If you had only 90 seconds left to live, what would you do? Panic? Laugh? Pray? Kiss your loved ones? Finish your cup of coffee or glass of wine? Do nothing? Your response would probably depend on how serious you took the news.
On January 23rd the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced the Doomsday Clock had only 90 seconds left before midnight was reached 1. The Doomsday Clock has been metaphorically monitoring how close we are to annihilating ourselves since 1947. Instead of the clock display from 1 to 12, representing a 60-minute countdown to the apocalypse, many Doomsday Clocks have only the markings from 9 to 12 because the U.S. nuclear weapons program spun the dial to 7 minutes left in 1947, and 2 years later it went to 2 minutes when the Soviet Union conducted their first atomic bomb tests.
The minute hand is moved back and forth each year depending on how the 22 members of the Bulletins Science and Security Board answer two questions: 1) is humanity any safer, or at greater risk, than last year, and 2) is humanity any safer, or at greater risk, compared to the 77 years of setting the clock’s dial?
The bad news is that we have only 90 seconds before we self-destruct. The good news is the clock has not moved from its 2023 setting. You might wonder why. Six countries continue their nuclear weapons programs. Regional conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Taiwan could spread. Last year was the hottest year on record, yet spending on clean energy is only slightly higher than what was spent on fossil fuels. Genetic engineering is more sophisticated; Artificial Intelligence explains to the less sophisticated how they can use this technology.
While the Doomsday Clock addresses the signs of our end, it is about as reliable as Punxsutawney Phil as predicting when. No need to set the hands on any clock, the Bible makes it clear we do not know the day, hour, or minute when it will occur (Acts 1:7). God has said this world is going to end, and only He knows when.
Jesus proclaimed all manner of bad things will occur before the end (Matthew 24:1-29; Mark 13:7). Lawlessness, the disregard for both constitutional and moral laws, will increase (2 Thessalonians 2:9). We see the signs all around us.
When life of Earth does end, there will be a time of judgment (2 Peter 3:3-7). Everyone will stand before the throne of Christ (Revelation 20:12-15). Contrary to postmodern views, you cannot blast open the gates of heaven with your nuclear weapon. Nor can you engineer your genetic makeup to be sinless. And the artificial intelligence app on your phone will not provide a convincing defense of who you are. The reality is that God’s books will be opened to see what you have done according to His commandments, and whether you confessed Jesus as Lord and had your name entered into the Book of Life.
By the way, if your name is not in the Book of Life, you will be cast into a place that has no need for Doomsday Clocks because doomsday lasts forever. And the Bible clearly indicates this place will be a lot hotter, and more painful, than the world was in 2023.
You don’t have to be a nuclear scientist to realize the security for your eternal future belongs in the hands of God. The clock is ticking and each moment you have to answer only one question: are you ready?
Nomads2 