End of the World

End of the World

Matthew 24:3 “And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world??

From Hollywood to survivalist, to doomsday fanatics, to religious zealots there exists the fantasy that when the end of the world comes, they will somehow survive, if they are properly prepared. Which, to some means, an enormous hording of food supplies, water and ammunition, to others it means a mountain bunker tucked away in a “safe” place known only to them. Some Hollywood productions, for the sake of sensationalism, outer space creatures and monsters. It’s almost as if God somehow misses or forgets their existence, thus singling them out to “recreate or repopulate the world”. How absurd can one get? Even some well meaning Christians have been misled as to what the end of the world actually means.

This, of course, raises some valid questions.

1.    Exactly how much is enough?

2.    What supplies will be needed, ammo, food etc?

3.    What, if any, natural resources will be somehow miraculously preserved?

4.    For how long will the storage be needed [see question 1]?

5.    If I am the only human left, how am I to repopulate the world?

These are questions no survivalist can answer with any accuracy.

Scripture is very clear on what will happen when the world ends, who will survive, as well as the means of their survival. Even the disciples were curious enough to ask to ask Jesus of “when the end should come”. The Old Testament was also concerned with the end of the world. The Old Testament often refers to the end of the world as the fall harvest when the growing season has past and all the fruit has been gathered or harvested, by the angels, and presented to the Father as the first fruit offering. At the tomb of Lazarus, Mary, his sister, stated that she knew that Lazarus would be raised from the dead on the last day. Which testified to the Old Testament belief in the end of the world; virtually every culture in the worlds believes the end of the world will eventually come to an end. So the question becomes not when or if the world will end, but who will survive and what will they need to survive.

Before we answer those two questions there is one more bit of information we need to know. That of what is meant by the “end of the world”? To simplify the answer I must say that it is not what the survivalists perceive.

Cutting to the chase, through the seven year tribulation period, 2 Peter 3:10-11 tells us that “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” The Amplified Bible says [material elements of the universe]. That doesn’t leave much for survival even for the “most well prepared”.

So if all the material elements of the universe are dissolved by fire what does it say for human beings surviving? What happens to the human race?

According to Matthew 25:41 and Revelation 19:20 and 20:13-15 all those whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire which burns for eternity without even the slightest hope of a drop of water to cool their tongue.

Luke 16:19-31 is the story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus with whom one, Lazarus, was found in to bosom of Abraham, or paradise, but the rich man was tormented forever in the eternal fires of hell.

In short those who have placed their trust in the shed blood and work of Jesus Christ on Calvary’ cross will be the only survivors at the end of the world.

That, my friends, is the conclusion of the matter of survivalists’ theory of end of the world.