LESSON 6
(1955, 1965)
AMBASSADOR COLLEGE
BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE
Today's World -- What Will Tomorrow Be Like?
About Our Cover ...
Pictured is a striking view of the famous New York City
skyline. Today's modern cities -- soon to be utterly destroyed --
are not to be compared with the fabulously beautiful, well-
planned cities of the Millennium.
Tomorrow's cities will be filled with happy and productive
people! Everyone will learn that true happiness and enjoyment of
material blessings come only as a direct result of living and
working together in harmony with God's laws.
That is what will really make the World Tomorrow a literal
UTOPIA on earth!
an open letter from THE STAFF .....
WE have GOOD NEWS for you! But the news you are reading in
your daily newspaper is not good at all!
Big changes are taking place every week in the delicate
balance of world power! Experienced world leaders are being
replaced by younger men -- in many cases with less ability. Soon
all the "Old Guard" will have gone -- their vital jobs filled by
a NEW GENERATION! Younger men -- with new ideas -- are putting
their hands to the controls of the AWESOME WEAPONS of the Space
Age! The problems facing these world leaders today are GREATER
THAN EVER!
Why doesn't the world wake up? Why can't we grasp the
meaning of the headlines of our daily newspapers? The facts tell
us plainly that MAN IS NOT QUALIFIED TO RULE THIS EARTH!
But despite political, economic, social and religious unrest
-- there is GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!
Beyond the troubles of this climactic end-time age, Almighty
God will finally grant WORLD PEACE! Jesus Christ -- the ONLY ONE
qualified to govern the teeming billions of this earth -- is
coming in OUR TIME to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords!
The UTOPIA man has long sought will soon be a reality!
The TIME IS SHORT -- far SHORTER than most of you realize.
This decade is rapidly drawing to a close. Soon it will be 1970!
The question is: Are you overcoming yourself while you have
the time? Are you putting every moment of YOUR TIME to good use?
Notice how some of the students of the Ambassador College
Bible Correspondence Course are using their time:
A man from Missouri writes, "I have just received my third
lesson along with the latest issue of THE PLAIN TRUTH. How
wonderful to study and understand the Bible. In each of your
lesson sheets you mention that a half hour a day is required for
each lesson. I find that I am now spending a very enjoyable and
enlightening two hours daily and am really beginning to
understand the Bible."
One of our students from West Germany writes, "In the sixth
lesson of the Correspondence Course I found many answers to my
spiritual needs. How wonderful it is that the Lord does answer,
if one seeks Him with the whole heart ... I am now beginning to
study the wonderful holy Word of God and am receiving new
encouragement and strength from Him."
Another man from within the European Common Market reports,
"I am most grateful to you for all that you have done for me by
sending me your booklets, 'LA PURE VERITE, (THE PLAIN TRUTH in
French), and the Bible Correspondence Course on which I spend not
just one hour, but sometimes whole afternoons of study. I find it
thrilling."
A student from Nassau, Bahamas says, "I am a student at
college, and believe you me, I surely have a lot of studies to do
at times, but from the amazing truth I have discovered from the
Bible through the Correspondence Course, I will have to BUDGET MY
TIME to continue my search for truth concerning prophecies of our
times and spiritual guidance in my every day Christian life."
These encouraging quotes come from people like yourself --
people who want to know more about the real meaning of their
Bibles! They have ALREADY learned how to use their time wisely in
Bible Study. You can see that many of them study long hours,
really engrossed in the new truths they are learning.
But what if studying isn't EASY FOR YOU? Do you have
difficulty putting aside THIRTY MINUTES EACH DAY for the study of
the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course? Sometimes do
you let several days slip by without studying as you should? We
know that some of you have.
What most people need is to organize -- "budget" -- their
time! Everyone of us needs to learn to PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST!
How often have you heard it said, "Our life is composed of
time"? God is concerned with HOW WE USE OUR TIME! Each day --
each hour is made up of decisions. What will we do with the time
we have -- what now and what next after that?
Everyone has the very same amount of time. We are all MULTI-
BILLIONAIRES in the most valuable commodity we could possibly own
-- TIME. But time is SCARCE! IT IS PERISHABLE.
Important world leaders wake up each morning with the very
same 24 hours to spend YOU HAVE! But HOW they spend their time --
and HOW YOU SPEND YOURS probably differs a GREAT DEAL!
You don't see the President of the United States frittering
away the precious hours of the day. He is known as a tireless,
energetic worker!
Could you imagine Charles de Gaulle ever wasting a moment of
his time? Of course not! If he did, the tremendous growth made in
postwar France would have been stifled! A new president of France
would soon be elected!
Did you ever realize that God created YOU to become a WORLD
LEADER? Perhaps you have never thought of it quite that way
before, but the World Tomorrow will NEED real leaders!
God created you with the capacity to take advantage of every
opportunity that comes your way -- never to waste a moment. How
we use our time will drastically affect our life in God's soon
coming kingdom. How we use -- or misuse -- our time will
determine whether or not Almighty God can trust us with His FREE
GIFT of eternal life!
