Compare and Contrast Essay; TOPIC: Apocalypse

Hello, I am trying to make a thesis statement.. well first off I'm writing a COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY on the apocalypse, the end of man and all creation, judgement day, but the topic "apocalypse" is too broad.. so, i decided to dig deeper and narrowed it down to Christian beliefs of the end of the world (The Revelations) and the Mayan calendar, but I researched the Mayan calendar and there isn't much to say.. So I was thinking about Nostradamus theories, but through research I found out his theories were well based on the religious wars at the time and "historians" covering the subject wanted to become famous so they twisted words around to make it seem like the prophecies were to be fulfilled.. I am currently trying to write a thesis statement.. but it seems to be..bland.. and bad. Here it is "There is speculation that the world will end on the 21st day of December in the year 2012, as we get closer to that date the world seems to be becoming more hectic."

Essay must 2-3 pages long (1000 characters or more)

So I am pretty much asking for a lot of help:

- is it fine to just pretend I did not research Nostradamus and tell my readers about the things most people believe instead of the truth? :(

- what information should I start the essay with?
- more importantly what two topics on apocalypse do you suggest I do it on so that I am able to compare and contrast

I NEED TO GET AN A+ on this essay...

Perhaps you could compare/contrast atheist vs. christian views concerning the apocalypse? (Also, shouldn't your thesis statement introduce the two things you are going to compare & contrast?)