54. Is there a biblical End of the World?
The older King James Versions wrongly translated 5 references to the end of the aionos (age) as being to the end of the world (cosmos). Newer versions have this corrected. This has lead many to mistakenly believe that the bible actually teaches us that there will be an end of the physical world.
Matt 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world (should read AGE); and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world (should read AGE). KJV
Matt 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world (should read AGE): the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just KJV
Matt 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (should read AGE). Amen. KJV
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world (should read AGES) hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. KJV
Brethren we all know that when Jesus appeared circa AD 30 to put away sin, that it was not 'the end of the world'... but at the end of the Jewish age or the Age of the Law. The age of grace which Jesus ushered in and the world we now live in continued to exist after the temple was destroyed in AD70. The destruction of the temple in AD70 was the fulfillment of prophecies proving that the Old Covenant with its sacrificial system and priesthood, was terminated (Heb 9:7-10)
After the earlier KJV translation errors are rectified to read 'the end of the AGE' as per the Greek, the bible does not in any place teach that there is to be an end to the world or cosmos.
(Sadly however whenever the old translations are quoted, many people are still being mislead into believing that the scriptures actually teach that there is to be an 'end of the world' which is somehow still 'imminent' for us almost 2000 years later)
(For the scriptural explanation of the phrase 'the last day' please refer to the section below where Jesus tells us what this means)
Some quote the following verse as proof of an end of the world ...
Eccl 3:11 Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. NKJV
However bear in mind the context. Ecclesiastes was written to Israelites about the Law ... it's introduction refers to "The Preacher"...and is clearly a teaching of natural wisdom (i.e. 'under the sun') from the Law of Moses. There are NO grounds to believe that the "END" referred to here is not the same as 'the end of the age" which the prophets, Jesus and the apostles referred as something which was to come upon their generation (ie prior to AD73). This verse teaches that what God was going to do at this "End" was not something man at that time ... APART FROM revelation by the Spirit was able to know!
Brethren scripture must be used to interpret scripture ... and both Paul and Peter give the explanation of this verse in their teachings. (i.e. 1 Pet 1:10-13 and 1 Cor 2:7 & 10-16 are the key).
Both apostles tie this to the time period of the end of the OLD Covenant and the introduction of the NEW COVENANT. Peter tells us that what was not made known to the prophets of old or even to the angels 'was revealed to us' .. clearly speaking of the age of GRACE that came to replace the Law. James also references this verse to explain that the beginning of the New Covenant would be marked by the gospel going to the Gentiles (Acts 15:12-18) .... and then to define the rules that should apply to the Gentiles under the incoming or New Covenant of grace. These same rules were to apply for the church after the END of the Old Covenant in AD 70 (according to Rev 22:14-15), which the scriptures prophecied would come shortly after Messiah had come and been killed (Dan 9:24-27).
(Those who would have the church continue celebrating Israel's festivals and the laws of the Old Covenant, take heed. The scriptures tell the early church in approx AD50 that the Old Covenant had then already been made obsolete and was soon about to vanish (Heb 8:13) ... it was in the process of passing away (1 Cor 7:31, 2 Cor 3:7-18 and 1 John 2:8 and 17)
Firstly, the passage in Ecclesiastes tells us that God is not constrained by the inability of the NATURAL MIND to comprehend eternity or infinity. Secondly, if you still want to believe that there must be an end of 'physical earth', you must first acknowledge that the scriptures (containing the words spoken to the prophets, and quoted by Jesus and the apostles) referring to 'the end' do not refer to anything other than the the end of the OLD COVENANT age which was signalled by the coming and death of Messiah. Acts 3:18-26 tells us ...'they ALL spoke of THESE DAYS' (vs 24) i.e. the time frame from AD33 when Peter spoke these words...until AD70 when the Old Covenant fully passed away as demonstrated by the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple and the priesthood...and the removal of the Israelites from the promised land.
Thirdly, if there is any end of the physical earth, it cannot and will NOT (according to the scriptures) have any impact on the continuation of the EVERLASTING Kingdom of Jesus in the New Covenant which is in the realm of the SPIRIT.
(If there are any other prophetic scriptures which speak of another 'END' and further work which Jesus was to achieve...then we would have to conclude that Peter was wrong in his statement in Acts 3:24.... that ALL prophets were referring to THESE DAYS).
Heaven and earth shall pass away?
So does this phrase refer to a literal end of 'heaven and earth'? Jesus gives us a clue in His first reference to this ...
