A New World​—Will It Ever Come?

ON APRIL 13, 1991, George Bush, then president of the United States, gave a speech in Montgomery, Alabama, entitled: “The Possibility of a New World Order.” In conclusion, he stated: “The new world facing us . . . , it’s a wonderful world of discovery.”

Two months later The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said that with the fall of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, “a new world order based on peace, justice, and democracy seemed at hand.”

Such talk of a new world has continued into 1993. The New York Times reported in January on a treaty that pledged reductions in nuclear arms. The newspaper said: “That puts America and Russia ‘at the threshold of a new world of hope,’ in President Bush’s well-chosen words.”

Two weeks afterward the new U.S. president, Bill Clinton, proclaimed in his inaugural address: “Today, as an old order passes, the new world is more free but less stable.” He even claimed: “This new world has already enriched the lives of millions of Americans.”

So there has been a lot of talk about a new world​—a different and better one. By one count, during a relatively short period, George Bush spoke 42 times in public statements of a “New World Order.”

But is such talk unique? Has it been heard before?

Nothing Really New

In May 1919, right after World War I, the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America held a meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, at which ‘the possibility of a new and a better world’ was announced. One speaker asserted: “It will be a new world in which the principle of competition shall have given way to the principle of association and fellowship. It will be a new world in which the principle of unity shall have replaced the principle of division . . . It will be a new world in which brotherliness and friendship will have displaced all antagonisms except the war against evil.”

How did the churches believe this new world would come? By means of God’s Kingdom government promised in the Bible? No. They looked to a political organization to bring such a new world. “What we speak of today as the League of Nations,” one church leader said, “is an indispensable and unavoidable implicate of all our Christian faith and endeavor in the world.” Church leaders of that period even promoted the League of Nations as “the political expression of the Kingdom of God on earth.”

On the other hand, a powerful leader in Germany, Adolf Hitler, opposed the League of Nations and in the 1930’s established Germany’s Third Reich. He claimed that the Reich would last a thousand years and would accomplish what the Bible says only God’s Kingdom can. “I am beginning with the young,” Hitler said. “With them I can make a new world.”

Hitler had a mammoth stadium built in Nuremberg for displaying Nazi might. Significantly, 144 gigantic pillars were erected on a platform nearly 1,000 feet [300 m] long. Why 144 pillars? The Bible speaks of 144,000 who would rule with “the Lamb” Jesus Christ, and that their rulership would be for a thousand years. (Revelation 14:1; 20:4, 6) Evidently, the erecting in the Nuremberg stadium of 144 pillars was no numerical accident, since the use of Biblical language and symbolism by Nazi officials is well documented.

What was the result of the efforts of men to fulfill what the Bible says will be accomplished only by God’s Kingdom?

Failure of Man’s Efforts

History testifies eloquently that the League of Nations failed to usher in a new world of peace. That organization collapsed when the nations became engulfed in World War II. Further, after just 12 years, the Third Reich lay in ruins. It was a complete failure, a disgrace to the human family.

Throughout history human efforts to create a peaceful new world have invariably been unsuccessful. “Every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed,” former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger observed. “History is a tale of efforts that failed, of aspirations that weren’t realized.”

What, then, about the new world order that world leaders have recently been touting? Explosions of ethnic violence have made a mockery of the very idea of such a new world. For example, this past March 6, columnist William Pfaff ridiculed: “The new world order has arrived. It is well and truly new, consecrating invasion, aggression and ethnic purge as acceptable international conduct.”

The terrible strife and the atrocities that have occurred since the fall of Communism are appalling. Even George Bush, shortly before leaving office in January, acknowledged: “The new world could, in time, be as menacing as the old.”

Reason for Hope?

Does this mean that the situation is hopeless? Is a new world only a wishful dream? Clearly, humans have been unable to create a new world. But what about the Creator’s promise to do so? “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his [God’s] promise,” the Bible says.​—2 Peter 3:13.

