If Ecclesiastes 1:4 says "the earth remains forever," then the idea that the physical planet will be destroyed at the end contradicts what scripture plainly states. The verse emphasizes the continuity of the earth across generations, while people come and go, the earth stays.

Futurists often point to verses like 2 Peter 3:10 to argue for a literal destruction of the earth, but that misunderstands the symbolic language of judgment. Peter is quoting Old Testament imagery (like Isaiah 34:4 and Jeremiah 4:23-28), which used cosmic collapse to describe covenantal judgment, not planetary annihilation.

Ecclesiastes 1:4 aligns with Psalm 104:5, which says God "established the earth upon its foundations, so that it will not totter forever and ever." Both affirm the lasting nature of the earth under God's design.

So the idea of the planet being destroyed isn't biblical, it's a misreading of symbolic prophetic language. The "burning" of heavens and earth refers to the passing of the old covenant world, not the physical globe.