End of the World 2012 Why It Can't Happen

In this video I'm going to be sharing with you some information on the end of the world and I want to look at some scriptures that perhaps you may or may not have considered but also to try to understand them in context. As you know there's been a lot of talk about the end of the world. We have the May 21st 2011 prophecy by Harold Camping and of course a lot of people were distraught over that. A lot of them were in fear. There were a few who committed suicide and there were others who were just totally unaware and who do not know what the Bible says about the end of the world. And there was also another prediction because that one failed in October. Well 2012 is coming up and we want to look at what's on the horizon for 2012. As you know there's the prediction of the Mayan calendar at least so called and you also have others who are prophesying that the end of the world is going to take place in 2012. So what we want to do in this study is look at some passages that talk about the end of the world not from the perspective that it's going to end but from the perpetuation of the world as far as the geophysical world is concerned. And let me say that in the series of these studies as I mentioned before we're going to be talking about three primary things. Number one we're going to point out the fact that God never prophesied the end of the geophysical world. He never did so. He did talk about the end of the world and we'll talk about that in a moment. He also sealed up vision and prophecy meaning that the office of the prophet the office of prophecy has now been closed for some time almost for two millennia and in addition to that when God does talk about the end of the world what he talks about is the transition or covenantal transition not the end of the geophysical world. So let's go ahead and get into our study for the next few minutes and this will just be a prelude of the part one of a three part series that we're going to cover on this particular topic. So let's begin. First of all I'd like for us to look at Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 35 through 37 so that we can see where the Bible does in fact talk about the fact that the world is going to continue. He says thus says the Lord who gives the sun for light by day the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night who disturbs the sea and its waves roar the Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from before me says the Lord then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before me forever. Thus says the Lord if heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done says the Lord now we have a passage here in Jeremiah 31 verses 35 to 37 that many appeal to to talk about the perpetuation of the nation of Israel that Israel is going to continue as a nation and the undergirding and the underpinning the foundation of Israel's continuation is the ordinance of God concerning the sun and the moon and the stars. He says if the ordinances of the moon and the stars that he's given for a light by day and night and all of these things he says if they were to depart he says then the seed of Israel would cease to be a nation before me and so there's what that's why many people particularly those who are dispensationalist will tell us that God has promised that Israel is always going to be a nation. Well I think what has happened here is we've got a little bit of confusion going on because people have not taken the time to read the context that we find here in Jeremiah 31. Let's begin not at verse 35 but let's also take notice of what God said in verse 31 where he talks about the fact that he was going to make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. The Bible says behold the days are coming says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt which my covenant they broke says the Lord even though I was a husband to them but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people no more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother saying know the Lord for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more. Now how can we ignore the context of Jeremiah 31 in dealing with this passage that talks about the nation of Israel will continue. God said that he was going to make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah and this covenant is not going to be according to the old covenant that is it is not going to be according to Torah. Now if the covenant is not going to be according to Torah then how can it be the covenant which establishes or perpetuates Israel as a nation. If their covenant is removed and the priesthood according to Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 11 was the foundation of the law if it was the foundation of Torah when God changed the priesthood by changing the covenant from the Levitical priesthood to that of the tribe of Judah under Christ then he has changed Torah he has changed the basis upon which Israel approached him through the old covenant that is a very very critical point now it still raises the question of has God cast off his people and we are going to talk about that but before we get to that point let's go ahead and follow through on this concept remember when Jesus made the statement in Matthew chapter 26 and the verse is 28 he says well this cup is the new testament in my blood which is shed for many for the remission of sins now here is Jesus saying that the new covenant is shed in his blood now that is contrary to the old covenant that was shed and ratified by the blood of bulls and goats which Hebrews 10 and verse 4 says it was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sin ok now that being the case let's look at what the writers in the new testament do with the text in Hebrews with the text in Jeremiah 31 and how they apply it