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of mankind rather than specific communities. Believing humanity to be corrupt and beyond saving, God planned to flood the Earth, returning it to the primordial state it had been in during the Creation. God made Noah aware of His plans, suggesting that the devout and righteous man should save his family and others that he deemed worthy.
    The story of Noah has become well known, especially because of the suggestion that Noah saved two of each animal to help repopulate the Earth. This element in particular has led many different interpretations of whether this episode truly occurred or is meant as a symbolic entry to highlight God’s power.
    Most modern scholars believe that the story of Noah is more of an attempt to explain natural disasters, reconciling them with the existence of God and suggesting that His good will has led to our continued existence. This interpretation of the story of Noah only serves to highlight the similarities between this and the stories about Ragnarok and the Fourth Sun of Aztec mythology, as well as references to floods throughout other mythologies and epic tales.
    Fragments of the Noah story suggest that God’s anger might not have been directed at humanity, but rather at a race that was successfully eliminated during the Flood: the Nephilim.
    These were born of the unholy union between the sons of God and the daughters of men, but there are different interpretations of what this means: at their most simple, the Nephilim are simply a corrupted rival tribe to Noah’s family; at their most fantastic, they are the children of fallen angels taking the form of giants and monsters.
    The Book of Daniel
    While the books of the Torah provide accounts of the creation and destruction of the Earth, another book in the Old Testament becomes an important feature in discussions about the End of the World, and for good reason.
    The Book of Daniel includes dream-like prophecy and revelations as written by the wise man Daniel; this book is treated differently by the Jewish and Christian faiths, with the Christian Bible placing the Book of Daniel alongside books of prophecy, while Judaism treats Daniel as a biography.
    The Book of Daniel suggests that, even in hardship, God will save his people: the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar has sacked the Temple in Jerusalem and taken Daniel as an advisor, but by adhering to his faith, Daniel is able to provide insight for the king, and ultimately save both his life and the lives of his friends.
    Much of the Book of Daniel takes the form of dreams and prophecies that Daniel interprets and provides guidance on: there are references throughout the book to four kingdoms, with a divine fifth kingdom that is yet to come – similar to the five eras of Aztec myth. The book also features beasts and the discussion about future events that resurface throughout the rest of the Bible.
    The Book of Daniel is rarely discussed in its own right with regards to the End of the World, but scholars believe it is key to understanding some of the later books of the Bible, especially the Book of Revelations in the New Testament. By combining the two books together, we see a wealth of thought and theories about the Endtimes, and much of Christian eschatology has built on these books.
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    SIGNS OF THE TIMES
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    Throughout the Old Testament, there are several references to the ultimate fate of mankind, and these have become the basic foundations of how the modern world looks at the End of the World. Due to the sheer numbers practising the Abrahamic religions, these events and images have become engrained in how we think about the Apocalypse: it’s nearly impossible to think about the End of the World without reference to these religions.
    The fact that Judaism, Christianity and Islam have such common roots serves to entrench these thoughts about the Endtimes, and a whole wealth of art, culture and political thought has developed around some common themes. In fact, most of these themes can even be