The new heavens that God promises is a new rulership over the earth. This new rulership is God’s Kingdom, his heavenly government for which Jesus taught people to pray. (Matthew 6:9, 10) That heavenly government will then be composed of Jesus Christ and 144,000 corulers, and the new earth will be a new society of people. Yes, they will live in a glorious new world loyally supporting God’s rulership.

God’s Kingdom government will rule over the promised new world. So this new world will not be of man’s making. “The kingdom of God never means an action undertaken by men or a realm which they set up,” explains one Bible encyclopedia. “The kingdom is a divine act, not a human accomplishment nor even the accomplishment of dedicated Christians.”​—The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible.

The new world under God’s Kingdom is sure to come. You can rely on the promise of its coming because that promise is made by “God, who cannot lie.” (Titus 1:2) Please consider what kind of world God’s new world will be.

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NASA photo

What Kind of World Do You Want?

IF YOU had the power, would you create a new world, a world free from all the problems afflicting humans today? If you would, is it not logical to expect that our loving Creator, Jehovah God, who does have the power, will create a new world of righteousness?

The Bible says: “Jehovah is good to all, and his mercies are over all his works. You are opening your hand and satisfying the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:9, 16) What are some of your desires? What kind of world do you long for?

In their book A Sane and Happy Life: A Family Guide, Abraham and Rose Franzblau wrote: “If we were to take a poll of the world population and consult humanity on the kind of world we would all like to live in, it is very likely that we could all agree on certain minimum requirements.”

Let’s examine the requirements listed by these doctors and see if they aren’t the same things you want. As we do this, we will also see if our loving Creator has promised to provide these very things.

The First Requirement

The doctors listed first “a world without war.” After suffering a number of horrible wars, many long for a world in which people will never again fight and kill one another. Their hope is expressed in an inscription on the wall of the United Nations Plaza in New York City, which reads: 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.

Did you know that those words are part of a promise made by Jehovah God? The words are recorded in the Holy Bible at Isaiah chapter 2, verse 4, in the King James Version. By also reading Psalm 46:8, 9, you will see that it is God’s purpose to destroy all weapons and to make “wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.” In the peaceful, warless world of God’s making, this delightful Bible prophecy will be fulfilled: “They will actually sit, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making them tremble.”​—Micah 4:4.

Would you not list “a world without war” as a basic requirement for the kind of world that you want? And just think, our Grand Creator has promised it!

A World of Plenty

What would be your second requirement? Would it be the same as the next given, “a world without hunger, from which famine and want would be banished forever”? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was never again a starving child? Surely you would like to live in a world of plenty. But who can guarantee this?

Consider what God promises: “The earth itself will certainly give its produce.” “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth.” (Psalm 67:6; 72:16) Yes, in God’s new world, fine food will be abundant. The Bible assures us that Jehovah “will certainly make for all the peoples . . . a banquet of well-oiled dishes, a banquet of wine kept on the dregs, of well-oiled dishes filled with marrow.”​—Isaiah 25:6.

While a world without hunger is beyond the capacity of men to provide, it is not beyond the power of God to bring about. His Son, Jesus Christ, demonstrated that providing food for all will be no problem under God’s Kingdom. When he was on earth, Jesus fed thousands by miraculously multiplying a few loaves of bread and a few fishes.​—Matthew 14:14-21; 15:32-38.

A World Without Sickness

You wouldn’t find a sick person anywhere in the kind of world all of us want. So the third requirement is not surprising. “It would be a world without disease,” the doctors wrote, “a world in which all would have the chance to grow up in health and live out their days free of preventable and curable illnesses.”

Think of the relief if no one ever got a cold or any other affliction! Humans cannot wipe out sickness, but Jehovah God can. And he promises that in his new world “no resident will say: ‘I am sick.’” Instead, “at that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped. At that time the lame one will climb up just as a stag does, and the tongue of the speechless one will cry out in gladness.” (Isaiah 33:24; 35:5, 6) Yes, God will “wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.”​—Revelation 21:4.

