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Preface
Although many people have different views of the world, it is accepted knowledge that morning follows night and that spring comes after winter. Scientists contend that the universe operates on a cyclical model, where a new star is born and an old star dies in a manner like that of humanity, where the birth of a baby takes place alongside the death of an older person. One may say that birth and death are not really separate, but form components of a cycle like day and night. What is it, however, that gives this process its momentum? Are such events the manifestations of Natural Law, cosmic cycles, or the will of God? Furthermore, can we take it for granted that such cycles are destined to go on forever? For some time now, prominent religious leaders, philosophers, scholars, scientists, and politicians including former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and many ordinary people, have believed that we are entering, or indeed may already be in, the last days of the world—the time of Armageddon described in the Bible. Such beliefs have influenced global human affairs, with shifts in U.S.-Russian relations and the frequent crises in the Middle East providing particular examples of how this belief guides the thinking of those involved.