After all, what is eternal life BUT AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF
TIME?
If we don't learn to use the time we have been given now,
how will we ever be able to use ETERNITY to the full -- deriving
from it all the enjoyment we should?
Jesus Christ will give RULERSHIP in His Kingdom to those who
have USED THEIR TIME WISELY!
That is why it is so important not to neglect a single day
of Bible study with the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence
Course! Times are moving ahead at lightning pace! You don't want
to get behind in these vital lessons! But if you are not
diligently studying thirty minutes each day YOU WILL BE BEHIND!
The next lesson you will receive will demand your immediate
and thorough study! It will reveal to you the TRUTH about God's
laws for your PERSONAL financial success. You will learn why so
many people today struggle in an endless battle to make ends
meet, and why so few ever find real financial security -- freedom
from money problems.
It will help you to know how to end your financial worries,
to be assured of the secure financial future only Almighty God
can offer.
You won't want to lag behind and miss a single lesson of
this course. Be ready for the lessons of the future.
Remember Almighty God is very much aware of HOW YOU are
using your time! We hope that you will be WORTHY STUDENTS of His
Word -- living by and acting on the vital truths you are
learning.
THE COMING UTOPIA...
WONDERFUL WORLD TOMORROW
WHY should universal peace and prosperity ever be
impossible? Why can't we have a world bubbling over with JOY and
HAPPINESS?
Ever since the dawn of civilization, mankind has longed to
live in a plush world where all his desires would be fulfilled!
But in his heart, man knows such a utopia could NEVER EXIST
ON THIS EARTH through his OWN EFFORTS!
"Utopia" on Earth?
"Utopia" brings to the minds of so-called "practical" people
the same connotation as "fairy story" -- an UTTER IMPOSSIBILITY!
They ridicule the idea that a utopia could ever occur HERE on
earth!
"All you have to do is look at history to see it COULDN'T
happen," they retort. "Through the ages MAN has tried to bring
about a utopian paradise by every conceivable means -- yet
WITHOUT success. He has attempted to live by every imaginable
type of government -- oligarchy, autocracy and democracy. He has
even tried living without any government at all -- absolute
anarchy. All of them have FAILED MISERABLY! Therefore, a utopia
is IMPOSSIBLE," they conclude logically.
People today are RIGHT in drawing this conclusion. Diseases,
fears, worries, uncertainties, lack of necessities, poverty,
hate, oppression and injustice are taken for GRANTED in this
wretched world.
People today can view past history and KNOW that mankind has
failed to accomplish this objective. But why should a utopia EVER
BE IMPOSSIBLE?
Must our only hope be in the puny efforts of mere MEN to
bring this condition about? If this be true, we ARE lost! The
human race is DOOMED!
People today are SELF-centered! They fail to recognize there
is any power OTHER THAN THEIR OWN that can bring about a
"utopia"!
What GREAT POWER can, and WILL, do this?
GOD ALMIGHTY! He has the power and the wisdom to make UTOPIA
a REALITY!
This is the very message God sent His Son Jesus Christ to
proclaim to the world. It is the gospel -- the GOOD NEWS that He
would return with the POWER to make a UTOPIA of this earth!
Soon, man's desires will all come true! Christ, through the
POWER and WISDOM OF GOD, will bring us UNIVERSAL PEACE and
PROSPERITY at last!
God's World Government
You have heard great statesmen proclaim that in order to
have world peace and prosperity, we must have world government.
But the nations lack the WISDOM TO CREATE a workable world
government, and lack the POWER TO ENFORCE its laws.
When Jesus Christ returns, He will be KING over the WHOLE
EARTH. His law -- the LAW OF GOD -- will be the law of the world
(Zech. 14:9; Micah 4:2). And His government will possess the
POWER to ENFORCE His laws -- something the governments of our day
cannot do.
God's government will prevent the strong from enslaving the
weak. True justice will be received by all. The laws of God will
be taught and practiced by those who administer the government.
The high and the mighty who REBEL against Christ will be forever
removed!
God has allotted mankind SIX THOUSAND YEARS to rule himself.
During this time, God has kept hands off the affairs of this
world. He has allowed man to pursue the course that "seemeth
right" to him. God is NOW ALLOWING people the opportunity to
establish their OWN FORMS OF HUMAN GOVERNMENT -- communism,
democracy, fascism, socialism -- to the end that the nations
learn their woeful shortcomings -- their BASIC HUMAN WEAKNESSES!
But this time is now ALMOST UP! The new ORDER -- THE WORLD
TOMORROW -- is about to begin!
Do you realize what a privileged individual you are? God has
made it possible for you to be able to peer into the future
through His prophecies. You can KNOW NOW what will happen then.
This age we are living in is soon going to pass away and the
new one will take its place. Christ will soon FORCE the world to
cease from its labor of wars, sickness, heartache and death!
A NEW type of civilization is ahead -- a millennial UTOPIA.
It will be a time of genuine rest -- a time of SPIRITUAL and
PHYSICAL rejuvenation -- of boundless peace and prosperity!
