The End

Author

INTRODUCTION

WHY THIS BOOK?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it

was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way-in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

CHARLES DICKENS, A TALE OF TWO CITIES

This passage from A Tale of Two Cities could easily apply to us right now. We are living in an age of contrasts as well: We’re either on track for achieving utopia from our advancements in technology, biotechnology and understanding, or we’re on the verge of destroying Earth, and all of us with it. You only need to read a few magazines or newspapers to come away with both conclusions. The future is always described with superlatives-it’s either going to be really horrible or really amazing. So which is it? Which will it be, the best of times or the worst of times?

What if it was both? There’s good reason to believe that it is and will be the best of times-and that it is and will be the worst of times. The world is so vast, and conditions are so different from one location to the next that it is and will be really horrible and really amazing.

But there’s more. In the midst of the contrasts that exist right now and that are coming in the future, there’s a giant ticking clock. You don’t have to be religious to think this way. Guess where we got the cover idea and artwork? NASA.

Now, NASA in no way had anything to do with this book. They did, however, commission the art we used on the cover, which is in the public domain. So we were able to use it. The asteroid striking the world came right from their Near Earth Orbit website.

For several years now, I have been living in a state of continuous expectation for what is known as the Rapture. Prophecy scholars have stated that there is not a single event remaining that is required to happen prior to this occurrence. Their biblical research, combined with the biblical assertion that Christ will return like a thief in the night (2 Pet. 3:10) has led me to the belief of the imminent rapture of the Church and the pending return of Christ. Let me state this succinctly: I believe the Rapture will happen within our lifetime.

The full text of 2 Peter 3:10 is the cornerstone for what I believe:

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat: both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

There are other Scripture passages that lead me to this conclusion, and many prophecy scholars have come to the same conviction. We call this song Armageddon, the Apocalypse, Rapture or Judgment Day. The tune is always the same-it’s close, very close.

To my utter amazement, the chorus of those singing the melody of The End has been joined recently by some unlikely harmony. We are now welcoming to the choir voices that previously had been the most doubting voices of all-secular scientists. The term rapture is seldom used in secular circles. They call it the Singularity, Event Horizon, the Curve, Spike or the potential realization of an existential risk. They don’t quote the book of Daniel or the book of Revelation. They quote scientific journals. But, amazingly, it is the same tune-the end is near, very near.

I don’t make these comments haphazardly. In addition to my biblical research, I have had the opportunity, through personal interest and work-related activities during the last decade, to study what is known about the future from the scientific and secular points of view. I have attended many seminars, events and scenario-planning sessions, and read extensively the work of professional futurists. Through a Fortune 500 sponsor, I’ve had the opportunity to attend amazing conferences put on by such institutes as The Global Business Network, The MIT Media Lab, The Institute for the Future, George Gilder’s Telecosm, TED, and other venues where senior executives of companies, governments and the military go to understand the future.

I happened to be at a conference in Lake Tahoe where scientists and secular philosophers-Dr. Ray Kurzweil, Doc Searle and Bill Joy-had their now-famous conversation that led to Bill Joy’s seminal article in Wired magazine (April 2000) titled Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us. Joy’s article is considered the catalyst for others’ thinking about the topic coming out of the closet.

That article and the ensuing debate have led to one of the most striking recent developments: the increasing number of secular scientists concerned about realistic end-of-the-world scenarios-so-called existential risks. Specifically, they are deeply concerned about mankind’s relatively newfound and expanding capability for global self-annihilation. Furthermore, they have begun to develop a heightened awareness of Earth’s violent history and the implications that history shows for humankind’s longevity.

Many have concluded that because of the combination of rapid advancements in science and the new ways that mankind has developed to destroy itself, it has become impossible to envision the future beyond the year 2050 (some are saying as early as 2040).

