I noticed that the water sounded like it was always heating, and this morning I realized that the water meter was spinning like crazy. I believe the water heater may be gone.
Does anyone have any idea, or ever experienced this problem?

I would guess your hot water is leaking out somewhere, you should be able to see water around the tank if it's leaking. Does your hot water pipes run under concrete? Or the ground? It might be leaking there. Good luck

Yes, you have a leak somewhere. One possibility is the relief valve. It is on the side near the top. They come out and turn down with a lever on the top. It could be piped outside some here. If there is a pipe on it, follow the pipe and see if it has water coming out of it. If so, you may get away with cleaning it, or you may have to replace it.

It opened for some reason. You need to find out why and eliminate the problem. Often it comes from restricting water from flowing out the inlet, either shutting the main water valve off or having a back flow preventer and no expansion tank.

Check your system and post back for help fixing the problem when identified.

I agree with Labman. The first thing I would check is the T&P valve on the heater. If you8 have a sprinkler system with a backflow preventer near the meter you should have a expansion tank installed on the heaters cold water supply. If not, every time the hot water expands it will trip the T&P valve allowing the pressure to relieve itself. Check your system. Good luck, Tom