A "Way" of Life
WHY will there be great PROSPERITY in the wonderful World
Tomorrow -- the soon-coming Millennium?
God has a "WAY" of LIFE which, if FOLLOWED, would make
living happy and joyous for all!
If people TODAY followed this way, they would KNOW HOW to
meet all the family problems that confront them daily. They would
learn to solve all of life's problems as GOD intends them to be
solved -- and EVERYONE would be HAPPY with the results of the
RIGHT SOLUTION to every problem.
GOD HAS PROMISED to create just such a world of happiness,
joy and prosperity. We can have a FORETASTE of this wonderful
World Tomorrow -- TODAY! BUT NOT UNTIL WE BEGIN TO LET GOD RULE
IN ALL OUR ACTIONS ALL TWENTY-FOUR HOURS OF THE DAY -- HERE AND
NOW!
Christ brought the message about THIS WAY. The way of
KEEPING the commandments and precepts revealed in your Bible! He
said, "I am come that they {you and I} might have life, and that
they might have it more ABUNDANTLY" (John 10:10). He preached
that people could have full and abundant lives if they let God's
precepts RULE in all their activities.
But how did the world accept His message? Was it interested?
Paul reports, "There arose no small stir about THAT WAY"
(Acts 19:23). He also said that various people "spake EVIL of
that way" (Acts 19:9).
This has been the attitude of the world to this day! It has
NOT VOLUNTARILY accepted Christ's message, which, if followed,
would have produced a UTOPIA on this earth! Instead, what do we
find today? Look at the awesome world crisis that now confronts
us. Human annihilation appears imminent!
But soon God, through Christ as Supreme King, will intervene
and MAKE people KEEP GOD'S WAY! Just imagine -- COMPULSORY JOY!!
The WAY of God -- the way revealed in YOUR Bible -- will
then guide them CONTINUALLY. They will pay God His TITHES. God
says when this is done He will "open ... the windows of heaven,
and pour ... out a BLESSING, that there shall NOT BE ROOM ENOUGH
TO RECEIVE IT" (Mal. 3:10).
Also, for keeping His DAYS, God assures them they will "ride
upon the high places of the earth" (Isa. 58:13-14). They will
live in ABSOLUTE LUXURY! The Bible is FULL of such promises for
OBEDIENCE. Read Leviticus 26:1-13 and Deuteronomy 28:1-14, which
reveal some of the tremendous blessings God has promised for
obedience.
As people begin to obey God, the world will begin to be FULL
of things that are now considered great LUXURIES! They will SEE
the DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE between God's happy, prosperous way and
the wretched unhappiness of their former ways. They will then be
called to REPENT of THEIR old way of life, and ALLOW THEMSELVES
to BE COMPLETELY RE-EDUCATED TO GOD'S WAY.
At last the world will experience a UTOPIAN PARADISE far
beyond man's wildest dreams!
Prophecy tells us about the world to come -- the utopia of
the wonderful World Tomorrow which God will establish. COMPARE it
with this world in which we now live. God wants you to do this.
Then YOU make the decision WHO CAN RULE BEST -- GOD OR MAN?
Final Instructions
We are about ready for the actual lesson. But first, read
these instructions.
This lesson is intended to direct you to the BIBLE -- to
help you STUDY the Bible. Here is the method of study.
Is your Bible in front of you? If not, GET your Bible -- or
Bibles, if you have more than one translation -- BEFORE YOU DO
ANOTHER THING! Have a good dictionary, a concordance if you own
one, and your note paper all placed in front of you on a desk or
table.
Remember -- you must OPEN your Bible to EVERY PASSAGE. Never
say to yourself, "Oh, I think I know what this verse is referring
to" -- and then pass over it. You need to "KEEP YOUR NOSE IN THE
BIBLE," so to speak.
You must READ and REREAD and THINK OUT each passage. Then
MEDITATE on this new knowledge in your leisure time during the
following twenty-four hours, and in your time of prayer -- BEFORE
YOU FORGET IT! Do all you can to make God's Word a PART OF YOU!
Don't forget, this is a Bible STUDY Course -- not just a study of
these words we send you.
Here is the method of making effective notes: write down
neatly on your paper the lesson NUMBER. Next write down the TITLE
of the lesson and underscore it. As you come to each question
section, write down its HEADING. Then, underneath, NUMBER EACH
QUESTION and WRITE DOWN THE BIBLE ANSWER to each, together with
any pertinent ideas that come to your mind.
Be sure to WRITE OUT the scripture which answers each
question. This will help you greatly in REVIEWING and REMEMBERING
what you have learned.
This lesson, like all others, is extremely important to you.
Have you PRAYED to God for understanding?
If not, go to a private place, kneel down, and ask God for
SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING and wisdom. Ask Him to HELP you grasp and
apply in your own life the knowledge this lesson will reveal to
you in the Bible.
And now for the lesson itself!
