Compare And Contrast Eschatology And Zoroastrianism
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Eschatology is a set of doctrines which concerns the final events of history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity. There are two kinds of eschatology, individual eschatology, and cosmic eschatology. The individual eschatology consists of the doctrines on the fate of the soul after death. The soul is judged and justice is given to the individual according to the person’s merits. On the other hand, the cosmic eschatology consists of the doctrines on the fate of the world and of the humanity at the end of history. Eschatological notions, such as death, the destiny of humanity, the Second Coming, or the Last Judgment are not found in all religions. Some religions that encounter some or all these eschatological notions are Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
The primary goal of this paper is to discuss the eschatological doctrines of Zoroastrianism, to compare and contrast the Zoroastrian eschatological doctrines with the Jewish eschatological doctrines, and to contemplate if the Zoroastrian eschatology has influenced the Jewish eschatology. In order to accomplish this goal, I will first briefly talk about the Zoroastrian individual and universal (apocalyptic) eschatological doctrines witnessed in the Gathas (according to Zoroaster), Young Avestan texts, and in the Pahlavi books. Next, I will introduce the Jewish eschatology with biblical reference and quotes found in the Old Testament. Finally,…show more content… Men will reunite with the immortals. As the Pahlavi text states, 'Ohrmazd and the Amahraspands and all Yazads and men will be together. . . ; every place will resemble a garden in spring, in which there are all kinds of trees and flowers . . . and it will be entirely the creation of Ohrrnazd'. Ohrmazd will have the final battle with Ahriman, where Ahriman gets defeated and becomes powerless to cause any more