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God promises a world of peace and prosperity will come (Micah 4:1-4 [1] But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
[2] And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
[3] And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
[4] But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
)! It's what everyone has always wanted, but mankind has never been able to achieve it. Why?
Why is humanity helpless to bring peace?
Science and technology haven't brought it. All the experiments in various governmental and economic systems haven't moved us closer to peace, but seem to draw us ever nearer to destruction.
Education should be a key to the kind of world we want. As God said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.). But the kind of knowledge funneled into students' minds today doesn't seem to produce lasting happiness or to have brought the world closer to peace. Nor are parents instilling values and character training in their children at home.
Hosea makes it clear the missing knowledge is about God and His laws (Hosea 4:6-10 [6] My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
[7] As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
[8] They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
[9] And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
[10] For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
). Modern education ignores and ridicules spiritual knowledge and belief in a Creator God. When humans are seen as evolving animals, and survival of the fittest is considered the active principle of the universe, how can we expect anything but selfishness and war-mongering? When information about the physical universe is seen as the highest knowledge, how can we expect anything more than greed and materialism?
When children are molded more by their entertainment and their peers than they are by spiritually mature and wise parents, how can future generations be truly prepared for life?
But, some would counter, has religion done any better? Haven't many bloody wars, atrocities and acts of terrorism been perpetrated in the name of religion?
The truth is, sadly, the major religions of the world do not fully follow the precepts of the Bible. They too have rejected or not known the way of peace. God's way has never been fully tried in this world. But it will be!
The Bible describes an evil being who has literally deceived the whole world from the time of the Garden of Eden until now (Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.). He is the enemy of God, and fights to prevent humans from understanding and following God's ways.
But at Christ's return, John in vision saw an angel who "laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:2-3 [2] And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
[3] And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
).
Satan's "broadcast" (Ephesians 2:2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:) of negative attitudes and emotions will be ended! Finally mankind will be freed from slavery to Satan and sin! No more will religious deception be spread. Materialistic and humanistic education will be replaced with true education of the whole person-heart, mind and spirit.
Moreover, children will learn godly values from birth, growing up in stable homes led by lovingly strong fathers and nurtured by wise and caring mothers.
However, even without Satan's active presence, our human minds have been programmed throughout our lives to think the way Satan thinks. It will take time for God's way of thinking to sink in. The traditions, ideologies and thought patterns that come naturally today will eventually be seen for what they are-harmful and self-destructive. In the meantime, God's educational system will spread around the world, sometimes meeting pockets of resistance.
Interestingly, the Holy Days of God described in Leviticus 23 and reflected in many New Testament passages provide an outline of God's plan. (For more on this, read the free Bible study aid God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind ) The Bible tells us they will eventually be celebrated universally in God's Kingdom, just as they are today by His faithful Church.
"And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles" (Zechariah 14:16And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.).
There is an indication that even this wonderful festival might be met with resistance. Zechariah records that God will need to encourage uncooperative nations to come to the Feast by withholding rain from them (verses 17-19). To overcome the influences held over from the "present evil age" (Galatians 1:4Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:), this will be a necessary step.
But God knows such encouragement and coercion are not the ultimate solution. For people to become good citizens of His Kingdom, they must individually choose to make changes.
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