1 00:00:01,917 --> 00:00:04,625 [gentle music] 2 00:00:04,625 --> 00:00:07,708 - Tonight, a group of items so powerful, 3 00:00:07,708 --> 00:00:11,208 they're believed to predict the end of the world. 4 00:00:11,208 --> 00:00:14,458 - This calendar appears to have a start date 5 00:00:14,458 --> 00:00:15,625 and an end date. 6 00:00:17,375 --> 00:00:21,083 - The Blue Star Kachina is perhaps the most revered 7 00:00:21,083 --> 00:00:23,500 and the most feared figure 8 00:00:23,500 --> 00:00:26,792 because it embodies the deity that has the power 9 00:00:26,792 --> 00:00:29,250 to bring about the end of the world. 10 00:00:29,250 --> 00:00:32,542 - From a mysterious cave on a remote island. 11 00:00:32,542 --> 00:00:35,208 - The Cave of the Apocalypse is the place 12 00:00:35,208 --> 00:00:37,542 where Christians worldwide believe 13 00:00:37,542 --> 00:00:40,125 that the Bible's Book of Revelation was written. 14 00:00:41,417 --> 00:00:44,208 - [Dennis] To a pair of strange stones in the Americas. 15 00:00:44,208 --> 00:00:46,458 - Why are they killing people so often? 16 00:00:46,458 --> 00:00:48,542 It's because they believe that if they don't, 17 00:00:48,542 --> 00:00:50,542 the entire universe will come to an end. 18 00:00:52,375 --> 00:00:56,000 - And a book of prophecy so accurate, it's scary. 19 00:00:57,417 --> 00:01:01,042 - It's been estimated that about 2/3 of his predictions 20 00:01:01,042 --> 00:01:02,875 have come true so far. 21 00:01:02,875 --> 00:01:05,708 - These sacred objects have inspired awe 22 00:01:05,708 --> 00:01:07,792 for thousands of years. 23 00:01:07,792 --> 00:01:09,583 Now, the remarkable stories 24 00:01:09,583 --> 00:01:14,167 behind history's most compelling "Holy Marvels." 25 00:01:14,167 --> 00:01:16,417 [dramatic music] 26 00:01:26,208 --> 00:01:29,250 The Bible's Book of Revelation paints a vivid account 27 00:01:29,250 --> 00:01:31,375 of the end of the world, 28 00:01:31,375 --> 00:01:34,000 but the story of how it's written 29 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,000 is even more astonishing. 30 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,708 It begins in a mysterious cave 31 00:01:38,708 --> 00:01:41,208 on a remote island in Greece. 32 00:01:42,208 --> 00:01:46,833 - If you go to Patmos now, it's a lovely Greek island, 33 00:01:46,833 --> 00:01:48,917 an idyllic place for a vacation. 34 00:01:48,917 --> 00:01:51,667 But it wasn't always that way. 35 00:01:51,667 --> 00:01:56,000 2,000 years ago, Patmos was a barren, rocky place. 36 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,167 It's just kind of a windswept wasteland 37 00:01:59,167 --> 00:02:02,333 about 10 miles long by about 6 miles wide. 38 00:02:04,333 --> 00:02:06,708 - [Dennis] But at the end of the 1st century AD, 39 00:02:06,708 --> 00:02:09,708 it becomes significant for another reason. 40 00:02:10,708 --> 00:02:14,292 - There's a small cave marked by some large boulders. 41 00:02:14,292 --> 00:02:18,167 It's just an empty space with undulating stone walls, 42 00:02:18,167 --> 00:02:20,208 nothing noteworthy at first glance. 43 00:02:20,208 --> 00:02:22,042 This area is full of caves, 44 00:02:22,042 --> 00:02:23,667 but this one's special. 45 00:02:23,667 --> 00:02:26,042 In fact, it might be one of the most unique 46 00:02:26,042 --> 00:02:28,750 and important caves in history, 47 00:02:28,750 --> 00:02:30,708 and one of the most sacred. 48 00:02:30,708 --> 00:02:33,458 - [Dennis] It's called the Cave of the Apocalypse. 49 00:02:34,542 --> 00:02:36,917 - The Cave of the Apocalypse is the place 50 00:02:36,917 --> 00:02:39,500 where Christians worldwide believe 51 00:02:39,500 --> 00:02:42,292 that the Bible's Book of Revelation was written. 52 00:02:42,292 --> 00:02:46,667 Now, apocalypse doesn't actually mean the end of the world. 53 00:02:46,667 --> 00:02:50,458 It's a Greek word that means literally an unveiling. 54 00:02:50,458 --> 00:02:53,417 "Apo" means away from, and "kalupsis" is a veil, 55 00:02:53,417 --> 00:02:56,208 so apocalypse gets translated 56 00:02:56,208 --> 00:02:59,125 pretty literally as revelation. 57 00:03:00,375 --> 00:03:04,208 Here in this cave is where God reveals the details 58 00:03:04,208 --> 00:03:06,542 to the book's author, a man named John, 59 00:03:06,542 --> 00:03:09,750 who has come to be known as John of Patmos 60 00:03:09,750 --> 00:03:12,083 or John the Revelator. 61 00:03:12,083 --> 00:03:14,125 - There are indications in the book 62 00:03:14,125 --> 00:03:16,917 that suggest John might have lived in Jerusalem 63 00:03:16,917 --> 00:03:18,958 during Roman occupation, 64 00:03:18,958 --> 00:03:20,792 either as a contemporary of Jesus 65 00:03:20,792 --> 00:03:23,542 or within a few years of Jesus' death. 66 00:03:23,542 --> 00:03:27,500 Therefore, he's among the earliest Christians. 67 00:03:27,500 --> 00:03:31,375 - But in these very young days of this new religion, 68 00:03:31,375 --> 00:03:33,917 Christianity is not the global powerhouse 69 00:03:33,917 --> 00:03:35,375 it eventually becomes. 70 00:03:35,375 --> 00:03:39,375 It's actually labeled an illegal superstition and a crime 71 00:03:39,375 --> 00:03:40,958 by the ruling Roman authorities. 72 00:03:42,292 --> 00:03:43,875 - Rome had a habit 73 00:03:43,875 --> 00:03:47,000 of sending criminals to Patmos, especially Christians. 74 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,875 If they're going to go around preaching illegal beliefs, 75 00:03:49,875 --> 00:03:52,500 might as well send them off to an isolated island 76 00:03:52,500 --> 00:03:54,542 where they can't influence anybody. 77 00:03:55,958 --> 00:04:00,292 - [Dennis] Like John, who's banished to Patmos in 90 AD, 78 00:04:00,292 --> 00:04:02,875 along with fellow disciple Prochorus. 79 00:04:05,208 --> 00:04:08,125 - Prochorus is actually one of Jerusalem's 80 00:04:08,125 --> 00:04:10,375 very first Christian deacons. 81 00:04:10,375 --> 00:04:14,875 On Patmos, he serves as John's companion and scribe. 82 00:04:14,875 --> 00:04:17,875 - John is thought to be quite old at this time, 83 00:04:17,875 --> 00:04:19,667 but he makes it to Patmos. 84 00:04:19,667 --> 00:04:23,625 And not only that, he locates the perfect cave for shelter. 85 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:28,000 - The cave itself, it's about 21 by 18 feet. 86 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,375 It's a volcanic cave and it was created by a lava bubble 87 00:04:31,375 --> 00:04:34,542 as the island was forming many millennia ago. 88 00:04:34,542 --> 00:04:36,125 - Towards the back of the cave, 89 00:04:36,125 --> 00:04:37,708 there's a little indentation 90 00:04:37,708 --> 00:04:40,042 where you could actually lay down and sleep, 91 00:04:40,042 --> 00:04:43,042 and there's a jutting piece of rock out beyond it 92 00:04:43,042 --> 00:04:45,625 that you could use as a pillow. 93 00:04:45,625 --> 00:04:48,083 And then on the opposite side, 94 00:04:48,083 --> 00:04:50,375 there's a large flat section of rock 95 00:04:50,375 --> 00:04:53,583 that looks uncannily like a desk. 96 00:04:53,583 --> 00:04:56,125 - [Dennis] But the cave's most unique feature 97 00:04:56,125 --> 00:04:58,167 might be its most powerful. 98 00:04:59,208 --> 00:05:03,708 - Along one wall of the cave, there are three thin fissures 99 00:05:03,708 --> 00:05:06,208 and it's been described as a threefold split 100 00:05:06,208 --> 00:05:07,583 in ancient descriptions of the site. 101 00:05:07,583 --> 00:05:10,583 These openings, they're unusual 102 00:05:10,583 --> 00:05:12,958 from a geological standpoint. 103 00:05:12,958 --> 00:05:15,583 - This threefold split might be the entire reason 104 00:05:15,583 --> 00:05:18,667 John chooses the cave from among the many others. 