In Theory:

Believers and nonbelievers alike may have certain opinions about the end of the world — and how it will present itself. We have many illustrations in the Holy Bible that give pictures of what that may look like. But as far as the Mayan calendar and other types of prophecies, they have come and gone in history. I prefer to go straight to God’s word when contemplating such events.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:36 that, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Here, Jesus is speaking of more than just his return, but the following scriptures go on to speak of final judgment in apocalyptic literature (see also Matthew 13:37-43 and Revelation 19:20). Jesus tells us we are not going to know the exact timing or nature of events, only the father has the authority to identify these.

So while we have ideas of how — and when — the end of the world may come, we really do not know. And professing to may lead to false prophesies according to Christian belief.

THE REV. KIMBERLIE ZAKARIAN

La Vie Counseling Center

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Judaism does not lend credence to any “end of the world” theories.

The biblical narrative of Noah tells us that after the destructive forces of the great flood, God promised that never again would he cause such devastation, and he placed a rainbow in the sky as a token of this covenant.

Our belief system teaches us that the world was created for us to inhabit, cultivate, and nurture so that it may become a garden for goodness and kindness. The divine mission for humanity and all of nature necessitates a physical realm, and the Earth’s destruction would contradict this spiritual purpose. We believe that the world as we know it will one day transform into an even better environment of universal understanding and peace; as the prophet Isaiah (2:4) articulates, there will come a day when humanity “shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against another, nor shall they teach their young the ways of war any more.”