Andrew,
Welcome to sciforums.
Considering the whole of history this is now the most enlightened time in which to live. It is also the safest, healthiest, and a time when more people experience a higher quality of life never before experienced.
The world has now one global economy, and where changes in one country can have massive effects on other countries. The increasing number of global companies, where some have revenues greater than some of the smaller countries, means that the ability of any single country leader to affect the world is becoming more limited. This is good since world leader are politically motivated rather than motivated by what is right. The spread of popular democracies is a real problem since decisions are being made based on popular desires of a largely ignorant and uninformed majority, rather than choosing based on long terms plans and intelligence.
While some may see the USA as world leaders, most of Europe see the USA as somewhat unsophisticated and naïve. The USA merely has raw wealth but acts more like a spoilt child. The current US president reflects this attitude quite nicely.
But economies grow in cycles, with highs and lows, but the overall trend is that the overall effect is upward. As more raw resources are mined, consumed, and recycled, the net effect is a gradual increase in world wealth. So yes the economy can forever increase until all the resources on the planet are exhausted by which time we will need to move on to other planets so we can continue to grow.
Primitive mythologies like Christianity and ignorant notions like an antichrist are steadily losing power and are being replaced by the results and knowledge of science and technology. These increase our knowledge base and push ignorance and superstitions to one side. It is not the fantasies of ancient superstitions you should fear but how advanced technology can be controlled. To understand this you must have a clear view of history and see how the changes in the past 200 years represent a rate of change that exceeds the many thousands of years that preceded that. This unprecedented rate of change is difficult to perceive and does require an ability to see the very big picture.
Those who are watching these rapidly growing technology trends see an inevitable outcome and there are now a number of organizations that are correspondingly growing who plan to take advantage of these massive changes. The following link describes a conversation about the very likely near term (next 30 years) future and the expected inevitable outcome. If you have not met these ideas before then you might have a problem comprehending the extent of the problem.
http://members.aol.com/salaned/writings/survive.htm
If you only had a vague notion of changes to come then here is some meat to your concerns.
Heaven or Hell isn't the corect question since these notions are irrelevant, the question is Evolve Now or Die.
Have fun
Cris