LESSON 6
Spirit of God Will Direct
1. As was previously shown, when Christ returns He will come
in the clouds of heaven and His angels will gather His elect from
all parts of the earth. They will meet Him in the air and all
will soon thereafter descend upon the Mount of Olives. What will
HAPPEN to this mount when Christ's feet touch it? Zech. 14:4.
2. Will the deep ravine thus formed become the channel of a
MIGHTY RIVER which will ARISE IN JERUSALEM? Will half of this
mighty river flow EASTWARD in the channel formed by this split,
and will the other half flow WESTWARD? Verse 8. Will the river
flowing eastward empty into the Dead Sea? And that flowing
westward empty into the Mediterranean Sea? Look at the map of
Palestine in the back of your Bible -- refresh your memory on
this coming center of world government.
3. Is the EASTERN CHANNEL in which "living waters" -- fresh
waters -- flow into the Dead Sea the SAME RIVER described in
Ezek. 47:1-9? Note especially verses 8 and 9.
COMMENT: Notice that the river described in Ezekiel causes
everything with which it comes in contact to LIVE and be HEALED!
This is the SAME river!
4. Does Ezek. 47:8 show that when the fresh or "healing"
water from this LIFE-GIVING STREAM begins to flow into the DEAD
Sea, the DEAD Sea will also become a body of water having LIFE in
it? Will it be "healed"? Verse 8. Will it contain LIVING fish?
Verse 9. Will it give LIFE to the barren places through which it
flows? Verse 12.
COMMENT: The Dead Sea, which is 1286 feet below the
Mediterranean Sea level, is the lowest spot on earth! The water
of this sea is now so salty that no plant or marine life can
possibly exist in it.
Look at any Bible map of Palestine and notice that the
Jordan River constantly empties into the northern extremity of
the Dead Sea. Even though it has no outlet, the water level of
the Dead Sea remains fairly constant. This is because extremely
hot temperatures cause the waters to EVAPORATE at about the same
rate at which the Jordan supplies the Dead Sea with muddy water.
But when this NEW river -- the river of "LIVING waters" --
begins to empty into the Dead Sea not far from the mouth of the
Jordan River, the waters of the Dead Sea will rise until they
OVERFLOW SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE DESERT. The overflow will probably
carry into the Gulf of Aqaba. It will then be in this overflow
area that NEW LIFE WILL SPRING UP when the waters will have
become FRESH. And all places into which it flows in Palestine
will receive NEW life!
5. Notice the SIGNIFICANCE of this river which will flow
from Jerusalem. This river has a DUAL MEANING!
Christ will sit upon David's throne AT JERUSALEM, the
WORLD'S CAPITAL -- the same place from which the RIVER OF LIFE
arises (Ezek. 47:1). Will His RULE which shall ALSO "go forth
from Jerusalem" (Isa. 2:3), have a "HEALING" EFFECT like the
actual river? Will His rule HEAL the strife-torn nations of the
world? Isa. 2:3-4 and Malachi 4:2.
Will the SPIRIT of God direct Christ to GUIDE the nations in
the Millennium into His own way of life -- the WAY of LIFE which
will produce the utopia they have always desired? Is the Holy
Spirit compared to "living water"? John 4:10 and 7:37-39. Then
will the World Tomorrow -- the millennial world -- "have life,
and that ... MORE ABUNDANTLY"? John 10:10.
COMMENT: Here then we see that when Christ returns, He will
give all nations a PHYSICAL representation (water) of the effect
of the SPIRIT or mind OF CHRIST. Like the water of the actual
river, His SPIRITUAL decisions and laws will FLOW OUT FROM
JERUSALEM, and like the actual river, these will heal and give
life, for they will PREVENT wars and strife which wound human
bodies and cause death. His laws and decisions will produce
happier, healthier and THOROUGHLY ABUNDANT LIVES! (John 10:10)
Palestine a Garden of Eden
God reveals what conditions will be like in Palestine where
Israel, God's model nation, will dwell. Living by GOD'S WAY, as
administered by Christ the King, will produce a UTOPIAN PARADISE
there!
1. Will Israel be FEARFUL of wars and destruction any more?
Ezek. 28:25-26. Will the Israelites then be fearful of the future
as this world is today? Verse 26.
2. Will God see that the laws of nature function for the
BENEFIT of this nation? Isa. 44:3 and Deut. 28:12. Will this be a
TREMENDOUS blessing?
3. Will the devastated cities be REBUILT? Jer. 33:10-11 and
Amos 9:14. Will there be HAPPINESS? Jer. 33:11. Notice that these
scriptures show there will be CITIES in the new world order soon
to be established. Does this indicate that cities, as such, are
wrong? If they were wrong, would Christ have them built?
COMMENT: Today we have great SMOKE-blackened and SMOG-laden
cities which are crowded and gloomy. In the cities of TOMORROW,
these conditions WILL NOT EXIST. Cities in the Millennium will be
decentralized. They will be small enough to promote healthy,
happy family life, yet large enough for a proper BALANCE between
industry and those things which promote joyous living (Zech.
8:5).
