The End of the World
The End of the World
Written by: Samantha Wichman
The people who say that the world is ending are right, just not about when it will happen, what its end entails, or why it will one day end.
Revelation 21-22 provides the last piece in the Gospel storyline: the resolution. Although the majority of the book of Revelation is rather dystopian, with bowls of wrath, beasts, and destruction, the final chapters of the book tell us that the “end of the world” isn’t going to be a transition into a void of nothingness (as it’s often portrayed in modern culture), but rather an overwhelmingly joyful return home.
The last few verses of Revelation 20 tells us that the earth and sky will disappear when God opens up his book of life: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.” -Revelation 20:11
This is the literal end of the world. After the earth and sky disappear, God will open the book of life and judge the dead, throwing everyone (including Death itself and Hades) into the lake of fire, if their names were not found in the book.
Even though this is the end of the world, for those who claim Jesus as Savior, it’s not the end of the story! Here are the verses that immediately follow:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’” -Revelation 21:1-3.
This world that we currently call “home” will end because one day God is going to destroy it so that He can bring His people to a new, perfect home: the new heaven and the new earth. This new home will be a place that is beautiful beyond description, because it is the place where God and His people will finally dwell together.
So, yes, the end of the world is going to be very, very intense, but it’s not a bad thing, or an event to be feared. Believers must be careful not to think that the purpose of the Gospel is to make things right on earth (although everybody wants circumstances to get better while we’re all here); the purpose of the Gospel is for all of God’s children to one day be reunited with Him.
Written by: Samantha Wichman
The people who say that the world is ending are right, just not about when it will happen, what its end entails, or why it will one day end.
Revelation 21-22 provides the last piece in the Gospel storyline: the resolution. Although the majority of the book of Revelation is rather dystopian, with bowls of wrath, beasts, and destruction, the final chapters of the book tell us that the “end of the world” isn’t going to be a transition into a void of nothingness (as it’s often portrayed in modern culture), but rather an overwhelmingly joyful return home.
The last few verses of Revelation 20 tells us that the earth and sky will disappear when God opens up his book of life: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.” -Revelation 20:11
This is the literal end of the world. After the earth and sky disappear, God will open the book of life and judge the dead, throwing everyone (including Death itself and Hades) into the lake of fire, if their names were not found in the book.
Even though this is the end of the world, for those who claim Jesus as Savior, it’s not the end of the story! Here are the verses that immediately follow:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’” -Revelation 21:1-3.
This world that we currently call “home” will end because one day God is going to destroy it so that He can bring His people to a new, perfect home: the new heaven and the new earth. This new home will be a place that is beautiful beyond description, because it is the place where God and His people will finally dwell together.
So, yes, the end of the world is going to be very, very intense, but it’s not a bad thing, or an event to be feared. Believers must be careful not to think that the purpose of the Gospel is to make things right on earth (although everybody wants circumstances to get better while we’re all here); the purpose of the Gospel is for all of God’s children to one day be reunited with Him.
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