Many books and articles have been written about the end of the world; probably hundreds if not thousands of them. Many people want to know about the end of the world. They ask why, how, when, and why the world will end. And they go to the many published works available seeking answers to their questions. However, of all these writings about the end of the world, only one book contains the truth about the end times and that is the Holy Bible. This article is focused on what the Christian Bible teaches about the end of the created world.
WILL THE WORLD END?
Obviously, the first question is, Will the world end? Because, if the answer is, No, then all other questions about the end of the world have no practical significance. Yes, the entire creation will end on a certain definite day in the future known only to God (Matt. 24:36). This day of the second coming of Christ is referred to in the Bible variously as the day of the Lord, the last day (John 6:39), the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23), the coming of the Lord (Jas. 5:7), Christ… will appear a second time (Heb. 9:28), the Son of Man coming (Matt. 24:30), the Son of Man will come (Matt. 24:44), the day drawing near (Heb. 10:25), day your Lord will come (Matt. 24:42), his coming (1 John 2:28), the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6), the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30), the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:27), and many more.
WILL HUMAN BEINGS KNOW WHEN THE LAST DAY ARRIVES?
Yes. Jesus Himself spoke these words regarding the second coming of Christ, “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt.24:27, emphasis added). Here Jesus absolutely eliminates a secret coming as well as multiple comings. Everyone on earth will see His coming at once and this will happen only once because Jesus chose the words the coming, not the coming(s). The second coming of Jesus Christ will occur only once and His coming will be visible all over the earth at once.
WHEN WILL THE WORLD END?
Probably the most often asked question regarding the end of the world is when will the world end? Much has been written that speculates on this question of when but none of the writers actually know the day. Only one person knows the day and the hour that the world will end. It is a certain day that not even Jesus knew but it is known by God the Father (Matt. 24:36).
Scripture teaches that at the end of the interadvental period, a short time of intense tribulation against the Church will occur. At the end of this tribulation period, the day of the Lord will come.
WHAT HAPPENS ON THE DAY THE WORLD ENDS?
There is much discussion about the end of the “world” but what exactly happens? Does the end of the world mean that the earth is going to explode or disintegrate in some manner or is it just going to become uninhabitable because of climate change or some other earthly cause? And what will cause this destruction: global warming? war? disease? earthquakes? floods? tsunamis? Also, what will happen to the rest of the universe?
The Bible is clear that no cause arising from the creation will end the world. So, all the climate change activists can relax. It will be destroyed by divine power not by any human action or anything of God’s natural world. No power of the created universe is capable of destroying the creation. The earth and the universe were created by God and will and can only be destroyed by God.
The first event the people of earth will witness on the last day, the Day of the Lord, is the destruction of the universe (Matt. 24:29), that is, everything but the earth and the sky. This will be closely followed by the second coming of Christ (Matt. 24:30). Jesus tells us that at His second coming, every person on earth at once will see the Son of Man in the sky, that a loud audible sound will accompany His appearance, and that the angels will collect all the believing elect to one place (Matt. 24:30, 31). Jesus will be seated on His throne (Matt. 26:64).
Then Jesus will transform the living and the resurrected bodies of believers to glorification (Phil. 20, 21) and all people of the earth, not just the elect, will be resurrected and gathered together before the throne of Christ for the final judgment. The remaining creation, the earth and sky, will then be dissolved (Rev. 20:11). Remember what the apostle Peter wrote regarding the destruction of God’s creation, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Peter 3:10).
Finally, Jesus will separate the believers from the unbelievers (Matt.25:31-33). Jesus will consummate the salvation of the believers and will usher them into heaven to receive their promised inheritance (Matt. 25:34; Eph. 1:11-14). The wicked humans and the fallen angels will be ordered into hell, the eternal fire (Matt. 25:41).
THE SCOFFERS
Scripture tells us that in the church age leading up to the last day there will be skeptics who refuse to believe these eschatological teachings of the Bible. Peter wrote:
3…scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.[i]
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The Christian Bible teaches that on one definite day in the future, the second coming of Christ will happen and on that same day certain other events will occur concomitantly with the second coming of our Lord on “the Day of the Lord.” Those events are:
- the general resurrection (Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:31, 32, 33; Acts 24:15; John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:12),
- The final judgment (Dan. 12:2; Matt. 11:24; Matt. 13:39, 49; Matt. 25:31-46; John 12:48; Rom. 2:5; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rev. 20:11-15),
- the end of the world (Psa. 102:25, 26; Is. 51:6; 65:17; Matt. 24:3; 25:31-46; Luke 21:33; 2 Pet. 3:6-13; Rev. 20:11; 21:1), and
- the final consummation of the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:24-26).
All of these events occur on the exact same day and none of these events happen seven years before the second coming of Christ. Nor do any of these events happen 1000 years after the second coming of Christ, since the one-thousand-year reign of Christ prophesied in Revelation 20:1-6 is a heavenly reign of Christ not an earthly reign that occurs before the second coming not after.
The end of the world is the end of God’s creation and this will happen on one definite day in the future along with several other essential events, all of which are prophesied in holy Scripture. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye… the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Cor. 15:52). All Christians look forward to the coming of the Lord and the general resurrection on the last day at the end of the world.
[i] 2 Peter 3:3-7, 10.