4. Tremendous destruction will be wrought by the seventh
vial of wrath -- the great earthquake and hail (Rev. 16:17-18,
21), which Christ will inflict to bring the world to its senses.
Much RECONSTRUCTION Will have to be done. This work will
have to be FINANCED. Other nations will not have the economic
means to carry this out -- they will have to borrow. But Israel,
after being led out of captivity by Christ when He returns, will
have this means.
How will Israel acquire the financial means? Remember that
those who will conquer and spoil Israel are the fascist
ten-nation union (Rev. 17:12). Will the fascists have accumulated
much wealth? Rev. 18:9-13. Will Israel take BACK great treasure
from their captors when Christ liberates them? Zech. 14:14. What
will Israel DO with much of this wealth? Deut. 15:6. This will be
a business of LENDING on a vast scale. Does Deut. 28:12 also
verify this?
COMMENT: The Dead Sea, lying in Central Palestine, will be
another vast source of wealth. It is extremely rich in minerals
and will be a great industrial asset.
Yes, BUSINESS will be carried on in the Millennium, BUT
PEOPLE WILL BE TAUGHT TO CARRY IT ON DECENTLY AND HONESTLY!
5. Will the earth be RE-POPULATED after the terrific
destruction of human life which lies just ahead of us? Ezek.
36:11. What about the HOUSING situation? How will shelter be
provided for the expanding population? Isa. 41:19; 60:13.
The forests of Lebanon are situated in the northern part of
Palestine. The scriptures frequently refer to the beauty and
splendor of the "cedars of Lebanon." Will the NUMBER OF TREES in
the forest increase markedly in the Millennium? Isa. 29:17.
COMMENT: Lumber is scarce today due to MAN'S EXPLOITATION.
But God will not allow the forests to be destroyed for lack of
proper supervision in the Millennium. The GREAT AMOUNT of lumber
available then will make it far easier for all to have FABULOUSLY
BEAUTIFUL HOMES!
6. Palestine is now a relatively barren region. Prophecies
indicate, however, that it will see the most dramatic change of
any land. It is the land center of the earth and is destined to
become its capital. It will be the SEAT of Christ's world
government.
Has the Garden of Eden always been considered the MOST
BEAUTIFUL PLACE that has ever existed in this world? Will God
transform Palestine into a place RESEMBLING Eden? Isa. 51:3. Will
great joy be there?
COMMENT: ZION is a hill in the environs of the city of
Jerusalem. It is the mount on which the old city of David was
built. Geographically speaking, Mount Zion is often used in the
Bible to stand for JERUSALEM or for the land of Palestine.
God plainly shows us, through His prophecies, that Palestine
WILL BECOME A VERITABLE "GARDEN OF EDEN"!
World to Share Prosperity
Notice how the rest of the earth will SHARE in the great
PROSPERITY with which God will bless Palestine.
1. We have seen that Christ will establish His capital in
Jerusalem, Palestine, in Israel. From His capital city, He will
RULE ALL NATIONS of the world. Christ will actually rule over a
COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS. Then will all nations have the same
ruler -- Christ? Isa. 2:2.
2. Will the WHOLE WORLD THEN WALK IN GOD'S WAYS? Micah 4:2.
Does this show that they will ALL be ruled by the SAME LAWS --
GOD'S LAWS? Since the Gentiles will obey Christ in the
Millennium, will they be HIS subjects? Will they BELONG to Him?
Rom. 6:16.
3. The Bible says, "If ye be CHRIST'S, then are ye Abraham's
seed [you are ISRAELITES!] and heirs according to the promise"
(Gal. 3:29). What was the promise made to Abraham's seed, the
nation of Israel, for OBEDIENCE? Were they to be BLESSED
MATERIALLY? Leviticus 26:1-13 and Deuteronomy 28:1-14. Isn't it
plain that in the Millennium the OTHER NATIONS of the earth will
SHARE in the promises made to Israel, IF THEY WILL OBEY CHRIST?
COMMENT: God has made Israel and its descendants a promise
that He will set them "on high ABOVE ALL NATIONS of the earth,"
if they will obey Christ (Deut. 28:1). Therefore, those of Israel
who are obedient will occupy the land of Palestine and receive a
RELATIVELY GREATER SHARE of the blessings than other nations.
But, aside from this, ALL NATIONS CAN SHARE in the promises IF
they will OBEY Christ! This world will become a literal UTOPIA
for the obedient!
Ancient Israel was never able to claim all the promises of
Deut. 28:1-14 and Lev. 26:1-13 over long periods of time because
the people were not constant in their obedience to God. In the
Millennium, with Christ ruling rigidly -- "with a rod of iron" --
their descendants will be obedient, and therefore they will
receive ALL of these promised blessings!
Rapid Transportation
1. HOW will highways be BUILT in the World Tomorrow? Isaiah
40:3-4. Will these SUPERhighways be LEVEL, and will they go in a
DIRECT LINE from one point to another, thus enabling high speeds
to be safely achieved on them? Does this indicate MUCH TRAVELING
will be done?