Mat 5:19 For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Note that the Law of Moses (with all 613 of it's commandments) was to continue UNTIL all of the prophecies of the Old Covenant were fulfilled. Jesus tells us emphatically in Luke 21:20-34 that all would be fulfilled when the generation He was addressing actually saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies and and falling and the nation taken away by the Gentiles(vs 20 and 24). Brethren Jesus then emphatically tells us that the apostles generation would not pass away till all things ... including the coming of the Son of Man on clouds in glory and THAT Day (of the Lord) .... were fulfilled/had taken place (vs 32). History confirms that these prophecies were literally fulfilled in AD70 (Flavius Josephus - Wars of the Jews) in a way that the Jews of that day clearly understood.
If we do not accept that 'all was fulfilled' at that time then we must believe that according to Jesus words the Law of Moses still applies in its entirety today. This is patently not the case as there has been no temple or levitical priesthood or sacrifices offered since AD70 without which the Law is not complete.
This is also the context of Davids words in Psalm 102 ....
Psalm 102:25-26 Of old You laid the foundations of the earth.
and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will all perish but You will endure;
Yes they will all grow old like a garment:
Like a garment You will change them
and they will be changed.
But note that the writer of Hebrews quotes this scripture verbatim in Chapter 1:10-12. The whole book then explains this passage to the Hebrews living in approx AD 50-60 showing that the Old Covenant (1:1-2) was soon/about to end (1:2) and this would usher in the New Covenant where Jesus himself will rule forever (1:8) in righteousness. The greater glory of the New Covenant (or the 'world to come' 2:5), which was ushered in after Jesus death (2:14-15) ...and the imminent end of the Old Covenant involving the end of sacrifices and the destruction of the temple are the continuing themes.
The belief of an end of the world gives rise to contradictions with many other passages. The new church age was promised to be an everlasting kingdom (Dan 7:13-14; Luke 1:32-33).
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. KJV
So were the apostles confused to link the destruction of the temple with 'the end of the age'?
.... OR were they asking about another separate event to occur perhaps some 2000 years later?
For those who think it is legitimate to argue that there is a difference between 'THE END'... and 'the end of the age' referred to in Mat 24, please look at the way Jesus answers the apostles quesions in the Olivet Discourse....and then compare the same question and the answers in Mark's and Luke's gospels.
Matt 24:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying,"Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" NKJV
Jesus in His answers refers to 'the end end of the age' which the apostles asked about as being 'the end' (three times incl. vs 6 and below)
Matt 24:13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. NKJV
For those who would still try to do hermeneutical gymnasics ...the 'bell-ringer' comes when you read the parallel versions of the Olivet Discourse in Mark 13 and Luke 21 (which commentators almost universally agree applies to AD70) ...and find that Jesus here ONLY refers to 'THE END' in ALL the similar verses. Brethren, Jesus is telling us that there is only one time known as THE END...and that this is the same as 'the end of the age' which THAT specific generation knew about from the prophets and were expecting and about to see fulfilled in their own lifetime.
For those who claim 'the apostles must have been confused' to have linked 'the end of the age' with the destruction of the temple please consider that these same men had spent many days with Jesus after His resurrection... Luke 24:45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. NKJV . They had spent forty days with Jesus listening to Him ... Acts 1:3 speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom of God ... before they wrote the Gospels under the leading of the Holy Spirit! (John 16:13) What Jesus showed them was how the PROPHETS (including Isaiah and Daniel and all the others even back to Moses) had linked the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple with the Day of the Lord which was known to be coming at the 'END of the AGE' of the Law (Acts 3:21-24)...or 'In the LAST DAYS' (Acts 2:17-24) ...and which was coming on THEIR wicked and perverse generation (Acts 2:40).
It is far more credible that those making the claims about the apostles being confused or the scriptures being mistaken ... are THEMSELVES either CONFUSED or MISLEAD ... or worse TRYING TO DECEIVE US.
If you still dare to claim that 'the apostles were confused' this is like saying ... 'I do not believe what the apostles who wrote the whole new testament actually taught' ...then perhaps you should consider that this is simply your confession that you are not a believer?
So what about the scriptures which speak of a TIME of the END or the LATTER TIME? (Please note that this is not the same as the End of Time)
...well how about the scriptures which Jesus told us to look at in this context (Mat 24:15)... the Book of Daniel.
