| Highlights of Dawn | October 1967 |
The End of the World
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” —I John 2:15-17
THE expression “The end of the world” was at one time much heard in religious circles. According to tradition it signified the destruction of the planet Earth by literal fire. With this destruction would come the exaltation of all faithful Christians to a heavenly home, and a consigning of all the wicked to a place of eternal torment. Because of the awesome possibilities associated with “the end of the world,” most people hoped that it would not come in their day. With this thought in mind, one of the early radio ministers of America told his nation-wide audience not to worry, for the return of Christ and the end of the world would not occur for fifty million years.
This minister was correct in associating the second coming of Christ with the prophetic end of the world, for the Bible does this also. However, the end of the world as taught in the Bible does not imply the burning up of the earth. The Bible teaches us that “the earth abideth forever.” (Eccl. 1:4) Isaiah 45:18 reads, “Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.”
Here we have the assurance that God has “established” the earth, and that he formed it to be inhabited. Until now the earth has been inhabited only by a dying race, but God’s original design was that the earth should be inhabited by a race of humans who would be perfect and who would live forever. (Gen. 1:27,28) Since man was commanded to multiply and fill the earth, it is easy to envisage the earth filled with a perfect and happy human family, knowing nothing of sin, sickness, and death, and dwelling peacefully together under God, whom they love, and obey, and worship.
But, as we know, man transgressed God’s law and was driven out of his perfect garden home, to suffer and die. (Gen. 2:16,17) However, this did not revoke the divine purpose in man’s creation, for God continued to love his human creatures and, through Jesus, provided redemption for them. This is explained in John 3:16, where we are told that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him should not perish but have everlasting life. Concerning this Paul wrote, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”—I Cor. 15:21,22
Because of this loving provision by the Creator, we are assured that the original divine purpose for the human race will be fully carried out. Thus we may say that that which would have been is yet to be. The Apostle Peter explained that the restoration of man will take place during a period in the divine plan which he described as “the times of restitution of all things,” and he informed us that this glorious period had been foretold by the mouth of all God’s holy prophets since the world began.—Acts 3:19-21
It will not be until the close of “the times of restitution of all things” that the earth will, in the fullest sense, be inhabited in keeping with the Creator’s original design. We can see, therefore, that the prophetic end of the world as described in the Bible could not imply the destruction of the earth, for this would mean a failure of the Creator’s design in its creation. What, then, is the end of the world as foretold in the Bible?
It is the destruction of the world which, in our text, the Apostle John admonishes Christians not to love. It is the world which Jesus mentioned when he said to his disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Jesus explained that Satan is “the prince of this world.” (John 12:31) It is a world which is filled with evil and evil deeds, a world that is plagued by war, sickness, and death. It is not the earth at all, but a selfish and sinful social order, which for the most part is at enmity with God and with the people of God. This is the world which, according to our text, “passeth away.”
The Symbolic Earth
There are many texts in the Bible which use the word “earth” symbolically, when the literal earth is not involved at all, except as the scene of the action described. In the 7th chapter of Daniel’s prophecy we are told of four symbolic “beasts.” These “beasts” are symbolic of certain kingdoms which in their day ruled over the earth. Most students agree that these four symbolic beasts represent Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Of the fourth beast, which represented the Roman Empire, it is said in verse 23 that it would “devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.”
We call attention to this prophecy to establish the fact that the Bible does, at times, use the word “earth” in a symbolic manner. Surely no one would contend that there was ever an actual beast that would be capable of devouring the literal earth and of breaking it into pieces. This is pictorial language, designed to convey a fact of history with respect to the powerful and ruthless rulership of the Roman Empire. This empire appropriated to itself the resources of the earth and used them to satisfy its lust for power.
Devoured by Fire
In a prophecy of the end of the world—the end of Satan’s social order—we also find the earth being devoured, not by a beast but by fire. We quote: “Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” (Zeph. 3:8) The Hebrew word here translated “jealousy” would be better translated “zeal.” It is thus translated in Isaiah 9:7, where the establishment of the messianic kingdom of peace is described as being accomplished by “the zeal of the Lord of hosts.”
Fire is often used in the Scriptures as a symbol of destruction. In the prophecies pertaining to the destruction of Satan’s world, various destructive elements of nature are employed. In addition to fire, the Bible uses storms, earthquakes, wind, floods, etc., and by taking into account the various characteristics represented in these, we are able to obtain a fairly comprehensive idea of what is involved in the overthrow and destruction of Satan’s world.
In the prophecy quoted above, the Lord explains that he would “gather the nations” and “assemble the kingdoms” in preparation for their destruction. We have witnessed at least the beginning of this gathering. We have seen them gathered both for war and for peace. There was that great gathering into the League of Nations, and now we have the United Nations. These gatherings were induced by the common fear that unless the nations could work together they could not survive.
