"It’s the End of the World as We Know It" 

“Do not be alarmed,” Jesus says, “this must happen.” (Mark 13:7)  There’s something about endings that shakes us. The end of something can feel unnerving, right? It can feel like things are slipping out of our hands, and we are left asking, “What will happen now?” As we hear this passage, it seems like one of those moments—the “end of the world” kind of moment. The disciples, looking at the grandeur of the temple, marvelling at it, are shocked when Jesus tells them it will all be thrown down, every stone.          

It’s easy to wonder why Jesus takes this turn in conversation, why he starts talking about things ending, about things coming apart, about “the end of the world.” And yet, as we look closer, we see that Jesus isn’t just talking about the temple or even about things “ending”—he’s talking about hope, change, and transformation.

Living in the Wake of Disruption

One way to understand the disciples’ shock here is to think about what the temple represented. The temple was more than just a building. It was a symbol of stability, a source of identity and pride, a place of worship. It was sacred. It represented the very centre of Jewish life and faith. For Jesus to talk about it being destroyed—that was the end of the world as they knew it. But think about it: hasn’t God, all throughout scripture, disrupted what seems untouchable in order to make room for something new?              

The Bible is filled with moments when the familiar, comfortable things people clung to were stripped away—not as a punishment, but as a doorway to something deeper, richer, more real. Like a seed that has to fall into the ground and die to bring life. When the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, trapped under Pharaoh’s rule, they thought that was all there was—until God set them free through Moses.

And later, when they finally got their land and built the temple, they thought that was the final destination—until they were exiled to Babylon, another ending that was really a beginning. Over and over, God takes his people through disruption to bring them to a greater understanding of His presence and purpose.

And now here’s Jesus, standing before the temple, talking about it being torn down. Maybe what he’s really saying is that God’s work isn’t confined to this building. That there’s something bigger than the temple happening here. That even when the world as we know it ends, there is something more.

What Remains When the Dust Settles

So here’s the question: When the things we thought would last forever are shaken, what do we have left? Jesus says, “Do not be alarmed.” It’s a surprising statement, right? Wars, earthquakes, disasters, and he says, “Don’t be alarmed.” It’s almost like Jesus is saying, “Look beyond what’s breaking.”

The writer of Hebrews calls it “a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28). What would it be like to live as though we are citizens of a kingdom that can’t be shaken? Jesus is inviting us to hold a different kind of perspective. He’s inviting us to hold the temporary things lightly, because he’s doing something that lasts. And sometimes, for us to truly see that, the things we thought would last forever need to be taken down.

An Invitation to Trust

The words “Do not be alarmed” remind us of Jesus’ promise to us, one he makes over and over: “I am with you.” It’s not “I’ll spare you from hardship,” or “I’ll explain everything to you in advance.” It’s “I am with you.”   And that’s why this message is a message of hope. Because God’s presence doesn’t come and go with circumstances. It’s steady. It’s here.

Jesus didn’t just walk with his disciples when things were good. He walked with them through storms, through persecution, through disappointment. It’s like that famous line from Psalm 23, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Jesus is our Good Shepherd, who guides us, who is with us even in the valley. And that’s why Jesus says, “Do not be alarmed”—not because the world won’t ever shake, but because He will be with us through it.

A Kingdom Perspective

Think about it like this: what if we are called to see things differently? Jesus says, “These things must happen,” but then he points forward, saying, “And the gospel must be preached to all nations.” He’s telling his disciples that these endings, this shaking, isn’t the end—it’s a new beginning. This gospel, this good news, is meant to go to everyone. When we hold onto that, we’re seeing from a kingdom perspective, from an eternal perspective. Jesus is saying that God’s mission, God’s love, goes beyond any one structure, any one moment, any one world “as we know it.” It’s a movement that reaches everyone, that transforms lives.              This gospel that’s to be preached is a gospel of hope. A gospel that says, yes, things will change, but God remains. His promises remain. His love endures forever. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Nothing. Not death, not life, not things present, not things to come. Not even the end of the world as we know it.

The World Needs a New Hope

This idea of something coming to an end so something new can begin—it’s woven into our faith, and it’s woven into life. Author and theologian N.T. Wright talks about the way we often think about “heaven” or the “kingdom of God” as something far off, distant. But, he points out, in the Bible, God is always bringing heaven closer. The “new creation” is already breaking into the here and now.

When Jesus speaks of things coming to an end, he’s not talking about destruction for the sake of destruction. He’s talking about something that must be transformed so that God’s love, God’s kingdom, can reach every heart. This is not just the end—it’s the beginning of the real story. God is working to bring us back to wholeness, to life.

Think of how J.R.R. Tolkien described this kind of hope. He called it “eucatastrophe”—the “good catastrophe” that comes right when all seems lost. As we see in the resurrection of Jesus, which was the ultimate “good catastrophe.” It seemed like the end, but it was the beginning of something beyond all hope.

The Invitation for Us Today

The message for us here, as we consider “the end of the world as we know it,” is to ask, “What will I cling to, and what am I willing to let go of?” Jesus is inviting us to let go of anything that doesn’t last and to grab onto what truly matters: God’s presence, God’s promises, God’s mission of love and redemption.

Here’s the truth: we may not know what tomorrow brings. We may see some things around us that feel uncertain, even overwhelming. But here’s what we do know: God is with us. God is for us. God’s love endures forever.

The end of the world as we know it is the beginning of the world as God intends it to be. Let’s believe that God, who began a good work, will be faithful to complete it. And let’s live as people who know that nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from His love. Because that’s the hope Jesus came to give. That’s the hope we carry with us today and every day. And that’s a hope that’s unshakable.