Skeptics will point out that The End Is Near has always been a common theme of nutcases, bearded prophets and street-corner naysayers. But it’s the recent proliferation of the scientific community’s assertion of humankind’s imminent end that is so unusual, so far-reaching, and so agreed upon. For example:

With the exception of a species-destroying comet or asteroid impact (an extremely rare occurrence), there were probably no significant existential risks in human history until the mid-twentieth century, and certainly none that it was within our power to do something about.¹

Dr. Nick Bostrom strongly believes in a post-Homo sapiens scenario called transhumanism and is working from his position at Oxford University to help that view become understood and accepted. His biggest concern is that of existential risks. This is scientific code for the end of the world.

He is not alone. Some of the recent books to land on my shelf include:

Collapse, by Jared Diamond-a discussion and analysis of how and why great civilizations have failed and what we can learn from them.

The Singularity Is Near, by Ray Kurzweil-a treatise on the coming transhuman developments that have been described by some as a techno-rapture future.

Catastrophe, by Richard A. Posner-a solid review of most of the risks covered in The End.

Spike, by Damien Broderick-the author argues that because change is accelerating so rapidly, nothing can be known about the year 2050 (if we make it till then).

Our Final Hour by Sir Martin J. Rees, who is the Royal Society Professor at Cambridge University a Fellow of King’s College, and England’s Astronomer Royal. His book is subtitled: A Scientist’s Warning: How terror, error and environmental disaster threaten humankind’s future in the century on earth and beyond.

See also the bibliography at the end of this book.

These books are written by scientists and secular commentators and talk about the potential for humankind as we know it to fundamentally change. The books also discuss the unique passage of threatened total destruction that we will need to navigate over the next 40 to 50 years to get to the techno-nirvana they envision.

I come to this discussion from a Christian worldview. The Bible states that we can and do know the shape and outline of the climax of humankind. We cannot know the day or the hour, but we can know the season that leads to it. It should not have been a surprise to us that many non-Christians would detect the season as well. The Scriptures say that, were it not for God’s intervention in the last days, man would destroy himself (see Matt. 24:22). Man-made existential risks have only recently been developed. That they would go unnoticed is absurd.

Scripture also describes futuristic natural disasters, the likes of which have not occurred in human history (e.g. Matt. 24:21: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be). Science has begun to document the real risks of these types of disasters and has moved them from unimaginable just 10 to 20 years ago to plausible today. In fact, as I’ll show later, a few have become likely and even guaranteed. Discussions range from asteroids and meteorites similar to those described in the book of Revelation to super-volcanoes and 1,000-foot tall tsunamis caused by massive volcanic eruptions or landslides.

This is the very distinct rustling at the door that even the scientific community has begun to discern. We know what it is, and though the Lord may tarry another 50-plus years, according to the thinking of many, we aren’t likely to be here if He waits that long.

Think of this book as a road map to what’s coming. In the following pages, we’ll chronicle current technological developments that could lead to annihilation; we will review current scientific views of natural phenomena described in Revelation that lead us to the brink of extinction; finally, we will discuss why it’s logical and prudent to live in preparation for Christ’s imminent return. My aim is to rouse the broader Christian community to live life to the fullest in these last days. A secondary purpose is to offer skeptics a gut check on the looming reality-in this lifetime-of the end of the world.

Welcome to …The End.

Mark Hatch www.endresearch.com

Note

1. Nick Bostrom, Ph.D. Journal of Evolution and Technology, vol. 9 (March 2002), http://www.jetpress.org/volume9/risks.html (accessed March 1, 2006).

PART 1:

MANMADE

CATASTROPHES

CHAPTER 1

GENETICS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

THE GOOD

Medical Miracles

We are truly living in an age of miracles, with amazing progress on many fronts in the discipline of genetics research and its application to human problems. With the mapping of the human genome, we can now begin to see how the fundamental building blocks of nature are composed. This breakthrough research has already transformed how science approaches all living things.

Genetic research is widely considered to be fundamentally good, and I agree. For instance, the progress and opportunities the research has created in agriculture, livestock and medicine herald a new day for reducing hunger, agricultural pestilence and