2. Notice verse 4 of Isaiah 40. Does it indicate a general
LANDSCAPING of the earth's surface will be done? Would this
indicate the use of much HEAVY MACHINERY and the opportunity to
EMPLOY GREAT NUMBERS of people?
COMMENT: Unemployment is a great problem today. It will
cease to exist in the World Tomorrow!
3. There is going to be a very unusual HIGHWAY in Palestine.
Its fame will spread worldwide! Will it lead to the capital city,
Jerusalem? Isa. 35:8, 10.
COMMENT: ZION is a general name for the city of Jerusalem.
This will be an ACTUAL ROAD leading to the capital city of the
world!
4. Will this actual highway be KNOWN AMONG THE NATIONS AS
REPRESENTATIVE OF ANOTHER WAY -- GOD'S WAY OF LIFE? What is this
way called? Verse 8. Will the UNCLEAN -- those who cling to sin
(II Cor. 6:16-18) -- pass over it? Verse 8. Will any ferocious
animals pass over it? Verse 9. Who will use it? Same verse.
Liberty!
1. Will there be MANY languages in the Millennium? Zephaniah
3:9. What do the words "with ONE consent" signify? Could all the
people of the earth be of ONE opinion about a subject if they
could not even understand what was said because it was spoken to
them in a foreign language? Note also the words "PURE language."
COMMENT: At the tower of Babel God separated the various
nations by giving them different languages (Gen. 11:9). Why?
Because they were rebellious against His WAY of life. People
wanted to live by their depraved lusts. The different languages
of nations became a natural BARRIER against the spread of human
depravity. If God had not done this, they would soon have
destroyed themselves (verse 6).
In the Millennium there will be no danger of
self-destruction. God will then give ALL PEOPLE ONE LANGUAGE.
This will be valuable in the exchange of proper ideas, and will
help in establishing peace and harmony. This plainly shows the
world will be LIBERATED from the language barrier in the
Millennium!
2. We have seen there will be much WORK to be done in the
Millennium. But HOW HARD will this work be, COMPARED to the labor
we are forced to do now when we are DISOBEDIENT to God's way and
are NOT RECEIVING THE BLESSINGS God gives for obedience? Isa.
11:10. Note the word "rest."
COMMENT: Much is said in the Bible about how nature,
influenced by God, will cooperate to make life EASY for people in
the Millennium when they are UNDER GOD'S RULE. Compare the EASY
LIFE of GOD'S WAY with the HARD LIFE of man's way when he rules
himself. God calls MAN'S WAY the BABYLONIAN system. Read of the
rigor and TOIL and BONDAGE of living by this system in Rev. 18:2,
10, 13-14, 23-24. NOTE ESPECIALLY verses 13 and 24.
GOD'S WAY OF LIFE is the WAY OF LIBERTY -- the EASY WAY --
BUT MAN IS NOT REALLY CONVINCED THAT IT IS! God is now, through
man's own Babylonish system, letting man CONVINCE HIMSELF! Just
look at what this world's FOREBODING FUTURE holds in store!
3. Will there be old men and women, as well as people of
other ages in the Millennium? Joel 2:28.
4. Will all people be at PEACE? Micah 4:4. How does I Kings
4:25 explain the expression "under HIS fig tree"? Did every man
mentioned there actually sit "under his fig tree ALL the days of
Solomon, or is this SYMBOLIC of PEACE?
COMMENT: Here is an example of letting the BIBLE INTERPRET
ITSELF! All will rest under the shade of THEIR OWN trees and
grape arbors and none will ROB them of it by WARS or OTHER means.
5. Much is said today against PRIVATE ownership. Communists
and Socialists are especially against it. Does GOD think it is
improper? Micah 4:4. Notice the word "his."
COMMENT: People will OWN their property in the Millennium.
They will be LIBERATED from systems which deprive them of the
righteous rewards of their own toil!
6. Today, the DOCTORS of this world have great difficulty in
trying to prevent or cure lameness. Blindness, deafness, and
dumbness are among their most baffling cases. But what will
Christ do with such cases? Will it be SIMPLE for Him to CURE
them? Isa. 35:5. If it weren't, God would not make such broad,
sweeping statements. All this is a part of "The GOOD NEWS of the
wonderful WORLD TOMORROW"!
Bounteous Crops!
1. Rain is one of God's choicest blessings (Ezek. 34:26).
Will God see that RAIN is given for the seed? Isa. 30:23. Will
there even be springs and streams of water on every high hill?
Verse 25. Mountain streams will help to make beautiful resort
areas in the utopia of tomorrow.
2. What will happen as a result of the ABUNDANCE of rain?
Isa. 35:7. (The Moffatt Translation properly translates the word
"dragons" as "hyenas and jackals." The word dragon may mean a
land or sea serpent, or a hideous creature such as a hyena or
jackal.) What else will happen? Verse 1.
3. Today, the greater portion of the earth is unproductive
-- only a SMALL AREA of the land surface is actually tillable.
There are many deserts and wildernesses. After studying Isa. 35:7
and Isa. 32:15, can you say that this will be true during the
coming UTOPIA?
