You asked: When will the world end?

A: This is a great question and one that many of us think about now and then. Here’s something to think about when thinking about the end of the world:

115:3.17 Statics in growth can never appear in the total cosmos since the basis for growth—the absolute actuals—is unqualified, and since the possibilities for growth—the absolute potentials—are unlimited. From a practical viewpoint the philosophers of the universe have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as an end.

From a circumscribed view there are, indeed, many ends, many terminations of activities, but from a larger viewpoint on a higher universe level, there are no endings, merely transitions from one phase of development to another. The major chronicity of the master universe is concerned with the several universe ages, the Havona, the superuniverse, and the outer universe ages. But even these basic divisions of sequence relationships cannot be more than relative landmarks on the unending highway of eternity.

Many of us have been taught from an early age that the end of the world is a possibility; the Bible predicts it and religions have fostered the idea that man in his wickedness will cause this to occur through his own actions or as a result of Divine wrath. But is it true?

The idea of “divine wrath” is completely inconsistent with the portrayal of the heavenly Father that we see in the life nd teachings of Jesus – and in the revelations of the nature and character of the Father that we read elsewhere in its pages, too.

The Urantia Book was given to us as a means of spiritual upliftment and progress that is destined to inform us for the next thousand years. Christ Michael of Nebadon chose our dark little world as the stage upon which to enact the revelation of the Father, and we are told that: “Only one world in near ten million can enjoy such a gift.” Given these two facts, it seems unlikely that our world will end any time soon.

It is true that, with the advancement of the unimaginably destructive powers that mankind has discovered, we might have the capacity to anihillate ourselves or irrevocably destroy the planet and its life-giving protection – still, it seems unlikely. We are told that Urantia is “quivering on the very brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs of social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment.” These possibilities do not include total destruction, although all of these social, moral, and spiritual advancements are certainly fraught with some amount of danger, perhaps.

But we are also told that: “A new and fuller revelation of the religion of Jesus is destined to conquer an empire of materialistic secularism and to overthrow a world sway of mechanistic naturalism.” It is for this purpose that we must maintain hope for a bright future. It is for this purpose that The Urantia Book has been given to us.

In its pages, we also learn of our destiny in the future as a salvaged planet that can achieve the stages of Light and Life. In this future stage of our development, our world will become stabilized in preparation for joining with all other worlds in our system. That is the plan.

It is hard to imagine that our world will ever end, although we do now possess the capacity to make such a thing a reality; nevertheless, mankind itself will never be eradicated. There is in place a technique for relocation of the human race, should the physical condition of the planet be made uninhabitable. That technique is described HERE.

And who knows? We learn in The Urantia Book that our world is not progressing normally, due to the contributing factor s of the Lucifer rebellion, the default of Adam and Eve, and the interrupted mission of Jesus; nevertheless, we now have the sure antidote for all the world’s ills in our hands:

170:4.14 Remember that the order of progressive evolution is subjected to sudden and unexpected periodical changes in both the material and the spiritual worlds. The bestowal of Jesus as an incarnated Son was just such a strange and unexpected event in the spiritual life of the world. Neither make the fatal mistake, in looking for the age manifestation of the kingdom, of failing to effect its establishment within your own souls.

We may as a planet, be subject to more “strange and unexpected” events in our future, but if we as individuals progress in the Spirit, we ultimately have nothing to fear. Jesus said:

176:3.2 What more shall I say? The downfall of nations, the crash of empires, the destruction of the unbelieving Jews, the end of an age, even the end of the world, what have these things to do with one who believes this gospel, and who has hid his life in the surety of the eternal kingdom? You who are God-knowing and gospel-believing have already received the assurances of eternal life. Since your lives have been lived in the spirit and for the Father, nothing can be of serious concern to you. Kingdom builders, the accredited citizens of the heavenly worlds, are not to be disturbed by temporal upheavals or perturbed by terrestrial cataclysms. What does it matter to you who believe this gospel of the kingdom if nations overturn, the age ends, or all things visible crash, since you know that your life is the gift of the Son, and that it is eternally secure in the Father? Having lived the temporal life by faith and having yielded the fruits of the spirit as the righteousness of loving service for your fellows, you can confidently look forward to the next step in the eternal career with the same survival faith that has carried you through your first and earthly adventure in sonship with God.