The ultimate destruction of all things as we know. Life’s end on earth. The end of the world. Doomsday!
These phrases are bouncing up and down our psyches as we try to comprehend the possibility of a single day which will put an end to all life on earth as we know it. The day which our reality will no longer exist and we will be faced with chaos and destruction on a massive scale. It is not only our generation that has been wondering about this mysteriously horrifying day, but also our ancestors.
For centuries, from the famous Mayans to Nostradamus, speculations about the day have been endless. Doomsday entails many possible reasons that may lead to the demise of our earth. From nuclear warfare between nations, political unrest, hunger, and natural disasters as a result of global warming. In the world we live in today, many of these things are not farfetched and we see them on the news almost every day.
The intensifying situations had been even further intensified in 2012 after the doomsday predictions based on the Mayan calendar. As of today, it turns out 2012 predictions did not take place. For believers, that only makes their belief that Doomsday is near even stronger. The history of the day today as we know it has been around for a while.
In modern day society, it has been emanating mainly from main stream media and has caught on like a wildfire to people everywhere. The most prominent name associated with Doomsday is easily Michele de Nostradame, or Nostradamus. His name and works are widely cited as predictions of the day which the world will end. The French apothecary who lived in the 14th century has attracted much debate and struck wonders in people’s beliefs about the day.
His book “Les Proheties” which first appeared in 1555 attracted much speculation. Much of his predictions were based on judicial astrology supplemented with past historical events and the bible. He also employed comparative horoscopy as a form of reference for his predictions. Much of his predictions entail devastating disasters such as wars, floods, deaths, invasions, earthquakes, droughts and so forth.
Ominous and doom worthy, the quatrains potentially point to the possible imminent end of the world. In the quatrains of the book, Nostradamus made vivid prophecies about world events. Many believers have already drawn parallels between his predictions and events which have already taken place. Furthermore, they lay claims on the books predictive power on the ultimate day.
On the other hand, academic sources dispute the believers on the ground that the associations between predictions and real events are largely a result of misinterpretations. These misinterpretations were further claimed to sometimes intentional twisting of words in order to fulfill the believer’s beliefs. In popular culture, Nostradamus’ prophecies continue to spark interest about doomsday.
His quatrains have been used in multiple television airings on the subject of doomsday. One of the best known prophecy is that which prophesied the terror attack on 9/11. In 2012, the book was further used as evidence by media that the end was near. Behind the rich history of Doomsday lies much speculation. But for believers, it is the question of “when” and not “if.”