Revelation 21:1: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…”
In this week of The Inevitable Truth’s “Biblical Q&A” we explore what Christians should know about the end times. What does the Bible say? Is this a real event? When will it occur? Who will be impacted and how?
The Question
From climate change to losing the election, humanity is preoccupied with the peril of the end of the world. Except for eight people and some creatures in Genesis 7:13, the destruction of the world already occurred. But it will happen again, this time through fire.
Peter records man’s forgetfulness concerning the flood and the first destruction of the world in 2 Peter 3:5-6 where he states, “For they deliberately overlook this fact…the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.” Archeological discoveries provide ample evidence that Noah’s flood is real, even though it is frequently dismissed as fiction. Of course, God promised in Genesis 9:11 never again to destroy by water when He declared, “…never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
Next time, however, it will be by fire as recorded in 2 Peter 3:10-12 “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.”
What does all this mean?
The Kingdom Perspective
A previous post discussed the unifying theme of the Bible—God’s Kingdom. The world’s momentum is accelerating towards achieving this objective. If we look at the end of the world from this perspective, it becomes clear that God will finally complete His Kingdom—and in short order. That fulfillment will be the end of the universe, with the punishment of the wicked, the rewarding of the just, and the recreation of a New Heaven and a New Earth.
How, then, does this all come about?
The Sequence of Events
We often hear descriptions of the end times, phrases like “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” “Armageddon,” “The Tribulation,” and “The Rapture.” Let’s understand these terms and put them in sequence.
The Rapture
The next event on the end-of-the-world calendar will be the Rapture. This is predicted in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which announces that “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
God has consistently rescued His people from peril. He saved Noah from the flood, saved the Jews from the Egyptians’ servitude via the Red Sea crossing, and as 2 Peter 2:7-9 states, “And if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked… then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.”
Through The Rapture, He rescues all believers from the impending wrath and judgment in the next phase of the end-of-the-world story, the Tribulation.
The Tribulation
The Tribulation is a seven-year period with an amazing conflux of individuals and events.
It will be the introduction of the unholy trinity—Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet, who will rule and persecute all those who do not have the (666) mark of the Beast “on his forehead or on his hand”—thus, Jewish and Gentile believers.
It will be a time of God’s wrath, justice, and punishment on “those who dwell on the earth.” These are the many rebellious sinners who refuse to repent, as expressed in Revelation 9:20-21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols…nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries [drugs] or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
Even with all the Christians removed from the world through the Rapture, this time will be one of the greatest harvests of new believers the world has ever seen, as described in Revelation 7:9-14, “…I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes…Who are these…And he said to me, “These are the ones [martyrs] coming out of the Great Tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Armageddon and the Second Coming of the Lord
At the end of the Tribulation, the AntiChrist [the Beast] assembles an army and wages war on God and His people. This battle is known as Armageddon, as described in Revelation 19:19: “Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with Him who sits on the horse and with His army.”
In response, The Day of the Lord culminates in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This is revealed in Revelation 19:11-21 where “I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He [Jesus Christ] who sits on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war…and the armies (angels and believers) which are in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the Nations…then I saw the Beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with Him who sits on the horse and with His army. And the Beast was seized and with him the false prophet…These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire…and the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sits on the horse….”
The 1,000-year Millenium
God finally initiates His Kingdom, although it won’t be His final Kingdom. Revelation 20:1-4 describes the Millennium Kingdom whereby in vs. 2, “he laid hold of the dragon…who is the devil and Satan and bound him for a thousand years…then I saw thrones…and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded…, and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” The absolute peacefulness of this Millennial Kingdom is further alluded to in passages such as Isaiah 11:8: “The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.”
Satan’s Final Insurrection
The Kingdom—New Heaven and New Earth
God’s Kingdom is finally accomplished as described in Revelation 21: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
The Triune God is Lord over His chosen people, while Satan and his demons and those men who have rejected God are thrown into the lake of fire forever and ever—sin is finally vanquished.
When will this occur? According to Matthew 24:36: “…concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” We do know that all of the prophecies leading up to the end time have been fulfilled. Consequently, it could commence at any time.
Here is the link to my Revelation post if you would like to read more about the book of Revelation and the End Times.
