The End

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear....And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up...for your redemption draws nigh. (Luke 21:25-26b, 28)

Jesus had taught His disciples that when He returns to earth at the end of the age, certain things would happen beforehand to show that the time was near. There would be terrible diseases, people dying for lack of food, and great earthquakes. Believers in Jesus would be hated by every nation and many even killed.

Sadly, in order to escape this treatment, many fearful believers would actually leave their faith in Him, giving up eternal life (Matthew 24:7-14). Wars would be more destructive than ever (Revelation 6:4) and the sun, moon and stars would change drastically near the time of His return.

And so, believers in Jesus should always look for these signs and be ready for their Lord to come in the clouds of the sky. For Jesus promised to rescue them from God’s wrath on the earth by taking them off of the earth! He would make their bodies supernatural like His, and they would rise up into the clouds with Him. From there they would watch the terrible judgments that were coming to those who had refused God’s invitation—those who hated God but loved their sin (Revelation 6:14-17).

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever....And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened....And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:10, 15)

Once the Heavenly judgments begin to fall upon the earth, its people will curse God, blaming Him for being cruel and unfair. They won’t believe that God has any right to punish them for their sin and rebellion, even though He has warned them for ages. And so they will join around a wicked leader who promises that he will do away with God and all His laws! This is the one whom the Bible calls, the beast, or antichrist (Revelation 13:1-8). This evil person gets his powers from the devil, Satan, who guides him, and he even chooses his own prophet to honor him, called the false prophet (Revelation 13:1-18). Together, these wicked leaders make the whole world believe terrible lies about God and His people and ruthlessly destroy anyone who becomes a follower of Jesus. Wanting glory for himself, the beast then proclaims to the world that he alone is God, and demands that all people everywhere worship him! Anyone who will not worship the beast and also the devil, who empowers him, will be put to death. Surely, this is a terrifying time on the earth, worse than any other time in history.

But all at once this terrible time is cut short. Jesus, riding on a white horse, accompanied by the believers from Heaven, comes bursting through the clouds down to earth to confound the armies of the beast that are now arrayed against Him. These He destroys with a mere word from His mouth. Then, seizing both the beast and the false prophet, He throws these evil men alive into the fiery pit of eternal death, to suffer forever, while Satan, the devil, He throws into a great dungeon, sealing the top of it for a thousand years (Revelation 19:19-21). During this time the earth finds peace at last. It basks in the goodness of its rightful King, Jesus the Messiah, who rules along with all His faithful followers. And when those thousand years have ended, even the devil himself will be cast into the same fiery pit of God’s judgment, along with everyone who has never turned from sin and accepted God’s invitation to life, because all these refused to love and honor God, their Creator.

... Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:3b-4)

And when all these things have passed, God the Father will make a new Heaven and a new earth, where everyone who loves Him will be able to be in His constant joyous presence. No more will there be death or disease or accidents or wars or any other suffering that had come into the earlier world because of sin. And God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—will put His beautiful throne right in the midst of all His people. He will care for them in tenderness and joy, always delighting in them, and pouring out on them His marvelous treasures and wonders, for all eternity!