105 00:05:18,667 --> 00:05:22,583 He believes it represents his religion's Holy Trinity. 106 00:05:22,583 --> 00:05:26,042 As an early Christian, he believes in God as one being 107 00:05:26,042 --> 00:05:27,875 who exists in three persons, 108 00:05:27,875 --> 00:05:29,958 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 109 00:05:33,167 --> 00:05:34,875 - Not long after settling in the cave, 110 00:05:34,875 --> 00:05:37,833 John describes hearing a booming voice. 111 00:05:39,375 --> 00:05:41,958 He's convinced it's the Lord Himself 112 00:05:41,958 --> 00:05:43,417 and this voice is coming 113 00:05:43,417 --> 00:05:45,375 through the three cracks in the rock. 114 00:05:46,250 --> 00:05:47,708 This voice tells John 115 00:05:47,708 --> 00:05:50,708 that he's about to be shown something very important 116 00:05:50,708 --> 00:05:54,042 and he has to write down exactly what he sees. 117 00:05:55,583 --> 00:05:58,292 - One of the first things John sees are four horsemen 118 00:05:58,292 --> 00:05:59,792 riding down to Earth 119 00:05:59,792 --> 00:06:02,625 and each one represents a particular disaster 120 00:06:02,625 --> 00:06:04,583 that will befall humankind. 121 00:06:05,583 --> 00:06:10,333 - The rider on the white horse, an archer, represents conquest. 122 00:06:10,333 --> 00:06:14,542 The rider on the red horse represents war. 123 00:06:14,542 --> 00:06:16,792 The rider on the black horse 124 00:06:16,792 --> 00:06:20,250 represents pestilence and famine. 125 00:06:20,250 --> 00:06:23,125 The rider on the pale horse 126 00:06:23,125 --> 00:06:26,000 is the only horseman that has a name, 127 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,208 and his name is Death, 128 00:06:28,208 --> 00:06:31,000 and hell follows with him. 129 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:35,333 These horsemen represent the wrath of God. 130 00:06:37,625 --> 00:06:39,000 - There are earthquakes. 131 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,125 All the water on Earth turns to blood. 132 00:06:42,125 --> 00:06:44,000 The sun and moon darken 133 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,583 and the stars begin to fall from the sky. 134 00:06:46,583 --> 00:06:49,833 It's truly a frightening and fantastic vision. 135 00:06:50,833 --> 00:06:54,125 - This story reads like no other part of the Bible. 136 00:06:54,125 --> 00:06:55,375 In no other part of the Bible 137 00:06:55,375 --> 00:06:57,417 are you reading about cosmic wars 138 00:06:57,417 --> 00:06:59,417 between the forces of good and evil, 139 00:06:59,417 --> 00:07:01,292 cataclysmic battles with monsters, 140 00:07:01,292 --> 00:07:03,708 including a bright red seven-headed beast 141 00:07:03,708 --> 00:07:05,917 marked with the number 666. 142 00:07:07,458 --> 00:07:08,750 - [Dennis] In the end, 143 00:07:08,750 --> 00:07:11,333 God sends an angelic army down to Earth 144 00:07:11,333 --> 00:07:13,708 to help save the day. 145 00:07:13,708 --> 00:07:17,000 - This army is led by the Lamb who had been slain, 146 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,708 which is Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, 147 00:07:21,708 --> 00:07:24,750 who wages the final battle, the Battle of Armageddon. 148 00:07:25,750 --> 00:07:28,375 - All of these horrors will finally end 149 00:07:28,375 --> 00:07:30,583 when Satan, in the form of a giant monster, 150 00:07:30,583 --> 00:07:32,417 is captured and bound, 151 00:07:32,417 --> 00:07:34,333 thrown into a lake of fire, 152 00:07:34,333 --> 00:07:36,542 and the wicked are all destroyed. 153 00:07:38,417 --> 00:07:42,667 That is the end of the world as we know it. 154 00:07:44,875 --> 00:07:47,375 - After the final battle and final judgment, 155 00:07:47,375 --> 00:07:49,417 all those who are deemed to be good 156 00:07:49,417 --> 00:07:52,000 can live alongside God Himself. 157 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,875 - [Dennis] Immediately after receiving these visions, 158 00:07:54,875 --> 00:07:57,875 John relays them to his scribe Prochorus 159 00:07:57,875 --> 00:08:01,125 who writes what will become the Book of Revelation. 160 00:08:02,708 --> 00:08:05,583 - The Book of Revelation becomes a foundational text 161 00:08:05,583 --> 00:08:06,500 of the new religion. 162 00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:08,125 Not only is it chosen 163 00:08:08,125 --> 00:08:10,583 from among thousands of early Christian writings 164 00:08:10,583 --> 00:08:13,542 to be one of the books of the canonical Bible, 165 00:08:13,542 --> 00:08:14,875 but it's the capstone, 166 00:08:14,875 --> 00:08:17,458 it's the final word of the Scriptures. 167 00:08:18,500 --> 00:08:20,083 - Within a few hundred years, 168 00:08:20,083 --> 00:08:22,750 the Cave of Patmos becomes a site of pilgrimage 169 00:08:22,750 --> 00:08:26,292 for Christians who really embrace the apocalyptic concept 170 00:08:26,292 --> 00:08:27,708 of the end times. 171 00:08:27,708 --> 00:08:30,750 They believe that God has shown John a true vision 172 00:08:30,750 --> 00:08:33,125 and they want to stand in the same place 173 00:08:33,125 --> 00:08:35,083 where God has spoken. 174 00:08:35,083 --> 00:08:39,583 - In the roughly 2,000 years since Revelation was written, 175 00:08:39,583 --> 00:08:43,917 it's inspired countless works of art, literature, 176 00:08:43,917 --> 00:08:47,083 songs, movies, comic books, television shows, 177 00:08:47,083 --> 00:08:48,375 video games, even. 178 00:08:48,375 --> 00:08:50,875 It's been used to justify wars 179 00:08:50,875 --> 00:08:53,708 and led many Christian groups to think 180 00:08:53,708 --> 00:08:56,583 that the end of the world is truly imminent. 181 00:08:57,625 --> 00:08:59,542 - [Dennis] But one expert claims 182 00:08:59,542 --> 00:09:02,625 that John's story isn't meant to be literal. 183 00:09:04,042 --> 00:09:07,125 - In 2012, Princeton Professor of Religion Elaine Pagels 184 00:09:07,125 --> 00:09:08,667 publishes a bestselling book 185 00:09:08,667 --> 00:09:11,667 appropriately entitled "Revelations." 186 00:09:11,667 --> 00:09:14,542 In it, she proposes an entirely new interpretation 187 00:09:14,542 --> 00:09:15,875 of the Book of Revelation 188 00:09:15,875 --> 00:09:18,250 and what transpired in John's cave. 189 00:09:19,458 --> 00:09:20,875 - [Dennis] According to Pagels, 190 00:09:20,875 --> 00:09:23,875 John's book isn't about the end of the world at all. 191 00:09:24,958 --> 00:09:25,917 It's a code. 192 00:09:30,625 --> 00:09:33,708 - [Dennis] In 2012, Dr. Elaine Pagels 193 00:09:33,708 --> 00:09:35,875 proposes a bold new theory 194 00:09:35,875 --> 00:09:39,542 about the true meaning behind the Book of Revelation. 195 00:09:39,542 --> 00:09:41,375 - According to Dr. Pagels, 196 00:09:41,375 --> 00:09:45,125 despite what everybody's been believing all these years, 197 00:09:45,125 --> 00:09:49,667 the Book of Revelation is not actually about a beast 198 00:09:49,667 --> 00:09:53,792 and a fiery mountain and four horsemen 199 00:09:53,792 --> 00:09:57,667 and all the monsters and everything else that's in it. 200 00:09:57,667 --> 00:10:00,875 - [Dennis] Instead, it's written in code. 201 00:10:00,875 --> 00:10:04,542 - All those elements are a coded message of resistance 202 00:10:04,542 --> 00:10:07,625 aimed at John's fellow early Christians. 203 00:10:07,625 --> 00:10:11,583 - And if Dr. Pagels's theory is correct, 204 00:10:11,583 --> 00:10:14,792 it turns on its head the whole story of the cave 205 00:10:14,792 --> 00:10:16,792 and the voice of God. 206 00:10:16,792 --> 00:10:20,375 It also means that John isn't just a passive vessel 207 00:10:20,375 --> 00:10:22,000 in this process. 