Praying to an Unknown God - The Omega

When is the end coming? That has been a common theme in most Abrahamic religious beliefs. If we could know, would that cause people to change their behaviors, for better or for worse? Would the world economy collapse from widespread panic? What are the physical evidence that will warn us of the approaching end times, or is that idea along with all religious doctrines no more than inventions of our fears and imagination?