Many would say that Eschatology -- the study of the final days of humanity -- is a pointless philosophical exercise. Scripture teaches that no one save our Heavenly Father knows the day nor the hour of the Final Judgment. Some contend that it may not even happen at all, and that humanity's pathway to the stars and beyond will be minimally, if not entirely, unimpeded.
My own feelings on this subject are that the End Times prophesies have become more paradoxical than any who originally heard them could have possibly guessed when they were first transcribed millennia ago. It took a great deal of faith in the Ancient World, for instance, to believe that the world was going to eventually be in danger of destruction. There was no fossilized scientific record of past extinction events, nor any understanding of the threat the cosmos posed to our fragile world. And yet, people found a way to believe, in spite of the ridicule they faced, that there would eventually be a Day of Judgment.
Now, however, in the 21st century, science has in many ways vindicated ancient prophesies. We now know that over 80% of the world's land and sea species were entirely wiped out, not once, but on five separate occasions over the past few billion years. We also know that a mountain-sized meteor, comet, or asteroid could plummet to this Earth at any moment, wiping humankind from the face of the planet. And most importantly, we know that we are all living in the nuclear age, in which a single miscalculation by a single world leader could kill over 90% of the people on the planet, and relegate any survivors to a nasty, brutish, and short existence.
So it would appear that, in modern times, it takes more faith to believe that things will ultimately turn out well for humanity, than to believe that the world will be in danger of destruction. Why then is it that faith is at an all-time low the world over, particularly in the West, while Humanism, Materialism and Existentialism are all on the rise? Why is there suddenly pseudo-optimism that humanity can solve all of its problems on its own, without Divine intervention?
It would appear that the tables have indeed turned regarding the eschatological. Now it is those without Divine faith who appear delusional. Even as World War III threatens to break out at any moment, and scientists predict a sixth, man-made mass extinction the world over, non-believers are more confident than ever in humanity's ability to take care of itself.
Such unfounded optimism, as I have stated previously, and will reiterate, is an opinion completely devoid from reality. The mathematics of nuclear proliferation and climate change are very clear: in the absence of a miracle as profound as any performed by Christ, humanity is doomed to extinction. So if you are not a person of faith, you must by the principles of exclusion be a pessimist who believes in your heart that the world is coming to an end. Any other proclamation on your part would be fundamentally dishonest.
If, however, you believe in miracles, then you can entertain the possibility of humanity's collective salvation. And you can allow yourself to believe that somehow, some way, we as a people will make it through the coming years. Even if you know not the day, nor the hour, of that salvation, you can allow yourself that sliver of hope within your heart, however small, that everything's going to be alright.
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