When Will the World End?: Prophecy, Science, and the Human Fear of the Final Day (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798177559476)

When will the world end-and why have human beings been asking that question for thousands of years?

From ancient flood stories and Ragnarök to the Last Day, the Second Coming, Kali Yuga, nuclear war, climate change, asteroid impacts, artificial intelligence, and the eventual death of the Sun, humanity has imagined the end in remarkably different ways.

When Will the World End? explores those ideas without preaching, fear-mongering, or claiming to know when the final day will come.

Drawing on religious texts, history, psychology, and modern science, this accessible guide examines what major traditions say about the end of the world-and what scientific evidence tells us about the genuine threats facing humanity.

Inside, you'll explore:

• Ancient end-time traditions from Mesopotamia, Norse mythology, Greece, Zoroastrianism, and Mesoamerica
• Islamic teachings about the signs of the Last Day, including the Dajjal, Mahdi, return of Isa (Jesus), Yajuj and Majuj, and other major signs
• Christian teachings from Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, Revelation, the Tribulation, and different views of the Rapture
• Hindu teachings about the Yugas, Kali Yuga, and Kalki
• Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh, Zoroastrian, and Baháʼí perspectives on humanity's future
• Famous failed predictions, including 1844, Y2K, 2011, and the supposed Mayan apocalypse of 2012
• Modern claims involving Nibiru, the Bible Code, the Doomsday Clock, technology, and AI
• Scientific risks from nuclear war, climate change, pandemics, asteroids, supervolcanoes, solar storms, and artificial intelligence
• What astronomy tells us about Earth's distant future, the death of the Sun, and the possible heat death of the universe
• The psychology behind apocalyptic belief, doomsday movements, and humanity's fascination with the end
• What different traditions imagine may come after the end: judgment, paradise, renewal, liberation, or another cosmic cycle

Written in clear language for readers of all faiths and none, this book separates scripture from interpretation, historical claims from evidence, and genuine scientific risks from sensational predictions.

Rather than offering another countdown, When Will the World End? asks a more useful question:

If we cannot know exactly when the end will come, how should we live while the world is still here?