The Eschatology of Light Cones: Cosmological Event Horizons, Existential Risk Mitigation, and the Metaphysics of Divine Judgment in 2 Peter 3:10

Abstract

Modern physical cosmology, particularly the standard Lambda-Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) framework, describes a universe in which accelerated expansion can establish cosmological event horizons and progressively restrict causal communication between sufficiently distant gravitationally unbound regions. In long-term existential-risk analysis, this raises a provocative possibility: distributing civilization across increasingly independent causal domains could reduce the probability that one localized catastrophe destroys every descendant population. This article examines whether such a physical strategy has any relevance to the eschatological claim of 2 Peter 3:10. Through interdisciplinary textual-critical exegesis, theological metaphysics, philosophy of causation, and a formal comparison of risk models, the study argues that cosmological isolation and eschatological judgment belong to different explanatory categories. Event horizons constrain causal influence within spacetime; they do not constitute metaphysical barriers against a theological claim about the Creator’s judgment upon creation. The argument is qualified in two directions. First, ΛCDM is treated as a physical model rather than an unquestionable forecast of the universe’s ultimate destiny. Second, divine action should not be described as a measurable faster-than-light signal, because doing so would incorrectly turn a theological doctrine of divine sovereignty into a physical mechanism. The central thesis is therefore not that God “travels faster than light,” but that the explanatory scope of light cones is limited to physical causal relations within spacetime. The article compares three readings of 2 Peter 3:10—cosmic dissolution, transformative judgment, and localized/biospheric judgment—and shows that only the third creates a possible conceptual space in which spatial dispersion might matter. The theological conclusion is that eschatological security is not achieved through maximal cosmic distance but through the promise of “new heavens and a new earth” in which righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:13).