Coming—the Restoration of Planet Earth!

When Jesus Christ returns, He will be coming to a planet at war (Rev. 17:14). The world will be in a state of chaos. Destruction will be everywhere, nations and cities laid waste. Air, land and waters polluted. Sickness, disease, famine, war, captivity and death will have decimated earth’s population. The world will be a mess. Mankind, under the sway of the devil, will have brought itself to the brink of total annihilation. It will only be Jesus’ direct intervention that will prevent this from occurring (Matt. 24:22; Mark 13:20).

This will be the state of affairs that the resurrected saints will inherit and rule over with the triumphant King of kings and Lord of lords. It will be a world badly in need of restoring.

Many today are engaged in the restoration of cars, furniture, houses etc., either as a hobby or for profit.

For instance, one might find an old piece of furniture, perhaps a chair or dresser, evidencing the wear and tear of many years of use. Perhaps the joints where the various pieces of wood are joined together are loose and coming apart. The finish is worn and marred, the wood dented and scratched in a few places.

But it has potential to be used again, if completely disassembled, stripped down to bare wood, sanded, nicks and gouges filled, reassembled with tight joints, and new finish applied—all of this performed by the hands of a caring craftsman. Even the most beaten up item can be restored. It can be used once again. This is true whether it is a car, house, boat, bicycle, or just about anything else.

The Bible speaks of a future time of restoration: “The times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution [restoration, reconstitution] of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:19-21).

The present course of this world toward destruction began with the fateful decision of man’s first parents (Gen. 3:1-19). Since that time, God’s servants have all preached the coming government of God, its restoration to the earth and, as a result, the world’s return to the condition that God had always intended.

Christ will soon return to restore all things upon the earth. He will bring the time of refreshing with Him. In a sense, we, along with Christ, will be in the restoration business. This world will need to be completely disassembled, torn down to its foundations, and a new world—a new society, a new way of life—will be constructed in its place.

Let’s examine several areas of restoration in which the saints, with and under the direction of Jesus Christ, will engage in the World to Come.

God’s Government on Earth

Christ’s first task will be to bring peace and order to a war-torn, chaotic world. Having utterly failed, the governments of men will be replaced by the perfect government of God. Though not a government by the people, it will truly be a government for the people—for the ultimate good of mankind. Greed, corruption, strife, endless debate, ineffectiveness and compromise in government will be a thing of the past.

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined…For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isa. 9:2, 6-7).

A bright, shining time will dawn, moving humanity past the dark events that will have transpired. God’s government will be guided by and established on right judgment and true justice. Contrary to man’s government, it will be capable of bringing peace and safety.

“And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked” (Isa. 11:2-4).

Jesus Christ will have perfect insight and understanding into people’s character. All decisions will be made in love, for the highest good of the people. This will be very different from today, when decisions are often made for the good of those who rule and to the detriment of citizens.

• The resurrected saints will administer God’s perfect government under Christ. They will be spirit beings who cannot be bribed or pressured to deal unjustly. They will not be induced to favor one person over another. Respect of persons—favoritism—will be a thing of the past. The glorified saints will judge as Christ does (Rev. 5:9-10).

• Jerusalem will be World Headquarters for the kingdom of God. Christ will place His earthly throne there (Isa. 2:1-2; Zech. 8:3).

• All nations will look to Jerusalem for guidance (Jer. 3:17; Zech. 14:4).

• The kingdom of God’s capital city will be the example for all nations to follow. Jerusalem will be rebuilt to splendor and magnificence—becoming a model city for all others to follow (Isa. 62:1-7).

True Peace

Human history has been written in the bloody pages of war: “Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goes therein shall not know peace” (Isa. 59:7-8).

Man has often sought to solve his problems through violence and war. Countless bloody battles have been waged to bring peace, yet man has never been able to achieve it for long. But this will soon change.

“And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and 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” (Isa. 2:4).

The instruments of war—battleships, aircraft carriers, fighter jets, strategic bombers, cruise missiles, tanks, nuclear warheads sitting atop ICBM’s, and all such military weapons—will no longer be manufactured or designed. All of what remains will be stripped apart, melted down and converted to machines for peaceful and agricultural uses. The war colleges—such as Annapolis and West Point—will not exist anymore. War, and its ways, tactics, strategies, implementation, will cease to be taught. No more lives lost to war and its lingering negative effects. Never again will young men be drafted into the military, taken from their homes and taught to hate the enemy.

Instead, the way of peace, how to achieve and maintain it, will be taught. Rivalries between nations will disappear.

• Peace will finally come to war-torn Israel. Her inhabitants will dwell in safety (Ezek. 28:25-26).

• From Israel and Jerusalem (which means “the city of peace”) peace will spread to the entire world. All nations will look to Israel and learn the way of peace (Micah 4:1-4).

• The Law of love, which produces peace, will be placed in the hearts and minds of earth’s inhabitants (Heb. 8:10-11).

