Is it true that on the last day the world will be folded up like a piece of paper and thrown into fire?

Answer: No — there is no verse in the Bible that says the world will be folded up like paper and thrown into fire. The confusion comes from a verse in Isaiah 34:4 which describes cosmic judgment using strong imagery. That verse says:

“All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.”

Notice it mentions “the heavens” (the sky), not the earth or the world. And it uses a metaphor — “rolled up like a scroll” — not literally folding paper in our modern sense.

In ancient times, scrolls were rolled up when their message was complete. That image communicates that God’s current order of things will come to an end. It does not literally say the earth will be folded like paper and thrown into fire.

What does the Bible say about the end times?

In the New Testament, similar imagery is used in Revelation and Matthew to describe signs associated with the end:

Revelation 6:12–14 (NIV)

“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.”

This passage is part of a vision of judgment that uses symbolic language to describe cosmic upheaval. It says the heavens will recede like a scroll being rolled up — not that the earth will be folded like paper and thrown into fire.

Matthew 24:29–30 (NIV)

“Immediately after the distress of those days… the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”

Here Jesus describes the dramatic changes in the sky that will accompany His return — again emphasizing cosmic signs rather than literal folding of the planet or the earth being thrown into fire.

So what is the meaning of the “heavens rolled up like a scroll”?

• The Bible uses vivid symbolic language to describe the end times — including the heavens and stars being dramatically altered or removed.
• The phrase “rolled up like a scroll” is an ancient metaphor indicating the conclusion of God’s present order, not a literal folding of physical paper or the earth.
• These images are part of a larger context of judgment and God’s ultimate renewal of creation 

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