(This post can be useful if made into pamphlet form. First published November, 2020)
End of the Age? Sounds like a crackpot delusion, a sci-fi movie theme, or some such thing. Hasn’t this happened in every generation? Time and again throughout history, end-of-the-world proclamations have failed to materialize.
Still we may wonder, will human history ever reach that point? Knowing about the possibility of nuclear devastation, maybe humans themselves will bring about the “end of the age”. Or, knowing about astronomical events, maybe the world will come to its end from an outside force, some random act of nature – an asteroid collision, errant sunspot activity, or who knows what. Neither of these points of view, however, takes into account the Almighty – the possibility that God Himself is in control, that He has a plan in mind for the future destiny of both our environment and human history.
A useful question to ask might be, has Earth ever experienced an “End of the Age” in the past? Nowadays, great misunderstanding surrounds this subject of Earth’s origins. And this has prevented us from seeing something very obvious about Earth’s geological landscape.
In every corner of our planet, there exist sedimentary (water-formed) rock formations, and encased in these rocks are fossils of prehistoric creatures. These stand as silent, awesome testimony to the Great Flood cataclysm that swept over the earth a few thousand years ago. This was an “End of an Age” of colossal proportions. Modern science would say it’s preposterous, but the evidence is there, plain enough to see for anyone with an open mind. (For more information about the scientific evidence of the Flood, see this post: https://endtimeupgrade.org/re-creation-of-the-earth/.)
Besides geologic evidence, there is much cultural evidence; historical accounts of the Great Flood abound in sacred Scriptures from ancient times – not only in the Book of Genesis, but in the Mahabharata, the Quran, and at least 270 other sacred writings from ancient cultures around the world.
If we can accept the fact that Earth has already experienced an End of the Age (and that it happened under God’s direction and control), then it is not so difficult to believe that it could happen again. But will this be some kind of random cosmic accident – Earth getting hit by a giant meteor, or a temperamental sun emitting deadly sunspot activity? These notions are currently in vogue because of modern speculations in the science world that a cosmic accident was responsible for re-shaping the environment of prehistoric times.
But that kind of doomsday scenario ignores the fact that bringing an End to an Age of history is God’s business; it cannot be reduced to a random act of nature. Although an End of the Age scenario sounds frightening and chaotic, it is comforting to know at least that it is not without purpose, and a benign purpose at that. We are not at the mercy of the whims of nature. And when Earth is in need of cataclysmic change, we can trust that the Almighty will be at the controls.
God has things planned out. And we can even learn about that Plan in the pages of the sacred writings of Scripture. And the Plan is a benevolent one, designed to bring about an Age of peace on Earth, righteous government, and an environment free of the pain, pests, and pestilences of our present Age.
But before that can happen, the forces of spiritual darkness, the evil spirits who influence human thoughts and activities in our present Age, must be incarcerated – “cast into the bottomless pit” as Revelation 20:1-3 puts it. This is what the great Battle of Armageddon will achieve – the destruction of evil in our present world.
Those forces of evil have been allowed to roam the Earth for thousands of years, unleashing their deceptions, wars and pollution everywhere. And in this day and age have finally arrived to where they can destroy God’s Creation through nuclear war. The Book of Revelation seems to point out that a measure of this kind of horrific destruction will come to pass. (Revelation 17-18)
However, in speaking about the End of the Age, Christ promised, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:22) For the sake of all the godly men and women throughout history who have struggled valiantly to bring Heaven on Earth in whatever form they could, God will not allow His Creation, us human beings and our environment, to be destroyed. The Return of Christ will put an end to the destructive forces unleashed by evil spirits and evil men.
“The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ… You [Christ] have taken your great power and have begun to reign… And the time has come that you should destroy those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:15,17,18)
But before this great Age of Peace that is promised in the Sacred Book can emerge, a tumultuous era, known as the End of the Age, must come first. The forces of Darkness will make their last desperate attempt to destroy the Earth. Those forces of evil will not go down without a fight. Their guiding philosophy will resemble what Adolph Hitler said, regarding his scorched-earth policy towards the end of World War 2, “If we cannot win, then we shall drag half the world into the abyss with us.”
So the big question now, has human society reached the point where a cataclysmic re-structuring of the present order has become inevitable? Some will say that humankind will struggle on and we can manage by ourselves to create a better world. Some will go to the other extreme, thinking that, since God is in control, there’s nothing we can do.
The responsible path? Each person should do whatever he or she can, in their circle of influence, to make the world a better place. For therein will be found the building blocks of Earth’s future society in the Age of Peace to come. And, while working now to bring Heaven on Earth, we can at the same time trust in God to do the heavy lifting – of getting rid of the evil forces of spiritual Darkness that have saddled the world for so long with their pollutions, destructions, and deceptions.
So again the question, will our present Age soon come to a close? It will be of interest to the reader to know that several passages from the Scriptures suggest this awesome possibility. Although written thousands of years ago, they describe, with astonishing accuracy, conditions in our modern day, while pointing to it as that unique era when human society and the Earth would be on the verge of cataclysmic change and would see the Return of Christ.
There are many interpretations about the meaning of these Scriptures, but one overall fact always stands out; Christ will return, this time as the conquering Saviour, to rid the world of evil and to establish His Kingdom on Earth.
He is known as the Prince of Peace and longs for you to invite His Spirit into your life. Then His supernatural peace, love, and guidance can dwell in your heart, now and forever, regardless of whatever turmoil and confusion may surround us in the days to come.
