The End of the World According To Science And Religion

Unveiled

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00:00From ancient scriptures to modern science fiction, we've always been captivated by

00:04one terrifying question.

00:07How will the world end?

00:09And whether it's scary religious visions, the glamorous spectacles of Hollywood, or

00:13the stark warnings of scientists, it's something of a running theme throughout modern

00:17human history.

00:19This is Unveiled, and today we're taking a closer look at the end of the world according

00:23to science and religion.

00:26Do you need the big questions answered?

00:28Are you constantly curious?

00:30Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?

00:33And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!

00:36In truth, science does have a pretty clear roadmap for the far future of our planet,

00:42if all other doomsday scenarios are avoided.

00:45Geologically speaking, most of our knowledge comes from our study of other stars and star

00:50systems in the universe.

00:52The general life cycle of a star is well understood, and therefore so is the future of our sun.

00:59Currently, the sun is happily burning through its main phase, a stable period that lasts

01:04for billions of years, but it will eventually run out of fuel.

01:08When that happens, it'll dramatically change and begin to die.

01:12Its surface temperature will decrease and it will appear more red, transforming into

01:16what's known as a red giant star.

01:19During this cosmic transition, the sun will expand out and out, comfortably devouring

01:24Mercury and Venus as it does so.

01:27Again, its surface temperature will have decreased, but it will remain a burning and

01:31deadly prospect, far hotter than any other solar system body.

01:36Most estimates are that it will also envelop and destroy Earth.

01:40Or if the expanding sun doesn't quite make it so far as the 93 million miles that currently

01:45exist between us and it, then it will certainly scorch our planet into a lifeless crisp.

01:51Most estimates are that the sun will go red giant in about five billion years, so if we're

01:56forecasting that far into the future, then that's what science knows about the end of

02:00the world.

02:01But the next and infinitely more urgent question is, will we make it that far?

02:06The Earth today is around 4.5 billion years old, so it's got more than that again until

02:12the average estimate for red giant takes hold.

02:15That's a lot of time, especially considering that we, the modern human, are only around

02:20300,000 years old as a species, and that our modern post-agricultural revolution civilization

02:26is only about 13,000 years old as well.

02:29We only have around 5,000 years of recorded human history to look back on.

02:34Statistically, then, it's unlikely that we'll be around to see the end of the world.

02:38But that said, there are many world-ending apocalyptic scenarios, specifically relating

02:43to the end of humankind, and many of which are swirling with conspiracy.

02:49With certain religions, the end times are an ever-present theme.

02:53Christianity is the widest-spread religion in the world, and the apocalyptic events that

02:58it foresees are culturally ingrained.

03:00The Book of Revelation details the Rapture.

03:03It isn't the end of the world itself, but it is what will apparently unfold just before

03:08the end of the world.

03:09It's said that the four horsemen of the apocalypse – war, famine, plague, and death – will

03:14be released upon us.

03:16The angels of heaven will then sound seven trumpets.

03:19Each heralding a specific and catastrophic event.

03:22The final straw, and the main event, is the emergence of Satan into our myths, most likely

03:27in the form of a dragon.

03:29There swiftly follows an epic celestial battle known as Armageddon.

03:33For millions, it isn't just a story, it's a prophetic warning of what's to come.

03:38Evangelical pastors preach about the coming of the devil, interpreting current events

03:42as surefire signs of nearing doom.

03:45Wars, natural disasters, and political upheavals are cited by them as evidence of the apocalypse

03:50looming on the horizon.

03:52Such warnings are not new, however, and have been preached about for nearly 2,000 years.

03:57Early Christians, including Paul the Apostle, thought Jesus Christ would return within their

04:02lifetimes, probably during the Rapture.

04:05Suffice to say, he didn't return, and the world is still waiting for this particular

04:09apocalypse to happen.

04:11For every religious interpretation, though, there's also a big-budget blockbuster movie.

04:16Hollywood has long capitalized on its audience's fear of the end of the world, if only to sell

04:21tickets and popcorn.

