"Men since the beginning of time have sought peace…Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. "The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all material and cultural development of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh"—Gen. Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) at World War II surrender ceremony on the U.S.S. Missouri, Sept. 2, 1945 (emphasis added). God promises a world of peace and prosperity will come (Micah 4:1-4)! It's what everyone has always wanted, but mankind has never been able to achieve it. Why? Why is humanity helpless to bring peace? Science and technology haven't brought it. All the experiments in various governmental and economic systems haven't moved us closer to peace, but seem to draw us ever nearer to destruction. Education should be a key to the kind of world we want. As God said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). But the kind of knowledge funneled into students' minds today doesn't seem to produce lasting happiness or to have brought the world closer to peace. Nor are parents instilling values and character training in their children at home. Hosea makes it clear the missing knowledge is about God and His laws (Hosea 4:6-10). Modern education ignores and ridicules spiritual knowledge and belief in a Creator God. When humans are seen as evolving animals, and survival of the fittest is considered the active principle of the universe, how can we expect anything but selfishness and war­mongering? When information about the physical universe is seen as the highest knowledge, how can we expect anything more than greed and materialism? When children are molded more by their entertainment and their peers than they are by spiritually mature and wise parents, how can future generations be truly prepared for life? But, some would counter, has religion done any better? Haven't many bloody wars, atrocities and acts of terrorism been perpetrated in the name of religion? The truth is, sadly, the major religions of the world do not fully follow the precepts of the Bible. They, too, have rejected or not known the way of peace. God's way has never been fully tried in this world. But it will be! Source of evil removed The Bible describes an evil being who has literally deceived the whole world from the Garden of Eden until now (Revelation 12:9). He is the enemy of God, and fights to prevent humans from understanding and following God's ways. But at Christ's return, John in vision saw an angel who "laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:2-3). Satan's "broadcast" (Ephesians 2:2) of negative attitudes and emotions will be ended! Finally mankind will be freed from slavery to Satan and sin! No more will religious deception be spread. Materialistic and humanistic education will be replaced with true education of the whole person—heart, mind and spirit. Moreover, children will learn godly values from birth, growing up in stable homes led by lovingly strong fathers and nurtured by wise and caring mothers. However, even without Satan's active presence, our human minds have been programmed throughout our lives to think the way Satan thinks. It will take time for the thinking of God to sink in. The traditions, ideologies and thought patterns that come naturally today will eventually be seen for what they are—harmful and self-destructive. In the meantime, God's educational system will spread around the world, sometimes meeting pockets of resistance. Interestingly, the Holy Days of God described in Leviticus 23 and reflected in many New Testament passages provide an outline of God's plan. (For more on this, download or request our booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind) The Bible tells us they will eventually be celebrated universally in God's Kingdom, just as they are today by His faithful Church. "And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles" (Zechariah 14:16). There is an indication that even this wonderful festival might be met with resistance. Zechariah records that God will need to encourage uncooperative nations to come to the Feast by withholding rain from them (verses 17-19). To overcome the influences held over from the "present evil age" (Galatians 1:4), this will be a necessary step. But God knows such encouragement and coercion are not the ultimate solution. For people to become good citizens of His Kingdom, they must individually choose to make changes. Changing hearts and minds The author of Hebrews, most likely the apostle Paul, makes clear the changes needed to transform humans from the selfish and self-destructive beings of today to the giving, peacemaking and joyful citizens of God's Kingdom. For without changes to the human heart, we would soon revert to the evils of today rather than sustaining the beautiful world tomorrow. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel [and eventually with all people—Romans 2:29; 10:11-13; 1 Timothy 2:4] after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Hebrews 8:10, quoted from Jeremiah 31:33). The problems of the world can ultimately be traced back to breaking God's eternal law of love. He has revealed that law in the Bible through the Ten Commandments, the first four of which show how to love God the way He wants to be loved, and the last six show how to love our neighbor as ourselves (Exodus 20:1-17; Matthew 22:37-40). These principles are explained and expanded throughout the Bible in every word of God. But even the people to whom God revealed these laws did not keep them. As Hebrews records, the fault with the first covenant was "with them," not with the perfect laws (Hebrews 8:7-8). When Israel agreed to obey God's laws, He told Moses wistfully, "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!" (Deuteronomy 5:29). Breaking those eternal laws required the death penalty. God's gracious plan included the incredible sacrifice of Jesus Christ to pay that penalty in our place, so that the perfectly just and righteous God could also be perfectly merciful. Because Christ willingly took our place, He said, "I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more" (Hebrews 8:12). A heart transplant But God's graciousness doesn't end there. He also made it possible for us to have a new heart—one capable of living His way of love, obeying His laws. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" (Ezekiel 36:26-27). The apostle Paul outlines this process in Romans 12:2. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." The Bible describes this process as including repentance—not only seeing the need for forgiveness and conversion, but also deeply, humbly seeking God's mercy and fully committing to a life of change. It includes belief in God and acceptance of Christ's sacrifice to pay our penalty for sin. This is followed by baptism, symbolizing burying the old person. Then comes the gift of God's Holy Spirit that makes it possible for us to truly become like God (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:37-38; Romans 6:3-7). The many scriptures on this vital subject are amplified in the helpful free booklets Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion and The Road to Eternal Life. The wonders of the world beyond today You've heard of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and some have tried to list the buildings and monuments that could be considered the wonders of the modern world. But what will the wonders of God's Kingdom be? However magnificent the buildings will be, they will pale in comparison to the "wonders" described in Galatians 5:22-23. These nine fruits of God's Spirit are building blocks in producing God's heart and mind within us. Imagine a world where the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21 no longer prevail. Better yet, imagine a world where these fruits of the Spirit are growing and spreading: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Imagine having a neighbor like that. Imagine having a teacher, a boss, a police officer and a mayor treat you that way—God's way! What a wonderful world that will be! What an incredible future is ahead! WNP