What The Bible Says About The End Of The World, The Power Of God, And Sin
What The Bible Says About The End Of The World, The Power Of God, And Sin
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Note: Some of these prophecies may actually have been meant to describe other events in history in hyperbolic language, or language with connotations not evident in the translations, rather than describing the end of the world. For instance, some words translated "world" by some translations can more accurately be seen as meaning the known world, or a specific age in time. See these notes for a bit more detail.
Ecclesiastes chapter 12 (GWT)
13 ... Fear God, and keep his commands, because this applies to everyone. 14 God will certainly judge everything that is done. This includes every secret thing, whether it is good or bad.
Genesis chapter 1 (NIV)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Isaiah chapter 40 (NLT)
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to be his teacher or counselor? 14 Has the LORD ever needed anyone's advice? Does he need instruction about what is good or what is best? 15 No, for all the nations of the world are nothing in comparison with him. They are but a drop in the bucket, dust on the scales. 22 It is God who sits above the circle of the earth. The people below must seem to him like grasshoppers! ... 23 He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. 24 They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and their work withers. The wind carries them off like straw.
25 "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One. 26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? 28 Don't you know that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
Isaiah chapter 24 (TEV)
The Lord is going to devastate the earth and leave it desolate. He will twist the earth's surface and scatter its people. 2 Everyone will meet the same fate-the priests and the people, slaves and masters, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, rich and poor. 3 The earth will lie shattered and ruined. The Lord has spoken and it will be done. 4 The earth dries up and withers; the whole world grows weak; both earth and sky decay. 5 The people have defiled the earth by breaking God's laws. ... 6 So God has pronounced a curse on the earth. Its people are paying for what they have done. Fewer and fewer remain alive. 7 The grapevines wither, and wine is becoming scarce. Everyone who was once happy is now sad, 8 and the joyful music of their harps and drums has ceased. 9 There is no more happy singing over wine; no one enjoys its taste any more. 10 In the city everything is in chaos, and people lock themselves in their houses for safety. 11 People shout in the streets because there is no more wine. Happiness is gone forever; it has been banished from the land. 12 The city is in ruins, and its gates have been broken down.
This is what will happen in every nation all over the world. It will be like the end of harvest, when the olives have been beaten off every tree and the last grapes picked from the vines. 17 Listen to me, everyone! There are terrors, pits, and traps waiting for you. 18 Anyone who tries to escape from the terror will fall in a pit, and anyone who escapes from the pit will be caught in a trap. Torrents of rain will pour from the sky, and earth's foundations will shake. 19 The earth will crack and shatter and split open. 20 The earth itself will stagger like a drunk, sway like a hut in a storm. The world is weighed down by its sins; it will collapse and never rise again.
21 A time is coming when the Lord will punish the powers above and the rulers of the earth. 22 God will crowd kings together like prisoners in a pit. He will shut them in prison until the time of their punishment comes.
23 The moon will grow dark, and the sun will no longer shine, for the Lord Almighty will be king. He will rule in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, and the leaders of the people will see his glory.
Isaiah chapter 43 (NLT)
1 ... the LORD ... says: 10 ... I alone am God. There is no other God; there never has been and never will be. 11 I am the LORD, and there is no other Savior. 12 I am the only God," says the LORD. 13 "From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions."
Isaiah chapter 34 (CEV)
1 Everyone of every nation,
the entire earth,
and all of its creatures,
come here and listen!
2 The LORD is terribly angry
with the nations;
he has condemned them
to be slaughtered.
3 Their dead bodies will be left
to rot and stink;
their blood will flow
down the mountains.
4 Each star
will disappear--
the sky will roll up
like a scroll.
Everything in the sky
will dry up and wilt
like leaves on a vine
or fruit on a tree.
Isaiah chapter 13 (TEV)
6 Howl in pain! The day of the Lord is near, the day when the Almighty brings destruction. 7 Everyone's hands will hang limp, and everyone's courage will fail. 8 They will all be terrified and overcome with pain, like the pain of a woman in labor. They will look at each other in fear, and their faces will burn with shame. 9 The day of the Lord is coming-that cruel day of his fierce anger and fury. The earth will be made a wilderness, and every sinner will be destroyed. 10 Every star and every constellation will stop shining, the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will give no light. 11 The Lord says, "I will bring disaster on the earth and punish all wicked people for their sins. I will humble everyone who is proud and punish everyone who is arrogant and cruel. 12 Those who survive will be scarcer than gold. 13 I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place on that day when I, the Lord Almighty, show my anger.
Zephaniah chapter 2 (NLT)
1 Gather together and pray, you shameless nation. 2 Gather while there is still time, before judgment begins and your opportunity is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the LORD falls and the terrible day of the LORD's anger begins. 3 Beg the LORD to save you - all you who are humble, all you who uphold justice. Walk humbly and do what is right. Perhaps even yet the LORD will protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.
Jeremiah chapter 10 (NLT)
10 The LORD is the only true God, the living God. He is the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations hide before his wrath. 11 Say this to those who worship other gods: "Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth." 12 But God made the earth by his power, ... He has stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
Exodus chapter 20 (GWT)
1 Then God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God,
3 "Never have any other god.
