One of my great fascinations with the bible has always been the things that will come to pass in what is often referred to as the “end times.”
So many elements interest me about this topic, ranging from the Antichrist, judgement, new Heaven and Earth, resurrection, Christ’s return and millennial reign, and more.
There are so many things to talk about, I almost don’t know where to start! I could probably write 10 books on the subject because it does fascinate me greatly. In fact, did you know Isaac Newton was also fascinated by all of the end times talk?
He was particularly swept up in the prophecy stuff, and actually tried to calculate the earliest time the world would end, and came to 2060 as being the earliest he thought it would end. He didn’t know the exact date, he just thought that based on certain scriptures, the world would end no sooner than this date (so far he seems to be right).
I also had a question asking me some of my views on the end times, so I am going to try and write a few articles over the next few weeks dealing with end times related subjects. To kick start this, I thought I would start with something simple: Will the world ever end?
Will the World Ever End At All? What Do Scientists Think?
One topic most Atheists and Christians agree on is that, yes, little planet Earth as we know it will one day no longer exist. From the secular perspective, the Earth will probably cease to exist sometime in the very distant future (perhaps millions or billions of years).
Either the sun will explode, or we will get sucked into a black hole, or some giant asteroid will suddenly crash into Earth and blow it into pieces, or the universe may compress into a tiny “singularity” again. Either way you slice it, Earth is doomed to fail by some catastrophic future event that will take place in our own universe (according to the secular view).
So regardless of whether you choose to believe the secular world view, or the biblical world-view, planet Earth is certainly not going to be here forever. The Earth will pass away one day, and it will be a devastating and catastrophic event.
So we all might as well get used to the fact that the world is going to end one day. Earth is not going to be here forever. That is a hard fact to swallow sometimes.
What Does the Bible Say About the End of the World?
God also promises an end to the present Earth and even the universe. And in God’s scenario, it isn’t likely to be billions or even millions of years in the future. In fact, it could be much sooner than that (maybe even before you finish reading this article).
Revelation is the book that talks about the detailed event of Earth’s destruction. Here are some verses about this:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. Revelation 20:11
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Revelation 21:1
These verses clearly show that Earth and the heavens (meaning universe) will be completely destroyed. God will make all things new, and the new Heaven and new Earth will be much better than the current Earth we know now.
When Will Earth Be Destroyed? Does the Bible Say the Date?
The bible never gives an exact date regarding the “end times.” In fact, Jesus himself did not know when this time will be. He said this regarding the date of the end:
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Mr 13:32
So God alone knows when He will choose to send back His Son (Jesus Christ), and allow these events to unfold. In fact, let me stop right here and just ask all Christians denominations to PLEASE never try to attempt to say a date as if it were “set in stone.” So many denominations and Christian groups have made a mockery of themselves (and the faith) by trying to predict this end time, and were proven wrong.
If Jesus didn’t even know, we cannot be so silly to try and “solve” the date ourselves. It is fine to speculate and estimate just for fun or for conversation, but it should never be stated as a fact or doctrine. So I have no idea when this time will be, and neither does anyone else except for God alone.
Jesus compares it to a day when people will not even be expecting it, just like in the days before Noah’s flood. People will be planning vacations, getting married, working, and so forth doing business as usual. Then suddenly…BAM it will happen in the twinkling of an eye.
But before we get into all of that, I will back up in the next few posts and begin talking about what the bible has to say about these things in more detail.
Does the Bible Give Us Clues About the End Times?
The bible has very much to say about some of the things that will take place, and some “clues” we can identify to know when it is getting close. Jesus in fact gave several teachings on these “clues.”
The interesting thing is that many of these things are beginning to slowly happen. So I think it is safe to say we are getting closer than ever before, however, I still feel we have a little more to go through first.
So what are some of the things that must come to pass before the end times begin? In my next post, I will discuss some of these “signs,” and also discuss what I feel are some of these things unfolding right now.
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Posted under bible questions, end times
This post was written by Revelation on August 14, 2009
