The Restoration of the Earth
As shown in Part 1, Paradise has never been on the earth, therefore, it could not be ‘restored’ to a paradise. However, there are many prophesies that point to a time when the earth will be a beautiful paradise-like home. For example, the prophet Isaiah perceived that at a future time, the earth would exist in peace and abundance:
“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
– Isaiah 2:4
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus...Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow."
– Isaiah 35:1, 6-7
“‘They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.”
– Isaiah 65:21-25
These are beautiful prophecies that will eventually be realized and perpetuated forever. As the psalmist wrote:
“The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.”
– Psalms 37:29
Yes, our troubled planet will someday be healed and will serve as a comfortable, enjoyable, and enduring first residence for mankind until the time they take up the new heavenly abodes prepared for them by Jesus. (John 14:2-3)
How the renovation of our planet will be accomplished is a question of the ages, from generation to generation. Some believe it will be accomplished by an all-out war where God will send his angels to destroy all who oppose God. But that in itself would not change our planet into a paradise-like place. Such a war would more likely devastate it and probably leave it in a far worse condition than it is in now. So we wonder if maybe Christianity’s current interpretation of the Book of Revelation is accurate.
But whatever will occur in the future, we are certain that the education work Jesus started is an excellent step in the right direction! By preaching and teaching the true Good News of the Kingdom, we will be expanding the spiritual brotherhood of man right now, turning enemies into friends, and thereby changing ‘swords into plowshares and spears into pruning shears.’ (Isaiah 2:4) And person by person, we can change the spiritual climate of our world until the Father determines to effect another planetary intervention.
