The number of the Beast, as mentioned in Revelation
13:18. The Beast is thought to represent the Antichrist.
It is generally believed among Biblical scholars that
this number represents Nero, but this doesn't stop people
from applying it to everyone from Bill Clinton to Prince
Charles to the Pope to Saddam Hussein. I like to joke
that it refers to Ronald
Reagan!
Antichrist
A false Christ who is supposed to rise to power
during the Tribulation.
apocalypse
Actually meaning "unveiling" or "revelation," this
word is frequently used to describe the end of the world
as we know it. Though many apocalyptic scenarios depict a
terrifying, destructive end, some are rather gentle,
having to do with the enlightenment of the human race or
the dawning of a New Age. This term is also used to refer
to the Book of Revelation.
Armageddon
The final battle between the forces of good and evil,
mentioned in Revelation 16:16. The word is a corruption
of Har Megiddo, the Mount of Megiddo, near Tel
Aviv, a place where many battles were fought ages ago.
Many wars have been deemed Armageddon by contemporaneous
doomsayers, including the English Civil War, Crimean War,
World War I and the Gulf War.
chiliasm
The doctrine of a thousand-year Earthly reign of
Christ.
Earth changes
Sudden, large-scale, catastrophic changes in the
geography, geological activity, rotation or climate of
the Earth. Pole shifts and the rising of Atlantis from
the sea are two common Earth change scenarios. Such ideas
have been popularized by people like Edgar Cayce,
Gordon-Michael Scallion, Lori Adaile Toye and Richard
Noone.
eschatology
The theological study of the end of things,
especially the end of the world.
Feast of Trumpets
Another name for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year,
so called because trumpets were traditionally sounded on
this day. This is a favorite date for doomsayers, because
of the Biblical reference to the "last trumpet" that is
to signal the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:52).
Gog and Magog
A nation and its leader that are deceived by Satan
into invading Israel during the End Times (Ezekiel 38:2,
Revelation 20:8). Gog is generally considered the leader
of the nation Magog, but this is not always the case. For
many centuries Gog and Magog were considered to be the
Huns, Goths or Turks, but in modern-day fundamentalist
pop culture they usually represent Russia.
Great Week
The doctrine that the seven days of Creation
correspond to seven 1000-year periods of human history,
and that Christ's thousand-year reign is to take place
during the millennial Sabbath -- the seventh millennium
since the Creation. Also known as the millennial
week, 6-day or 6000-year theory.
Kali Yuga
The "age of iron"; the dark age of materialism and
ignorance, according to Hindu mythology. We are currently
living in the Kali Yuga, which, depending on the source,
has a duration of anywhere between 1200 and 432,000
years. At the end of the Kali Yuga, the present world
will be destroyed and cleansed, and a new era of peace
and enlightenment will dawn.
millennium
Any period of a thousand years.
An epoch of a thousand years in the modern
Western calendar. The third millennium will begin on
January 1, 2001.
(usually capitalized) The supposed thousand year
reign of Christ after his Second Coming.
New World Order
A phrase first used by Mikhail Gorbachev on December
7, 1988 in an address to the United Nations. It
originally meant a world no longer dominated by two great
superpowers, in which world peace would be enforced
through international efforts, a very positive idea
indeed. The phrase was relatively unknown in popular
culture until George Bush used it during a speech to
Congress on September 11, 1990. Almost immediately,
fundamentalists and conspiracy buffs latched onto the
phrase, twisting its meaning to represent an evil
worldwide conspiracy to form a single body that will
govern the world through deception, an iron fist and
possible Satanic influence. The phrase quickly replaced
the "One-World Government", "New Order" and
"International Jewish Banking Conspiracy" favored by
conspiracy paranoiacs. Writings prior to 1990 that refer
to a "New World Order" are rare indeed. The Latin phrase
Novus Ordo Seclorum as seen on the dollar bill
actually means "a new order of the ages," not "New World
Order" as some paranoiacs would have people think.
Parousia
Technical term for the Second Coming of Christ
pyramidology
A pseudoscience that teaches that the Great Pyramid
of Giza is a divine revelation. Many pyramidologists
believe that the future can be foretold by measuring the
Great Pyramid's inner passages.
Rapture
The sudden transporation of all true Christians to
heaven, which is supposed to take place around the time
of the Second Coming of Christ.
Second Coming
The return of Jesus to Earth, a doctrine believed by
many Christians.
signs of the times
Phenomena occurring that supposedly signal that the
end is near. These include self-proclaimed Messiahs, wars
and rumors of war, nation rising against nation, famines
andearthquakes (Matthew 24). The problem, naturally, is
that such things have been happening constantly
throughout history, even before the time of Christ. And
even Jesus was wrong about the Temple being destroyed
such that "there will not be left here one stone upon
another, that will not be thrown down." (Matthew 24:2)
The Western Wall of the Temple is still intact to this
day.
TEOTWAWKI
Commonly used shorthand for "the end of the world as
we know it."
Tribulation
A period, generally thought to be seven years, in
which the Antichrist comes to power, and the world is
destroyed by war, disease, rampant crime, earthquakes,
and other nastiness. The Tribulation is supposed to take
place immediately before Christ's Millennium.