4 Never make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water. 5 Never worship them or serve them, because I, the LORD your God, am a God who does not tolerate rivals.
Zephaniah chapter 1 (TEV)
2 The Lord said, "I am going to destroy everything on earth, 3 all human
beings and animals, birds and fish. I will bring about the downfall of the
wicked. I will destroy everyone, and no survivors will be left. I, the Lord,
have spoken.
5 I will destroy anyone who goes up on the roof and worships the
sun, the moon, and the stars. 6 I will destroy those who have turned back and no
longer follow me, those who do not come to me or ask me to guide them."
14 The great day of the Lord is near-very near and coming fast! That day will be bitter, for even the bravest soldiers will cry out in despair! 15 It will be a day of fury, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a black and cloudy day, 16 a day filled with the sound of war trumpets and the battle cry of soldiers attacking fortified cities and high towers. 17 The Lord says, "I will bring such disasters on the human race that everyone will grope about like someone blind. They have sinned against me, and now their blood will be poured out like water, and their dead bodies will lie rotting on the ground." 18 On the day when the Lord shows his fury, not even all their silver and gold will save them. The whole earth will be destroyed by the fire of his anger. He will put an end-a sudden end-to everyone who lives on earth.
Jeremiah chapter 5 (TEV)
20 The Lord says, 22 I am the Lord; why don't you fear me? Why don't you tremble before me? 23 But you people! You are stubborn and rebellious; you have turned aside and left me. 24 You never thought to honor me, even though I send the autumn rains and the spring rains and give you the harvest season each year.
Matthew chapter 13 (NLT)
40 "Just as the weeds are separated out and burned, so it will be at the end
of the world. 41 I, the Son of Man, will send my angels, and they will remove
from my Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil, 42 and they will
throw them into the furnace and burn them. There will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.
43 Then the godly will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom.
Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!
Proverbs chapter 20 (NIV)
9 Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?
Galatians chapter 1 (NLT)
1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group or by human authority. My call is from Jesus Christ himself and from God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. 2 All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending greetings to the churches of Galatia. 3 May grace and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 He died for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5 That is why all glory belongs to God through all the ages of eternity. Amen.
Colossians chapter 1 (TEV)
21 At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought. 22 But now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has made you his friends, in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless, into his presence. 23 You must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you gained when you heard the gospel.
Colossians chapter 3 (GWT)
5 Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust, and greed (which is the same thing as worshiping wealth). 6 It is because of these sins that God's anger comes on those who refuse to obey him. 7 You used to live that kind of sinful life.
8 Also get rid of your anger, hot tempers, hatred, cursing, obscene language, and all similar sins. 9 Don't lie to each other. You've gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you used to live, 10 and you've become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator.
2 Corinthians chapter 3 (NIV)
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who … all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Ephesians chapter 2 (NLT)
1 Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. 2 You used to
live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty
prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those
who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the
passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and
we were under God's anger just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in
mercy, and he loved us so very much, 5 that even while we were dead because of
our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by
God's special favor that you have been saved!)
Ephesians chapter 1 (NLT)
7 He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.
Philippians chapter 2 (TEV)
3 Don't do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. 4 And look out for one another's interests, not just for your own.
Philippians chapter 2 (NLT)
5 Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7 He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. 8 And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross. 9 Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
1 Peter chapter 1 (TEV)
1 From Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ-To God's chosen people who live as refugees scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
2 You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood.
May grace and peace be yours in full measure.
3 Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope, 4 and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away. 5 They are for you, who through faith are kept safe by God's power for the salvation which is ready to be revealed at the end of time.
Isaiah chapter 2 (TEV)
11 A day is coming when human pride will be ended and human arrogance destroyed. Then the Lord alone will be exalted. 12 On that day the Lord Almighty will humble everyone who is powerful, everyone who is proud and conceited. 14 He will level the high mountains and hills, 15 every high tower, and the walls of every fortress. 16 He will sink even the largest and most beautiful ships. 17 Human pride will be ended, and human arrogance will be destroyed. Idols will completely disappear, and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
19 People will hide in caves in the rocky hills or dig holes in the ground to try to escape from the Lord's anger and to hide from his power and glory, when he comes to shake the earth. 20 When that day comes, they will throw away the gold and silver idols they have made, and abandon them to the moles and the bats. 21 When the Lord comes to shake the earth, people will hide in holes and caves in the rocky hills to try to escape from his anger and to hide from his power and glory.
Matthew chapter 24 (TEV)
29 "The sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.
2 Peter chapter 3 (GWT)
1 Dear friends, this is the second letter I'm writing to you. In both letters I'm trying to refresh your memory. 2 I want you to remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and what the Lord and Savior commanded you through your apostles.
