We needn’t guess about God’s plan for the planet because He has revealed it in the Bible.
By the time Jesus returns, the earth will be substantially transformed into the place God intends.
There will still be non-Christians because, as Jesus said, when He returns non-Christians will have to be removed from His kingdom. (Matt. 13:36-43).
In the last days, I believe things will look like this:
1. Christians will lead the world. (Isaiah 2:2-3) Mountains are representatives of governments. The mountain of the Lord is the kingdom of God, which is Christians acting in obedience to Jesus. God’s vision for the earth is a world in which Christians, obedient to KIng Jesus, lead in the fields of government, business, the arts, science, education, athletics and every sector of international and domestic society.
2. Biblical truth will form the predominate worldview. (Isaiah 2:3; 11:9) There will be a general consensus on abortion, euthanasia, and other great social issues. Biblical principles will permeate most if not all societies. While there will still be cultural differences, Biblical truth will transcend cultural differences.
3. War will be replaced with commerce. (Isaiah 2:4) (Isaiah 9:7) War will become a thing of the past. As nations decrease and ultimately eliminate their defense budgets, there will be a true peace dividend that results in economic growth within and among nations to extent never seen in history.
4. The effect of the curse in nature will be substantially reversed. (Isaiah 11:6-9, 65:17-25) This will come about largely through scientific advancement and God-inspired insight. Cancer and other deadly diseases will become a footnote in history and people’s lifespans will be considerably longer, more like those recorded in Genesis.
5. A greater care for the environment. As Christians realize the earth is their inheritance they will become more concerned for the environment. As lifespans increase, people will see more clearly the importance of caring for the longterm health of the planet. Pollution will become a thing of the past. Clean, cheap, renewable energy will be the norm.
6. The world will be overwhelmingly Christian. (Isaiah 11:10). The gospel will prevail on the earth. As mentioned above, not everyone will be Christian, but most will. (Matt. 13:36-43).
This, I believe, is God’s vision for the world. A kingdom-based foreign policy, therefore, must be designed to move the world toward the fulfillment of this vision.
That is where we will take up the next blog post. GS
Someone pointed out that #3 is missing. 🙂
Thanks, Stephen. Corrected now.