The Certain Expansion of the Universe
Scientists believe our universe eventually will come to and end. In 1929, Edwin Hubble discovered with his telescope that all galaxies are moving farther and farther away from each other, which came to be called “the expansion of the universe.” In the 1990s, scientists thought this expansion of the universe was “accelerating”, indicating that the universe would grow colder and colder and end in what they called “the Big Chill.”
The Decelerating Expansion of the Universe?
But now, astronomer professors in South Korea have produced a paper that shows this expansion is not accelerating, but slowing. And this is affirmed independently by the influential Desi consortium. This supposed discovery occurred by analyzing supernovae, which are exploding stars. Professor Young-Wook Lee of Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, explains, “Our study shows that the universe has already entered a phase of decelerated expansion at the present epoch and that dark energy evolves with time much more rapidly than previously thought.”
All of this has caused a tense debate among cosmologists. And it concerns the status of dark energy. Discovered in 1998, dark energy was thought to be causing this expansion to accelerate. But according to this paper, dark energy is weakening, which would allow for the universe’s expansion to decelerate. Cosmologists say that a decelerating of the expansion of the universe indicates it eventually will collapse upon itself by returning to its origin of the Big Bang, which they call “the Big Crunch.” (See my recent blog post, “Study Says Universe Will End in a Big Crunch in 20B Years.”)
The Bible’s Predictions of the End of the Universe
The Bible repeatedly predicts that the universe will have a climatic ending. But it will surely be much sooner than these cosmologists estimate. And the New Testament says that at that time, the risen and heavenly-exalted Jesus will return to earth. Here’s what Jesus said about it in his Olivet Discourse delivered only to his apostles apparently two or three days before his arrest, crucifixion, and death. He said, “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man,” referring to himself, “will appear in heaven, … and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24.29-30 NRSV).
No One Knows the Day or the Hour
Jesus also said in that discourse, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,” again referring to himself, “but only the Father,” referring to God (Matthew 24.36). Notice that Jesus said “the day or the hour.” I believe that as civilization gets closer to that ending of the universe, people who know end times Bible prophecy will be aware that the time for the end is near.
But it won’t be only people. The author of the Bible’s book of Revelation says that when about 3.5 years remain before the end of the universe, he “who is called the Devil and Satan … knows that his time is short,” meaning the time of his judgment and his being chained and cast into “the bottomless pit” at the ending of the universe (Revelation 12.9, 12; 20.1). How Satan will know this is speculation. Is it because of these biblical prophecies or his understanding of cosmology?
God Will Make All Things New
But the universe ending, or the biblical expression “the end of the world,” has often been misunderstood. It is really a great transformation of the universe, including the earth, that God will accomplish. That is when God says, “See, I am making all things new.” There will be “a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Revelation 21.5, 1). In all of these biblical texts, I believe the word “heaven” should be translated “heavens,” thus referring to the universe.
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