Heaven on Earth?
by Scott Ashley
Heaven on earth? The idea seems a bit preposterous. After all, our planet is anything but heavenly right now, with wars and terrorism dominating the news in many areas around the globe. The steady, deadly march of AIDS continues to decimate entire countries, while poverty, oppression and corruption grind down the lives and hopes of millions more. Environmental destruction, overpopulation, pollution, social disintegration and crime guarantee plenty more problems for years to come.
In spite of years of mankind's best efforts at addressing these chronic problems, our solutions always seem to come up woefully short.
But we certainly are not without hope. The Good News is a magazine of hope—of hope for how you can solve your problems and begin turning around your life right now, as well as understanding how these crises that afflict humanity will ultimately be resolved once and for all.
Is an earthly paradise possible? Believe it or not, it's more than a possibility. It's a certainty!
In Matthew 24:21-22 Jesus explained why He must return, and when—at a time when human folly will have brought mankind to the brink of extinction. "It will be a time of great distress, such as there has never been before since the beginning of the world, and will never be again," Christ explained. "If that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive..." (Revised English Bible, emphasis added throughout).
How will Jesus return? Revelation 19:16 describes His triumphant return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He returns as a majestic ruler who will rescue humanity—the supreme King who will establish a kingdom, the Kingdom of God, on earth.
Daniel 7:14 plainly tells us that He will reign over a literal world-ruling kingdom: "Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed."
Many Bible prophecies describe how the entire earth will be transformed under His loving, righteous reign. Let's notice a few:
"Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD ... He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Micah 4:2-3).
"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them ... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:6-9).
"'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it ...They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them'" (Amos 9:13-14).
"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water ..." (Isaiah 35:5-7).
Yes, heaven on earth will one day become a reality! This issue of The Good News will help you better understand how that will come about.
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