What Is “the End of the World”?

THE Bible has much to say about the fact that “the world is passing away.” In many places it contains specific information about the time that it also calls “the conclusion of the system of things.” But when the Bible speaks about this “end of the world,” what does it mean? Does it mean that our home, planet Earth, is to be destroyed?​—1 John 2:17; Matthew 24:3, King James Version.

God does not have to destroy the earth in order to eliminate the frightful conditions that are so prevalent on it. The earth is not causing the problems in human society today. People are responsible, especially people who have little or no regard for the Creator, Jehovah God, and his laws. They are the ones who are turning life on this earth into a nightmare for so many. But God does not have to destroy the earth to rid it of such ones.

Getting Rid of Offenders

For example, if you found your home infested with mice, how would you get rid of them? Would you burn down your house? No! Instead, you would likely find some other means such as traps; or perhaps you would get a cat. You would not destroy the house.

At times foxes are said to rid themselves of fleas in a manner that causes no injury to themselves. They gradually immerse themselves completely in water, with just the tip of their nose exposed for breathing, as they hold some object in their mouth at water level. The fleas travel upward from the fox’s body to escape drowning and eventually infest the object in his mouth. Then the canny fox releases it from his mouth, and the object floats away with its cargo of fleas. The fox is left intact.

Thus, it is not necessary to destroy the body that hosts the parasites in order to get rid of them.

Similarly, in Jesus’ illustration about the end of the world, he said that a farmer had sowed his field with wheat, but during the night his enemy came and sowed weeds there. The farmer did not burn his whole wheat field just to get rid of the weeds. Instead, when his workers wanted to pull out the weeds that had started to grow, the farmer said: “No, . . . you’ll hurt the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest, and I will tell the reapers to sort out the thistles and burn them, and put the wheat in the barn.”

Then Jesus concluded: “Just as in this story the thistles are separated and burned, so shall it be at the end of the world: I will send my angels and they will separate out . . . all who are evil, and throw them into the furnace and burn them.”​—Matthew 13:24-26, 29, 30, 40-42, The Living Bible.

Jesus also likened “the end of the world” to what happened at the time of the global Flood in Noah’s day. (Matthew 24:37-39) At that time it was not the earth itself that was destroyed. Rather, it was ungodly humans. Because of the shocking behavior of the people living back then, God said: “I am going to wipe men whom I have created off the surface of the ground.” (Genesis 6:7) Likewise, the apostle Peter spoke of the ancient “world of ungodly people” that was destroyed back in Noah’s time. It was not planet Earth that perished.​—2 Peter 2:5.

Why, though, do many confuse the expression “the end of the world” with the destruction of planet Earth? One reason is the prevalence of such teaching in many of today’s religions.

Confusing Religious Teachings

Confusion has been caused by religious spokesmen who interpret “the end of the world” to mean the destruction of the earth itself and all living things on it. Arthur S. Maxwell is one who advocates this theory. In his book Time Running Out he rationalizes that nuclear power makes this possible for the first time in man’s history. He says: “How could the heavens disappear? How could the elements disintegrate in flames, and the whole earth be laid bare? Only now in the Nuclear Age has the full import of his dramatic message become crystal clear.”

A similar holocaust, but with some variation, is described by Henry M. Morris in Bibliotheca Sacra: “The basic materials of the earth’s structure will not be annihilated, but will undergo tremendous processes of disintegration, probably even atomic disintegration.” He adds: “The earth’s remaining waters will either disintegrate or instantaneously boil away. . . . Then, as the atoms of the former earth begin to fall together again after the holocaust, God will once more exercise His primeval creative power, and will ‘create’ and ‘make’ the new heavens and the new earth.”

A Roman Catholic publication, Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique, under “End of the World,” says: “The Catholic church believes and teaches that the present world [the material universe], which God has formed, will not last forever. . . . It is Scriptural, the tradition of Catholic theology, and confirmed by modern science.” Also, the Catholic Dictionary of Biblical Theology first extols creation as “the goodness of God” and as “a true work of art” but then goes on to describe how the literal, physical elements will experience “a total reversal through a sudden return to chaos.”