208 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,833 He goes in there with his own intention to author a code. 209 00:10:27,250 --> 00:10:28,875 - According to Dr. Pagels, 210 00:10:28,875 --> 00:10:31,583 to understand John's real intentions, you have to 211 00:10:31,583 --> 00:10:34,708 understand the context of his time and his life. 212 00:10:34,708 --> 00:10:37,250 - John was born into a Jewish family, 213 00:10:37,250 --> 00:10:39,750 and like all his fellow Jewish people, 214 00:10:39,750 --> 00:10:42,625 he's facing brutal persecution 215 00:10:42,625 --> 00:10:44,250 from the occupying Roman Empire. 216 00:10:45,833 --> 00:10:48,875 - [Dennis] Following a ruthless five-month siege, 217 00:10:48,875 --> 00:10:52,125 Jerusalem falls to Rome in 70 AD. 218 00:10:53,875 --> 00:10:56,417 - The Romans level Jerusalem 219 00:10:56,417 --> 00:10:58,625 and they destroy the Second Temple, 220 00:10:58,625 --> 00:11:01,750 which is the central place of worship for the Jewish people. 221 00:11:03,583 --> 00:11:05,500 - The destruction of the Second Temple 222 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:08,417 is a violent, defining, traumatic moment 223 00:11:08,417 --> 00:11:10,125 for the people who lived through it. 224 00:11:14,125 --> 00:11:17,375 - [Dennis] 20 years later, John is exiled to Patmos 225 00:11:17,375 --> 00:11:21,750 where he comes up with a secret way to criticize Rome. 226 00:11:21,750 --> 00:11:23,708 - So to reach his fellow Christians 227 00:11:23,708 --> 00:11:25,875 and to persuade them to stay united, 228 00:11:25,875 --> 00:11:29,458 John gets to work crafting a series of coded messages 229 00:11:29,458 --> 00:11:33,042 hidden inside a fantastical, over-the-top, dramatic story 230 00:11:33,042 --> 00:11:36,375 that he hopes will spread like wildfire. 231 00:11:37,917 --> 00:11:40,250 - [Hugo] One of the most enduring images from Revelation 232 00:11:40,250 --> 00:11:42,958 is the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. 233 00:11:42,958 --> 00:11:46,333 According to Dr. Pagels, this is not just a random number, 234 00:11:46,333 --> 00:11:49,542 but a specific reference to the year 69 AD, 235 00:11:49,542 --> 00:11:50,875 which is known to historians 236 00:11:50,875 --> 00:11:53,292 as the year of the four emperors. 237 00:11:54,208 --> 00:11:57,583 - Following the death of Nero in 68 AD, 238 00:11:57,583 --> 00:11:59,375 there was a period of chaos 239 00:11:59,375 --> 00:12:02,792 as different men tried to step up onto the imperial throne. 240 00:12:02,792 --> 00:12:05,875 Four emperors followed in very quick succession. 241 00:12:05,875 --> 00:12:10,042 Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. 242 00:12:10,042 --> 00:12:11,875 And they bring to the Jewish people 243 00:12:11,875 --> 00:12:15,125 what the Four Horsemen bring in Revelation. 244 00:12:15,125 --> 00:12:18,458 - War, famine, and other forms of death. 245 00:12:18,458 --> 00:12:20,542 This seems like a fairly straightforward connection 246 00:12:20,542 --> 00:12:21,917 to the real world. 247 00:12:23,125 --> 00:12:25,917 - [Dennis] But what is the seven-headed red dragon 248 00:12:25,917 --> 00:12:28,042 believed to represent? 249 00:12:28,042 --> 00:12:30,750 - Rome was famously built on seven hills, 250 00:12:30,750 --> 00:12:33,792 and in fact there had been seven emperors 251 00:12:33,792 --> 00:12:36,375 since the time of the first emperor, Augustus, 252 00:12:36,375 --> 00:12:39,542 to the time of the writing of Revelation. 253 00:12:39,542 --> 00:12:43,750 - And on another obvious note, red is the imperial color 254 00:12:43,750 --> 00:12:46,792 worn and carried by Roman soldiers. 255 00:12:47,792 --> 00:12:50,333 - [Dennis] Then there's the number of the beast 256 00:12:50,333 --> 00:12:53,000 given as 666. 257 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:58,708 - John specifically says that this number represents a name. 258 00:12:58,708 --> 00:13:03,542 So there is a Jewish art or form called gematria, 259 00:13:03,542 --> 00:13:05,792 what we might call numerology. 260 00:13:05,792 --> 00:13:10,458 And gematria would replace numbers with letters, 261 00:13:10,458 --> 00:13:14,500 and each letter would have a particular code, 262 00:13:14,500 --> 00:13:15,875 a particular value, 263 00:13:15,875 --> 00:13:19,167 and if you add up the value of all those letters, 264 00:13:19,167 --> 00:13:22,583 you would find out what name is represented by the number. 265 00:13:23,583 --> 00:13:27,042 - In this case, 666 could be a coded reference 266 00:13:27,042 --> 00:13:29,458 to Rome's Emperor Nero. 267 00:13:29,458 --> 00:13:30,708 When you break it down, 268 00:13:30,708 --> 00:13:32,542 the Hebrew letters of Nero's name 269 00:13:32,542 --> 00:13:35,292 basically translate to Neron Caesar. 270 00:13:36,417 --> 00:13:42,583 Interpreted numerically, that's 50, 200, 6, 50 271 00:13:42,583 --> 00:13:46,708 100, 60, and again 200. 272 00:13:46,708 --> 00:13:50,292 Add those up and you have 666. 273 00:13:51,917 --> 00:13:54,042 - So, according to Dr. Pagels, 274 00:13:54,042 --> 00:13:56,042 the first half of the Book of Revelation, 275 00:13:56,042 --> 00:13:59,125 John is writing in code about Rome. 276 00:13:59,125 --> 00:14:00,375 - [Dennis] The rest of the book 277 00:14:00,375 --> 00:14:03,000 is meant to inspire followers to stay loyal 278 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,375 at a time of despair. 279 00:14:05,375 --> 00:14:08,875 - John proceeds to describe the destruction of Rome 280 00:14:08,875 --> 00:14:10,875 in every conceivable way. 281 00:14:10,875 --> 00:14:13,917 God's army's return, exact their revenge, 282 00:14:13,917 --> 00:14:16,625 throw the beast into a lake of fire, 283 00:14:16,625 --> 00:14:18,792 and a new Jerusalem springs up, 284 00:14:18,792 --> 00:14:22,333 one completely free of any Roman occupation. 285 00:14:23,875 --> 00:14:26,083 - Essentially, Dr. Pagels's theory 286 00:14:26,083 --> 00:14:28,083 is that John is in the cave 287 00:14:28,083 --> 00:14:32,375 remembering the Roman oppression he experienced firsthand, 288 00:14:32,375 --> 00:14:35,750 then encoding it in a message of resistance. 289 00:14:35,750 --> 00:14:38,208 He's telling the remaining few Christians, 290 00:14:38,208 --> 00:14:41,000 "Jesus was right, keep believing, 291 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,125 Rome will fall and it's going to happen soon." 292 00:14:45,958 --> 00:14:47,292 - And guess what? 293 00:14:47,292 --> 00:14:50,500 If it was indeed a code to resist and endure, 294 00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:52,042 it absolutely works. 295 00:14:53,125 --> 00:14:55,167 - The Book of Revelation is critically important 296 00:14:55,167 --> 00:14:57,625 because it's a message of hope 297 00:14:57,625 --> 00:14:59,417 and assurance and encouragement 298 00:14:59,417 --> 00:15:02,000 in a time of conflict and persecution. 299 00:15:02,917 --> 00:15:04,542 - It inspires people, 300 00:15:04,542 --> 00:15:06,792 and thanks to that and a few other books like it, 301 00:15:06,792 --> 00:15:08,875 the new Christian religion survives. 302 00:15:08,875 --> 00:15:09,792 It keeps on going. 303 00:15:09,792 --> 00:15:12,125 In fact, it continues to grow. 304 00:15:13,667 --> 00:15:15,542 - Within just a few hundred years 305 00:15:15,542 --> 00:15:17,458 of John's time in the cave, 306 00:15:17,458 --> 00:15:21,708 Rome goes from persecuting Christians to embracing them. 307 00:15:21,708 --> 00:15:25,167 Christianity becomes the official religion of the Empire 308 00:15:25,167 --> 00:15:27,208 around the year 380 309 00:15:27,208 --> 00:15:29,417 and eventually the largest religion in the world. 