When Jesus Christ was on earth, he demonstrated what we can expect on a grand scale in God’s new world. He restored sight to the blind, opened the ears of the deaf, loosed the tongues of the speechless, enabled the lame to walk, and even restored the dead to life.​—Matthew 15:30, 31; Luke 7:21, 22.

Satisfying Work and Justice for All

No doubt, satisfying work and justice for all would exist in the world that you and almost everyone else would want. So the doctors wrote: “Fourth, it would be a world with work for those who wish to earn a livelihood to provide for themselves and their families.” And they added: “Fifth, it would be a world in which every man would enjoy freedom under law, with justice for all.”

Human rule has never been able to fulfill these requirements for happy living. But God’s new world will. The Bible promises regarding the beneficial work that people will do at that time: “They will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. . . . The work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full. They will not toil for nothing.”​—Isaiah 65:21-23.

What about freedom and justice for all? No matter how earnestly human rulers have tried, they have failed to provide these for everyone. Injustice and oppression continue to reign worldwide. So humans can never satisfy this need. But Almighty God can. His appointed Ruler is the resurrected Jesus Christ, and of him Jehovah says: “My chosen one, whom my soul has approved! . . . Justice to the nations is what he will bring forth.”​—Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 12:18.

Yes, the Bible promises that under God’s Kingdom “the creation itself also will be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21) What a happy new world it will be when there is freedom and justice for all!

Opportunities and Leisure

Surely in the kind of world you want, all citizens would enjoy equal opportunities regardless of race or nationality. Not surprising, therefore, a sixth minimum requirement listed by the doctors is: “It would be a world in which every human being would have the opportunity to develop his capacities and talents to the full, and be rewarded for his endeavors, without prejudice.”

Humans have never been able to establish a world in which all people enjoyed fair treatment. Prejudice and even persecution of unpopular minorities continue unabated. Yet, the King of God’s new world, Jesus Christ, will copy the example of Jehovah, his Father, who “treats none with partiality nor accepts a bribe.” (Deuteronomy 10:17; Romans 2:11) What will make the coming new world so marvelous is that not only will all people be taught to imitate the impartiality of Jehovah God but they will practice it.​—Isaiah 54:13.

Often people’s lives have been devoted to grinding labor with little or no relief. So you will surely agree with the next minimum requirement, namely: “Seventh, it would be a world in which all men would have ample leisure to enjoy those things they regard as the good things in life.”

Knowing man’s need for periods of rest and relaxation, Jehovah God in his ancient Law provided for a weekly rest day. (Exodus 20:8-11) Therefore, we can be sure that in his new world, God will see to it that our need for relaxation and wholesome forms of recreation are fulfilled.

The Kind of Inhabitants

The last essential given by the doctors describes qualities possessed by those who would inhabit “the kind of world we would all like to live in.” See if you don’t consider vital the qualities they list. “Eighth, it would be a world in which the highest premium would be placed upon those qualities which distinguish man from the lower orders of life, such as intelligence and creativity, honor and integrity, love and loyalty, self-respect and unselfishness, and concern for his fellow men.”

Would you not enjoy living in a world in which everyone exhibited the moral qualities of integrity, love, loyalty, unselfishness, and concern for fellow humans? Surely this is the kind of world you want! No human rulers could ever provide this. Only Jehovah God can. And he will because his new world is not an unrealistic, pie-in-the-sky dream.​—Psalm 85:10, 11.

When Will It Come?

As noted in the preceding article, a close companion of Jesus Christ wrote: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to [God’s] promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Peter 3:13) The time for the fulfillment of this promise will be, as Jesus noted, “in the re-creation, when the Son of man sits down upon his glorious throne.”​—Matthew 19:28.

God originally instructed Adam and Eve, the first human pair, to enlarge the Paradise garden in which He placed them. He wanted them to bear children and with them to make the entire earth a beautiful garden of Eden. (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7-9, 15) Although Adam and Eve failed to carry out this purpose, there will be a restoration of the earthly Paradise in the re-creation, with Christ ruling in the Kingdom. Eventually, Edenic conditions will be extended earth wide. Thus our loving Creator will fulfill his original purpose to have a peaceful, righteous world. But when will it come?