so our question is do they apply it for the perpetuation of national Israel or do they apply it as the new covenant through Christ in which he brings about a new people a new relationship and we believe that that is exactly the case for example when we look at Hebrews chapter 8 beginning at verse 6 this context of Jeremiah 31 is prefaced with the statement which says but now speaking of Christ he has obtained a more excellent ministry in as much as he is also the mediator of a new or a better covenant which was established upon better premises so one we have this comparative difference between Torah and between the new covenant and the Bible says that Jesus has established a new covenant he has a more excellent ministry in that it is established upon better premises it is a better covenant for if the first covenant had been thoughtless then no place would have been sought for the second in other words if Torah were just fine the way it was if it was intended to perpetuate Israel national Israel and the temple and the rituals the sacrifices etc the Levitical priesthood if it were intended to do all of that God would never have made a provision to change the old covenant to transition from Torah but he says because finding fault with them he says behold the days are coming says the Lord and here is the quote from Jeremiah so what the Bible does and what the apostles do is they take the text in Jeremiah which people are affirming to refer to the perpetuation of national Israel and they apply it to the new covenant with Christ he said behold the days are coming says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah interesting he is quoting from Jeremiah not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to leave them out of the land of Egypt which my covenant they broke says the Lord even though I was a husband to them for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah after those days he says I will put my laws in their mind write them on their hearts and I will be to them a God and they shall be my people none of them shall teach his brother or his neighbor saying know the Lord for they all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them for I will be merciful to their iniquities or to their unrighteousness and their sins or their lawless deeds will I remember no more in that he says a new covenant he has made the first obsolete he has rendered it obsolete now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready or has drawn near to vanishing in other words God says that covenant is on its way out when he wrote this in the first century somewhere to the early to mid sixties in terms of the writing of the book of Hebrews he says the old covenant was already on its way out in other words Torah was being set aside therefore God was setting aside the covenant that established national Israel now if this is the covenant the new covenant that is that is made for the people of God and that covenant is made through Christ then we cannot argue for the perpetuation of national Israel based on Torah we've got to see that what this perpetuation was in Jeremiah thirty one was the perpetuation of the new people of God of the true seed of Israel now when we talk about the seed of Israel the Bible says in Genesis chapter twenty two in verse eighteen also again in Galatians chapter three and the verses sixteen when it talks about in you shall all families of the earth be blessed that's that's Genesis twelve in verse three but again in Genesis twenty two eighteen he says in Isaac shall your seed be called because you have obeyed my voice well he was talking about the Lord Jesus Christ in Galatians chapter three in the verses sixteen he says and he said not unto seeds plural as of many but as of one unto thy seed which is Christ so what he's saying is is that it was only the one seed now when we take a look at the following verses in Galatians the Bible says there's neither Jew nor Greek there's neither bond nor free there's neither male nor female well you're all one and that one goes back to its antecedent the word seed in the context you're all one seed in Christ and if you are Christ then are you Abraham seed and heirs according to the promise so then the true seed of Abraham true Israel is established through Christ and it is that Israel that God says he would not cast off in other words Christ is the one who is from the nation of Israel that continues because he obeyed God and because he fulfilled the promises Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes Romans ten verse four now then with that information let's take a look at Romans chapter eleven in verse one and we'll see exactly what Paul said when he talked about the nation of Israel being cast off and he demonstrate that God had not cast off his people but he didn't say so based upon Torah he said it based upon those who were the believing remnant who had accepted the covenant of Jesus Christ he says I say then has God cast away his people certainly not I for I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham and of the tribe of Benjamin God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew or do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah how he pleads with God against Israel saying Lord they have killed your prophets torn down your altars and I alone am left and they seek my life and so he says even so verse five at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace and if by grace it is no longer of works otherwise grace is no longer grace so what he's saying here is that God's new people are those who accept accept Christ through the gospel of Jesus Christ and therefore that is how God perpetuates Israel and how Israel does not cease from being a nation you see what he has now is a holy nation a holy priesthood who calls forth his praises