Hi Kevin,
Your posted article was from the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). SETI is monitoring space for signs of inhabitation including radio waves and monochromatic and pulsed laser beacon signals.
SETI assumes that attempts to communicate with us would be based on our highest technology (wave communication). Why make this assumption? Scientists acknowlege that the human race is operating at only a fraction of potential and our potential includes an innate and undeveloped ability for direct communication. To date, the SETI search has been futile. Surprisingly, while scientists are listening to a dead headset, communication has been ongoing.
Our early survival depended on quick reaction to the fear instinct and it continues to color our lives. Apocalyse, End of Times, Rapture etc. are words that grab our attention. Current world events are signaling an impending crises that embody those images, generating a fear response.
Higher forms of life are helping us deal with our fears and prepare us for the impending speed bump in our evolution. The lesson regarding the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse seemed to fit your thread.