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Well, it's a race against time.
In about 5 billion years, the red giant sun will engulf the Earth and vaporize the planet.
At nearly the same time, however, the Moon will finally leave the gravitational influence of the Earth and become an independent planet orbiting the sun. Alas, it will be in nearly the same orbit as the Earth, so after a few orbits....Blam! Impact with the Earth!
But which will come first? Can't say.

It's all moot to us here on Earth, though. Some time between 800 million and 1200 million years from now the gradually-getting-hotter sun will raise the temperature of the surface of the Earth above the boiling point of water and the only life left on Earth will be the bacteria deep in the Earth in the interstices between rock particles.
We are 3.5 billion years through a 4.5 billion year history of life on Earth.

Though an asteroid might hit the Earth and raise havoc, it won't extinguish all life on Earth--maybe just all life larger than dogs and cats.

All rather prosaic endings compared to the Mayan calendar thing. I seem to recall a short story by Isaac Asimov called "The Nine Billion Names of God". Now that was a zen ending.

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Just looked again at a copy of the Dresden Codex online. Right there, down in the corner, is a reference to the end of the Mayan calendar.

From the Mayan, it translates as "fiscal cliff."

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Well, just checked with ups and my new mount will be here in time for us all to die, should make go photo op!

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if you get it set up in time you may get some impressive images of the event

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get your "I Survived the End of the World" T-shirts now..

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