3 First, you must understand this: In the last days people who follow their own desires will appear. These disrespectful people will ridicule [God's promise] 4 by saying, "What's happened to his promise to return? Ever since our ancestors died, everything continues as it did from the beginning of the world." 5 They are deliberately ignoring one fact: Because of God's word, heaven and earth existed a long time ago. The earth [appeared] out of water and was kept alive by water. 6 Water also flooded and destroyed that world. 7 By God's word, the present heaven and earth are designated to be burned. They are being kept until the day ungodly people will be judged and destroyed.
8 Dear friends, don't ignore this fact: One day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.
9 The Lord isn't slow to do what he promised, as some people think. Rather, he is patient for your sake. He doesn't want to destroy anyone but wants all people to have an opportunity to turn to him and change the way they think and act.
2 Peter chapter 3 (NLT)
10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the
heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will
disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to
judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy,
godly lives you should be living! 12 You should look forward to that day and
hurry it along - the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements
will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens
and new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God. 14 And
so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every
effort to live a pure and blameless life. And be at peace with God.
Hebrews chapter 4 (TEV)
13 There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves.
Revelation chapter 1 (TEV)
1 This book is the record of the events that Jesus Christ revealed. God gave him this revelation in order to show to his servants what must happen very soon. Christ made these things known to his servant John by sending his angel to him, 2 and John has told all that he has seen. This is his report concerning the message from God and the truth revealed by Jesus Christ.
7 Look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see him, ... All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be! 8 "I am the first and the last," says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come.
9 I am John, your brother, and as a follower of Jesus I am your partner in patiently enduring the suffering that comes to those who belong to his Kingdom. I was put on the island of Patmos because I had proclaimed God's word and the truth that Jesus revealed. 10 On the Lord's day the Spirit took control of me, ...
Revelation chapter 14 (NIV)
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth--to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe."
19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Revelation chapter 20 (TEV)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sits on it. ... 12 And I saw the dead, great and small alike, standing before the throne. Books were opened, and then another book was opened, the book of the living. The dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up its dead. Death and the world of the dead also gave up the dead they held. And all were judged according to what they had done. 15 Those who did not have their name written in the book of the living were thrown into the lake of fire.
1 Peter chapter 4 (TEV)
2 From now on, then, you must live the rest of your earthly lives controlled by God's will and not by human desires. 3 You have spent enough time in the past doing what the heathen like to do. Your lives were spent in indecency, lust, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and the disgusting worship of idols. 4 And now the heathen are surprised when you do not join them in the same wild and reckless living, and so they insult you. 5 But they will have to give an account of themselves to God, who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 That is why the Good News was preached also to the dead,
1 Corinthians chapter 4 (TEV)
5 So you should not pass judgment on anyone before the right time comes. Final judgment must wait until the Lord comes; he will bring to light the dark secrets and expose the hidden purposes of people's minds.
To read an article that argues that the original Greek meanings of the words hell, destruction and punishment in the New Testament indicate that hell is not eternal and is in fact a corrective punishment meant to make people eventually fit for heaven, visit:Is It All Greek to You?
The main Bible pages on this site:
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Bible Part 1: Bible Quotations, The Holy Spirit, People And Their Stories |
| Bible Part 2: The Lives and Suffering of the Ancient Israelites | |
| Bible Part 3: The Bible, Articles About Alleged Inaccuracies in it, And Stories of People who Became Christians. | |
| If you would like to read specific quotations about Armageddon, or to read more from the Book of Revelation, go to: The book of revelation - prophecies of disaster on the whole world. | |
| And to read a view of the book of Revelation which argues that the prophecies are mostly not prophecies of future events but were actually fulfilled in the first century around the time that the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70, visit: Dating and Interpreting Revelation. | |
| To read an article that puts forward the view that prophecies of Jesus thought by some to be about the end of the world were actually about the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and that when he referred to the stars falling from heaven, he was actually using imagery to refer to world leaders being unseated, visit: The Olivet Discourse and Prophetic Fulfillment. | |
| Or visit the next selection of Bible passages in the series: The Bible on sin, judgment day and hell. | |
The selections of Bible quotations have been put together by Diana Holbourn.
Throughout this series, wherever the initials TEV appear, they stand for Today's English Version (The Good News Bible).
Other initials:Don't be afraid to question the truth of what a religious authority figure tells you, or even the Bible or other holy books themselves, or certain people's interpretation of them. Nothing to do with religion or the supernatural is so well established in fact it shouldn't be questioned. To find out why caution is a good idea, visit:
Are you up to trying the challenges of the New Testament's moral guidelines, and would you like to know more of what it says about the love of Jesus? Here are some links to Bible quotes about the beautiful ideals the New Testament encourages Christians to try to live up to:
There are a lot of pages on this website with quotations from the Old Testament on them. Many of these are unfortunately rather gruesome, since the main theme of the Old Testament is warnings and stories about how it says societies were punished for mass lawless and hurtful behaviour, even to the extent of having war brought on them by God, that seem to have been designed to scare societies where crime and violence were rampant into behaving more ethically. In case there is any misunderstanding, it should be understood that this website does not endorse war as anything other than a last resort. The position of the website owner can be gleaned from the articles:
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