Last evening, one of the ten most powerful earthquakes of recorded time struck eastern Russia, with the epicenter about 119 kilometers (74 miles) east-southeast of the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. It was 8.8 on the Richter Scale. This measurement classification didn’t exist before 1935. However, geologists can estimate the power of ancient earthquakes, such as the Great Lisbon Earthquake of November 1, 1755, the New Madrid earthquake of December 16, 1811, which occurred in what would someday become Arkansas, or the famous San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906, using other indices from the historical record. Fortunately, the tsunamis that hit Japan, Hawaii, California, and elsewhere last night were not more than a few feet tall, and the global loss of life was minimal. Today, in eastern Russia, a volcano awakened and erupted. But aftershocks like that—if you’ll pardon the pun—I have to wonder: what’s next? The residents of my town attacked by a giant octopus?
No doubt, the media, and especially social media, will be blitzed by people with opinions and stories about the earthquake. Some will joke about it. No doubt, some will refer to the Bible to proclaim that the end is near.
The first time I encountered the phrase “The End is Near” was around 1958. I was about seven. My mother had taken me to New York City, and we were on Times Square or Fifth Avenue when I saw this strange, raggedy guy with a long beard, wearing a gown, who held a sign that read “The End is Near.” “The end of what?” I wondered. In another twelve years, I would discover the answer to my question. When he was here with us, people asked Jesus about the end. Would the planet go out with a bang or a whimper? “How will we know that the end is near?” they asked.
Jesus replied that it was important for people to recognize when the end was near.
"Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away." Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven."
He continued:
“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:8ff passim).
So, I know from experience that those who read this post will fall into one of several possible categories. Those in the first category will admit they have heard this before, but wonder why it never happens—so why keep thinking it will? Others will say they don’t know what to think. Some will admit to being Christians, and this is exactly what they already believe. Another group would say it’s just made up—hogwash.
This is where the watch in the featured photo comes in. As far as I can determine, the hands indicate that it is 1:50, either a.m. or p.m. And I think we can agree that the watch is totally messed up, and it isn’t going anywhere. Yet it shows the correct time at least twice every single day. My point is that even if you don’t believe in the message that Jesus preached or that the natural disasters He predicted do occur today, and even if we’re no closer to the end than we were two thousand years ago, the stars still line up twice a day. The means that the odds of this being what Jesus was referring to are at least greater than zero.
Then, there is the current theory that suggests there is a limit to how advanced a civilization can get. While there are several possible permutation in circulation, the “Great Filter” is the one that astronomers and exobiologists refer to the most. It was posited by economist Robin Hanson in the late 1990’s. He believed that at some point, a civilization will run out of resources, or get struck by a meteor, or turn on itself in some spectacular Götterdämmerung.
I spend a good part of my time exploring the future, and we have all sorts of wondrous possibilities to save human lives, to restore limbs and give sight to the sightless. And then I read stories about PMC Wagner and how they used to beat Russian deserters to death with sledge hammers because they refused to fight in Ukraine. We seem to never outgrow our evil nature.
We have wars between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, and Russia and Ukraine, just in the last two months alone. We’ve had pestilence recently, such as the pandemic, and famine at this very moment—not only in Africa but also in the Gaza Strip. We have it in our power to end famine, but we don’t.
American Psychiatric Association annual survey May 15, 2025.
Issues Americans are Very or Somewhat Anxious About (American Psychiatric Association) | Percentage |
|---|---|
Current events happening around the world | 67% |
Keeping myself or my family safe | 62% |
Paying my bills or expenses | 61% |
My health | 59% |
Identity theft | 57% |
The impact of climate change on the planet | 53% |
The impact of emerging technology on everyday life | 44% |
The opioid epidemic | 42% |
Job security | 40% |
We’ve seen Jerusalem and Tel Aviv attacked by Iranian missiles, as well as those fired from Lebanon and Yemen. We’ve witnessed unusual events in the sky, such as blood-red full moons and auroras. Some might even add the UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) that are being reported. We have a great deception affecting many who call themselves Christians, perpetrated by another who claims to be a Christian himself. And the list goes on.
You can see by the APA survey included in this post that people are very concerned.
Note: The full results of the poll, fielded by Morning Consult on behalf of APA among 2,204 adults April 27-28, 2025, are available by contacting press@psych.org. The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age, and race by educational attainment. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
The Doomsday Clock was developed by the Atomic Scientists to demonstrate how close the people of the planet are to nuclear holocaust and the extinction of our race. Initially set to 11:53 p.m. in 1947, it is now at 89 seconds to midnight, closer than it has ever been to the ominous hour when the clock strikes twelve. This should be a warning, but . . .
Blood-red northern lights bathe Europe on November 5, 2023, before a Russian offensive against the sovereign nation of Ukraine. In the past, this would portend more bloodshed, which is exactly what happened, though coincidentally, of course. Photo: Lubos Pavlicek (CTK via AP Images).
Photo: Iranian ballistic missiles rain down on Israel only weeks ago in this Alamy photo (right). What if they were carrying nukes?
These are just a few thoughts to occupy yourself. But as dark as these comments might be, there is light and life everlasting on the other side of the coin. We’ll explore that in future posts.