310 00:15:33,167 --> 00:15:34,833 - [Dennis] Nearly 1,500 years 311 00:15:34,833 --> 00:15:37,208 after the Book of Revelation is written, 312 00:15:37,208 --> 00:15:39,583 it inspires another famous author 313 00:15:39,583 --> 00:15:43,042 to publish his own prediction about the end of the world. 314 00:15:44,250 --> 00:15:48,042 - Michel de Nostredame, better known as Nostradamus, 315 00:15:48,042 --> 00:15:50,125 is undoubtedly the most famous 316 00:15:50,125 --> 00:15:51,750 and prolific prophet in history. 317 00:15:52,750 --> 00:15:56,708 - It's been estimated that about 2/3 of his predictions 318 00:15:56,708 --> 00:15:58,292 have come true so far. 319 00:15:58,292 --> 00:16:01,708 Nostradamus is credited with foretelling events 320 00:16:01,708 --> 00:16:04,417 like the Great Fire of London, 321 00:16:04,417 --> 00:16:05,875 the rise of Hitler, 322 00:16:05,875 --> 00:16:07,917 the atom bombing of Japan. 323 00:16:07,917 --> 00:16:09,333 The list goes on and on. 324 00:16:11,167 --> 00:16:14,167 - His best known predictions come from his masterwork. 325 00:16:14,167 --> 00:16:17,417 It's a book simply called "The Prophecies." 326 00:16:17,417 --> 00:16:19,958 The first edition comes out in 1555 327 00:16:19,958 --> 00:16:21,667 and over the next few years, 328 00:16:21,667 --> 00:16:25,000 subsequent editions are released with added material. 329 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:26,583 - [Dennis] In his book, 330 00:16:26,583 --> 00:16:30,208 Nostradamus writes about the end of the world only once 331 00:16:30,208 --> 00:16:33,542 in a private letter that serves as the preface. 332 00:16:33,542 --> 00:16:36,667 - Nostradamus writes a letter to his son Cesar 333 00:16:36,667 --> 00:16:40,125 that's basically a dire warning of what he calls 334 00:16:40,125 --> 00:16:43,083 the universal conflagration, 335 00:16:43,083 --> 00:16:45,417 AKA, the end of the world. 336 00:16:45,417 --> 00:16:49,000 He writes that the sword of death is approaching 337 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,208 and goes on to describe world-ending catastrophes 338 00:16:52,208 --> 00:16:55,208 like pestilence and, quote, 339 00:16:55,208 --> 00:16:58,875 "war more horrible than there ever has been." 340 00:16:58,875 --> 00:17:01,083 He ends with the ominous line, 341 00:17:01,083 --> 00:17:02,792 "The Lord shall say: 342 00:17:02,792 --> 00:17:06,750 Therefore I shall crush and destroy and show no mercy." 343 00:17:08,542 --> 00:17:11,333 - The letter doesn't specify when this will all transpire, 344 00:17:11,333 --> 00:17:13,667 but in this preface he does mention 345 00:17:13,667 --> 00:17:15,375 that the prophecies in his book 346 00:17:15,375 --> 00:17:20,083 extend from the year 1555 to the year 3797, 347 00:17:20,083 --> 00:17:22,250 so it's safe to assume 348 00:17:22,250 --> 00:17:24,542 that's the year he believes the world will end. 349 00:17:28,208 --> 00:17:30,292 - Like Nostradamus, there's another prophecy 350 00:17:30,292 --> 00:17:32,417 that lands in the spotlight, 351 00:17:32,417 --> 00:17:35,542 and this one fuels worldwide panic. 352 00:17:36,958 --> 00:17:39,292 - Remember the year 2012? I do. 353 00:17:39,292 --> 00:17:41,458 It seemed like the whole world went crazy. 354 00:17:41,458 --> 00:17:44,167 There were books, there were movies, 355 00:17:44,167 --> 00:17:46,042 there were documentaries, 356 00:17:46,042 --> 00:17:48,583 all claiming that this was going to be the year 357 00:17:48,583 --> 00:17:50,208 that the world ended. 358 00:17:51,542 --> 00:17:53,292 - [Dennis] And it all starts with an artifact 359 00:17:53,292 --> 00:17:57,292 from the ancient ruins of Quirigua in Eastern Guatemala. 360 00:17:58,917 --> 00:18:00,542 - There is archeological evidence 361 00:18:00,542 --> 00:18:05,375 that the Maya people lived at Quirigua from at least 350 BC. 362 00:18:05,375 --> 00:18:08,292 In the city's heyday at 750 AD, 363 00:18:08,292 --> 00:18:11,208 there would've been up to 2,000 residents there. 364 00:18:11,208 --> 00:18:13,375 This was a small but important center 365 00:18:13,375 --> 00:18:15,250 in the Eastern Mesoamerican world. 366 00:18:16,375 --> 00:18:19,125 - Quirigua is discovered in 1798 367 00:18:19,125 --> 00:18:22,125 by the owners of the property where the ruins stand. 368 00:18:23,125 --> 00:18:25,375 The first European to see Quirigua 369 00:18:25,375 --> 00:18:28,792 is English architect Frederick Catherwood in 1840. 370 00:18:30,292 --> 00:18:32,875 After that visit, there have been regular excavations 371 00:18:32,875 --> 00:18:34,625 and studies there ever since. 372 00:18:35,708 --> 00:18:38,292 - [Dennis] While not much evidence remains, 373 00:18:38,292 --> 00:18:43,042 there is a series of large, intricately carved stone slabs 374 00:18:43,042 --> 00:18:44,333 known as stelae. 375 00:18:46,375 --> 00:18:50,625 - Stelae were erected by rulers to convey royal history, 376 00:18:50,625 --> 00:18:53,167 make political statements, celebrate victories, 377 00:18:53,167 --> 00:18:56,750 and they are massive, the tallest rising to 35 feet. 378 00:18:58,208 --> 00:19:00,917 They're also covered with pictures as well as Maya script, 379 00:19:00,917 --> 00:19:03,167 which is a hieroglyphic type of writing 380 00:19:03,167 --> 00:19:05,208 that they used for 2,000 years 381 00:19:05,208 --> 00:19:07,042 all the way up to the Spanish conquests 382 00:19:07,042 --> 00:19:09,750 in the 16th and 17th centuries. 383 00:19:09,750 --> 00:19:11,583 - [Dennis] But there's one in particular 384 00:19:11,583 --> 00:19:14,625 many believe predicts the end of the world. 385 00:19:16,875 --> 00:19:21,208 - Stela C is a 12-foot-high pillar of red sandstone 386 00:19:21,208 --> 00:19:22,875 featuring a hieroglyphic inscription 387 00:19:22,875 --> 00:19:25,208 showing the Maya creation story, 388 00:19:25,208 --> 00:19:27,542 and it includes an intricate calendar entry, 389 00:19:27,542 --> 00:19:29,333 a set of dates from what's known 390 00:19:29,333 --> 00:19:32,375 as the Maya Long Count Calendar. 391 00:19:32,375 --> 00:19:35,875 - The Maya have an expert knowledge of math, 392 00:19:35,875 --> 00:19:37,292 engineering and astronomy, 393 00:19:37,292 --> 00:19:38,625 which allows them to develop 394 00:19:38,625 --> 00:19:41,417 one of the most accurate calendars ever devised 395 00:19:41,417 --> 00:19:42,792 by an ancient society. 396 00:19:44,208 --> 00:19:46,083 - [Dennis] It's not just the accuracy 397 00:19:46,083 --> 00:19:48,333 that gets people's attention. 398 00:19:48,333 --> 00:19:51,333 - What's particularly interesting about this calendar 399 00:19:51,333 --> 00:19:55,417 is that it appears to have a start date and an end date. 400 00:19:57,083 --> 00:19:59,417 Across five blocks of carving, 401 00:19:59,417 --> 00:20:01,708 Stela C lists the actual date 402 00:20:01,708 --> 00:20:04,417 when Maya believed the current world was created. 403 00:20:05,458 --> 00:20:06,958 The five squares each depict 404 00:20:06,958 --> 00:20:09,208 an individual measurement of time. 405 00:20:09,208 --> 00:20:13,542 Within those, dots represent 1, lines represent 5, 406 00:20:13,542 --> 00:20:17,208 an image of a shell or a flower represent 0. 407 00:20:17,208 --> 00:20:19,375 So, on Stela C we can see 408 00:20:19,375 --> 00:20:22,833 that the date of the world's creation is 13 baktuns, 409 00:20:22,833 --> 00:20:27,917 0 katuns, 0 tuns, 0 uinals, and 0 kins. 410 00:20:29,208 --> 00:20:32,125 - So how does that correspond to our own calendar? 411 00:20:32,125 --> 00:20:34,375 Well, if you add up the numbers, 412 00:20:34,375 --> 00:20:36,750 the Maya are saying that their world began 413 00:20:36,750 --> 00:20:41,833 on what would be August 4th, 3114 BC. 414 00:20:41,833 --> 00:20:45,833 For context, that suggests that Maya civilization 415 00:20:45,833 --> 00:20:48,958 predates the oldest known Egyptian pyramid 416 00:20:48,958 --> 00:20:51,625 by about 500 years. 