Scripture Revealed

A Revelation of Jesus Christ – Revelation 1:1

Tag: end of time

World Without End – Amen!

World Without End – Amen!

End of the World or End of an Age?


The world is coming to an end!  Why?  Because the Bible says so!  Or does it?  Modern Bible prophecy teachers declare that we are living in the last days and that these are the end times!  But does scripture predict an end of time?

What exactly does the Bible mean when it mentions “the last days”?  It is important to define Biblical terms.  Does scripture define the term “the last days” as the end of time or simply the end of an age?  What does scripture reveal about this important subject?  Let us start at the beginning – in the book of Genesis.  In Genesis chapter 6 we read the account of God destroying the world with a flood.  Then in Genesis 8:21 the Lord declares that he will never again destroy every living creature “as I have done.” 

Genesis 8:21-22 (KJV)  – And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living,

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meltingclock
Salvador Dali’s painting ‘The Persistence of Memory”

Revelation 10:6 (KJV) – “And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.

A close friend of mine asked me to consider what Revelation 10:6 means in regards to the statement that “there should be time no longer”. Her thinking was that this verse is prophesying that in our future, we will get to the end of time. Time would cease to exist. The implication was that this earthly realm and our existence would end. My response to her was “Let me study the scriptures”.

My first task was to look up this scripture in other Bible translations besides the King James Version. Then I would consult Bible commentaries to see how noted Bible scholars interpreted Revelation 10:6 in regards to”time being no more”. First let’s look at some other popular translations:

Searching Other Bible Translations

American Standard Version (ASV): Revelation 10:6 – “And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the heaven (...)

The Last Days – of What?

siege of jerusalem
Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Francesco Hayez. Depicts the destruction of the Second Temple by Roman soldiers. Oil on canvas, 1867.

Ever since I’ve been a Christian, I’ve heard about how we are living “in the last days”. The belief is that we are living in the “last days” just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. While this certainly may be the case, a close reading of the scriptures indicates that the writers of the New Testament believed that they were living in the “last days”. Or that the “last days” had arrived for them. The Apostles referred to the “last days” and the “last times” in such a tone that reveals the writer’s beliefs. When the New Testament writers used the terms “last days” and “last times” were they referring to the end of the world? Or something entirely different?

1 John 2:18 (KJV) – “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” (John the Apostle, 1 John 2:18, First Century)

In the above scripture, John was linking the arrival of (...)

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