We have witnessed the failure of the League of Nations to keep peace in the world, and now the United Nations is proving to be impotent as a peace-keeping agency. It is the general belief of all who profess to know, that ultimately there will be failures which will lead to another general conflagration, which will end civilization as we know it. Eventually this will occur, but it will not mean the destruction of the earth, but merely of man’s social order, which is dominated by Satan, “the prince of this world.”
“A Time of Trouble”
Daniel 12:1 describes the general circumstances under which Satan’s evil world comes to an end as “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” It is the various aspects of this trouble that are symbolized in the prophecies by fire, storms, earthquakes, floods, etc. These all combine to produce a situation described by Jesus as “distress of nations, with perplexity.” And we are helped to understand this description by Jesus’ use of another symbol—“the sea and the waves roaring.” Jesus said that this distress would cause the hearts of the people to fail them for fear as they looked ahead to the things coming upon the earth.—Luke 21:25
Jesus explains that one of the reasons for this fear of the people would be that “the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” A social order, or world, came to an end at the time of the Flood, and it is referred to in the prophecies as “the heavens [which] were of old, and the earth.” (II Pet. 3:5,6) Here is more pictorial language, the heavens and the earth being used to symbolize the spiritual, or religious, aspects of society, and also the non-religious, or secular.
These same symbols are used to describe the world that comes to an end as a result of Christ’s return. Peter uses the expression “the heavens and the earth, which are now.” (II Pet. 3:7) Following the destruction of the present world, over which Satan is the ruler, there will be “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (II Pet. 3:13) The new heavens will be the spiritual phase of the messianic kingdom, consisting of Jesus and his faithful followers, all of whom will be exalted to “glory and honor and immortality.” (Rom. 2:7) Jesus was raised from the dead and exalted to heavenly glory at the beginning of the age, and his followers come forth in the first resurrection at the end of the age, to live and reign with Christ a thousand years.—Rev. 20:4,6
Jesus said concerning the trouble which brings the present world to an end that “the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” This seems to indicate that the powers of spiritual and religious authority would lose their ability to control the people. And how true this is of the situation throughout the earth today! Religious and moral restraints are breaking down everywhere. The people are losing interest in religion and are no longer guided by the standards by which they were once governed. The Watchman Examiner, an official Baptist publication, reports that ninety-five percent of the nation’s college students have no contact with a church.
Law and order are breaking down in essentially all aspects of life, within nations as well as nationally and internationally. Race riots, looting, indiscriminate killing, the destruction of property, are but symptoms of a sickness which is helping to bring the world, or social order, to an end. Almost everywhere we look we find dissatisfaction, hatred, and strife. These festering spots of discontent are present in every part of the earth, threatening to erupt at almost any moment into global strife, in which the destructive potentials of hydrogen bombs may be let loose and civilization destroyed.
It is no wonder that the hearts of the people are failing them for fear as they consider these conditions which are so threatening. However, for those who know what the final outcome of all this will be there is no need to fear. A prophecy in the Old Testament mentions this. We quote, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.”—Ps. 46:1-3
In verse 6 of this psalm we have an explanation of some of the symbols used in the above quotation. Instead of troubled waters we are told that “the nations raged,” and instead of mountains being removed, we are informed that “the kingdoms were moved.” Today the nations are raging, and the kingdoms, or governments, of earth are being weakened and removed, swallowed up, so to speak, by the restless, discontented masses—“carried into the midst of the sea.”
Desolations
Later in the psalm—verses 8 and 9—an invitation is extended to the Lord’s people who are watching the fulfillment of prophecy at this time. We read, “Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.” We “behold” the fulfillment of this statement through “the sure word of prophecy.” We can “see” that the divine purpose in the great “time of trouble” which is bringing the world to an end is that war be destroyed and peace established.
At first it might seem surprising that God should take the credit for the “desolations” which are wrought among the nations in the “time of trouble” that results in the end of the world. But there is no problem when we note the ultimate objective of those desolations—“He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” The great and mighty of earth throughout the ages have been able to make war; but only God can destroy war and make desolate the machines of war, and this is what he has promised to do.
“Be still, and know that I am God,” the psalm continues: “I will be exalted among the heathen [Gentiles], I will be exalted in the earth.” (vs. 10) In verse 2 of the psalm, reference is made to the removal of the earth; in verse 6 it is said to melt: but in verse 10 we find that the earth still remains, and God assures us that his name will be exalted in it. It is the symbolic earth that is removed and melted, and it is in the literal earth that the kingdom of Christ is established, a government which will exalt the name of the Lord and assure peace to all nations.
In that kingdom the people will also be given life; even those who are asleep in death will be awakened and given an opportunity to believe, obey, and live forever. While today, in the chaos which covers the earth, we are witnessing the ending of a sinful and selfish world, let us rejoice that God’s new world of tomorrow is near. It is a blessed prospect!