The bible says the earth will be here forever but?

Question

Could man catch him off guard and the earth be destroyed in a nuclear war? As more countries get the bomb, the likelyhood of that happening seems more real. Some are saying that God will destroy the earth by fire. Zeph. where there tongues rot in thier mouth while they are still on there feet. Sounds pretty much like nuclear weapons.

Answer 1

I think this should answer your question.

According to Bible prophecy, before mankind can ever enjoy enduring peace, a world destruction must first take place. (2 Peter 3:5-7) But why is that necessary? From where does the destruction come? And what does it mean for humans on this planet?
First we need to understand that the world destruction the Bible foretells is not the same as the global catastrophe that many world leaders, scientists, and others are warning about. The calamity they talk about would come in the form of some man-made disaster brought on by such things as pollution or the nuclear arms race, or both. But, of course, such a catastrophe would leave no hope for lasting peace and security on this planet.
Earth would be ruined for living creatures. For example, nuclear radiation or the speculated “nuclear winter” would leave survivors no better off—if not worse off—than those who had died. Survival would be largely a matter of chance, though the poor would likely be among the first to suffer. What hope would you have of being among the survivors of such a catastrophe? And even if you did survive, what hope would there be that life would not drift back into the same strife-ridden uncertainty that now prevails?
What makes the world destruction that the Bible foretells different is that it will be selective, purposeful. It will not be some calamity that comes just as the culmination of man-made blunders. Rather than bring death indiscriminately, it will efface from the earth only those who really deserve to be destroyed. This kind of world destruction is in agreement with the divine principle at Proverbs 2:21, 22: “For the upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.”
What, then, will be destroyed? Many think the Bible predicts the total burning up of the planet Earth and everything on it. But this is not the case. Jesus Christ himself said: “Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) Surely that ‘inheritance’ is not to be a burned-up, lifeless cinder! The Bible also gives God’s definite assurance that the earth will remain forever as a place for people to live.—Psalm 104:5; Isaiah 45:18; Matthew 6:9, 10.
In harmony with this, the Bible speaks of survivors who will remain on earth after that “great tribulation” has passed. Jesus Christ said that “just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be.” When global destruction took place in Noah’s time there were also survivors.—Matthew 24:21, 37; 2 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 7:9, 10, 13, 14.
What is to be destroyed? It is the worldwide system of things that men have built up on earth—along with all those who uphold it rather than look to God and his promised rule for the earth. (Psalm 73:27, 28) That is why the phrase “the end of the world,” found in some Bible translations, is more accurately rendered in other Bibles as “the end of the age” (NE), “the conclusion of the age” (Ro), “the conclusion of the system of things” (NW).—Matthew 24:3.
The source of the coming world destruction will be—not men—but Jehovah God. The modern blights of pollution, famine, nuclear terror, and similar things that have resulted from human ignorance, error, and corruption are not what will cause the destruction. Instead, these are proof of the selfishness and utter failure of the present world system. They provide just cause for Jehovah God to do away with that system completely. He promises to take such action before ever the present world reaches a state of collapse or carries out its own self-destruction. (Revelation 11:17, 18)

2 Peter 3:7, according to the King James Version, says: “The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” And in Revelation 21:1, it states: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away.” So should we understand these scriptures?
If Peter’s words are to be taken literally and the planet Earth is to be consumed by real fire, then the literal heavens—the stars and the other heavenly bodies—are also to be destroyed by fire. This view, however, conflicts with the assurance found at such scriptures as Matthew 6:10: “Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth,” and Psalm 37:29: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” Furthermore, what effect would fire have on the already intensely hot sun and stars, which produce nuclear explosions continuously?
On the other hand, the Bible often uses the term “earth” in a figurative sense. For example, Genesis 11:1 says: “Now all the earth continued to be of one language.” Here, the word “earth” refers to mankind in general, or human society. (See also 1 Kings 2:1, 2; 1 Chronicles 16:31.) The context of 2 Peter 3:5, 6 implies the same figurative use of “earth.” It refers to Noah’s day when a wicked human society was destroyed in the Flood but Noah and his household as well as the globe itself were preserved. (Genesis 9:11) Likewise, at 2 Peter 3:7, it says that the ones to be destroyed are “ungodly men.” This view agrees with the rest of the Bible. The wicked society earmarked for desolation is also “the former earth” referred to at Revelation 21:1, quoted earlier.

