God Created the Earth and Will Destroy It
There can be no thousand-year reign of Jesus on the earth when He returns if there is no earth. Does the Bible teach that when He comes again that this earth will cease to be? If it is destroyed, then that theory of the millennial reign of Jesus is false. Recently, we looked at 2 Peter 3:9-10, which clearly states that the entire earth, even the elements from which it is made, will be destroyed. Look at the following passages which also show this truth.
Goodbye Earth
Jesus also clearly states this earth will come to an end. Look at what our Lord said in His Sermon on the Mount. He contrasted the abiding nature of every jot or tittle of the law with the future of this earth. He affirmed that “…heaven and earth will pass away” (Matt. 5:18). The opening words of the Bible describe how God created the heaven and the earth. In the opening public discourse of Jesus, He affirmed that the time would come when the same heaven and earth would pass away.
Near the end of His life, Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives and again affirmed that God’s plan was for heaven and earth to come to an end. As He affirmed in the Sermon on the Mount the abiding nature of the Old Testament, He affirmed the abiding nature of His New Testament. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matt. 24:35). He was the One through whom the heaven and earth were created (John 1:3), and He knew their destiny. Heaven and earth will pass away! Jesus said they would, and that should settle the matter for all mankind.
The book of Hebrews describes the destiny of the earth. “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up…” (Heb. 1:10-12). The earth is growing old like our garments, and like we fold garments up when they have fulfilled their purpose, so God will fold this earth up when it has fulfilled its purpose. It will perish!
What will He do with this earth? Look at the passage again. It will perish. What does perish mean? This Greek word destroy is the same word used in the action of Herod in his attempt to kill Jesus when He was an infant (Matt. 2:13). It is used to describe what the Pharisees wanted to do with Jesus (Matt. 12:14). Jesus used this same word to describe what the Roman army would do when Jerusalem was destroyed (Matt. 21:41).
If there is no earth after He returns, there can be no place for the millennium. The Bible clearly shows that God who made the earth will destroy it. There will be no earth!