Today we read about the end of the world and final judgment of the nations. This is a topic most people avoid and it’s startling to read about it here. But the value of reading systematically through the whole Bible is that we encounter important passages like this, that we might miss otherwise.

The Bible says God’s judgment is inevitable. How can we get ready for it if we don’t know what he says about it in the Scriptures?

Warnings from Jesus and Peter

The Old Testament isn’t the only place that addresses the end of the world. Jesus talked about it in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. He spoke about a time of great tribulation when evil will rule the world and his followers will suffer for their faith. The world has yet to see a time as terrible as that. But after the time of tribulation he will return to judge the earth.

Jesus expects his people to be watching for the signs of the end of the world and be ready for it to happen. In Matthew 25 Jesus taught a series of parables that urged his followers to be prepared for his return and he finished by saying, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25:13

The Apostle Peter also wrote about the end of the world and he anticipated that people might scoff at the idea.

“First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water . . . by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people . . . but the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” 2 Peter 3:3-7,10

Stay Ready

With all of these passages pointing to the truth of the end of the world, Peter asks his readers a question:

“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” 2 Peter 3:11-14

Jesus and Peter believed Isaiah and the other prophets. But they lived seven hundred years after Isaiah, and now we are alive two thousand years after they lived, and still the end of the world hasn’t come. Will it ever really come? Peter has some insight into that question.

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8-9

The interval of time before judgment falls is the time for us to repent and get right with God. Then we will have nothing to worry about when the end comes.

Isaiah 34

This chapter is all about God’s wrath toward unrepentant sinners at the end of the world. We can see how much he hates sin when we see the death and destruction that he will bring on the earth, and it’s frightening to see God’s wrath at work.

I once led a class through the Bible for a year at our church. One of my favorite students was a man who came even though he wasn’t sure he believed in God. He almost never missed a session and always had great questions.

When we got close to the end of the year, he came and asked me, “Do I have to believe the whole Bible, or can I just believe some of it?”

I asked him in return, “What would the Bible say about that?”

“The Bible would claim that every word is true,” he replied.

The Bible doesn’t encourage us to pick and choose what to believe. As Jesus said in Matthew 24:35,

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Isaiah 35

In contrast to the destruction of nations in Isaiah 34, Isaiah 35 reminds people of God’s offer of salvation. He wipes away the aftermath of his judgment to create a new home for his people. The wilderness bursts into bloom for them. They are healed, strengthened and restored. They live in safety in a place that once was overrun by wild animals and wicked people. God builds a highway for them.

“It will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk in that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it . . . but only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” Isaiah 35:8-10

Micah

Micah prophesied in the same era as Isaiah, and he preached about some of the same topics as Isaiah, but Micah also spoke strongly against false prophets. When troubled times came, opportunistic false prophets often came, too. People wanted answers, but not the answers God’s prophets gave them, so a class of prophets-for-hire showed up.

“As for prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim ‘peace’ if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them” Micah 3:5

God didn’t give any answers to those prophets.

“The seers will be ashamed and diviners disgraced. They will cover their faces because there is no answer from God.” Micah 3:7

But for a prophet like Micah, who was filled with the Spirit of God, there were plenty of things to say to the people.

“But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin.”

A Great Day is Coming

The passage in Micah 4:2-5 tells us the nations will finally submit to God’s sovereignty in the end. After the final judgment, when God has removed sin and sinners from the earth, peace will come. The nations who look to the Lord will be led by his perfect wisdom and righteousness.

God’s King will rule the nations at that time. Micah foresaw that this King would be born in Bethlehem and that his origins would be from ancient times.

He is the shepherd who will “stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.” Micah 5:4

Jesus is the one who fills this description. He came from eternity into this world where he became the great shepherd of the Church. He is filled with the majesty of God and the greatness of what he has done has reached the ends of the earth.

All prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus, and we are so blessed to know him, for as Jesus said,

“Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Matthew 13:16-17

The prophets are challenging to read, but because we can know how the Bible ends, we can know how our story ends. We see that Jesus, our Savior, Redeemer and Great Shepherd, will lead us safely through God’s judgment and into God’s glory. There is no reason for us to fear the end of the world.