The Bible may predict that the world is getting worse, and it's true that the politics in America are hell right now, if that's what we're judging the state of the world on.
In my opinion, however, life on Earth (for humans!) is the "best" (in general) that it has been in our history.
But that is entirely subjective to how you define best. Personally, life is improved by an increase socially in understanding, both in the sense of knowledge of how our universe works and in the sense of having empathy for each other.
In this sense, at least in America, I'd say we're headed for the right path, albeit slowly. Finally we're at the point where we aren't enslaving each other, women have almost equal rights to men, medicine is no longer based around leeches and salt circles, and reliance on archaic religions for our morals is decreasing on the whole.
There are certainly things getting worse - mental illness for one, the population is too damn big for the planet, and while developed countries are getting better at managing the environment properly, Africa and Asia have decided it's their turn to make the world a little worse.
Additionally, with our increased population and use of antibiotics, odds of a plague killing off lots of people are pretty high. Throw in the possibility of nuclear war, however small, and it makes you worry a bit more.
Looking at all that I've said so far, my conclusion is that life as a whole is improving, but is rather more unstable and vulnerable to crazies or ecological disaster.
Some people are really getting upset about wars, and true, war is awful. Compared to how it was in the past, however, the wars today are almost tame. Just look at the casualty counts. Of course any deaths in war are tragic, but we've clearly made it past the worst of it as far as bloody wars go (1700s - WWI(I) was the worst)
Just listening to the media would have you thinking the apocalypse is coming for sure, but take it with a grain of salt. Ever heard Fox news tell the story of the Boy Scout helping the old lady carry groceries to her car? Of course not, because it's not as *interesting* as talking about political sex scandals or violently murdered children. Seriously, screw the media.
But I think that if you can wade through those calling for the apocalypse and look at the big picture, our standard of living has only gotten better since around the Renaissance, and will most likely only continue to do so.
The music is getting worse though, that's for sure!