A Pure Language

“For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent” (Zeph. 3:9).

The Babylon of today’s corrupted languages, with all their variations, dialects and differences, will be relegated to history. Problems between nations and peoples resulting from miscommunication and misunderstanding will be gone. International barriers will disappear, as will miseducation and illiteracy. All will learn both the spoken and written pure language.

No longer will there be a word that can be pronounced multiple ways and with different meanings, which leads to communication problems. Slang, vulgar words and euphemisms will not exist. With one pure language, all peoples will serve and worship God with one voice, in one accord.

True Religion and Right Education

Satan, who “deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9), will be bound and put away. With the devil no longer able to influence mankind, mass reeducation can begin. Man will learn that there is both right and wrong education. True and false religion. Physical and spiritual knowledge. And he will learn how to discern each. All of the wrong knowledge will be stripped away. Humanity will come to understand that the devil has been the true founder of man’s educational systems and religions.

All will be taught that they have been eating from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” which has been the source of troubles. The world’s false explanation for the origin of man—evolution—will be debunked, shown to be heretical science, and that instead of evolving to a higher order, man has become more degenerate and debased through his 6,000 years of self-rule.

The Bible will become the foundation of all education. God will be Supreme Educator. People will be taught how to live, not just how to earn a living. The way to peace, prosperity, happiness, abundance and health comes only from divine revelation.

Again, Jerusalem, the seat of God’s government on earth, will set the standard: “And many people shall go and say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3).

Eventually “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9).

• People will be taught to fear, have reverence for and respect God—the starting point of true knowledge (Prov. 1:7).

• Their teachers will be ever-present, giving guidance and instruction in God’s ways (Isa. 30:20-21).

• The knowledge of God’s Way will completely cover all peoples on earth (Hab. 2:14).

• Egypt and Assyria will serve God (Isa. 19:21-25).

• Ethiopia will too (Psa. 68:31)!

• The whole earth will keep God’s Sabbaths and Feasts—week to week, year to year (Isa. 66:22-23; Zech. 14:16-21).

A Right Nature in Mankind

Since the Garden of Eden, man has taken the nature of his chosen teacher. Listening to Satan, rejecting revealed knowledge from His Creator, and the opportunity to understand spiritual matters by taking of the Tree of Life, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, a mind was formed in man that was purely physical—carnal. “For they [all mankind] that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh…For to be carnally minded is death…Because the carnal mind is enmity against [the enemy of] God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:5-8).

Thus, having this mind—this nature—it has been impossible for humanity to obey God’s commandments and to love Him.

In the World to Come, man’s very nature must be changed from one that is an adversary of God to one that wants to serve, obey and love his Maker. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit [the Holy Spirit] will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart [a Jeremiah 17:9 heart] out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments, and do them (Ezek. 36:26-27).

• Beginning with Israel, all peoples will know their God. His laws will be put in their hearts—their inward parts—and minds (Jer. 31:33-34).

• God will give man a new heart. He will give His Spirit to human beings so they may walk in all His ways. They will be His people and He will be their God (Ezek. 11:19; Joel 2:27-28).

The Nature of Animals

Even the nature of wild animals will be restored to the condition that existed in Eden: “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field” (Gen. 2:19-20).

Yet the following soon happened: “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moves upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered” (Gen. 9:2).

Animal’s nature turned against man and they became fearful of him.

This will change after God’s kingdom is established: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain” (Isa. 11:6-9).

• God will make a covenant with animals. Mankind will dwell safely and in peace alongside all “beasts of the field…fowls of heaven…and creeping things” (Hos. 2:18).

• Man will no longer fear wild animals. The wild beasts’ taste for flesh will be removed. Instead, they will eat grass like cows and sheep. Their wild nature will be replaced by a peaceful, tame nature (Ezek. 34:25).

Mankind’s Health

Because he has broken God’s laws of health, man is plagued by every kind of health issue, sickness and disease. In ignorance of the very laws that would produce healthy bodies and sound minds, man suffers from heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, cancer, disabling arthritis, and a host of other ailments and diseases.

But God intended that man live and experience a healthy life—knowledge that will be restored to a humanity desperately in need: “Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert” (Isa. 35:3-6).

“Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily: and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your [rear guard].

“Then shall you call, and the Lord shall answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am” (Isa. 58:8-9).

• People will no longer suffer sickness, as they will be taught how to lead healthy lives. They will be liberated from even the fear of sickness and disease. They will receive healing from their God; all their sins, both physical and spiritual, will be forgiven. This will mean radiant health for all (Isa. 33:24).

• With man’s health restored, it will be normal to be healthy, as God had always intended (Jer. 30:17).

The Earth’s Health

Man has overused and abused the planet he inhabits. No other living thing on earth has had a greater impact. While capable of creating beautiful landscapes, orchards, gardens and estates, man has also misused this precious resource. In his desire to get more for himself, he has left vast areas of the planet scarred and barren, and the ground, air and waters polluted—unable to sustain life.