Dan 8:17 but he said to me, "Understand son of man that the vision refers to the time of the end. NKJV
Dan 8:19 And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be. NKJV
Dan 12:4 "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end ; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." NKJV
Please note that where Daniel was told to seal up the book...John was told in Revelation NOT to seal up the Book....because the END was then near, at hand and to happen shortly. ..ie circa AD 70.
Dan 12:9 And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end . NKJV
The 'appointed time' or the 'time of the end' here relates to the the time spoken of previously by Daniel in chapter 9 as the time determined specifically for ISRAEL and Jerusalem....the time of Jacob's trouble or 'the indignation'. This is sometimes referred to simply as 'at that time' Dan 12:1 (2 times). (See also Hab 2:2-3)
Dan 9:24
"Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy. NKJV
Dan 12:7 and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. NKJV
"All these things" which Jesus said would happen in Matthew 24:2-3 included the end determined for Israel and Jerusalem (Dan 9:24), the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem (Dan 9:26) which would be at the time of the abomination of desolation (Dan 9:27).
Please note that the rest of the world was to continue after Israel's time ended (Gen 9:21) ...it was only 'the holy people' whose power was to be completely shattered. It becomes clear that the time of the end was specifically the END OF ISRAEL'S exclusive covenant with God. The time of the New covenant church age in which the Gospel has now reached more than two BILLION people is certainly not the topic here.
So why then does a large part of Christendom still believe the world will come to a cataclysmic end ...and probably soon
Historically the church prior to AD 1800 had traditionally believed that the destruction of the temple and the end of the Jewish nation was powerful proof of the promised judgment on apostate Israel.
Today the church fails to look at the HISTORIC records of the events in AD70 and see how many scriptural prophecies which Jesus and the apostles refer to, were irrefutably fulfilled. It is also because of a failure to understand the typical Hebraic prophetic apocalyptic language that Peter was quoting in the following passage...?
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. NKJV
This passage is best understood when we realise that Peter got his teaching from OLD testament prophecies and Jesus teachings of Mat 24:21-36...where Jesus also quoted from these same sources. This is the same Day of the Lord that Paul wrote of in 1Thes 4:15-5:6. A judgment by FIRE was promised to Israel...as part of the 'Day of the Lord'. This passage does NOT refer to the END the World as a separate event which would take place some 2000 years later but to the same promised judgment of ISRAEL (2 Pet 3:2) ...that was imminent and about to come upon the readers of his epistle in approx AD67.
Mal 4:1 "For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,"
Says the LORD of hosts,
"That will leave them neither root nor branch. NKJV
Malachi 1:1 and 4:4-5 emphatically restrict this judgment to ISRAEL
Isa 34:3 Also their slain shall be thrown out;
Their stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as fruit falling from a fig tree. NKJV
(Please note that the above passage from Isaiah 34 refers to the coming judgement against ZION and Edom and Bozrah at the hands of the Babylonians in BC 587-586 ... and that was certainly NOT the end of the world then. It was however the end of the 'First temple Age'. Peter quotes from this passage in 2 Peter 3:10 telling the Jews of his day that their apostate nation was then the target)
Brethren ask yourself who was to be judged at this time ...and who history tells us was judged in AD 70. It was 'the sun and the moon and the stars of heaven' prophetically described in Joseph's dream and clearly interpreted for us by Jacob in Genesis 37 vs 9-10....ISRAEL AND THE TWELVE TRIBES.
Another parallel can be seen in Isa 13vs 1 where God's judgment against Babylon is pronounced in the same terms
Isa 13:10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11 "I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
NKJV
Brethren, this is the judgement of God on Babylon alone...the rest of the world continued to exist (but theirs ended) ...and the way He did it was to muster a mighty army (vs 4) who we later are told would be the Medes (vs 17). See the parallels to AD 70? Brethren, Jesus quotes directly from the above passage in Mat 24:29 as does Peter in Acts 2:20... except this time the Romans were to be God's instrument of destruction.
Please note that after the destruction promised in Isa 64:10-11...where Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed (ie the Old Covenant) ...by being BURNED UP with Fire...God then promises the world .....
Isa 65:17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. NKJV
What God then created was the NEW Covenant. No longer was physical Jerusalem to be the centre or national capital of the church ..... nor the temple which had been there to be 'the house of God' (Isa 66:1). God would now dwell IN the midst of HIS people all around the world as promised in John 4:21.. and Rev 21:3.
