by Gary Gagne

Created on: October 26, 2008   Last Updated: October 27, 2008

The other day, at work, a friend approached me saying that the end of the world was near and that someone predicted that we wouldn't see election day. She sounded more than a little concerned and frightened. Another friend then reminded us about the Inca calendar which indicated that the world would end by 2012. That conversation brought to mind the hundreds of predictions for the end of the world since the birth of Christ. In the Christian tradition, one of the basic tenants is that we must always remain in a state of grace because the end of the world will come when you least expect it. As Matthew noted in 24:36 about the final day ". . . Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." Since Christ "rose from the dead" people have expected him to return. For 2000 years false Messiah after false Messiah has proclaimed the end of the world and there are always people who seem to believe them. My fear is that we will bring about the end of the world, since we have the capacity to so, resulting in a worldwide hysteria followed by a global conflagration.

I think these feelings become stronger when it becomes clear to nearly everyone that one era is ending and another beginning. When the bottom has fallen out of all previous assumptions about how the world operates and we are forced to redefine our role in the larger scheme of things. Instead of reasonably analyzing and reassessing the new reality some people are driven by psychosis, their desire to draw attention to themselves, or their need to sell a book (or combination of the above) to pronounce the "the end is near!". Sometimes we are so unsettled by a new uncertainty and fear that we cannot be comforted by the notion that we might have achieved a deeper understanding of the world and ourselves. Our current sense that the world is slipping away and that a new one has arrived is unmatched in history. We know we are heading into a New Age, and as much as we may want to, we cannot return to the old. The climate is changing, global political power is shifting east and world economics are heading south, to name just a few. Even our most basic assumptions about the world and ourselves seem destined to fail us. We have just crossed over into uncharted territory, the "twilight zone", the 21st century, and what is unfolding is a culmination of events destined to become a new reality, elements of which will last for at least 100 years.

The dangers we face are enormous as are our chances for discovery. Thus far we have shown ourselves to be a very adaptable species and I believe that that is no accident that we have survived. It could be that our ultimate mission is to preserve and spread life throughout the universe. Taken within that context, we will probably survive these catastrophes and will weather many more, yet to come, before we are done.
Gary

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