In the Bible, we are told that there will be a Kingdom of a “New Heaven and New Earth” (Revelation 20:4-6, 12-14, Revelation 21:1-4, Isaiah 65:17-25). This has led some to conclude that this Earth will be eventually destroyed, either by man or by God to make way for the “new Earth”.
There are several scriptures which can be interpreted either for or against this notion. So to try and understand what will become of this Earth, we need to understand these scriptures and weigh out the evidence to reason either for or against this notion.
Scriptures Appearing to Support Earth’s Survival
- Genesis 8:21-22: “So YHWH said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground on man’s account, for the inclination of the heart of man is bad from his youth up; and never again will I strike down every living thing as I have done. As long as the earth remains, the earth will never cease to have seed-sowing and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night.””
- Psalm 37:29: “The righteous will possess the earth, and they will live forever on it.”
- Psalm 104:5: “God has established the earth on its foundations; it will not be moved from its place forever and ever”.
- Ecclesiastes 1:4: “The earth remains forever.”
- Isaiah 45:18: “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.”
- Matthew 5:5: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth“.
Scriptures Appearing to Support Earth’s Destruction
- Isaiah 34:4: “All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree”.
- Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
- Luke 16:17: “Indeed, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to go unfulfilled”.
- 2 Peter 3:7, 10, 12-13: “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… But the Lord’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works/deeds (ἔργα-ergon) in it will be exposed/found/will not be found(?)… as you await and keep close in mind the presence of the day of the Lord, through which the heavens will be destroyed/disolved (λύω-luó) in flames and the elements will melt in the intense heat! But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell”.
- Revelation 21:1: “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“.
Many bring attention to Isaiah, Luke, 2 Peter and Revelation, which appear to describe the Earth passing away, being destroyed or dissolved, with the elements melting, the sea vanishing and the stars falling from the heavens, and then replaced by a new creation.
However, this seems to contradict God’s promises in earlier chapters where God promised to Noah that He would not curse or harm the entire Earth on the basis of man’s sin ever again, and that the Earth would remain forever, and that the righteous would inherit the Earth forever, something which even Yeshua himself stated…
Interpretive Frameworks
It is possible these scriptures to be looked at in two ways:
1. The Earth will not be destroyed, and any references to destruction are merely symbolic, or speaking of the destruction of the wicked.
2. The Earth will be destroyed, and the scriptures describing the Earth lasting forever are symbolic, referring to Mankind being forever, or being forever relative to its purpose, just as the laws of the Old Testament were described as eternal relative to when the old law applied, but were then revealed to be “shadows” of the true fulfilments.
Literal Interpretation of Destruction
If the world is to be destroyed, then the destructive scriptures can be read plainly as presented; the wicked will be exposed, and then will never be found again due to the Earth being physically destroyed and everything on it will be completely vaporised along with the stars and galaxies of the universe, and replaced by a completely new creation on a new Earth.
The “earth” which is inherited forever, may refer to the “peoples of Earth” who survive the said destruction. Of whom, may be placed on a literal, brand new earth.
Whilst Genesis states in relation to the literal event of the global flood, that God would not again harm the entire Earth or its creations in such a way on man’s account… One may reason it could be possible that whilst God will not destroy the Earth as He promised not to, that mankind itself would, and is perhaps why there will be need for a “literal New Earth”.
Perhaps therefore, it is humans themselves who will be the result of the demise of the Earth, from which God plans to rescue and rehome us.
Figurative Interpretation of Destruction
If the verses of destruction do not refer to Earth’s literal demise, and God’s promises for the Earth to stand forever are literal, then how to understand the destructive verses?
Matthew 24
This saying of Yeshua, could be easily addressed as a figure of speech.
It may be in that, because the Bible contains verses which support the Earth’s eternal state, Yeshuamay have been stating the certainty of God’s promises, in that the Earth would “more likely” pass away before God’s promises could ever fail.
If the premise is that the Earth will not pass away, it then in fact further strengthens the promises Yeshua makes on behalf of Yah God. That they are a certainty, as opposed to this phrase being a denouncement upon the fate of the Earth by Yeshua.
2 Peter
This verse merely may refer to the sin and wickedness in the Earth being destroyed, as opposed to the Earth itself.
It has been suggested by some scholars, such as J. Richard Middleton, that if we pay attention to the original Greek, these verses say the works of the Earth and the things in it will either be “exposed”, “found” or “not found”, by means of the “melting”. He made an interesting point in that the term “found” is actually a root word from where we get the term “foundry”, which is a metal forging workshop, and thus could refer to something that is being “shaped by fire”, purged of impurities, as opposed to being “destroyed” by fire.