Peter is also referring to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple as prophesied by Moses (Deut 32:1-43) and Isaiah (64:10-11) and about the replacement of the Old Covenant. This happened when God HIMSELF came down (64:3)...and the mountains shook. It was not done as men percieved (64:4). The Lord would slay Israel after the flesh (65:15)...and then call his servants by another name (children).
God would then create a 'new heavens and a new earth' (65:17). This refers to the New Covenant ... that which would replace the the one which was abolished when the temple was destroyed. God would repay his enemies avenging the martyrs blood (66:6 and Mat 23:34-38...and Revelations 17:6)...and pour out his wrath or indignation on Israel (66:14-17). The New Jerusalem (65:18) is the heavenly Jerusalem or Jerusalem from above which was the new Covenant realm (Gal 4:24-26) ... in which all the CHURCH (i.e. as the Bride) now has free and direct access to God. (66:18, 23...and Rev 22:3-4)
Please note that Josephus records (along with Eusebius and Tacitus) that the chariots and fire described in Isa 66:15 were actually seen in the skys around Jerusalem and many other cities.
The elements in 2 Peter 3:10 do not refer to the chemical elements of the periodic table as many tend to assume today...the chemical table of elements is an eighteenth century discovery.
Paul confirms what 'the elements' refers to...this is the ONLY legitimate interpretation as this word is not used elsewhere in the bible. Scripture must interpret scripture.
Gal 4:3-11 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. .... 9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. NKJV
The elements refers to the detailed requirements of the LAW and the Old Covenant ...the heavens and earth are then the CORE of the Law...ie it all revolved around the TEMPLE (ie HEAVEN ... the place where God dwelt amongst them) and the promised land of Israel with Jerusalem as it's capital (ie EARTH)
Paul confirms this context in 1 Cor 7:29-31 But this I say, brethren, the time is short, .... 31 For the form of this world is passing away. NKJV
See also Isa 65:17b
Peter's context in 2 Pet 3:10 is the 'day of the Lord' ...the final day of judgment promised to Israel for its apostacy.
The heavens also refers to the whole realm of their worship being the temple, priesthood, sacrificial system, and the Law and the prophets and their entire 'religious system' of the Mosaic covenant (Gal 4:22-26, Heb 12:22-28 the new heavens and new earth... Is 65:17, Is 66:1 & 22 is the New Covenant)
The elements refer to the components of their religious activities such as festivals, clean and unclean foods, ceremonial washings, sabbaths and circumcision (refer Gal 4:3 and 9, Col 2:14-23)
The earth refers to the promised land... the southern kingdom of Israel lost the last of this in AD70 when their capital city of Jerusalem was destroyed.
All the works that are in it refers to everything they thought they had ever achieved for God ... their nations 'treasures on earth'....which were no more than wood, hay and stubble in God's sight.
Being burned up was the coming judgment promised in numerous prophecies (Deut 32:22-26, Is 64:11, Mal 4) ....and literally fulfilled in the AD70 fiery destruction of the temple and Jerusalem and the execution of 1.1 million Jews and most of the rest of the nation being taken away into captivity as slaves.
Similar language is used in Isaiah 34:4 about God's judgment of Zion, Edom and Bozra....and then it did not refer to 'the end of the world' ...so why do so many today still assume it is must refer to 'the end of the world' in 2 Peter? (Refer also to Isaiah 13:10, Isaiah 34:1-10, Isaiah 51:6 with Heb 8:13, Psalm 75:3, Acts 2:19-20, Mat 24:29)
Read the prophetic language of David in Psalm 18:7-19 about how God intervened to deliver him from King Saul (and compare it to the historic narative of the events in 1 Samuel)...it is the same language of Peter... yet David was certainly not speaking of literal physical events ....but of divine intervention in the heavenlies on his behalf.
1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. NKJV
The apostles clearly expected 'the end' to happen very soon. So how can so many christians today be expecting a repeat of this series of events (including the AD70 destruction of Jeruslalem)...to happen globally today when Peter said the LAST DAYS started after Jesus died, was raised and the Holy Spirit poured out in Acts 2:17 ... and that the END OF ALL THINGS was at hand in approximately AD65? It is now close to 2000 YEARS later. We are left to conclude that Peter was either speaking of the the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple...or that the scriptures ARE wrong about the timing of these events. I find that if we believe Peter (and Jesus and the other apostles) about the timing of this event (and accept the independant historical records of Flavius Josephus, Tacitus and others) ...then suddenly great clarity comes about on a whole range of associated scriptures.