COMMENT: The AGRICULTURAL WEALTH of a nation is generally
the greatest asset it can possess. But the farmers and others
employed in agriculture have had to gamble with the weather and
rainfall throughout the centuries. The most JOYFUL NEWS they
could hear is that all their work would always be SUCCESSFUL.
Since FOOD and WATER are the most vital necessities of life, all
people will certainly be interested in this GOOD NEWS!
4. What will happen to the family fruit orchards and
gardens? Amos 9:14. TODAY, are farmers in Eastern Europe and Asia
robbed of their crops by communist masters? In the United States
is the DROUGHT and searing heat robbing families of the produce
of their gardens? In Palestine will all have great success with
their vineyards? Jer. 31:5. What will the people DRINK? Amos
9:14.
5. Will people GIVE THANKS to the LORD for the abundance of
the crops He will bestow upon them? Jer. 31:12.
6. Today, much is heard of the scarcity of meat in the world
and of the price at which it sells. Meat is necessary for a
well-balanced diet. Will there be a scarcity of this vital
product then? What does God say of the AMOUNT of livestock there
will be in the Millennium? Isa. 30:23-24. Does this also indicate
there will be PLENTY OF MILK for building strong, healthy bodies?
7. Will there be a great abundance of FISH to eat for those
who live in Palestine -- and for the rest of the world? Ezek.
47:9-10.
8. When Adam DISOBEYED God, He said: "CURSED IS THE GROUND
for thy sake ... THORNS also AND THISTLES shall it bring forth to
thee" (Gen. 3:17-18). To this day the curse has existed in
varying degrees.
What is the BASIC REASON behind the fact that there will be
SO MUCH AGRICULTURAL PROSPERITY in the Millennium? What will
happen when men OBEY the WAY of God -- will God REMOVE this
curse? Isa. 55:13.
9. Often, after men have succeeded in gaining their just
reward for sweat and toil, others ROB them of it. This will NOT
be true in the soon-coming Millennium, will it? Isa. 62:8-9.
10. Will there actually be a SUPERABUNDANCE of foods? Amos
9:13.
11. With all this superabundance of foods and the good
things of life, there is the question of HOW they will be used.
We have seen that there will be many vineyards and much wine
(Amos 9:14). What will Christ's attitude be in regard to LIQUOR?
Will He teach MODERATION, or will He teach total abstinence? We
can obtain an idea of what His attitude toward it will be by
noticing His attitude when He was here BEFORE. What was it? John
2:1-11 and Mat. 11:19.
12. Will a FAMINE occur even though there have been years
and years of prosperity in the Millennium? Does God say "NO
FAMINE"? Ezek. 36:29-30. But what will happen to any nation that
DISOBEYS? Zech. 14:17-18.
13. Will farm animals range over LUSH PASTURES? Isa.
30:23-24. Will this make the meat more flavorful?
COMMENT: Some assume that Isa. 11:9 means that man will not
kill and eat meat animals during the Millennium. By comparing it
with verse 8, it is plainly shown that serpents or wild animals
WILL NOT DESTROY EACH OTHER OR HURT little children in the
Millennium. It is NOT referring to man's diet at all!
New Natures!!
1. Will God MIRACULOUSLY CHANGE the natures of creatures in
the Millennium? What does He say He will do with the NATURES of
farm animals? Will they be afraid? Isa. 11:6-7. And with the
NATURES of the fowls and creeping things? Hosea 2:18. And with
the NATURES of the POISONOUS CREATURES? Isa. 11:8. And with the
NATURES of the FEROCIOUS ANIMALS? Isa. 11:6-7. Will they be
PEACEFUL? Ezek. 34:25.
2. The heart of man symbolizes his NATURE. What does God say
of the heart of man AS IT IS TODAY? Jer. 17:9. Are men's DESIRES
NOW LIKE THE LIONS? Are they BOTH quick to shed blood? Romans
3:9-18. NOTE ESPECIALLY VERSE 15.
3. What does God say He will do with the NATURE OF MAN in
the Millennium? Ezek. 36:26-27.
COMMENT: As God is going to CHANGE the very inborn
instinctive desire of the lion from the wish to destroy life for
food to the desire to EAT STRAW, and is going to PACIFY the
natures of ALL OTHER CREATURES, truly marvelous and MIRACULOUS
THINGS are in store WHEN GOD CHANGES MAN'S NATURE IN THE DAYS
JUST AHEAD! This change occurs in the MIND. It is brought about
by REPENTANCE!
When God changes man's ATTITUDE so he will DESIRE from his
innermost being to follow the right way -- GOD'S WAY -- then man
will indeed have REAL JOY and HAPPINESS. God is going to
miraculously place His VERY OWN LOVING NATURE WITHIN MAN when the
people of the millennial world REPENT of following their old
ways.
People will LOVE their fellow man and DO EVERYTHING within
their power to make the other person HAPPY. They will love
instead of hate because it will come NATURALLY THROUGH GOD'S HOLY
SPIRIT PLACED IN THEM!
