The “End of the World”

Will the earth end in pieces?

Is the world coming to an end soon?
What kind of future can we and our children look forward to?

With all the failed predictions, can we take Bible prophecies seriously? Should we take the Bible literally?

First of all, we need to clear up a common misconception about the term “end of the world”. The term “end of the world” as used in Matthew 24:3, often conjures an image of the earth and everything in it being totally destroyed, which is not what Jesus and the disciples discussed at the Mount Olivet. The term “world” used here comes from the Greek word aion which is transliterated as aeon or eon, which simply means age. It does not refer to the physical planet we call earth. So Jesus and His disciples were discussing the “end of the age”.

The Bible talks of three “worlds” or ages:

• The world that then was – from Adam to Noah (2 Pet.3:6)
• This present evil world – from flood to present (Gal.1:4), and
• The world to come (Heb.2:5)

Clearly we are now living in the “present evil world”.

Another thing to note is that Christ, who revealed future events, never set any date for the “end of the world” or His return – simply because He Himself does not know the time or day! Only the Father knows!

So it is a mistake and it makes no sense to set dates for Bible prophecies, which if it fails creates a misleading impression that the Bible is unreliable. Now another source of prophetic error is misinterpretation. Some, in their zeal, supply speculative details from which further speculation is made. For example, many people assumed that the year 2000 marks the 6000th year since the time Adam was created and anticipated some earth-shaking events to happen that year – which turned out to be a great disappointment. But repeated failures seem not to discourage some from continuing to set dates.

Jesus wanted His disciples to always be on their toes and ready when He returns. But human nature as it is, would take thing easy if it knows Jesus’ return is many, many years away. So it is just fitting that we are not told the exact date or year. Paul himself apparently thought Christ would be coming during his time [1 Thes. 4:15-17]!

Let’s look at what Jesus said is going to happen. Read it for yourself in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. Among the events that Christ foretold are the following:

• false prophets and teachers
• wars and rumors of wars
• famines
• pestilences
• earthquakes
• persecution or tribulation
• lawlessness
• love waxing cold
• preaching of the gospel

These are rather general events that have occurred and continuing to recur ever since the first century A.D. While their incidence is expected to intensify as the end comes closer, it still would be impractical to take them as reference events with which to determine the proximity – in terms of a few year – of Jesus’ return. The following are some additional, very specific events that Jesus said would very shortly precede His return:

1. Jerusalem’s Fall

2. Abomination of Desolation

3. Heavenly Signs

A foretaste. A rare great meteor shower of November 13, 1833, as seen in many cities of America.

The third event mentioned above is unmistakable and would be witnessed by everyone living at the very end-time – the sun darkening, the moon not shining and a spectacular display of meteor shower. Surely no one could miss that awesome and frightening sight!

The first two events are specific to Jerusalem. But just the same, with today’s state-of-the-art satellite communication – the entire world would witness it.

The first event mentioned above describes the fall of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be surrounded and eventually overrun by Gentile armies. Many will die, others will be hauled away as prisoners to other nations. It will be a time of great distress for the nation of Israel and much of the English-speaking world. This is referred to in the Bible as the Great Tribulation.

The second event is of special interest – the “abomination of desolation”. Daniel gives more details about it:

This indicates that daily sacrifices would be revived in Jerusalem. This would also mean that a facility will be erected in Jerusalem – which could be a tabernacle, altar or temple, we don’t know for sure. But one thing is sure, sacrificial system will be re-instituted in Jerusalem – apparently for a brief period. The fact is that preparations are ongoing in Israel for quite sometime now for performing sacrificial rituals. They are actually awaitting the coming of a red heifer which is needed to start the sacrifices. That also would be a specific thing to watch. [Check the Temple Institute website for more information on this planned sacrificial system]. But as Daniel says the sacrifices will be “taken away” or stopped by a foreign power in collaboration with an influential religious leader who will erect the so-called “abomination of desolation” – most probably similar to what Antiochus Epiphanes erected around the year 167 BC — a heathen altar on top of God’s altar on which he began offering swine – an offering that is abominable to God.

When these specific events occur, then it will be a matter of about three and a half years at the end of which Christ will establish His kingdom on earth with capital at Jerusalem. During that three and a half year period, a series of events [detailed in the book Revelation] would push mankind to the brink of total anihilation. World armies will attempt to fight the returning Christ [described in Zechariah 14 and Isaiah 34]. But Christ will prevail. He will pour His wrath on these men who would have literally reached the height of their wickedness and His rule will at last bring the peace that humanity never saw. An exciting and spectacular transformation of the earth will shortly take place. Read Isaiah 35 for yourself!

Desert and wilderness abloom!

Imagine if you can – spring water gushing profusely from underneath the parched desert ground and imagine the desert and wilderness bursting forth with gorgeous, colorful blossoms and lush vegetation! And imagine the blind seeing such inspiring spectacle for the first time, the deaf hearing the soothing tunes of nature, the mute able to speak and sing – and the lame leaping like a hart! Read of that and more in Isaiah 35!

If you think all that is a make-believe fantasy, consider the following:

Wolf and Lamb, painting by Karen King

In short, instead of total anihilation, the earth will usher into a dream-like utopia. This will happen inspite of us!

Unfortunately, most people could hardly believe such good news anymore – mainly because of a misunderstanding about the kingdom of God and the bias against the Old Testament books – no thanks to the same great old deceiver that caused Adam and Eve to err.

That is quite blunt and straightforward – the whole world is deceived.

You just need to read the newspaper or look around you to verify and figure that out. The wars, the immorality, the misery – all telltale signs of Satan’s influence on the world today.

This aptly describes the time in which we live now and it is the reason why the world is in such danger. But the comforting fact is that God is all-powerful and He will not let evil reign for long. He will put an end to Satan’s sway of the world – and He will restore the Edenic beauty and harmony that had been marred by man’s sin.

Related Posts:

• Endtime: How Close Are We?
• As the Days of Noah were…
• Conference on Israel’s End
• God’s Judgment on Tyre — Proof or Disproof of God and the Bible?
• The Parable of Wise and Foolish Virgins
• Why Bible Prophecy?
• A Fresh Look at the Parable of the Sower

Tags: great tribulation, kingdom of God, last days, prophecy