The “works” in these scriptures means the “actions” or “things” upon the Earth, the “deeds” of the people. Thus, this “melting” could also be seen to be an action from God which is a “revealing”, the “heavens and elements” possibly referring to the elements of this world, the dark and unseen underbelly of what is Satan’s rule (1 John 5:19, Ephesians 6:12), playing on the words at Luke 12:2, that there is nothing on the Earth that is hidden will not be revealed.
Thus, God’s judgement could be said to be melting away, or revealing and removing the wicked deeds from the Earth, so that they are to never be seen again, mirroring once more the promises of Psalm 37:10 and Isaiah 66:24, saving the righteous, and making the Earth “like new” again, as opposed to a literal “new Earth” being made to replace the old one, which keeps in line with God’s promises to “never harm the physical Earth on man’s account”.
Isaiah
Isaiah the prophet mentions ‘both’ that the Earth will last forever as “it was not made for nothing”, and that the Heavens and skies would “dissolve” or “roll up like a scroll”.
In this instance, from what we can see, when Isaiah is speaking of Earth remaining forever, he appears to be speaking in plain terms, on God’s purposes for the Earth and its “firm establishment”, whereas the words about the skies dissolving and rolling up, appear ‘only’ in a ‘prophecy’ of Isaiah, of which is full of symbolic imagery and deeper meanings in general (as are many prophecies), which are very akin to the words of Paul and the topic of judgement of the world’s kingdoms.
The meaning of “stars rolled up like a scroll” for example, could be very well in reference to the “rulers” of Earth, as they are often compared to being powerful like stars in scripture, such as the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:12, 18-19, 22). Such rulers coming to an end or to a “close”, as one would literally roll up a scroll when one has finished reading or writing in it.
Therefore, we cannot rely upon the fact that Isaiah was speaking of the “literal destruction” of the universe, especially when the same Isaiah spoke of the Earth being firmly and purposefully established.
Revelation
The book of Revelation is also known for often speaking in symbolic imagery.
The visions John saw of Earth and Heaven passing away, and the sea passing away, all to be replaced by God’s presence and the blessings of the Kingdom, could be easily interpreted to symbolise the renewal of the Earth under the Kingdom, just as the beasts of Revelation symbolise not literal monsters, but the Earth’s Kingdoms with Satan and his demons to be punished.
It is also to be noted that this “destructive” event happens ‘after’ Armageddon, when the Anointed one, Yeshua, takes back control of the world, at which point it will have been cleansed of evil, and universal peace and healing brought to both the animal kingdom and mankind (in both sin and fleshly sicknesses) at his 1000 year reign.
Therefore, it can be reasoned that it would additionally appear to be meaningless for the Earth to literally pass away after Yeshua has already brought universal peace to it. One would assume that either the world would perish due to being unsalvageable, and therefore explains and justifies the need for a new Earth, or, that peace is brought to this Earth, in which case there would be no need or cause for it to be destroyed.
Personal Thoughts & Conclusions
Personally, I do not think God would allow His creation, this Earth to be destroyed by men, and if not by men, He Himself would not destroy it based upon his promises to Noah. God made it known to us that he “did not make this Earth for nothing but to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18), and thus if that is His everlasting will, then this Earth will stand forever.
I reason that on the basis of the scriptures discussed, especially alongside the paradise prophecies of Isaiah, and Revelation‘s promises of world peace under the rule of Yeshua, of the world being brought to peace, would identify this Earth we live on now being “the New Earth” to come, via future transformation and reconciliation, of which was the exact wording used by Paul (Colossians 1:20-22, Romans 8:19-23).
It is interesting to note, that all verses which speak of the Earth’s “destruction” or “dissolving”, always is tied to the subject of the judgement of its “wordly entities” and “establishments”, as opposed to “creation in general”. Therefore, this pattern of prophetic language may also be another strong indicator of the true meaning of these “destructive verses”, seeing that we don’t see any direct statement of the “dissolving of elements” in any other context throughout the entire Bible.
Matthew 24:22, which says “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened” is another interesting verse to consider.
If referring to the coming of Yeshua and not just the Christian’s flight from the destruction of Jerusalem, it could very well refer to the state of affairs on Earth that we face today, the threat of climate change, pollution and destruction of the Earth, in that God will “cut short” these days, to ensure that mankind and this Earth will survive.
Of course, whilst I do personally subscribe to the interpretation that this Earth will go on forever, if this is not the case, we still need not worry ourselves, for God has ensured everlasting life and happiness to all who put faith in Him and his Anointed Son, Yeshua, and we will have a brand new Earth awaiting faithful mankind which will be ruled over by His Kingdom and His chosen elect.
Thus, whichever interpretation is correct, there is no reason to despair, all is in the good hands of our Heavenly Father. His will be done.
Proselyte of Yah 