Do you think like many who say, ‘Oh, it will come sometime but not in our lifetime.’ Yet, how do you know? Could our time of unprecedented world distress be a sign that God’s new world is at hand? How can we know?

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In the new world, there will be peace, perfect health, and prosperity

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Cubs: Courtesy of Hartebeespoortdam Snake and Animal Park

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In the new world, people will enjoy productive work

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In the new world, there will be time for leisure activities

When the New World Will Come

GOD’S new world will come when this present one passes away. But you may ask, ‘Can we really believe that this world will end?’ Well, consider, has one ever ended before?

Yes, according to conclusive evidence, a world once ended. “The world of that time [Noah’s day] suffered destruction when it was deluged with water,” the Bible says. God “did not hold back from punishing an ancient world, but kept Noah, a preacher of righteousness, safe with seven others when he brought a deluge upon a world of ungodly people.”​—2 Peter 2:5; 3:6.

Notice that it was “a world of ungodly people,” or a wicked system of things, that perished. It was not the planet Earth, the starry heavens, or the human family that ended. As the Flood survivors increased in number, another world (our present one) came into existence. What will happen to it?

After saying that the world of Noah’s day suffered destruction, the Bible continues: “By the same word the heavens and the earth that are now are stored up for fire.” (2 Peter 3:7) Fire signifies destruction for the world. Indeed, “the world [the one existing today] is passing away.” (1 John 2:17) But when?

Jesus’ apostles wanted to know, so they asked: “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3, King James Version) In answer Jesus gave a sign that would enable people living at the time of its fulfillment to know that one world was soon going to end; a new world would take its place. What was that sign?

The Sign

The sign included many parts, yes, many events were foretold. For the sign to be fulfilled, all of these would have to occur in a notable way at essentially the same time, during one generation. (Matthew 24:34) What are these events?

Some named by Jesus were: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another pestilences and food shortages.” “Then people will deliver you up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be objects of hatred by all the nations on account of my name. . . . Because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off.”​—Luke 21:10, 11; Matthew 24:7-9, 12.

The apostle Paul gave other conditions that would mark “the last days” of this world. He wrote: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, . . . disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, . . . headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power.”​—2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Surely, you have seen or heard about all of these things​—international conflicts eclipsing former wars, great earthquakes, widespread pestilences and food shortages, hatred and persecution of Christ’s followers, an increase of lawlessness, and critical times of unsurpassed magnitude. Besides these things, the Bible foretells that God will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) And humans are ruining the earth right now!

Last November, newspapers carried headlines like this: “Top Scientists Warn of Earth’s Destruction.” Dr. Henry Kendall, a Nobel laureate and chairman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said: “This warning is no exaggeration, and it is not alarmist.” One newspaper article reported: “The list of 1,575 scientists who drafted the warning reads like a who’s who in the international scientific community.” Their warning of complete ruination for our earth is not to be ignored!

There can be no question about it. The sign in all its parts is being fulfilled, including Jesus’ key prediction: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come,” yes, the end of this world. (Matthew 24:14) It will come, Jesus said, when the good news of God’s Kingdom has been preached worldwide. And that preaching is now being done on the foretold scale by Jehovah’s Witnesses!

What You Need to Do

All evidence, therefore, points to the fact that God’s new world is very near. Yet, if you are to survive the end of this world and are to enjoy life in the new world, you need to do something. After saying that “the world is passing away,” the Bible shows what is required of you, explaining: “He that does the will of God remains forever.”​—1 John 2:17.

So you need to learn God’s will and do it. Jehovah’s Witnesses will be delighted to help you do this. Then you can survive this world’s end to enjoy eternally the blessings of God’s new world.

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NASA photo

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A time of great trouble immediately precedes the new world