417 00:20:51,625 --> 00:20:53,375 - [Dennis] But what about the date 418 00:20:53,375 --> 00:20:55,417 for the end of the world? 419 00:20:55,417 --> 00:20:58,208 - [Sami] According to the calculations on this calendar, 420 00:20:58,208 --> 00:21:01,875 it would be December 21st, 2012. 421 00:21:03,125 --> 00:21:04,542 - [Dennis] While the calendar reveals 422 00:21:04,542 --> 00:21:07,000 when the world is going to end, 423 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,417 it doesn't include how, 424 00:21:09,417 --> 00:21:11,875 so researchers start to speculate. 425 00:21:13,542 --> 00:21:16,958 - In 1966, Michael Coe publishes a book called "The Maya." 426 00:21:16,958 --> 00:21:18,375 In his book, 427 00:21:18,375 --> 00:21:21,625 Coe says that at the end of the Long Count Calendar, 428 00:21:21,625 --> 00:21:24,625 our present universe may be annihilated. 429 00:21:25,625 --> 00:21:28,708 - Once word of the Maya prophecy spreads, 430 00:21:28,708 --> 00:21:32,333 people start floating various end of day scenarios 431 00:21:32,333 --> 00:21:34,292 that range from the plausible, 432 00:21:34,292 --> 00:21:36,667 like the world could end from nuclear war 433 00:21:36,667 --> 00:21:38,708 or a massive solar flare event, 434 00:21:38,708 --> 00:21:39,750 to the outlandish, 435 00:21:39,750 --> 00:21:42,375 like a reversal of the magnetic poles 436 00:21:42,375 --> 00:21:45,792 or Earth colliding with a mythical planet called Nibiru. 437 00:21:47,208 --> 00:21:50,458 - [Dennis] As December 21st, 2012 approaches, 438 00:21:50,458 --> 00:21:53,208 a media frenzy erupts. 439 00:21:53,208 --> 00:21:55,000 - There's polling that shows 440 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,875 that up to 10% of the population across 21 countries 441 00:21:58,875 --> 00:22:01,708 believe that the end of the world is imminent. 442 00:22:01,708 --> 00:22:05,625 NASA even launches a public outreach website 443 00:22:05,625 --> 00:22:07,667 to help calm everybody's nerves. 444 00:22:09,750 --> 00:22:11,875 The agency receives tens of thousands 445 00:22:11,875 --> 00:22:13,542 of inquiries from people. 446 00:22:13,542 --> 00:22:15,667 Some even ask if they should kill themselves 447 00:22:15,667 --> 00:22:18,208 or their kids, God forbid. 448 00:22:18,208 --> 00:22:19,792 People are freaking out 449 00:22:19,792 --> 00:22:21,875 because nobody knows what to expect, 450 00:22:21,875 --> 00:22:24,583 but they're convinced it's gonna be bad. 451 00:22:27,375 --> 00:22:30,833 - Thankfully, when December 22nd dawns, 452 00:22:30,833 --> 00:22:33,000 the hubbub settles down pretty quickly 453 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,667 and we all now know the world did not end in 2012. 454 00:22:37,667 --> 00:22:40,208 People breathe a collective sigh of relief 455 00:22:40,208 --> 00:22:41,875 and they figure, well, 456 00:22:41,875 --> 00:22:43,625 the Maya clearly didn't know what they were talking about. 457 00:22:43,625 --> 00:22:45,708 We got all worked up over nothing. 458 00:22:47,625 --> 00:22:48,792 - [Dennis] But what if 459 00:22:48,792 --> 00:22:52,000 the original calculations were wrong? 460 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,542 - Remember, the Maya are highly advanced for their time 461 00:22:55,542 --> 00:22:57,875 in a number of scientific areas. 462 00:22:57,875 --> 00:22:59,500 Is it possible 463 00:22:59,500 --> 00:23:01,542 that the end of the world predicted by Stela C is real, 464 00:23:01,542 --> 00:23:03,750 it's just not when we thought? 465 00:23:05,333 --> 00:23:07,000 - [Dennis] In 2018, 466 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,542 an independent researcher named Loren Jeffries 467 00:23:10,542 --> 00:23:13,875 attempts to recalculate the date. 468 00:23:13,875 --> 00:23:18,625 - Jeffries points out that while a tun is 360 days, 469 00:23:18,625 --> 00:23:21,625 the Maya knew the solar year was slightly longer. 470 00:23:21,625 --> 00:23:25,542 They measured it at 364 days, not 365, 471 00:23:25,542 --> 00:23:27,167 but still, they were pretty close. 472 00:23:27,167 --> 00:23:30,667 The problem is that later, when working this all out, 473 00:23:30,667 --> 00:23:33,417 we didn't account for the extra four or five days. 474 00:23:33,417 --> 00:23:35,750 And Jeffries says that if we do, 475 00:23:35,750 --> 00:23:40,208 then the end date is 75 years after we thought, 476 00:23:40,208 --> 00:23:43,667 which would put it in the year 2087. 477 00:23:48,708 --> 00:23:52,042 - On display in Mexico City's National Anthropology Museum 478 00:23:52,042 --> 00:23:54,500 sits another powerful stone, 479 00:23:54,500 --> 00:23:58,042 but this one has a much darker origin story. 480 00:23:59,958 --> 00:24:01,542 Known as the Sun Stone, 481 00:24:01,542 --> 00:24:06,042 this mystifying object dates back to the Aztec Empire. 482 00:24:06,042 --> 00:24:07,458 - It's a massive sculpture, 483 00:24:07,458 --> 00:24:10,542 12 feet across, over 3 feet thick, 484 00:24:10,542 --> 00:24:13,458 weighing some 54,000 pounds. 485 00:24:13,458 --> 00:24:15,417 And similar to the Maya Stela, 486 00:24:15,417 --> 00:24:18,625 it's intricately carved with glyphs. 487 00:24:18,625 --> 00:24:20,750 - The Aztec rule Central Mexico 488 00:24:20,750 --> 00:24:24,042 from the 14th to the 16th centuries. 489 00:24:24,042 --> 00:24:25,375 Like their Maya neighbors, 490 00:24:25,375 --> 00:24:27,917 the Aztec are an advanced people. 491 00:24:27,917 --> 00:24:30,250 They develop sophisticated irrigation methods 492 00:24:30,250 --> 00:24:32,042 to use in agriculture. 493 00:24:32,042 --> 00:24:34,375 They design and implement an aqueduct system 494 00:24:34,375 --> 00:24:36,458 to supply fresh water. 495 00:24:36,458 --> 00:24:38,375 They even drain the swampy land 496 00:24:38,375 --> 00:24:40,625 around what is now Mexico City 497 00:24:40,625 --> 00:24:45,042 to construct their capital city of Tenochtitlan. 498 00:24:45,042 --> 00:24:48,042 - [Dennis] They are also deeply spiritual. 499 00:24:48,042 --> 00:24:52,708 - A big part of Aztec religious and cultural beliefs 500 00:24:52,708 --> 00:24:55,583 is ritual human sacrifice. 501 00:24:58,167 --> 00:25:02,250 - Human sacrifice is not unusual in Mesoamerica. 502 00:25:02,250 --> 00:25:04,583 The Maya did human sacrifice. 503 00:25:04,583 --> 00:25:06,417 But for the Maya, 504 00:25:06,417 --> 00:25:09,792 it's reserved for the most important festivals 505 00:25:09,792 --> 00:25:12,583 or the most important times of the year. 506 00:25:12,583 --> 00:25:14,208 While for the Aztec, 507 00:25:14,208 --> 00:25:16,750 it seems to happen much, much more frequently. 508 00:25:19,083 --> 00:25:21,125 - Why are they killing people so often? 509 00:25:21,125 --> 00:25:23,375 It's because they believe that if they don't, 510 00:25:23,375 --> 00:25:27,167 the world, actually the entire universe will come to an end. 511 00:25:28,542 --> 00:25:30,167 As the legend goes, each night, 512 00:25:30,167 --> 00:25:33,333 the stars and the moon in a fit of jealousy 513 00:25:33,333 --> 00:25:35,708 launch an attack against the sun, 514 00:25:35,708 --> 00:25:38,875 and each morning the sun manages to beat them back 515 00:25:38,875 --> 00:25:39,958 to rise again. 516 00:25:41,208 --> 00:25:44,542 The sun is really their Sun God, Huitzilopochtli, 517 00:25:44,542 --> 00:25:46,542 and he can only win this nightly battle 518 00:25:46,542 --> 00:25:48,583 and rise again to power life on Earth 519 00:25:48,583 --> 00:25:50,500 with the help of the Aztec people. 520 00:25:51,833 --> 00:25:55,250 - And the only way to sustain and support a Sun God 521 00:25:55,250 --> 00:25:57,250 is through human sacrifice. 