So what about the so called 'Hymenean Heresy'? (2 Tim2 :17-18)
The greatest proof that 'the day of the Lord' (as mentioned in 2 Peter 3:10) ..or 'the day of Christ' was NOT the end of the world is found in the passage below...
2 Thess 2:1-4 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. NKJV
Brethren, look at what is said here. If the Day of the Lord ...or the Day of Christ was to be an 'EARTH ENDING' time, how could the Thessalonians possibly have been been worried by the suggestion that this day had passed without their knowledge. They would have laughed. They were STILL alive.... heaven and earth were STILL in existence!
You are clearly MISUNDERSTANDING what Peter was referring to if you assume a PHYSICAL WORLD ENDING scenario was being described and anticipated by the church of that day!
Brethren, in the same way the resurrection (or the last trumpet and the gathering together of the elect as per Mat 24:29-31) and the Son of Man coming with the angels and sitting on the throne of His glory (being the final judgment of the nations as per Mat 26:31-32) ... and the white throne judgement (Rev 21:11-13) were all events promised to come upon ISRAEL before the generation who rejected and killed their Messiah had passed away.
This is what happened in AD 70 as promised to ISRAEL - HISTORY cannot be denied unless we do no bother to read it!
Well some will say "what about Jesus words about THE LAST DAY"?
Firstly Jesus in referring to THE LAST DAY is referring to the culmination of the series of events spoken of by the prophets from Moses to Malachi ...spoken of as the 'latter days' which were promised to ISRAEL under the OLD covenant. (Deut 18:15 &19, Is 2:2, Ezel 38:16, Jer 23:20 and 30:24, Dan 8:17, 10:14 and 12:1-3, Hos 3:5, Joel 2:28 - 32 and Mic 4:1)
Secondly the scriptures teach that 'the last days' started when Jesus arrived (Heb 1:2)...and continued after the resurrection (Acts 2:17)
John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Many assume that this phrase MUST apply to THE very last day of this world. This is not the case as in the following verse we will see it used to mean at the end of a specific time frame..ie the end of a festival (the identical Greek phrase)
John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." NKJV
On the Last Day clearly can be determined to mean "the last day of THIS AGE". Jesus himself confirms in Mat 13:39-41 that the resurrection (ie harvest and gathering) was to take place "AT THE END OF THIS AGE! This same usage is indicated in Mat 24:6, 13 and 14 where Jesus answered a question about the 'end of the age'....with 3 references to 'THE END' only
Jesus tells us clearly of a change that most seem to overlook in regards to the resurrection happening at the last day..
John 11:273 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha said to Him,"I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" NKJV
For those under the Old Covenant who had died already prior to Jesus coming ...and who died after Jesus came and prior to the second coming when the Law of Sin and Death was destroyed...they had to wait in Sheol till the last day before they were all be resurrected (this happened in AD 70 which was the last day of their age... the last day of the Old Covenant when Jesus returned in judgment of Israel). BUT we today (Post AD70) as Gentile believers under the New Covenant NEVER die ... i.e. we are never again separated from the presence and love of God. (Rom 8:31-39)...not even by physical death!
As there is NOW NO DEATH for us (i.e. separation from God) as New Covenant believers, we already have eternal life (Jn 5:24) so we do not need to be resurrected to face a judgment to see if we have been good enough to be rewarded. The Eternal LIFE we now have in our union with Christ is the LIFE of the Spirit of GOD in us which cannot ever end.
RESURRECTION and LIFE arrived in Christ for ALL believers in AD33... there is no more waiting. (Mat 27:52-53 confirms this)
The resurrection at the LAST DAY was something the righteous Jews looked forward to as they waited in Sheol or the grave for the sacrifice of the Lamb of God to be made (Dan 9:24) ...and is what Daniel 12:1-2 promises.
Brethren AD70 was not the LAST Day for the world as a whole or for gentiles and the Church...but it certainly was THE LAST DAY for the Old Covenant age with Israel and Jerusalem and the temple and sacrifices....and Mosaic Torahism being totally destroyed. Today all that is left is Rabbinic Judaism ie no temple, no sacrifices and no priesthood....and therefore only lip-service to festivals.
Gal 4: 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. NKJV
The' fullness of time' is another way of saying...at the last day ...of the Old Covenant.
Note that Daniel 12:7 is emphatic that the 70 sevens (determined for Israel) ENDS on the DESTRUCTION of Jerusalem and the temple.....and Daniel 12:2-3 emphasizes that the resurrection and eternal life are granted to the saints of Israel BEFORE this happened!