through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ first Peter chapter two verses nine and ten now with that in mind we see therefore that God has stated that as long as the sun and the moon and the lights of the heavenlies as long as those ordinances continue there will be no end of the world there is no end of the seed of Israel first John two seventeen he says the world is passing away but those who do the will of God shall last forever or shall continue forever now let's take Psalm eighty nine as we begin to wrap up our study for today in Psalm eighty nine we have another passage that talks about the continuation of Israel and or the continuation of the people of God and particularly of Christ himself who is by the way the true seed of Israel for references on that you might want to look at Hosea chapter eleven and verse one where he says out of Egypt have I called my son and then we look at the parallel to that in Matthew the second chapter but more particularly as we look at the eighty ninth Psalm let's notice what the text says in verse thirty four he says my covenant I will not break nor alter the word which has gone forth or gone out of my lips once I have sworn by my holiness I will not lie to David his seed shall endure forever his throne as the sun before me it shall be established forever like the moon even like the faithful witness in the sky now if we couple this text together with what has been stated in Jeremiah we can see that the seed and that the one that the text is really focused on is on Christ who is the true seed of Israel he is Israel and the one through whom and by whom Israel is determined through the new covenant the Bible says once I have sworn by my holiness I will not lie to David his seed shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before me now if we're going to argue for the end of the world if we're going to say that this passage teaches the end of the geophysical world the end of the sun the moon and the luminaries in the heavens wouldn't it also have to mean that the seed would also cease wouldn't it also mean that the throne of Christ would come to an end wouldn't it also mean that Christ himself would come to an end because it says his seed shall endure forever well we've established the fact that Christ is the one and the only seed of Abraham all others are determined as the one seed through him if we're going to eliminate the seed we're going to eliminate Christ if we're going to end the world we're going to end Christ it doesn't make any sense whenever God speaks about the physical world he talks about it as an enduring world and he bases even our spiritual inheritance and the kingdom of God on that fact but in addition to that here's what he says about the kingdom and about the government of Christ in Isaiah chapter 9 and the verse is 7 he says of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end now there's a lot of controversy on what the word forever means in this context and what it means in another context but here's a very clear statement that says of the increase of his government and that is his kingdom that is the gospel that is the rule by which he governs the kingdom he says there will be no end when God intended for something not to have an end he just told us very plainly it has no end and so I'm suggesting to you that when God says it has no end and he says that it would endure that is the throne of God would endure as the sun and the moon before him what conclusion can we reach other than the fact that the sun and moon have no end he says upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with justice or with judgment and justice from that time forward even forever the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this that's also found in Luke chapter 1 31 through 33 so I would suggest to you that you look very carefully in the scriptures and I've only touched a few of the passages which suggests that the geophysical world the material world in which we live in is never going to come to an end at least if we accept God's word on the continuation of Christ on the continuation of his throne which has no end and on the continuation of the spiritual seed of Israel who are determined through Christ I suggest to you that we don't have to worry about the year 2012 or the year 2112 or any of those years that people will be on this earth because God has made a very clear statement in his word of the increase of his government will be no end if it endures as the sun and the moon before him it's got to mean that the sun and the moon will have no end we'll be back in our next study where we're going to talk about the office of prophecy being sealed up and having ceased and that just simply means that those who are out there prophesying to you that the world is going to come to an end and they've got a very poor success rate don't you think a very horrible success rate they've never gotten the prophecy right in all the years that they've been prophesying and the reason is because of the things that I've just shared with you there is no such thing as the end of the physical world in the Bible and more and more people need to see that I want to suggest to you that you visit our website at www.allthingswillfeel.com also take the time to leave us a comment and send us your questions we'll be happy to answer them I hope that you'll be encouraged by this and particularly for those who are in fear and who are very concerned about whether or not the world is going to come to an end that you can lay those fears you can have the confidence in knowing that God has given you a gospel and given you the peace through the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that if you'll just trust in him if you'll obey his word if you'll accept him your life will be a total blessing I'm William Bell with www.allthingswillfeel.com thank you