When will the world end?

In recent years, there have been many religious or scientific groups that have predicted the end of the earth and our world as we know it. They believe that the earth is destined to be destroyed by some uncontrollable and unpredictable catastrophic event. These groups believe that the end of life as we know it is not controlled by the One and only divine Creator, but is a matter of blind chance and fate.

 

The message of the Bible is emphatically clear. There is no fate or chance. When a person casts the dice, it is not luck or chance that determines the outcome. The Lord is in control! “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” (Proverbs 16:33) If you don’t believe this, read Jonah 1:7. The Lord is the One who works “all things after the counsel of his own will.” (Ephesians 1:11)

 

The Lord is in control of all of His creation. “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” (Psalm 33:6) The Lord created everything out of nothing! (Hebrews 11:3) Everything that happens in God’s creation has a purpose and is perfectly timed to accomplish His purposes “from the beginning to the end.”(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

 

According to the Bible, the Lord is directing the earth to His determined end. “The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. … This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”(Isaiah 14:24, 26-27) God alone is eternal! Psalm 102:25-26 declares: “Of old thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment: as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed.” The day will come when the present heavens and earth will flee from the face of the Lord and there will be found “no place for them.”(Revelation 20:11)

 

In the Bible, the Lord has informed us of many of the details that will lead to the end of the world, and the general chronological developments that will lead up to it. However, no one knows precisely when the beginning of the end will take place. Jesus said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”(Matthew 24:36)

 

According to the chronology of the prophetic Word of God, the world will not come to its complete catastrophic end for at least another 1,007 years! Hundreds of verses in the Bible give us details concerning the devastating judgments of God that will fall upon the inhabitants of earth during the Tribulation – the seven years after the church has been raptured to heaven. After that, the saved who have survived this horrific period of time will live on this earth for another 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-7), in the perfect earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

We do know exactly how and when the world will end. After the millennial kingdom of our Lord on this earth, this world will be directly and supernaturally renovated by the spoken word of the Lord Jesus. The Apostle Peter wrote: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. … in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”(2 Peter 3:7, 10) With the passing away of the old creation, the Lord will create a “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”(2 Peter 3:13) Several decades after the Apostle Peter received this revelation, the Holy Spirit directed the Apostle John to write: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.”(Revelation 21:1)

 

I want to remind you that this earth will pass away. Jesus clearly and emphatically declared that this world will pass away, but His Word will not pass away, and every Word of God will come to pass! (Matthew 5:18; 24:35) Therefore, rest assured that the earth will not come to an unexpected and sudden end! The Lord is in complete control and nothing or no one can change that! The souls of men and the life of every living creature are in the hands of Almighty God. (Job 12:10)

 

We should think about all of this very often, and it should have a profound impact upon our daily living. Read 2 Peter 3:11-14.

 

How do we know that all of this is true? The Bible has proven itself to be true! There are thousands of detailed, complex prophecies in the Bible. Twenty percent of these 333 prophecies were literally fulfilled when Jesus came the first time. Therefore, we can rest assured that the remaining 80 percent of the prophecies about the end times will also come true, every one of them, just like the Bible has predicted! “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater.”(1 John 5:9)“Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.”(Psalm 119:89-91)

You cannot comment on this entry