A woman dying of cancer struggles for relief. A paraplegic child longs for a cure. Parents worry about their son’s safety on the battleground. A long waiting list for a new heart or liver. Traffic accidents, burning buildings, overloaded prisons, a choking environment. All these factors cause us to long for a new world where sin, suffering, and sickness will be gone. We want this world to end because life is not the way it should be, and we have promises from God that he will fix everything in his time (Revelation 21:1-7).
When a Christian wishes for the end of the world, he wants Christ to return and end all corrupt earthly authority so that he will reign righteously. Eventually, the earth and creation will melt away in fire (2 Peter 3:19-13), then God will create a new heaven and new earth, and all evil and sin and sickness will be gone forever.
In the case of the world, its end will give way to a new beginning.
What Do You Think?
a. Some terminally ill people want to end their lives early because they have no reason to go on living. What would you say to them to encourage them to hang on to life to the end?
b. Is an assisted death the same as murder?
c. On one side of the world people live in luxury. On the other side are people suffering from malnutrition and war. Which group would have a greater reason to look forward for a new world? What would distract you from eagerly anticipating a better life in the next world?
