Question: In the light of such scriptures as Revelation 20:11, II Peter 3:7-14, and Mark 13:31, please explain Psalm 104:5, which says, “Who [God] laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.”
Answer: First, let us get these scriptures set forth. Revelation 20:11 says, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” I will not insert all of II Peter 3:7-14, but just the verses that apply directly to this question. Verse 7 says, “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” Verses 10-12 say, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” In Mark 13:31, Jesus said “Heaven and earth shall pass away:…”
There is one established law for interpreting Scripture which is known as “The unanimity of faith.” What that means is that any text on any given subject must be interpreted in harmony with every other text in the entire canon of Scripture on that same subject. If we find any text on the subject which contradicts our interpretation of a given scripture, we can be sure we have missed the mark somewhere. There are certainly no contradictions in the Scriptures when we understand them properly. II Timothy 2:13 says that God remaineth faithful and cannot deny Himself. And that is just exactly what He would be doing if He taught one thing in any part of the Scripture and a contradictory thing in some other part.
In this question we do have an apparent contradiction. Mark 13:31 says that “Heaven and earth shall pass away:…” and Psalm 104:5 says the earth shall “…not be removed for ever.” Mark 13:31 is a direct statement of Jesus Himself; therefore, it cannot be gainsaid or tampered with. I therefore set upon it as an anchor text and that it establishes beyond all doubt that the earth will pass away. Then applying the fixed law of “Unanimity of faith” we will have to find grounds for making Psalm 104:5 harmonize with what Jesus said in Mark 13:31.
In Cruden’s Concordance, at the top of his references of “for ever” he inserts this note: “Many believe that the words for ever or everlasting are not to be taken as synonymous with eternal, as being without end, but to be understood merely as meaning a very long time, to be left indeterminate. There seems to be a considerable amount of argument in favor of this in many cases, but it is not safe to conclude that it always should be limited.” Matthew Henry, in his commentary, comments at this place, “To the end of time.” With us in general and from time immemorial, the term “for ever” has been used as applying to the duration of a thing or to its termination.
I will insert some Scripture where “for ever” is used which in no way possible could be interpreted as referring to eternal or without end.
In Genesis 43:9, Judah said to his father, Jacob, concerning his youngest brother, Benjamin, “I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever.” Again in Genesis 44:32, Judah said to his brother, Joseph, in regard to Benjamin again, “For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.” In both of these texts referring to the same thing, it is clear beyond question that the term “for ever” could not possibly refer to eternal or without end, because neither Judah nor his father would live that long or be bearing blame in eternity.
In Exodus 21:5-6, it says, “And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.” This would clearly refer to the remainder of his life and not eternally without end.
Leviticus 25:23 says, “The land shall not be sold for ever:…” Again “for ever” in this text would refer to the termination of a specified period because land is not bought and sold in eternity.
This could go on and on with this kind of scripture, but it is not necessary. This is sufficient to establish the fact that the term “for ever” is used quite generally throughout the Old Testament scriptures as referring to the duration or termination of any specified period of time, or a very long time.
But what about Psalm 104:5? It says the earth shall not be removed for ever. Well, when it runs head-on into our anchor text that the earth shall pass away (Jesus Himself said this in Mark 13:31), then we have to make Psalm 104:5, agree with what Jesus said because He is the supreme authority. But in view of the above texts and the general, common use of the term “for ever” in the Scriptures, this is not a very big problem. It will only be a problem to some folks who are hung up on some private interpretation to support some private doctrine. And all of these texts, and many more, give support to Matthew Henry’s commentary at this place (Psalm 104:5) that “for ever” means “To the end of time.”