522 00:25:58,875 --> 00:26:02,042 - [Dennis] Central to this ritual, the Aztec Sun Stone. 523 00:26:03,375 --> 00:26:06,333 - It's thought the sacrifices would happen 524 00:26:06,333 --> 00:26:08,000 on or near the Sun Stone, 525 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,042 which was probably originally located 526 00:26:10,042 --> 00:26:13,208 in the main square of Tenochtitlan. 527 00:26:13,208 --> 00:26:15,750 - The victim's blood would spill onto the stone altar, 528 00:26:15,750 --> 00:26:17,958 which features an image of the Sun God at its center, 529 00:26:17,958 --> 00:26:21,958 so the power of human life is being fed directly 530 00:26:21,958 --> 00:26:23,458 into the sun. 531 00:26:23,458 --> 00:26:25,667 You can see how important this practice was by the fact 532 00:26:25,667 --> 00:26:28,167 that the Aztec didn't just use prisoners of war 533 00:26:28,167 --> 00:26:29,250 for their sacrifices. 534 00:26:29,250 --> 00:26:30,875 That's what the Maya did. 535 00:26:30,875 --> 00:26:34,750 But the Aztec also used their own citizens. 536 00:26:35,750 --> 00:26:37,250 - [Dennis] Some historians estimate 537 00:26:37,250 --> 00:26:42,083 the Aztec perform around 20,000 human sacrifices per year. 538 00:26:44,750 --> 00:26:48,458 - This continues for centuries until 1519. 539 00:26:48,458 --> 00:26:52,208 That's when Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes and his men 540 00:26:52,208 --> 00:26:54,333 arrive in the Aztec capital. 541 00:26:54,333 --> 00:26:57,667 They're the first European settlers on this land. 542 00:26:57,667 --> 00:27:00,208 - [Sami] Cortes and his men are in awe of the city, 543 00:27:00,208 --> 00:27:03,750 which has palaces and gardens and raised roads 544 00:27:03,750 --> 00:27:06,000 with bridges connecting it to the mainland. 545 00:27:07,417 --> 00:27:11,083 - While taking in the sight of this awe-inspiring city, 546 00:27:11,083 --> 00:27:14,792 they also witness a human sacrifice for the first time. 547 00:27:16,292 --> 00:27:20,208 - They write about witnessing a grisly sacrificial ceremony 548 00:27:20,208 --> 00:27:23,708 where a priest slices open a victim's chest 549 00:27:23,708 --> 00:27:26,875 and offers their still beating heart to the gods. 550 00:27:28,708 --> 00:27:30,792 They also report finding vast towers 551 00:27:30,792 --> 00:27:33,917 and racks made out of human bones. 552 00:27:33,917 --> 00:27:35,833 - Now, this definitely doesn't fit 553 00:27:35,833 --> 00:27:37,875 with the Spaniard's Christian beliefs, 554 00:27:37,875 --> 00:27:40,625 which they came to Mesoamerica to spread. 555 00:27:40,625 --> 00:27:42,625 And so the Conquistadors very quickly 556 00:27:42,625 --> 00:27:44,750 start to subjugate the Aztec. 557 00:27:45,958 --> 00:27:48,625 In fact, they're so fearful they begin a campaign 558 00:27:48,625 --> 00:27:52,375 to destroy or hide any Aztec artifacts they find 559 00:27:52,375 --> 00:27:53,375 that aren't gold. 560 00:27:55,292 --> 00:27:58,875 - And of course, the scariest artifact of all, 561 00:27:58,875 --> 00:28:01,708 the massive Sun Stone that's seen thousands of deaths, 562 00:28:01,708 --> 00:28:04,250 that definitely has to go. 563 00:28:06,125 --> 00:28:08,708 It's said to have been buried near the center of the city 564 00:28:08,708 --> 00:28:10,708 by the first Spanish archbishop there 565 00:28:10,708 --> 00:28:13,333 who supposedly wants it gone so that, quote, 566 00:28:13,333 --> 00:28:17,208 "the memory of the ancient sacrifice that was made there 567 00:28:17,208 --> 00:28:18,333 would be lost." 568 00:28:19,542 --> 00:28:21,542 - But, as is often the case, 569 00:28:21,542 --> 00:28:23,958 what's buried refuses to stay that way. 570 00:28:23,958 --> 00:28:28,667 In 1790, workers making repairs to Mexico City's Cathedral 571 00:28:28,667 --> 00:28:30,917 accidentally unearthed the stone. 572 00:28:32,083 --> 00:28:34,583 - [Dennis] The Sun Stone is eventually relocated 573 00:28:34,583 --> 00:28:37,833 to the museum where it stands today, 574 00:28:37,833 --> 00:28:40,917 and present day scientists are showing a renewed interest 575 00:28:40,917 --> 00:28:43,708 in Aztec doomsday beliefs. 576 00:28:43,708 --> 00:28:46,667 - What's interesting is that in one key way, 577 00:28:46,667 --> 00:28:49,458 the Aztec might actually be right 578 00:28:49,458 --> 00:28:51,875 about the way the world could end. 579 00:28:51,875 --> 00:28:54,792 Astronomers today are confident that our planet, 580 00:28:54,792 --> 00:28:56,500 along with the rest of our solar system, 581 00:28:56,500 --> 00:29:00,375 will one day be destroyed by the death of the sun. 582 00:29:00,375 --> 00:29:01,917 - Similar to the Aztec belief, 583 00:29:01,917 --> 00:29:05,500 the sun's hydrogen fuel supply will eventually burn out. 584 00:29:05,500 --> 00:29:06,917 And as it does, 585 00:29:06,917 --> 00:29:11,500 the sun will grow into this red giant of a star 586 00:29:11,500 --> 00:29:14,208 and it'll engulf several planets. 587 00:29:14,208 --> 00:29:17,042 It'll then shrink and then die out. 588 00:29:17,042 --> 00:29:20,375 And if any part of the Earth survives after that, 589 00:29:20,375 --> 00:29:24,875 it'll be reduced to just a ruined lump of iron. 590 00:29:24,875 --> 00:29:26,250 - But here's an important distinction 591 00:29:26,250 --> 00:29:27,458 from the Aztec beliefs. 592 00:29:27,458 --> 00:29:30,542 While this is scientifically guaranteed to happen, 593 00:29:30,542 --> 00:29:32,333 it isn't happening anytime soon. 594 00:29:32,333 --> 00:29:37,208 We have about 5 billion years to go, no sacrifices required. 595 00:29:42,792 --> 00:29:44,667 - In the arid northeastern corner of Arizona, 596 00:29:44,667 --> 00:29:47,083 stretching across a remote plateau, 597 00:29:47,083 --> 00:29:49,833 sits the home of the Hopi people 598 00:29:49,833 --> 00:29:53,792 and another mysterious doomsday marvel. 599 00:29:53,792 --> 00:29:55,375 - The Hopi are thought to be 600 00:29:55,375 --> 00:29:58,958 among the American Southwest's earliest inhabitants, 601 00:29:58,958 --> 00:30:01,333 so they can trace their ancestry back 602 00:30:01,333 --> 00:30:03,500 more than 2,000 years in this area. 603 00:30:05,250 --> 00:30:08,542 Today, there are tribal members living on a reservation 604 00:30:08,542 --> 00:30:11,375 that's roughly 2,500 square miles, 605 00:30:11,375 --> 00:30:13,875 mostly on three mesas which are dotted 606 00:30:13,875 --> 00:30:16,292 with a series of villages. 607 00:30:16,292 --> 00:30:18,958 - One of the many things that's fascinating about the Hopi 608 00:30:18,958 --> 00:30:21,792 is that they were very effective 609 00:30:21,792 --> 00:30:23,167 at defending their territory 610 00:30:23,167 --> 00:30:24,958 against Spanish and missionary encroachments, 611 00:30:24,958 --> 00:30:27,125 so they've managed to retain 612 00:30:27,125 --> 00:30:29,417 a lot of their ancient beliefs and practices. 613 00:30:30,958 --> 00:30:33,708 - [Dennis] At the heart of their religious belief system 614 00:30:33,708 --> 00:30:37,208 is what's known as the kachina cult. 615 00:30:37,208 --> 00:30:39,042 - The Hopi believe that kachinas, 616 00:30:39,042 --> 00:30:41,000 sometimes also called katsinas, 617 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:42,708 are ancestral deities, 618 00:30:42,708 --> 00:30:45,458 sort of these supernatural beings, 619 00:30:45,458 --> 00:30:49,083 and they're said to live in the nearby San Francisco Peaks, 620 00:30:49,083 --> 00:30:52,542 which is about 60 miles west of the reservation, 621 00:30:52,542 --> 00:30:56,417 and they come down yearly to bring rain or other blessings. 