End of the World?

Does the Bible Teach that the World will End? 

People are often shocked to hear the claim that the Bible never foretells the end of the world. They will use verses like this:

Matthew 24:3
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 

Even though the Greek manuscripts clearly use the word 'aión' which means an age or a span of time, some translations have wrongly translated it as 'world'. The above NIV translation gets it right. 

Other texts people use to support the idea that God will one day end the world are 2 Peter 3 and revelation 21:1. I address these specifically in my article 'New Heaven and Earth?'. 

The judgements described in all of the apocalyptic texts of scripture apply only to the city Jerusalem and the land of Judea. This is not a world-wide event. Even when scripture uses words that reasonably translate as 'world', the context and other scriptures make it clear: the subject matter is Jerusalem and old covenant Israel. 

Here are verses that suggest God will never destroy the earth: 

Genesis 8:21-22:
The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

“As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.”

Ecclesiastes 1:4:
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.

Psalm 78:69:
He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever. 

Again, if you are thinking if verses where heaven and Earth are described as passing away, please read my article on Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth was the covenant. God often used apocalyptic language to describe His judgement and destruction of a nation or covenant. But we know when He judged the ancient world, like Babylon and Israel, the entire planet was not destroyed. Only that nation, people group or covenant.