Open Introduction: Is There Hope for Our World?

Introduction: Is There Hope for Our World?

“Imagine all the people living life in peace.”

These lyrics come from one of the most well-known songs ever. “Imagine,” written by John Lennon in 1971 during the Vietnam War’s unrest and turmoil, urges listeners to envision a world radically different from today’s—a tranquil world, a future where greed and hunger have ceased and all humanity lives as one.

Few would argue against the idea of such a world. But the question is, and always has been, how can it ever be achieved?

The song also sees this utopian world being created solely through human effort. But decades after its release, human effort seems to have sunk us only deeper into the mire of division, hatred, chaos and war.

Theories for bringing world peace have abounded. Some have proposed democracy as the key. Others have countered idealistically that socialism will bring paradise. Still others hope that international organizations, like the United Nations, can be the solution.

And histor

Open Chapter 1: The Return of Jesus Christ: The Coming Turning Point

Chapter 1: The Return of Jesus Christ: The Coming Turning Point

“For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:27).

Many end-time prophecies describe how bad the world will become. Millions of people will lose their lives due to increasing warfare, religious deception, famine and disease epidemics (compare Matthew 24:7-8, 21, 29-30 with Revelation 6:2-17). Yet humanity will not be destroyed.

Instead, we will be saved from destroying ourselves. “Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved,” Jesus said, “but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:22).

How will humanity be saved from destroying itself?

Our Savior—the One who came to earth to make it possible for us all to be saved from our sins—will return to rescue us from total destruction.

Jesus Christ “will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:28).

**What will the return of Christ

Open Chapter 2: A New Government for a New World

Chapter 2: A New Government for a New World

“The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15).

The prophet Zechariah reveals that when Christ returns, “in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west” (Zechariah 14:4).

Imagine—a half-mile-high (more than 800 meters) mountain splitting straight down the middle! This will be yet another incredible display of the sheer power of Christ (verse 5).

It’s significant that Christ’s feet will touch the Mount of Olives first because this was the very location from which He ascended to heaven (Acts 1:4-12).

The beginning of a new world

His arrival in Jerusalem commences a new era of history, closing the era of the “present evil age” (Galatians 1:4) and ushering in “the world to come” (Hebrews 2:5).

Acts 3:19-21 describes this transition from tod

Open Chapter 3: A World Rebuilt From the Ground Up

Chapter 3: A World Rebuilt From the Ground Up

“Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations” (Isaiah 58:12).

The earth Jesus will find when He returns will be a disaster. Jeremiah described the area of Jerusalem as becoming “desolate” (Jeremiah 33:10). Other prophets depict “waste cities” (Amos 9:14) in “ruins” (Ezekiel 36:33-34).

This will be the world to which Jesus Christ will return.

Historical images and written accounts of places ravaged by wars give us a limited glimpse of the world’s condition at this time, though not necessarily the depth of the human suffering within those ruins.

For example, Ian Buruma, in his book Year Zero: A History of 1945, described post-war Germany this way: “The scale of human misery in the aftermath of the war was so vast, and so widespread, that comparisons are almost useless. Germany had to contend not only with its own citizens and returning soldiers, but also with more than ten mill

Open Chapter 4: How Christ Will Change the World, Starting With Israel

Chapter 4: How Christ Will Change the World, Starting With Israel

“And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).

One of the Bible’s major themes is God’s relationship with the people of Israel.

The 12 tribes of Israel descended from the patriarch Abraham. God had a special relationship with Abraham because of his faithfulness, and He promised to bless “all the families of the earth” through Abraham and to make his descendants a great people (Genesis 12:2-3). This promise passed on to his descendants through Jacob, who became known as Israel.

Under Moses, the 12 tribes entered a formal covenant with God. The people, as a nation, promised to faithfully obey His law, and God pledged to protect and bless them (Exodus 19:3-9). God wanted them to be a model nation, an example to the world of the blessings that come from obeying Him (Deuteronomy 4:5-7).

The tribes later became a kingdom called Israel, but their national unity was short-lived. The northern 10 tribes eventually broke away from

Open Chapter 5: How the 10 Commandments Will Transform All Mankind

Chapter 5: How the 10 Commandments Will Transform All Mankind

“For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).

Scores of prophecies describe the peace, beauty, safety and happiness the world will experience during the Millennium. As described earlier, Christ and His saints will build a completely new world culture, one that will first be instituted within the restored nation of Israel. Israel will learn to model that culture and its blessings, and from there it will spread throughout the world.

But what will create this transformation? What will underlie the world’s becoming a peaceful utopia? The simple answer: perfect government and perfect law. All nations around the globe will learn God’s law and begin to be transformed by it!

That doesn’t mean all people will immediately become perfect simply because they will live under perfect government and law. Humans will still have their imperfect nature, will still sin and will still need to repent.

Open Chapter 6: How the Earth’s Physical Environment Will Be Transformed

Chapter 6: How the Earth’s Physical Environment Will Be Transformed

“The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1).

Peter described Christ’s rule as “the times of restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21). The word restoration implies returning the world to its original condition, referring to the time of creation when Adam and Eve walked in harmony with God in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 2 describes the garden’s beautiful environment as ideal for human life. It was watered naturally, its temperature was fine-tuned for human comfort, and all animals were docile and living in harmony. God, who created and maintained this perfect environment, was there and had a close relationship with Adam and Eve.

But all that changed when Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan’s pernicious influence and chose to sin. That sin severed their close relationship with their Creator and removed them from this ideal paradise (Genesis 3:24). Af

Open Chapter 7: What Happens After the 1,000 Years?

Chapter 7: What Happens After the 1,000 Years?

“There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light” (Revelation 22:5).

We’ve explored scores of scriptures showing the wonderful conditions existing during the 1,000-year reign of Christ and the saints. During this time, the renewed world will flourish under perfect government, righteous law, a healed environment and a spiritually transformed people.

But that 1,000 years will eventually end. Then what?

Satan temporarily released

The apostle John wrote: “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog” (Revelation 20:7-8).

Satan’s imprisonment will have been a major factor contributing to the wonderful conditions of the Millennium. Removing his deceptive and rebellious influence will remove many of the temptations that lead people to sin. But restraining

Open Epilogue: A Vision of Hope

Epilogue: A Vision of Hope

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

We introduced this booklet by highlighting many of the problems our world faces and seeing how the solutions mankind has proposed and tried have failed. Many recognize that something major needs to change, but are at a loss to figure out what can work. So our world remains an increasingly dangerous place and people continue to face debilitating problems.

This could lead us to despair and hopelessness. Perhaps that’s why so many recent books and movies portray a dystopian vision of the future. An overall feeling that the world will continue to get worse and worse, not better, seems pervasive.

And, the truth is, the short term is bleak. God’s Word tells us conditions for the majority will yet worsen, even bringing humanity to the edge of self-destruction.

But, God be thanked, the light of His Word also