622 00:30:57,958 --> 00:30:59,208 - There are ceremonial dances 623 00:30:59,208 --> 00:31:02,417 where Hopi people dress as these masked deities 624 00:31:02,417 --> 00:31:04,042 in elaborate costume. 625 00:31:04,042 --> 00:31:06,208 The best known of these is the snake dance, 626 00:31:06,208 --> 00:31:08,625 which is performed as an appeal to the gods 627 00:31:08,625 --> 00:31:10,917 for rain and fertile harvest. 628 00:31:10,917 --> 00:31:12,292 It's pretty impressive 629 00:31:12,292 --> 00:31:14,708 because they actually dance with live snakes 630 00:31:14,708 --> 00:31:16,458 and even hold them in their mouths. 631 00:31:18,042 --> 00:31:20,625 - Now the Hopi are fiercely protective of their traditions 632 00:31:20,625 --> 00:31:24,625 and the snake dance is rarely performed in public. 633 00:31:24,625 --> 00:31:27,333 It was actually filmed during a visit to the reservation 634 00:31:27,333 --> 00:31:30,208 by former President Teddy Roosevelt in 1913. 635 00:31:30,208 --> 00:31:32,583 Today, though, these kinds of ceremonies 636 00:31:32,583 --> 00:31:34,167 are closed to outsiders. 637 00:31:35,250 --> 00:31:37,042 - [Dennis] But dances aren't the only way 638 00:31:37,042 --> 00:31:40,542 to invoke the power of the kachinas. 639 00:31:40,542 --> 00:31:42,417 - Skilled Hopi craftspeople 640 00:31:42,417 --> 00:31:46,708 create these incredibly detailed and colorful figurines 641 00:31:46,708 --> 00:31:48,083 that represent the kachinas 642 00:31:48,083 --> 00:31:51,583 to embody and teach about their gods. 643 00:31:51,583 --> 00:31:53,667 The oldest of these effigies 644 00:31:53,667 --> 00:31:56,333 date back to at at least the 1800s. 645 00:31:57,375 --> 00:32:00,625 - There are over 200 different forms of kachinas 646 00:32:00,625 --> 00:32:04,208 and they can represent things like animal effigies, 647 00:32:04,208 --> 00:32:07,208 important plants, and even weather events. 648 00:32:08,375 --> 00:32:11,167 - [Dennis] While most are believed to bring blessings, 649 00:32:11,167 --> 00:32:13,208 there's one that's different. 650 00:32:13,208 --> 00:32:16,583 It's called the Blue Star Kachina. 651 00:32:16,583 --> 00:32:20,875 - The Blue Star Kachina is perhaps the most revered 652 00:32:20,875 --> 00:32:23,958 and the most feared figure 653 00:32:23,958 --> 00:32:26,583 because it embodies the deity 654 00:32:26,583 --> 00:32:29,292 that has the power to bring about the end of the world. 655 00:32:30,625 --> 00:32:32,792 - Because the Hopi didn't have a written language 656 00:32:32,792 --> 00:32:34,750 and remain relatively isolated, 657 00:32:34,750 --> 00:32:36,083 our main account of this prophecy 658 00:32:36,083 --> 00:32:38,583 comes from historian Frank Waters. 659 00:32:39,792 --> 00:32:41,917 Starting in the early 1960s, 660 00:32:41,917 --> 00:32:44,625 Frank Waters spends years collecting stories 661 00:32:44,625 --> 00:32:46,125 from Hopi elders. 662 00:32:46,125 --> 00:32:48,375 He actually lives on the Hopi reservation 663 00:32:48,375 --> 00:32:50,625 for a good amount of that time. 664 00:32:50,625 --> 00:32:53,875 - Waters eventually completes "The Book of Hopi," 665 00:32:53,875 --> 00:32:57,333 which is widely regarded as the first time in history 666 00:32:57,333 --> 00:33:01,083 that the Hopi have shared their worldview in written form, 667 00:33:01,083 --> 00:33:03,875 and this worldview includes precisely 668 00:33:03,875 --> 00:33:05,458 how they believe the world will end. 669 00:33:06,708 --> 00:33:08,667 - [Dennis] The stories in Frank Water's book 670 00:33:08,667 --> 00:33:12,000 are confirmed by a Hopi elder named White Feather 671 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,500 who fills in even more details. 672 00:33:15,833 --> 00:33:17,667 - According to the Hopi prophecy 673 00:33:17,667 --> 00:33:19,292 passed down through generations, 674 00:33:19,292 --> 00:33:22,875 we're currently living in the fourth of nine worlds, 675 00:33:22,875 --> 00:33:24,875 and there will be nine signs 676 00:33:24,875 --> 00:33:28,000 that herald the end of this fourth world. 677 00:33:29,208 --> 00:33:32,208 The nine signs start with the arrival of white skinned men 678 00:33:32,208 --> 00:33:33,458 in covered wagons, 679 00:33:33,458 --> 00:33:35,458 which we know has already happened. 680 00:33:36,667 --> 00:33:39,333 - White Feather describes even more of the signs. 681 00:33:39,333 --> 00:33:43,167 Among them, that the land will be crossed by snakes of iron 682 00:33:43,167 --> 00:33:44,417 and a giant spiderweb. 683 00:33:44,417 --> 00:33:47,375 So, what are the snakes of iron? 684 00:33:47,375 --> 00:33:49,917 That's clearly referencing railroad lines, 685 00:33:49,917 --> 00:33:52,042 which started to spread like wildfire 686 00:33:52,042 --> 00:33:53,417 across the United States, 687 00:33:53,417 --> 00:33:55,458 specifically after the Civil War. 688 00:33:55,458 --> 00:33:59,167 The spiderweb are power lines and telephone wires, 689 00:33:59,167 --> 00:34:01,667 all of which also start crisscrossing the land 690 00:34:01,667 --> 00:34:03,375 in the mid to late 19th century. 691 00:34:04,375 --> 00:34:06,875 - [Dennis] Several other signs may have also come true, 692 00:34:06,875 --> 00:34:09,333 including one very recently. 693 00:34:10,542 --> 00:34:13,292 - The seventh sign is the ocean turning black 694 00:34:13,292 --> 00:34:15,625 and many living things dying from it. 695 00:34:15,625 --> 00:34:18,125 Some believe this is a direct reference 696 00:34:18,125 --> 00:34:19,500 to the disastrous oil spills 697 00:34:19,500 --> 00:34:22,542 we've seen the last couple decades. 698 00:34:22,542 --> 00:34:23,708 To the Hopi, 699 00:34:23,708 --> 00:34:26,208 who believe in living harmoniously with the Earth, 700 00:34:26,208 --> 00:34:28,458 these are the kinds of tragic modern events 701 00:34:28,458 --> 00:34:30,667 that foreshadow more bad things to come. 702 00:34:30,667 --> 00:34:32,542 And if you believe in this kind of thing, 703 00:34:32,542 --> 00:34:35,708 it's pretty scary to imagine that seven out of nine signs 704 00:34:35,708 --> 00:34:37,542 have already come true. 705 00:34:37,542 --> 00:34:40,875 The end might be closer than we think. 706 00:34:40,875 --> 00:34:42,583 - [Dennis] But it's the ninth sign 707 00:34:42,583 --> 00:34:46,042 that will ultimately seal our fate. 708 00:34:46,042 --> 00:34:49,125 - This is where the Blue Star Kachina comes in. 709 00:34:49,125 --> 00:34:50,375 Frank Waters writes 710 00:34:50,375 --> 00:34:52,333 that the spirit of the Blue Star Kachina, 711 00:34:52,333 --> 00:34:53,958 also known as Saquasohuh, 712 00:34:53,958 --> 00:34:57,625 will appear in the sky in the form of a large blue star. 713 00:34:57,625 --> 00:35:01,208 - White Feather says that this brilliant blue star 714 00:35:01,208 --> 00:35:03,333 will actually fall from the heavens 715 00:35:03,333 --> 00:35:05,125 and crash into the Earth. 716 00:35:06,208 --> 00:35:10,250 - And that would signal earthquakes, tsunamis, 717 00:35:10,250 --> 00:35:13,750 and floods to destroy the Earth. 718 00:35:15,500 --> 00:35:19,250 - It's incredible to think of such a great power 719 00:35:19,250 --> 00:35:21,958 invested in a little tiny figurine. 720 00:35:21,958 --> 00:35:25,125 But if that power is unleashed, 721 00:35:25,125 --> 00:35:27,833 well, let's just hope it never is. 722 00:35:27,833 --> 00:35:31,333 - And as remarkable as it sounds, unfortunately, 723 00:35:31,333 --> 00:35:33,542 we can't entirely write off this prophecy 724 00:35:33,542 --> 00:35:37,292 because there's a chance it might actually come true. 725 00:35:37,292 --> 00:35:39,500 [tense music] 726 00:35:44,042 --> 00:35:45,500 - [Dennis] In the Arizona desert, 727 00:35:45,500 --> 00:35:50,250 a small blue-faced figurine covered in feathers 728 00:35:50,250 --> 00:35:55,042 is believed by some to hold the fate of the world. 