04:22The Day After Tomorrow depicts a climate change disaster.

04:26In the Mad Max franchise, the action plays out across a nuclear wasteland.

04:31The key difference, though, is that climate change and nuclear war are verifiable threats.

04:36And in the Tinseltown version of events, there is apparently a chance that you, if you're

04:40the main character, could well survive even the worst that might happen.

04:44Outwitting the arrival of a mythical super-beast Satan during the Rapture is difficult to envisage.

04:50Sidestepping nuclear war and or runaway global warming is, according to the movies, a little

04:55more palatable.

04:56And yet, in real life, that's very likely not the case.

04:59It's widely believed that it was an asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, but it's not as

05:04though that one rock instantly annihilated all of them in one hit.

05:08Rather, the asteroid strike so destabled the global climate that the largest non-avian

05:13creatures were incapable of adapting to survive their new conditions.

05:18And over the next few thousand years or so, they died out.

05:21The frightening thing is that today's climate scientists believe that something similar

05:25could be happening right now.

05:27The Holocene extinction is currently ongoing, and is dubbed by some as the sixth major extinction

05:32event in Earth's history.

05:34It's said to be the result of climate change, which itself is said to have been accelerated

05:39by human activity.

05:40Obviously, there has been no instantaneous nor explosive asteroid strike for us to contend

05:45with in the last couple hundred years.

05:47But since the Industrial Revolution in particular, climate experts say that we've endured just

05:52as dramatic and turbulent a period of climatological adjustment, and for some, it really could

05:58be the end of the world.

06:00Or at least, of our kind.

06:02Nevertheless, climate change is still something that A, we're struggling to combat as a society,

06:07and B, in many cases, we're lacking the urgency to stop.

06:12Because there are no instantaneous effects, it may never grab attention nor focus minds

06:17in quite the same way as, say, an asteroid strike would.

06:21In a bizarre blurring of the boundaries between science and religion, it might even be argued

06:25that climate change deniers simply don't have enough faith in the scientists that are

06:29discovering and distributing the evidence.

06:32Irrespective of what you believe, however, there are examples all over the world of governments,

06:37groups, and individuals who really are preparing for the worst.

06:40The US government has specific plans in place in the event of a catastrophic event, broadly

06:45referred to as the Continuity of Operations Plan, or COOP.

06:49These protocols were largely devised in relation to the Cold War-era threat of nuclear attack,

06:54but they still exist today for any and all possibilities.

06:58In general, they include clear directions as to where the highest-ranking politicians

07:02should flee to, as well as detailed lines of succession.

07:06In the UK, there are the infamous Letters of Last Resort, which are handwritten by the

07:10serving Prime Minister and stored on all nuclear submarines to be opened in the event that

07:16the government is destroyed.

07:18Israel reportedly has a crisis hub built into the Judean mountains close to Jerusalem.

07:23In Norway, there's a purpose-built bunker ready for the country's royal family.

07:27In Russia, there's a long history of alleged secret command centres, although very little

07:32has ever been made public.

07:34The existence of plans in places such as these might imply that officials all over the planet

07:40are preparing for something far greater than anything they'd like to reveal, which unsurprisingly

07:46has long fueled conspiracy theories as to whether we might always be in imminent danger

07:50of the end of the world.

07:52The unfortunate truth is that, with regards to nuclear war, this isn't really hyperbole.

07:58Despite modern attempts to de-escalate conflict, there are still more than enough active nuclear

08:03warheads to spark global ruin within moments.

08:06With regard to the end times as per religion, perhaps even the best-prepared nations will

08:11ultimately get caught out.

08:13But still, climate change remains the one lingering threat that arguably no prior planning

08:19can properly escape.

08:21In almost all cases, and no matter how Hollywood can make it seem, surviving the end of the

08:27world will be no mean feat.

08:31What do you think?

08:32Is there anything we missed?

08:33Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you

08:37subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.

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