II Peter 3:10 - But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which 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.

I. This is a question a lot of people are interested in.

There is a young boy that attends our church services that has asked his Sunday School to teach about the end of the world because he wants to know.

When I was a boy, I wondered about it.

I would be very interested when my pastor would preach about the end of the world, and the things that would happen.

I would read the Book of Revelation, wondering about all the prophetic events.

I wondered where I would be when the world came to an end.

My dad wanted me to read the book of John instead of the book of Revelation.

I was lost and needed to hear about the Saviour, not the end of time.

The truth is that the present heaven and earth (the entire universe) we are living in will be completely destroyed and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwellest righteousness.

Matt. 24:3,4 - 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? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. Jesus didn’t ridicule the disciples when they asked him when the world was going to come to an end.

Jesus gave them very credible evidence of the events of the end time.

It isn’t wrong to be curious about the end of this world, but we ought to remember that God the Father is the only one who knows when the world will end.

Our job is to look for the return of Christ, and to live like He is coming back today.

There are a lot of scoffing about the end of the world.

Remember the cartoons that show a long-haired, bearded man wearing a white robe and carrying a sign which reads, "Repent, the end is near"? This man is always the "butt of the joke". These cartoons are actually the fulfilling of prophecy.

II Peter 3:3,4 - Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

II Peter 3:10 speaks about a great noise and fervent heat.

Does this mean the earth will be destroyed by an atomic bomb?

I don’t think so, because the Bible doesn’t say so, and even if an atomic bomb would destroy the entire earth, it would not destroy the entire universe.

When I was growing up, there was much fear about the world being destroyed by an atomic bomb.

Many people where I lived build "fall-out shelters", but nobody ever stayed in them.

There were some "fall-out shelters" build in the St. Louis area, but they were never used.

Zech. 14:12 records that when Christ returns bodily (to save the Jews at the Battle of Armageddon) the bodies of His enemies will melt away. This is very similar to what will happen when God destroys this entire world.

Zech 14:12 - And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

I believe that when Christ turns his glory loose on this sin cursed universe, it will melt before His presence.

II Thess. 2:8 declares that Satan will be destroyed with the brightness of the coming of Christ. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Is there any truth to aliens coming to the earth and their taking over the earth, destroying the present world, and refurbishing it for their own use and benefit?

I, personally, don’t worry about space aliens coming to the earth and taking it over.

I know a lot of people do.

I don’t see anything in the Bible about space aliens coming to the earth and destroying it.

But then, I don’t believe there is life on any other planet except Earth.

I believe God created the entire universe for the sole benefit of humans.

I believe the human race is that special in the eyes of God.

John 3:16 declares that the human race is so special that God sent His only Begotten Son into the world that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

8. That makes us pretty special!

II. The Events that are coming.

Jesus is going to rapture out the saints.

I Thess 4:16-17 - For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

I believe the rapture is the next event of God’s calendar because Paul was expecting Christ to come back during his lifetime.

I Thess 4:17 - Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

2. When will the rapture take place?

Matt. 24:44 - Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Nobody, except God the Father knows when the rapture will take place.

We are supposed to be watching and waiting for His return, obeying His precepts and teaching them to others, as we have opportunity.

The next event after the rapture will be the seven year tribulation period in which God will deal primarily with the Jewish nation, but many Gentiles will also be saved.

This will be the fulfilling of Satan’s kingdom, because God will allow him to rule over all the nations of the world.

Luke 4:5,6 - And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

Satan’s seven year kingdom will be divided into two 3 ½ year periods.

The first half will be a time of relative peace, but there is much trouble brewing.

The last half will be a time of restless war, and upheaval.

Rev. 16:1-14 gives the description of the events that take place in Satan’s kingdom just before the Battle of Armageddon.

At the end of the tribulation period, the Battle of Armageddon will be fought, where all nations will gather against Israel in an attempt to completely destroy her from off the face of the earth.

Christ will appear in the sky, accompanied with all his saints, to destroy the enemies of Israel and to fight for her.

There will be a clean up of dead bodies from this battle which will last seven months. Ezk. 39:14.

Israel will burn the weapons of the enemy for seven years. Ezk. 39:9,10.

Christ will establish Himself as the supreme ruler of the earth for a period of 1,000 years, where every nation will worship Him, whether they want to or not. Zech. 14:16.

At the end of that millennium reign (1,000 year), Satan will be loosed out of the bottomless pit, and he will go out to deceive the nations of the world, and gather them together for the battle of Gog and Magog.

God will completely destroy all his enemies at this point.

The earth will be burned up with fire and all the riches men have worked for all their lives will be gone.

Time will end, and God will create a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.