The
Apocalypse has now commonly come to refer to the
end of the world. Its derivation is from the Greek word
apokalupsis meaning revelation (literally, 'a lifting of the veil'). The current meaning may be an ellipsis of the phrase
apokalupsis eschaton (apocalyptic eschatology), meaning "revelation of knowledge of the end of time". This ellipsis in common usage echoes the ellipsis in the title of the last book of the
Bible,
The Revelation of St. John the Divine, in which the end of the world is prophesied in graphic detail.
See also millennialism
Apocalypse is the name of an adversary of the
X-Men in the X-Men comic books.