The kingdom which Jesus ushered in for the New Covenant is also described in Daniel
Dan 7:13-14
13 "I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed. NKJV
Brethren the CHURCH which is the body of Christ on earth will NEVER be defeated nor will it come to an end. Yes, in some coutries 'church' buildings are being demolished but the Spirit of Christ living in the children of God will always continue increasing (Is 9:6-7)
Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. NKJV
Dan 4:34 For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation. NKJV
(See also Dan 6:26, Dan 7:14 and 27)
Luke 1:32 ..and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." NKJV
Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end ASV
Matt 16:19 ...and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. NKJV
The gates of Hades speak of Christ's death...and even the death of believers on earth ...these will NEVER stop the church (History proves that martyrdom of evangelists has often resulted in explosions of church growth)
2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. NKJV
It is not unreasonable to surmise that churches teach a 'soon coming' END OF THE WORLD because it is seen by many 'in authority' to be a great way to get people to come to faith and a great tool to be able to control the behaviour of the church after that. But after 100's of wrong dates have been set and proclaimed...eventually the church itself has become tarnished for not speaking out against this deception in the eyes of the world ...."You have been wrong so many times about this point ...why should anyone believe you NOW?.... and how can we believe ANYTHING you say?"
The failure to understand the truth about this world NOT ending 'soon' however has crippled successive generations of believers into living without a MULTI-generational focus. i.e. Instead of thinking about what we as believers CAN do to change this world for our children's and grandchildren's futures.....are we not being lured into thinking that there is NO PURPOSE as everything will come to an end 'soon' anyway? ...and that Jesus will sort it all out then?
There are millions of believers worldwide who have decided not to study...or quit successful careers...thereby failing to fulfill their God given roles. Some families have decided not to have children because of fear of the supposedly 'soon' coming tribulation.
Brethren, Jesus is SEATED at the right hand of the Father....He IS victorious... and His work is COMPLETED
Today the simple truth that applies is ...
John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He , you will die in your sins." NKJV
John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. NKJV
But what about the gospel needing to be preached to every nation?.... some will ask
Surely the end cannot come until the gospel was preached in all the world?
Matt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. NKJV
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. NKJV
Paul knew what Jesus had said and answered that this HAD BEEN DONE.....before AD70
Rom 15:19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named NKJV
Rom 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith — 27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. NKJV
Col 1:23 ...if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. NKJV
Brethren, scripturally everything that needed to happen before 'the END' could come, HAD happened before AD 70 .... and the fulfillment was demonstrated when Jerusalem was destroyed and the Law abolished by the destruction of the temple. This is 'THE END' which Jesus and many other prophets said would THEN come (Mat 24:14) (Acts 3:21-24) .... not an event still to happen some 2000 odd years later!
Jesus work is FINISHED for ALL ETERNITY (John 19:30)....and ALL Old Testament prophecies about the 'last days' are fulfilled.
Will a new temple be built in Jerusalem as some claim?
There will be no new temple, there will be no new sacrificial system, there will be no new Levitical or Aaronic priesthood.... Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of ALL of the Old Covenant ... and we as the church today are the TEMPLE....and we are the PRIESTS... and the only sacrifices which God now wants offered are those of praise and thanksgiving!
His enemies including the Jews who rejected Him, together with Satan and sin and death have been defeated and they are now his footstool. (Eph 2:6, Heb 1:13, Heb 2:14-15)
'ALL things written in the Law and the Prophets' were fulfilled when the Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed ... NO prophecies remain 'unfulfilled' (Luke 21:22, 21:32, 24:44)
Now ask yourself this question...
"What is the difference between the unbelieving Jews of Jesus time who rejected Him and had Him killed ... and the unbelieving Jews of today who want to REBUILD the temple in an attempt to re-instate the OLD Covenant sacrifices...as they continue to deny that JESUS who came in the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy is the Lamb of God whose divine and innocent blood was shed for the redemption of the world?"
Today the only salvation that exists for anyone and will ever exist for the Jews again, is the same as is available to ALL who seek God in the whole world ... i.e. by coming to Jesus IN FAITH and receiving the salvation He offers to those who will put their trust in HIM!
Jews today still have the advantage of knowing the promises God made to their nation ... and their history. If they seek they too will see that Yeshua is the Messiah who came and fulfilled these promises in AD70 FOR THEM TOO.