Many other mainline religions and evangelical groups promote similar views. But are these correct?

Which World to Be Destroyed?

It was Jesus’ disciples who asked him a direct question about the end of the world. This is recorded at Matthew 24:3, according to the King James, or Authorized, Version of the Bible: “Tell us, . . . what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

Other Bible translations help us to understand that the Greek word for “world” (ai·onʹ) used in this text does not refer to the literal earth or to the material universe. Several Bible versions translate the expression as “end of the age,” or as “the final time.” The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures renders the verse: “What will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?”

So rather than forecasting a nuclear holocaust or similar disintegration of the material universe, including planet Earth, the Bible teaches us that it is the wicked system of things on earth that will be brought to a sudden end. This includes all forms of corruption, falsehood, and hypocrisy now existing, whether it is political, commercial, or religious. All degradation and immorality, all wickedness, and all godless humans existing on earth at that time will be forcibly removed.

Two clear statements found in the Bible, which need no interpreting, should remove any fear that the earth may be destroyed when the “world” comes to its end. The first is found at Ecclesiastes 1:4 (KJ): “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.” The second appears at Isaiah 45:18 (KJ): “For 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.”

Thus the world that the Bible so definitely says will be destroyed is the world of mankind that is not doing the will of God. “As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.” (Proverbs 2:22) “There is a controversy that Jehovah has with the nations. He must personally put himself in judgment with all flesh. As regards the wicked ones, he must give them to the sword . . . And those slain by Jehovah will certainly come to be in that day from one end of the earth clear to the other end of the earth.”​—Jeremiah 25:31, 33.

Who, though, will be the survivors? What must they do to survive? How can they tell when “the end of the world” is near?

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Many religions say that the earth will be destroyed. But the Bible does not teach that

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The Bible teaches that destruction will be selective, with only the ungodly destroyed

Who Will Survive This World’s End?

THE vast majority of people living on earth today will not survive this world’s end. That becomes very plain from a study of God’s inspired Word. As Jesus said: “Broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.”​—Matthew 7:13, 14.

The idea that God might destroy millions, yes, billions of people whom he considers ungodly might be shocking to some. But keep in mind that God “does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) No, God does not enjoy destroying even wicked people: “I take delight, not in the death of the wicked one, but in that someone wicked turns back from his way and actually keeps living.” (Ezekiel 33:11) However, God must be true to his Word and must fulfill his purpose for this earth. To do that, those whom he regards as lawless must go.

The Survivors

Because a world does not end every day, many do not believe that it could happen. But such persons would do well to remember that it has happened before.

When? It was at the time of the earth-wide Flood in Noah’s day. God brought to an end the entire world of people who were alienated from him. Those who died included men and women whom the Creator judged as ungodly. It also included their children, since those children were being raised to become what their parents were​—ungodly. Thus, “everything in which the breath of the force of life was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the dry ground, died . . . , from man to beast,” the Bible informs us.

Who survived the Flood? God’s Word answers: “Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark kept on surviving.” (Genesis 7:21-23) This included Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives, eight people, as well as representative animal kinds. Why did God look with favor upon Noah and his family? Because when God commanded them to do certain things, they obeyed. As Genesis states: “Noah proceeded to do according to all that God had commanded him. He did just so.”​—Genesis 6:22; 7:5.

We can draw meaningful lessons from what happened back there. “All the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction.” (Romans 15:4) It is therefore instructive to note that God holds humans responsible for their actions. He gave us the gift of free moral agency and requires an accounting. We cannot ignore the Creator, his purposes, and his will, and then claim exemption from adverse judgment as though God were required to favor us regardless of what our attitude or actions have been. “Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.”​—Galatians 6:7.