729 00:35:55,042 --> 00:35:57,875 - If the Hopi prophecy is correct, 730 00:35:57,875 --> 00:36:01,583 the Blue Star Kachina spells doom for our planet. 731 00:36:02,625 --> 00:36:04,792 - A massive star crashing into the Earth? 732 00:36:06,292 --> 00:36:09,125 I'd say that qualifies as an extinction level event. 733 00:36:09,125 --> 00:36:11,583 It would be a pretty terrible way to go. 734 00:36:11,583 --> 00:36:15,042 - [Dennis] But is there proof this could actually happen? 735 00:36:15,042 --> 00:36:17,792 - Sure, it sounds a bit fantastical, 736 00:36:17,792 --> 00:36:19,333 but here's the thing. 737 00:36:19,333 --> 00:36:21,042 Not unlike the Aztec being right 738 00:36:21,042 --> 00:36:23,083 about the sun burning out someday, 739 00:36:23,083 --> 00:36:25,333 scientists believe the Hopi legend 740 00:36:25,333 --> 00:36:28,792 also might be a real possibility, 741 00:36:28,792 --> 00:36:30,542 and on a much sooner timeline. 742 00:36:32,083 --> 00:36:34,458 - And while we don't know of any actual stars 743 00:36:34,458 --> 00:36:36,250 capable of crashing into our planet, 744 00:36:36,250 --> 00:36:37,958 there's a very similar threat out there 745 00:36:37,958 --> 00:36:41,417 that sounds a lot like the Blue Star Kachina prophecy. 746 00:36:42,792 --> 00:36:46,417 There are thought to be about a million near-Earth asteroids 747 00:36:46,417 --> 00:36:48,000 in our solar system 748 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,833 capable of causing significant damage if they make impact, 749 00:36:50,833 --> 00:36:53,625 and scientists are keeping a watchful eye on this. 750 00:36:53,625 --> 00:36:56,375 In fact, NASA and an organization called 751 00:36:56,375 --> 00:36:57,750 the Planetary Society 752 00:36:57,750 --> 00:37:01,375 are currently tracking about 20,000 asteroids 753 00:37:01,375 --> 00:37:04,292 whose orbits make them a legitimate threat to Earth, 754 00:37:04,292 --> 00:37:07,333 possibly even wiping out life on Earth entirely. 755 00:37:08,375 --> 00:37:10,208 - The most dangerous asteroid of all of these 756 00:37:10,208 --> 00:37:12,500 is called Bennu. 757 00:37:12,500 --> 00:37:14,917 It is 1,600 feet wide 758 00:37:14,917 --> 00:37:17,875 and weighs 86 million tons. 759 00:37:17,875 --> 00:37:21,708 That is a lot of rock hurdling through space. 760 00:37:21,708 --> 00:37:24,250 - Bennu likely formed in the main asteroid belt 761 00:37:24,250 --> 00:37:26,042 between Mars and Jupiter 762 00:37:26,042 --> 00:37:28,958 and has recently drifted closer to Earth. 763 00:37:28,958 --> 00:37:30,708 Right now, its orbit is stable, 764 00:37:30,708 --> 00:37:34,292 revolving around the Sun every 1.2 years, 765 00:37:34,292 --> 00:37:36,958 but that stability may not last much longer. 766 00:37:37,958 --> 00:37:42,292 - In 2135, Bennu is expected to pass extra near to us, 767 00:37:42,292 --> 00:37:45,083 closer to Earth than the Moon. 768 00:37:45,083 --> 00:37:46,792 And when that happens, 769 00:37:46,792 --> 00:37:50,208 our gravitational pull will alter its trajectory. 770 00:37:50,208 --> 00:37:52,375 This could put it on a deadly collision course 771 00:37:52,375 --> 00:37:53,625 with our planet. 772 00:37:55,333 --> 00:37:57,875 - We won't know until the 2135 event 773 00:37:57,875 --> 00:38:01,333 if Bennu's new course will put us in danger. 774 00:38:01,333 --> 00:38:02,958 But as of right now, 775 00:38:02,958 --> 00:38:05,292 Bennu has one of the highest probabilities of any asteroid 776 00:38:05,292 --> 00:38:09,542 to impact Earth, about 1 in 2,700. 777 00:38:09,542 --> 00:38:12,333 I personally don't like those odds. 778 00:38:12,333 --> 00:38:14,500 - If this asteroid were to hit Earth, 779 00:38:15,875 --> 00:38:18,042 it would be catastrophic. 780 00:38:18,042 --> 00:38:19,750 Because of Bennu's size, 781 00:38:19,750 --> 00:38:24,625 the impact would release 80,000 times more energy 782 00:38:24,625 --> 00:38:27,292 than the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast. 783 00:38:27,292 --> 00:38:30,292 It would punch a crater several miles wide 784 00:38:30,292 --> 00:38:31,417 in the planet's surface, 785 00:38:31,417 --> 00:38:33,583 spawning earthquakes and shock waves 786 00:38:33,583 --> 00:38:37,333 that would reverberate through Earth's atmosphere. 787 00:38:37,333 --> 00:38:39,792 It would be a true global disaster. 788 00:38:41,542 --> 00:38:43,708 - [Dennis] For now, there's no need to panic. 789 00:38:43,708 --> 00:38:47,750 NASA scientists are already working on a solution. 790 00:38:47,750 --> 00:38:51,708 - In 2020, NASA landed a probe on Bennu 791 00:38:51,708 --> 00:38:54,167 and collected a sample from its surface. 792 00:38:54,167 --> 00:38:56,500 That probe only recently returned to Earth 793 00:38:56,500 --> 00:39:00,375 on September 24th, 2023. 794 00:39:00,375 --> 00:39:01,708 - The sample will allow scientists 795 00:39:01,708 --> 00:39:03,667 to study Bennu's composition 796 00:39:03,667 --> 00:39:06,250 and work on plans to deflect or divert it 797 00:39:06,250 --> 00:39:08,208 from hitting the planet. 798 00:39:08,208 --> 00:39:09,958 - One thing that they have discovered 799 00:39:09,958 --> 00:39:13,708 is the Bennu asteroid is very high in magnesium, 800 00:39:13,708 --> 00:39:16,292 so if it comes crashing to Earth, 801 00:39:16,292 --> 00:39:18,250 as it burns through the atmosphere, 802 00:39:18,250 --> 00:39:20,458 it will release a blue light. 803 00:39:22,042 --> 00:39:23,375 - The ancient Hopi 804 00:39:23,375 --> 00:39:25,000 certainly couldn't have predicted Bennu itself, 805 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,833 but maybe they did once see an asteroid or meteor 806 00:39:27,833 --> 00:39:30,250 burn up as a streak across the atmosphere, 807 00:39:30,250 --> 00:39:31,792 and it occurred to them, hey, 808 00:39:32,750 --> 00:39:34,583 one of those might hit us one day. 809 00:39:35,500 --> 00:39:37,000 Turns out, they're right. 810 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:40,375 Modern science is all over this one, so we should be fine. 811 00:39:40,375 --> 00:39:43,542 But still, it's pretty amazing, isn't it? 812 00:39:43,542 --> 00:39:47,333 I mean, this figurine, this spirit, this Blue Star Kachina, 813 00:39:47,333 --> 00:39:49,500 a piece of Native American doomsday lore 814 00:39:49,500 --> 00:39:53,458 that just goes to prove that our ancient ancestors 815 00:39:53,458 --> 00:39:55,000 might have been a lot more insightful 816 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:56,333 than we give them credit for. 817 00:39:57,667 --> 00:39:59,333 - And if this sounds familiar, 818 00:39:59,333 --> 00:40:01,750 that's because stars falling from the sky 819 00:40:01,750 --> 00:40:04,625 is a central feature of many doomsday prophecies. 820 00:40:06,208 --> 00:40:08,083 It's in John of Patmos's revelation. 821 00:40:08,083 --> 00:40:09,708 It's in Nostradamus. 822 00:40:09,708 --> 00:40:11,792 It's in the Aztec prediction as well. 823 00:40:11,792 --> 00:40:14,583 It's pretty incredible that despite so many years 824 00:40:14,583 --> 00:40:16,667 and so many miles in between, 825 00:40:16,667 --> 00:40:19,875 all these prophets have such a similar take. 826 00:40:19,875 --> 00:40:23,458 Let's just hope the end of the world is a long ways off. 827 00:40:26,208 --> 00:40:29,500 - Whether it's written down in a dark, ancient cave 828 00:40:29,500 --> 00:40:31,750 or carved into stone monuments, 829 00:40:31,750 --> 00:40:33,875 speculation about the end of the world 830 00:40:33,875 --> 00:40:37,708 has been part of our belief systems for thousands of years. 831 00:40:37,708 --> 00:40:41,917 I'm Dennis Quaid, thanks for watching "Holy Marvels."