These lifeless places will all be healed and returned to their former state of fruitful productivity: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad…and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God…for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes” (Isa. 35:1-2, 6-7).

• The vast majority of the world will be made cultivable, with mountains and high hills leveled. Great, beautiful forests will spread across the face of the earth for use in building homes and quality wood furniture. Parched lands will bubble with cool, refreshing springs (Isa. 41:14-20).

• The waste places will become like the Garden of Eden (Isa. 51:3).

• Oceans will be reduced in size, yielding more land for planting and living space (Isa. 11:15).

The Water’s Health

As an important element of earth’s restoration, her oceans, lakes, rivers and streams will be healed—cleansed from the industrial pollution of man’s factories and greed-based system of modern agriculture. The ever-increasing dead zones of the oceans will once more be able to support life. Rivers contaminated with corrosive chemicals and artificial or petroleum-based fertilizers, thus rendering them void of life, will be healed.

Living waters will flow from the Temple of God: “Behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house [Temple] eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar…at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other…These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

“And it shall come to pass, that every thing that lives, which moves, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river comes.

“And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine” (Ezek. 47:1-12).

Pure, clean, life-supporting waters, with miraculous healing properties will flow from the Temple in Jerusalem. It will cleanse polluted seas and streams wherever it flows. Oceans and lakes will teem with fish and all manner of sea life.

• Even the Dead Sea will support life once more (Zech. 14:4, 8).

An Agrarian Society

In the coming Millennium, there will be a shift away from a heavily industrialized and commercialized society, with all of its inherent health hazards and stress-filled, dog-eat-dog competitive work environment.

In its place will be a return to a more agrarian society based on God’s principles of agriculture and animal husbandry. This slower paced, much less stressful way of living will lead to joyful, healthy families. Children will work alongside their parents in peace and safety preparing, planting and harvesting the fields—raising sheep and cattle, and learning the value of hard work: “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. 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” (Mic. 4:3-4).

“Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all” (Jer. 31:12).

• Superabundance will result from a healed earth. Food shortages will be a thing of the distant past (Amos 9:13).

• No more will a man’s labor be spent in vain (Isa. 62:8-9).

• Rain will come at the right time, producing bumper crops (Isa. 30:23; Ezek. 34:26-27).

Urban Renewal

Today’s cramped, overcrowded, rundown, crime-ridden cites will give way to well planned, clean, spacious urban centers, allowing room for agriculture while maintaining some industry. In the world to come, with Jerusalem as the model, cities will be safe—residents will be free from fear of criminals. There will be no need to fear neighbors—no worry about living next to someone who is mentally unbalanced, a sexual offender or murderer, for they will not exist.

Juvenile delinquents will be no more! The aged and elderly will be able to live in their homes and walk the streets of cities without fear of violence.

With properly planned cities, families can live productive lives. “Thus says the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain. Thus say the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof” (Zech. 8:3-5).

• There will be clean, quality renovated cities, with plenty of room for agriculture (Amos 9:14-15).

• Cities will be just the right size, without overcrowding, and able to sustain healthy, happy families, with just the right degree of industry (Ezek. 36:4-11; 33-35).

• There will be happy cities, full of the voice of joy and gladness (Jer. 33:10-14).

A Sound Economy

Today’s governments require exorbitant amounts of taxes—40%, 50%, and even greater. They then waste it in countless ways on inefficient government projects and fix-the-world, band-aid approaches that simply do not work. There are federal taxes, state taxes, local taxes, inheritance taxes, property taxes, gas taxes and hidden taxes of all kinds. This repressive system of taxation burdens many. It often punishes those who work hard and innovate, and unfairly rewards many who will not work.

Soon it will be replaced by a fair and equitable system of taxation that will relieve an over-taxed and financially burdened wage earning public. The time is coming when there will exist one fair “flat tax,” which will bring blessings to all.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. But you say, Wherein have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse: for you have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal 3:8-10).

Yes, a time of financial peace and security—of tremendous blessings—is just over the horizon! People will be educated in how to properly save and spend their money. And never again will inflation, a recession or a depression strip away the buying power of currency or destroy a person’s economic wellbeing. A robust, stable economy will benefit all.

• Jerusalem will be the financial capital of earth. Great wealth in the seas and oceans will be harvested—the gold and silver reserves that are mostly under water (Isa. 60:5).

• God’s great treasury will be for public display. The gold standard will be established and values will not change. No one will become rich on the labors of others. No more outrageous interest on loans (Hag. 2:6-8).

Yes, a time without parallel is coming soon! It will be an era of great and wonderful endeavors—a time of refreshing and restoration to earth and its inhabitants. The Feast of Tabernacles pictures this awesome World to Come—and our part in it as saints of the Most High God, working alongside the triumphant Jesus Christ.

What an incredible future lies ahead for all!