Also instructive is what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Because of their gross immorality, God decreed their destruction. “The outcry against them has grown loud before Jehovah, so that Jehovah sent us to bring the city to ruin,” his agents of destruction declared. All but three persons​—Lot and his two daughters—​were killed. Why were they spared? Because they listened to God’s instructions and acted upon them. But Lot’s wife did not​—and perished. Also killed were the two men who were engaged to be married to Lot’s daughters. Why? Because when Lot warned them of the impending destruction, “in the eyes of his [prospective] sons-in-law he seemed like a man who was joking.” But it was no joke. They died.​—Genesis 19:12-14.

Similarly in our time, many mock the warning about the nearness of the end of this world. But the apostle Peter foretold that in these “last days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule.” He said that these ignored the fact that a world had ended before​—in the Flood. Jesus also said: “For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away.” He added: “So the presence of the Son of man will be.”​—2 Peter 3:3-7; Matthew 24:37-39.

Thus, many will be destroyed because they choose not to pay attention to the obvious sign of these “last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) However, the good news is that there will be survivors, many more than the eight humans who survived the Flood or the three who survived the end of Sodom and Gomorrah.

That there will be many survivors was foretold by the apostle John in a divine revelation. He wrote: “I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues . . . ‘These are the ones that come out of [survive] the great tribulation. . . . And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes.’”​—Revelation 7:9, 14, 17.

The World’s End​—When?

When will this world come to its end? The Bible does not give us a specific date. Jesus made this clear when he responded to the question his disciples asked him about it. He said that the exact time, that is, the day and hour, was not known to any human. (Matthew 24:36) However, the fact that we humans cannot calculate the exact date of this world’s end does not mean that God would not give us any information as to when it was imminent.

Many Bible prophecies mark that time. Jesus himself outlined many of the events that would take place just before the end. Then he said regarding the people who would see the beginning of those events: “When you see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.”​—Matthew 24:33, 34.

Which generation did Jesus mean? Without doubt, it is the generation that has lived since the year 1914. It has seen everything that Jesus said would happen just before the end. This means that some people who were alive in 1914 will still be here on the scene to witness this world’s end.​—Matthew 24:1-34.

Jesus also sounded this note of urgency: “You too prove yourselves ready, because at an hour that you do not think to be it, the Son of man is coming.” That “Son of man” is Jesus himself, coming as God’s Chief Executioner.​—Matthew 24:44; see also Revelation 19:11-21.

A Time for Decision

The time left for this corrupt, violent, unjust world is critically short. So each of us needs to decide whether he wants to be among the survivors.

What will determine whether a person will suffer destruction or experience deliverance? Listen to the answer given by the apostle Peter: “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah.”​—2 Peter 3:11, 12.

Yes, we need to pay attention to what God is saying now and do what he asks of us. If we do, then we will not go down into destruction but will be preserved alive to enter a new system of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13) This is also made clear by the inspired words of the apostle John: “The world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.”​—1 John 2:17.

The decision to take our stand on the side of God and his truths cannot be based just on emotion. It must be the result of accurate knowledge: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”​—John 17:3.

It also calls for us to “go on growing” in such knowledge. (2 Peter 3:18) This includes a thorough knowledge of God’s provision for survival by means of his heavenly Kingdom, now established in the hands of his World Conqueror, Christ Jesus. (Matthew 6:9, 10) It also includes our speaking boldly to others about the wonderful hope of everlasting life on earth under God’s Kingdom government. As Jesus foretold: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”​—Matthew 24:14.

What a relief it is to know that the world’s end will not mean doom for this beautiful planet! And what a relief it also is to know that we can be among the millions who will survive into a cleansed earth!

Do you want to be numbered among the survivors? You can be if you do not follow those who are ‘taking no note’ but instead imitate Noah’s example of ‘doing just so’ regarding God’s will. If you do, God’s promise is that you may live forever on an earth that Jesus promised would become a paradise. “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”​—Psalm 37:29; Luke 23:43; Matthew 5:5.

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Earth’s Future

Commonly Held Views Bible’s View

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The ungodly people of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, but Lot and his daughters survived

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Those who do God’s will are to survive this world’s end and live forever on earth in Paradise