The scripture you mentioned about tongues rotting etc which is in Zechariah 14:12,13 is also referring to the destruction of the system of things but is not necessarily literal, also it is only directed against god’s enemies and is not indiscriminate such as a nuclear attack would be.

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In answer to your other questions

Jesus' answer regarding resurrected ones getting married in the new system was only about those who would be resurrected and not people in general (when the woman with seven husbands gets resurrected which one would she be married to?)

Would resurrected people be reunited with former marriage mates?
No statement in the Bible indicates that this will be the case. The Scriptures definitely show that death dissolves the marriage. Romans 7:2, 3 reads: “A married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is alive; but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the law of her husband . . . so that she is not an adulteress if she becomes another man’s.”

Hence, if a person chooses to remarry now, he does not have to worry about the effect this might have on a resurrected mate in the future. If singleness is not for him, he does not have to struggle to maintain it in the hope of being reunited in marriage with his former mate in the resurrection. Surely, then, it was a kindness on God’s part not to require former marriage relationships to be in force at the time of a person’s resurrection, as the Sadducees erroneously thought.

But apart from that there isn't anything to say that people won't be getting married as per usual in the new system.

As for me? yes I am a JW, I decided that that was what I wanted to be when I was 17, I was born the day Elvis Presley died, I'll let you do the calculation!

Frax.

Answer 2

I have not read the bible saying that the earth will be here forever. But a nuclear war will not destroy the earth. It will destroy the people, but the earth will still be here.
However, the sun, the sun will one day become a giant. I mean it will get really big. Once it goes super nova it will expand through the 93 million mile distance between us now and engulf the earth. In the heat of the sun the earth will be totally destroyed. So the earth will be gone some day.
I don't know if I answered you question, mostly because the syntax is a little strange, but I hope this gave you a head start.
b

Answer 3

I'm not sure about the earth being here forever,Jesus said "heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away" The bible also mentions there will be a NEW heaven and NEW earth.I agree with you about Zeph .If that's not describing a nuke nothing is, and that was written 4 thousand years ago! (another one of those coincidences atheists talk about lol)

Answer 4

Nuclear war will destroy life 'as we know it', it wouldn't destroy the earth but all that is on it.......

When somebody has been abused it requires time to recover....
When a motor has been abused(uncared for) it breaks down, when it has an accident it requiring fixing, each year it requires maintenance........

I'd say our planet earth is just the same as above-how well we care for our planet, how we abuse our planet will have an effect-but like all the above, time heals and repairs are made in that time of rest

Answer 5

I don't remember the Bible saying the earth would be here forever. I do remember a passage that says, the heavens and the earth shall pass, but My Word shall remain. Revelation gets in to a new earth and a new Jerusalem, but......I just can't go there right now, I just wanted to address your statement.

Answer 6

In Revelation 21 John sees a new Heaven and Earth. I don't know that there enough nukes to destroy the earth, but it could be inhabitable.

Answer 7

The earth is made of many elements and they can not be destroyed.
They can how ever be change in their forms.
Take this in to your thinking and you come up with the answer. That we or god can only destroy man kinds environment.
Note that the world is only one part in the cosmos.

Answer 8

Let's say by a stroke of luck we will survive our own lunacy, Earth won't last forever. Either way, man made destruction or physics Earth will be gone soon. In essence the bible is correct about the apocalypse.

Answer 9

No, when the Bible said that God will destroy the earth by fire, it meant He would cause all the elements to be burned up. Yup, that's it.

God bless you!

Answer 10

Shell, my sweet girl, Read more. Let go of the bible for awhile. Research! Think! Learn about ALL religions and beliefs. Some one has to be wrong...Right?? Make up your own mind after you have educated yourself. Fight the art of brain-washing!!