THAT is what will MAKE the millennial world an ACTUAL
UTOPIA!! REMEMBER THIS. It is one of the MOST IMPORTANT POINTS IN
YOUR BIBLE! There will be more on this subject when you receive
the lessons on the Old and New Covenants, and the Holy Spirit!
These will vitally apply to YOU -- PERSONALLY! They will explain
how YOU can have an INWARD "utopia" begin right NOW!
God's Way BEST After All
God will soon FORCE the people of this world to cease from
following THEIR wretched, unhappy way of living. They will be
compelled to step aside and watch His way -- the way THIS age
calls "heresy" -- in ACTION ON THIS EARTH!
The two mighty streams of water, which will flow east and
west from Jerusalem and give abundant life to all things they
reach, will call the attention of all nations to the influence of
Christ's rule as He administers NOT MAN'S, but GOD'S precepts for
a full and abundant life.
What will happen? What else could possibly happen than that
the UTOPIAN PARADISE which mankind has always longed for will
finally begin to materialize. And man will at long last begin to
WAKE UP! He will begin to see through the VEIL of his prejudices
which have prevented him from following the methods -- the LAWS
OF GOD, if you please -- which would bring him ALL of his TRUE
DESIRES!
God has known from the beginning that man would finally
become CONVINCED his ways were wrong when he has the RESULTS OF
THE TWO WAYS -- man's way and God's way -- laid side by side for
comparison. Hear what God says -- HE PLANNED IT THIS WAY! "The
Lord of hosts [shall] make unto all people a feast of fat things,
a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of
wines on the lees well refined [in the MILLENNIUM]. And He will
destroy in this mountain the FACE OF THE COVERING cast over all
people, and the VEIL that is SPREAD OVER ALL NATIONS" (Isa.
25:6-7).
Do you grasp the significance of all this? God said long ago
that a time would come when He would cause the people of this
earth to live UNBELIEVABLY WELL; and that in doing this they
would wake up to a great truth -- the truth that GOD'S WAYS ARE
BEST AFTER ALL! This time is about here. This is the "GOOD NEWS"
of the WORLD TOMORROW!
What will people begin to do when this TRUTH begins to dawn
on them? Great numbers will fervently REPENT of following their
old unhappy ways. They will fervently seek to be RE-EDUCATED to
GOD'S WAY as revealed by the commandments and precepts in THE
BIBLE! Then God will begin to MIRACULOUSLY CHANGE their basically
EVIL natures by placing His HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN them.
The old ways of THIS world will be outmoded! The people will
have found a BETTER WAY and they will be firmly convinced that
the more they can LEARN of God's better way, the HAPPIER their
existence will be! And in the meantime, they will marvel at the
rich rewards they receive for their relatively easy labors.
Will they seek in vain for teachers? No! This is the time
when God says Christ will come with "ten thousands of saints" for
the very purpose of TEACHING them His ways (Jude 14, 15). Of this
time God says, "Thy teachers [shall not] be removed into a corner
any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: and thine ears
shall hear a word behind thee, saying, THIS IS THE WAY, WALK YE
IN IT, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the
left" (Isa. 30:20-21).
Re-education AWAY FROM THIS WORLD'S ERRORS will be conducted
on a vast scale! The results? "The earth shall be FULL OF THE
KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD [GOD'S KNOWLEDGE] as the waters cover the
sea" (Isa. 11:9). GOD PROMISES THIS!
And what about corrections when people err? They will be
swift and certain, but will become milder and milder as people
learn and obey more of the ways which really make them happy.
The MANY -- not the few -- will go up to Jerusalem by the
ACTUAL ROAD named "The Way of Holiness," which Christ will have
built as a PHYSICAL REMINDER of God's WAY. They will say, "He
will teach us of His ways" (Micah 4:2). They will also, IN
PRAYER, seek God by His SPIRITUAL "Way of Holiness."
As with all the creatures about him, man's own nature will
begin to change. The change in the NATURES of animals will be a
constant REMINDER to him of the change that is taking place
WITHIN HIMSELF! He, like the lion, will become peaceful. There
will be no question in his mind about WHICH WAY to follow. He
will KNOW! Man's innermost desire will be to come ever closer and
closer to God in MENTAL attitude -- CLOSER TO THE ONE WHO CAN
MAKE ALL HIS DESIRES FOR A UTOPIAN PARADISE COME TRUE!
MEN WILL AT LAST LEARN THAT GOD IS THE BEST FRIEND THEY EVER
HAD!
THEN God will really set His hand to SAVE THE WORLD. The
harvest of human souls will become RIPE for gathering into the
Spiritual Kingdom of God. Human experience in living both the
evil and the good way of life to the full will convince the
mortal human beings still alive at Jesus' return that God's way
is BEST for mankind. The vast majority will choose the good way
of life -- God's WAY -- and will begin to OBEY God, preparing
themselves to be transformed into immortal Spirit-beings in the
Kingdom of God!
No wonder this present age is ONLY "A day of salvation"!
(Isa. 49:8.)