#666

The Doomsday Generation

A Pessimistic Clock

I wear a watch and most people do. Of course the one I wear is more like the one Dick Tracy wore, but its main function is to let me know what time it is. It lets me know when to wake up, when it’s time for a meal and when I need to get ready for this event or that event. There is a clock that is more dark in what it tells us and that the infamous Doomsday Clock. If you don’t know what that is, here is a brief description of who created it and why from an article in thebulletin.org:

Founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock two years later, using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to convey threats to humanity and the planet. The Doomsday Clock is set every year by the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board (SASB) in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes nine Nobel laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to global catastrophe caused by man-made technologies.

As the founders were also people who helped develop the nuclear bomb their motivation was one of making sure that mankind avoided what they saw as the logical end to their creation. It was after all, used to end a world war so they feared that man would eventually destroy himself and they wanted to send a constant reminder or warning to hopefully avoid that. For perspective, the original clock was set at 7 minutes to midnight.

It’s 90 Seconds To Midnight

And the next logical question you have is how close are we to doomsday. According to the SASB we are perilously close to extinction since they updated it last January. The global catastrophe was originally from a nuclear war but the committee has added other categories over the years, and as you will see they added current concerns. Of course the members of the board of scientists views are an integral part of their assessments so it far from objective. I turn to an article from wikipedia.org which tells us more on this end of the world themed time piece and more specifically the factors going into its current time:

The main factors influencing the Clock are nuclear warfare, climate change, and artificial intelligence. The Bulletin's Science and Security Board monitors new developments in the life sciences and technology that could inflict irrevocable harm to humanity.

The Clock's original setting in 1947 was 7 minutes to midnight. It has since been set backward 8 times and forward 17 times. The farthest time from midnight was 17 minutes in 1991, and the nearest is 90 seconds, set in January 2023.

The Clock was moved to 150 seconds (2 minutes, 30 seconds) in 2017, then forward to 2 minutes to midnight in January 2018, and left unchanged in 2019. In January 2020, it was moved forward to 100 seconds (1 minute, 40 seconds) before midnight. In January 2023, the Clock was moved forward to 90 seconds (1 minute, 30 seconds) before midnight, announced in a live stream, and further explained to be impacted by considerations of biosecurity concerns resulting in large part from the global effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in an article authored by members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board, which included public health experts Suzet McKinney and Asha M. George. The board announced that the clock remained unchanged in January 2024.

The Main Culprit

From its inception the central threat was war and as we just read, the war in Ukraine pushed us to 90 seconds to doomsday. That’s not too surprising considering that we do have the ability to bomb ourselves out of existence with nuclear bombs alone. Going back to the article from scientists who monitor the clock we read this:

A durable end to Russia’s war in Ukraine seems distant, and the use of nuclear weapons by Russia in that conflict remains a serious possibility. In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his decision to “suspend” the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). In March, he announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. In June, Sergei Karaganov, an advisor to Putin, urged Moscow to consider launching limited nuclear strikes on Western Europe as a way to bring the war in Ukraine to a favorable conclusion. In October, Russia’s Duma voted to withdraw Moscow's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, as the US Senate continued to refuse even to debate ratification.

The article mentions the main countries who pose the largest concerns since they have the most nuclear weapons:

Nuclear spending programs in the three largest nuclear powers—China, Russia, and the United States—threaten to trigger a three-way nuclear arms race as the world’s arms control architecture collapses. Russia and China are expanding their nuclear capabilities, and pressure mounts in Washington for the United States to respond in kind.

A New Threat Looms

The so called nuclear club has nine members and they are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. That number hasn’t changed for some time, but there is another country that concerns a lot of people and for good reason. That country is Iran and despite attempts to get them to stop, they are perilously close to having what they need to weaponize their atomic material. Some think they have that ability right now and are just waiting for the right time to attack America who they call the big Satan and Israel who they affectionately call the little Satan. So two wars are in the forefront of our minds when it comes to that doomsday clock striking the nuclear witching hour. If the Ukraine war ends then it is thought that we’ll back off the 90 seconds, but these scientists could just elevate one of the other areas to maintain attention on areas that fund them. Lest we forget, money makes the world go around and there are big bucks in those climate change coffers. And if you need proof of that this quote shows you that the SASB is linked to the World Economic Forum (WEF):

When the challenges we face transcend international boundaries, so must the solutions we design. In the wake of Covid-19, the value of internationally coordinated effort has never been clearer. But the world doesn’t have to wait for an unprecedented crisis or rely solely on government action to pursue global innovation. An ounce of prevention, as they say, is worth a pound of cure.

This is why both the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) support efforts to establish a globally accepted system for corporate disclosure that includes key sustainability information and traditional financial information.

As they say, follow the money.

The Bible Has A Doomsday Clock

I may be stretching things a little since there wasn’t a board of scientists guiding the authors of the Bible to create one, but Bible prophecies do point to a war to end all wars culminating in Israel. However, when Jesus talked about the end of the age, He did paint a bleak picture and the Bible does tell us this:

If the time had not been made short, no life would have been saved. Because of God’s people, the time will be made short. (Matt 24:22, NLV)

And like the SASB Jesus did gives us the factors that went into that statement:

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matt 24:4-8, NKJV)

But unlike those on the board of the SASB, God tells us exactly what will happen and how it turns out in another book of the Bible, the book of Revelation:

Then I saw a new earth (with no oceans!) and a new sky, for the present earth and sky had disappeared. 2 And I, John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. It was a glorious sight, beautiful as a bride at her wedding.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, “Look, the home of God is now among men, and he will live with them and they will be his people; yes, God himself will be among them. 4 He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever.”

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new!” (Rev 21:1-5, TLB)

The Right Attitude

There have always been doomsayers, those who see the signs of the times and preach a gospel of despair, depression, and dejection. They are the Eeyores of the end times, always telling us that the end is near but not giving us the hope that it will all turn out for the best. To be certain, there are those who will not be on the right side of prophetic outcomes, however one can choose their future now. The goal of the creators of the doomsday clock did so with the expectation that mankind would see the danger and avoid it. Biblically, the events of end time prophecy give us the same expectation, however God doesn’t expect us to protect this planet, that’s His job. He does tells us to take care of it just like He told Adam and Eve, but the fate of earth is totally in the hands of the one who created it. The spiritual mandate is to make sure that our eternity is secure and to help as many others do the same thing. And even when it feels like we are losing Jesus told us this:

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:28, NKJV)