? Although I would say that there have certainly been people in history who have been righteous, like those who have stood tall in the face of adversity, our studies of folklore make it clear that everyone has significant flaws. The Ancient Greek tragedy explored the idea of Greek heroes having a hamartia, or a fatal law, which would bring about their demise. The Norse gods often get themselves into tricky situations, situations which can involve immorality, with Odin seducing Gunnlod being a prime example. If these cultures exemplify the idea that nobody’s perfect, why should Christianity, or any other Abrahamic religion, be any different?

Perhaps that was the message of the Book of Revelation. Although Christ will bring about salvation and peace for those who are righteous to him, by the time he returns, there will be no one to save from the tribulations brought upon the world during the apocalypse. As a result, there is no one to build a new city, and the world ends up with nothing, much as the scientists of the modern era have proposed. While the Bible might encourage people to follow the teachings of Christ, in the end, it knows that people will lose faith in God, and, because of this, no one will survive the apocalypse.

When Mr. Misciagna came in to teach the Book of Revelation to us, he started off the class by playing the 1987 R.E.M. hit “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”. Being a lover of everything classic rock, that day wasn’t the first time I heard that song. However, while listening to the song while working on this blog, I realized that the lyrics demonstrate how people could really feel about the end of the world. In the end, although we don’t know if there is an afterlife or not, we know humanity will go extinct, and there’s really nothing we can do about it. What we can do, however, is do what folklore has taught us for millenia - to stay true to our values while we can and delay the inevitable for as long as we can.

Nothing lasts forever, and we might not be righteous enough to survive the apocalypse in the eyes of God, or in the eyes of any other system we might believe in. The science supports that. We know that. And yet, we’re still here. And we feel fine. Perhaps that is our light at the end of the tunnel.



Bibliography:

Betz, Eric. “The Beginning to the End of the Universe: The Big Crunch vs. the Big Freeze.” Astronomy Magazine, 18 May 2023, www.astronomy.com/science/the-beginning-to-the-end-of-the-universe-the-big-crunch-vs-the-big-freeze/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024.

Eicher, David J. “Earth’s Future: How the World Might End.” Astronomy Magazine, 19 Oct. 2023, www.astronomy.com/science/earth-future-how-the-world-might-end-eventually/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024.

“Chapter 6: Aging into Gianthood.” NASA, 14 Dec. 2018, exoplanets.nasa.gov/life-and-death/chapter-6/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024.