Hello everyone,
I was wondering if there could be also another plan for the end of the world
and not such a cathostrophic one as it seems to be in revelation where everything will burn.
I call this God’s backup plan for the end of the world.
What do you think does the Bible say about this?
Thank you very much and lots of blessings
Dani
There is a school of thought that the Lord will continue to govern the world in such a way that eventually all on earth will be saved, and at that point He will return.
Another cup of Joe and maybe I will remember where I read this.
If I can locate it, J. Marcellus Kik’s book “An Eschatology of Victory” might be the source. Now there is a short, concise, and persuasive presentation of the preterist view that you might enjoy. Of course not everyone agrees with that view - surprise! 
Thanks 
Dani,
You have to remember that Revelation is an apocalypse. I’m not a preterist – maybe a partial-preterist I suppose, as I do believe that the prophesies of Revelation and Jesus’ prophecies in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 have had a partial fulfillment in the fall of Jerusalem. People disagree as to whether Revelation was written before or after that fall (around 70 AD). I’m certainly not in a scholarly position to have any kind of opinion on the question that anyone ought to consider reliable, but reading the scholars I HAVE read, I lean toward the idea of a later date for Revelation.
I have a somewhat higher view of prophesy than those who consider Jesus’ prophecies to refer ONLY to the fall of Jerusalem. It seems to me that this event, though no doubt horrible, is not the pinnacle of human suffering Jesus predicts. Many believe that Revelation was written by John to comfort a church suffering intense persecution, and I don’t doubt that it WAS a comfort. Still, I think there’s more to the book than that. Yes, it is a magnificent picture of Jesus. For me, this is a somewhat mystical thing. One day I was listening to a recording I have of the book of Revelation. I listened to the whole thing, and something strange happened as I listened. It wasn’t like reading it at all. I just listened and let it affect my emotions and I did experience it as a picture of Jesus in His majesty and even in His mercy and love, but I couldn’t tell you why it affected me that way. Nevertheless I don’t think that it is ONLY a picture of Jesus. I believe it is also prophetic in the sense of giving some inkling of the future. The catch for future prophecy, of course, is that it NEVER looks the way you expect it to.
I don’t know what the end will be like, but I don’t think it’s a thing we should live in dread of. Whatever we may go through, whatever the world may go through, it will be okay because God is good and nothing can come to us but what He permits. He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him and (I am convinced, though Paul did not say this in this particular verse), to those He loves. Perfect love casts out all fear, and the perfect love is HIS love. If we understood the perfection of HIS love toward us, we would never fear again.
Love, Cindy
Cindy I’ve long had an idea about the power of the spoken word. Reading is one thing but having something spoken to you vibrates the air, and possibly has other effects. God spoke creation, he didn’t write it. Contemplative prayer is one thing that I think this concept is built around.
Good point, RHM, and very interesting. Contemplative prayer is indeed wonderful and powerful.
This view you speak of, Dave, is called Postmillennialism: “Postmillennialism expects that eventually the vast majority of men living will be saved. Increasing gospel success will gradually produce a time in history prior to Christ’s return in which faith, righteousness, peace, and prosperity will prevail in the affairs of men and of nations. After an extensive era of such conditions Jesus Christ will return visibly, bodily, and gloriously, to end history with the general resurrection and the final judgment after which the eternal order follows.” (WIKI)
Augustine was probably the pioneer of this viewpoint; ironically, however, Augustine is also thought to have championed the amillennial view as well. One reason why the 4th century church adopted postmillennialism was the merger of church and state - when Constantine declared that Christianity was the new religion of the Roman Empire. “Before Constantine it is estimated that only eight to ten per cent of the Empire was Christian. However, as the fourth century neared its end, virtually all identified themselves as Christian. This development lead to a form of victory and optimism about the spread of Christianity and its ability to overcome even a hostile state, like the previously evil Roman Empire.” (Thomas Ice)
A good book discussing the variable options is The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views. Abstract:
This is a very interesting subject. It goes to the very heart of how we understand and interpret scripture.
Stefcui
thanks Stef - I actually think I have that book around here somewhere and have not yet read it. I’ll look around - way too many books in this house. Well, I don’t think there are, but I’m not the only one living here, if you know what I mean.