#998 Eschatology and Yet-to-Evolve ETs
June 29, 2026Dr. Craig, I’ve been thinking about something related to the eschaton, and I’d be interested in your thoughts.
If the eschaton is understood as the renewal of all creation—i.e., the redemption of the entire cosmos from its present high-entropy trajectory—and if God’s salvific purposes extend beyond humanity to other rational civilizations, then it seems possible that its realization could be extraordinarily distant in time.
For instance, suppose there are alien civilizations that would not naturally arise until billions of years in the future. If such civilizations are also included within the scope of divine redemption, would it follow that the eschaton must await their existence? Or is there a reason to think that the eschatological consummation is not temporally dependent on the natural history of all possible intelligent life?
At the same time, this raises a further worry: given the likely temporal scales involved, it seems that all currently existing observers would long have ceased to exist by then. I’m unsure how to reconcile that with traditional eschatological expectations.
I recognize that this is speculative, and I assume the structure of divine providence is far more complex than I’m able to grasp. Still, I’d be grateful for any clarification you might offer. We often forget about our alien friends in the universe, but it seems plausible that God might have much more than only us in mind.
Warm regards,
Sam
United States
Dr. craig’s response
A
Since the subject of my current research is eschatology, your question was of particular interest to me, Sam.
We certainly do want to affirm that the return of Christ will bring about a renewal of all creation. The expression “new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65.17; 66.22; II Peter 3.13; Revelation 21.1) is a totalizing expression, encompassing every created thing. Paul speaks about “the whole creation” looking forward to being set free from its bondage to decay (Romans 8.22).
So if we do have any “alien friends” in the universe, then God’s eschatological plan must include them as well as us. But if such extraterrestrial life has not yet arisen in the universe, we should not think that God’s eschatological program will be indefinitely delayed. On the Christian view God will bring about the end of human history and the present cosmos at such time as he deems fit (Mark 14.32; Matthew 24.43; I Thessalonians 5.2; Hebrews 1.10-12; II Peter 3.10; Revelation 3.3). He will not allow events predicted on the basis of present trends in even the relatively near future, such as the extinction of the human race, to occur, much less events in the unfathomably distant future such as stellar extinction or proton decay. Before these events can take place, God will act to terminate human history and usher in new heavens and a new Earth (I Corinthians 15.51-52; I Thessalonians 4.15-17; Revelation 21.1).
So “the eschatological consummation is not temporally dependent on the natural history of all possible intelligent life” (my emphasis). It will encompass only such intelligent life as actually exists during the lifespan of humanity. God will not allow humanity to go extinct while waiting for some other intelligent life form to evolve.
So while it’s “plausible that God might have much more than only us in mind,” we just don’t know who else is out there. But if they are out there, God will include them in his eschatological plans.
- William Lane Craig