There are many different thoughts about this. Many are sponsored by doctrinal teachings. Some believe that the earth will be destroyed by fire and that there will be a new earth. Some believe that heaven will come to earth. That Jesus will return and forever the Kingdom of God will be on earth.

Some believe that there will be a collision in the universe, or that the atmosphere will not sustain life on our planet after many more years.

And well, what do you believe and why?

I don't even know what I believe any more, otherwise I would share too.

OD

I think our abuse of the environment, and the quest for the almighty buck, which is stopping us from fixing our mistakes, will eventually lead to our destruction.

I guess it depends whether you mean will the world end or will the world as we know it end.

Like Ty says, our abuse of the environment may screw things up for us pretty badly, and might even make humanity extinct. That would be a very bad thing for us, but not necessarily a bad thing for the planet. Mother Earth has been around a long time, and seen a lot of mass extinctions. We'll just be the latest in a long line of them.

Something like an asteroid collision could wipe out the biosphere, but not physically destroy the planet. It would have to be a very large object - planet sized - to physically shatter Earth.

Eventually the Earth will probably be consumed by fire when the Sun swells up, and that's about five billion years away. The Earth may be plucked out of her orbit before then by a passing star when the Andromeda galaxy comes to pay us a visit in about two billion years time, though it's unlikely.

I'll chime in on the abuses from us hurting this earth, but the destruction for my two cents worth will be down the road when we are hit by something which throws us into a path to get burned up by the sun.

We will pummel ourselves into a Nuclear Winter I say....the Earth may run out of resources before then but the way we are heading in technology we might be able to survive without most of them.

The world ends for someone somewhere every day !

or a lot of people each day Nims.................

Mags and Nim, that is pure wisdom you speak.

OD

I say the earth is going to have one HUGE FART one day and pass all those bad gases we have given her..... ;o)

I thought the world 'trumpeted' on a fairly regular basis with the gases escaping via the mouths of politicians.............................