Lesson 25 Explore 2: Will the Earth Be Destroyed?
The Bible’s answer
No, planet Earth will never be destroyed, burned in fire, or replaced. The Bible teaches that God created the earth to be inhabited forever.
• “The righteous will possess the earth, and they will live forever on it.”-
(Psalm 37.29: The righteous will possess the earth, And they will live forever on it.)
• “[God] has established the earth on its foundations; it will not be moved from its place forever and ever.”-
(Psalm 104.5: He has established the earth on its foundations; It will not be moved from its place forever and ever.)
• “The earth remains forever.”-
(Ecclesiastes 1.4: A generation is going, and a generation is coming, But the earth remains forever.)
• “The One who formed the earth, its Maker who firmly established it,... did not create it simply for nothing, but formed it to be inhabited.”-
(Isaiah 45.18: For this is what Jehovah says, The Creator of the heavens, the true God, The One who formed the earth, its Maker who firmly established it, Who did not create it simply for nothing, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am Jehovah, and there is no one else.)
Will humans ruin the earth?
God will not allow humans to ruin the earth completely by pollution, warfare, or any other means. Rather, he will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”
(Revelation 11.18: But the nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came, and the appointed time came for the dead to be judged and to reward your slaves the prophets and the holy ones and those fearing your name, the small and the great, and to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”)
How will he accomplish that?
God will replace human governments, which have been unable to protect the earth, with a perfect heavenly Kingdom.
(Daniel 2.44: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And this kingdom will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it alone will stand forever,)
(Matthew 6.9, 10: “You must pray, then, this way: “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth.)
That Kingdom will be ruled by God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
(Isaiah 9.6, 7: For a child has been born to us, A son has been given to us; And the rulership will rest on his shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. To the increase of his rulership And to peace, there will be no end, On the throne of David and on his kingdom In order to establish it firmly and to sustain it Through justice and righteousness, From now on and forever. The zeal of Jehovah of armies will do this.)
When on earth, Jesus exercised miraculous powers over natural elements.
(Mark 4.35-41: And on that day, when evening had fallen, he said to them: “Let us cross to the other shore.” So after they had dismissed the crowd, they took him in the boat, just as he was, and there were other boats with him. Now a great violent windstorm broke out, and the waves kept crashing into the boat, so that the boat was close to being swamped. But he was in the stern, sleeping on the pillow. So they woke him up and said to him: “Teacher, do you not care that we are about to perish?” With that he got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea: “Hush! Be quiet!” And the wind abated, and a great calm set in. So he said to them: “Why are you so afraid? Do you not yet have any faith?” But they felt an unusual fear, and they said to one another: “Who really is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him.”)
As the King of God’s Kingdom, Jesus will exercise full control over earth and its elements. He will re-create, or renew, conditions on earth, making them similar to those that existed in the garden of Eden.-
(Matthew 19.28: Jesus said to them: “Truly I say to you, in the re-creation, when the Son of man sits down on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.)
(Luke 23.43: And he said to him: “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”)
Doesn’t the Bible teach that the earth will be burned in fire?
No, it does not. Such a misconception often comes from a misunderstanding of
(2 Peter 3.7: But by the same word the heavens and the earth that now exist are reserved for fire and are being kept until the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly people.)
which says: “The heavens and the earth that now exist are reserved for fire.” Consider two important points that help us understand the meaning of those words:
1. The Bible uses the terms “heavens,” “earth,” and “fire” to refer to more than one thing. For example,
(Genesis 11.1: Now all the earth continued to be of one language and of one set of words.)
says: “All the earth continued to be of one language.” Here, “earth” refers to human society.
2. The context of
(2 Peter 3.7: But by the same word the heavens and the earth that now exist are reserved for fire and are being kept until the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly people.)
indicates the meaning of the heavens, earth, and fire mentioned there. Verses 5 and 6 draw a parallel with the Flood of Noah’s day. On that occasion, an ancient world was destroyed, yet our planet did not disappear. Instead, the Flood wiped out a violent society, or “earth.”
(Genesis 6.11: But the earth had become ruined in the sight of the true God, and the earth was filled with violence.)
It also destroyed a kind of “heavens”-the people who ruled over that earthly society. Thus, wicked people were destroyed, not our planet. Noah and his family survived the destruction of that world and inhabited the earth after the Flood.-
(Genesis 8.15-18: God now said to Noah: “Go out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives. Bring out with you all the living creatures of every sort of flesh, of the flying creatures and of the animals and of all the creeping animals of the earth, that they may multiply on the earth and be fruitful and become many on the earth.” So Noah went out, together with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives.)
Similar to the waters of the Flood, the destruction, or “fire,” of
(2 Peter 3.7: But by the same word the heavens and the earth that now exist are reserved for fire and are being kept until the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly people.)
will bring an end to the world of wicked people, not to planet Earth. God promises “new heavens and a new earth” in which “righteousness is to dwell.”
(2 Peter 3.13: But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.)
A “new earth,” or new human society, will be ruled over by “new heavens,” or new leadership-God’s Kingdom. Under the rule of that Kingdom, the earth will become a peaceful paradise.-
(Revelation 21.1-4: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”)
[End of article.]