Few would argue with the view that this present world is facing monumental problems, including terrorism, disease, violent crime and natural disasters. Where is God in all of this bad news?

Some angrily criticize Him for failing to stop these and other tragedies. Some have given up faith altogether, because of all the suffering they have witnessed. But they do not understand that He has never abandoned humanity and that His plan to save them from death is right on track.

You may retort that He is too late to save billions who have already died, many of them prematurely as innocent victims of the actions of others. You would be right that there have been innocent victims but wrong that God is too late to save them.

Millions expect God is going to save only them, snatching them away to heaven, while leaving billions behind to suffer agonizing deaths. This is not so! Rather than flee from this troubled planet, believers will remain here with Christ to assist Him in helping its citizens to reverse every last evil.

Read on to see where the Bible promises these developments and to learn how you can have a part in the marvelous future of the world that is coming tomorrow.

Some see no need for God

Others are convinced that believing in a specific God would complicate their lives, placing (what they feel are) unnecessary restrictions on their lifestyles and their behavior. These people do not look for God. They may be moral in a general sense; they may be well educated and responsible people, but they do not expect God to affect either their lives or the lives of the rest of humanity. They believe the world is now, and will be in the future, what men and women make it—nothing more and nothing less.

This view is also wrong!

Humankind would have to discover a way to control the choking population growth occurring in the countries least able to afford it. Humankind would have to find a way to help poor nations to reverse their poverty permanently. One of humanity's greatest challenges is simply to find an adequate supply of clean water for everyone on the planet.

What are the chances that humankind will resolve all of these issues and create a bright world tomorrow? After thousands of years of modern history and countless attempts at "the perfect world," humanity has not been able to do so.

It could well be that some of the seemingly impossible challenges will be met and that humanity will master them. But there is one challenge that humankind in its most enlightened periods has never been able to meet. It does not require ingenuity or invention. Although some believe that education would bring it about, this has never happened. I'm speaking of the need to change the inner nature of every man and woman.

This nature is the root cause of all the world's ills, from personal relationships to relationships between nations. Humankind must learn to end the bitter resentment, jealousy and hatred that numerous ethnic groups and religions feel toward each other, for this way of thinking has been the prime breeding ground for most of history's conflicts and wars.

A momentous change is about to occur

Longtime readers of World News and Prophecy realize that the world's troubles will continue and grow worse until a watershed event happens, a change that is the focal point of all Bible prophecy. That defining moment is the direct intervention of God in human affairs through Jesus Christ. The Messiah will return to the earth, take physical control of the nations and establish the Kingdom of God as the supreme government over all nations.

Instead of humankind being able to solve the world's pressing crises, it will be on the verge of destroying itself when Jesus Christ comes just in time to rescue it. Describing the moment of His arrival, Revelation 11:18 tells us the condition of the world then: "And the nations were full of wrath, and Your wrath came, and the time of the judging of the dead, and to give the reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to the ones fearing Your name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy those destroying the earth" (Modern King James Version).

We see also that Christ comes to judge the world, which means that He will assume full governmental control of every nation and region on earth. You may be surprised to learn that this is the core of the gospel message Jesus inspired the ministry of the Church of God to preach.

Notice this statement from the apostle Paul to a first century audience: "Truly, then, God overlooking the times of ignorance, now He strictly commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He appointed, having given proof to all by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31, MKJV).

The gospel calls for spiritual repentance, but also announces a world government under the personal management of Jesus Christ. Many have an inaccurate sense of Christ's second coming, typically thinking He will come secretly to snatch away a relative handful of humanity to take them to heaven.

Others attribute references to judging as meaning only the final spiritual judgment, when Christ announces a sentence of eternal life or eternal death. They don't think of Christ as the head of a government over physical nations, judging them—that is, exercising judgment over them, ruling over them in a literal government.

"The Jews' mistake"

The New Testament record shows that the Jews generally failed to perceive the element of prophecy that foretold a suffering Savior. They failed to grasp the nuances within the Old Testament that in hindsight we now readily recognize as prophecies of the Messiah first coming in the form of a humble Man to become the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humankind. Most of the Jews were blinded to the possibility that the Man, Jesus of Nazareth could be the Messiah.

(Not all Jews failed to understand, for God called many thousands as the pioneer ministers and members of the New Testament Church.)

What was the reason for this blind spot? Was it because they totally misunderstood the Scripture? To the contrary, it was because they understood the main theme of Scripture quite well! They knew that Scripture foretold that the Messiah would come to the earth to be its powerful King. So, that is who they have looked for, as Acts 1:6 demonstrates. Even after years of personal instruction from Christ, His disciples wondered if He would take on this mantle. "Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'"

"The Christians' mistake"

Have today's Christians made the reverse error? That is, they have understood that Christ (that name is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah) would come as the Savior to give His life as a sacrifice for sin. But has most of Christendom failed to understand that He will also come as a conquering King to reign over the earth?

It would seem so! They have likewise missed the fact that the destiny of Christians is to serve on earth with Him, instead of going off to heaven away from the world's ills.

True believers are prepared through a lifetime of submission to God's holy law for this awesome task of joining Christ as co-administrators of the government of God!

This truth, too, has been the heart of the gospel Christ and the early Church preached. Jesus revealed to His first apostles, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28).

Christ came the first time to become the perfect sacrifice for sin. But even then, He spoke often of when He would come again as a conquering King. But when we understand the full picture, we will see that Christ's rule as King is actually a continuation of God's plan to bring many sons to glory.

Modern Christians deal with this prophetic theme of the Kingdom of God in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most common way is to disregard the Old Testament, believing that all it foretold has happened. They might read the Psalms purely for their poetic inspiration and general comfort. In fact, the Psalms themselves are rich with prophecies about the Kingdom of God.

Alternatively, some might view the Old Testament philosophically, seeing Kingdom prophecies as mere spiritual analogies.

But you need to know that dismissing prophecies about the Kingdom of God will shut you off from understanding much of the New Testament, including the purpose for which you were born!

Jesus often quoted and expounded on Old Testament scriptures. He later inspired the New Testament writers to do the same. The book of Revelation in particular draws upon Old Testament themes, symbolism and prophecies from beginning to end. Let's now take a look at several eye-opening prophecies you probably have read and heard in the past, without fully realizing what they imply.

Did you know...

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given..." You are probably hearing the wonderful strains of Handel's Messiah in your mind! Do you know what the rest of this famous prophecy says? The same verse, Isaiah 9:6, continues, "And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

The next verse continues the theme, "Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the L ord of hosts will perform this."

Clearly, there are two tracks for the perceiving eye and the discerning ear. A child was born; He grew to be a man, the Son of Man, who was wonderful, a counselor, a prince of peace. However, Jesus Christ was not a government counselor, nor did He come in mighty or everlasting form and He did not ascend to the throne of David.

"Government...upon His shoulder" is a reference to that royal authority, a concept to which many millions who believe they follow Christ have never given any consideration. John Gill's Expositor says this "is an allusion to magistrates having a key or rod laid on their shoulders, as ensigns of their office, or carried by their officers for them, see Isa 9:4; 22:21, and it shows that it was laid upon him [that is, He didn't take this honor to Himself]" (notes on Isaiah 9:6).

How could one truly be a Christian, a follower of Christ, and not be aware of these issues so central to His message?

Well-known parable

This truth dovetails beautifully with one of Christ's parables, the story of a man of royal blood who travels from his region to a distant country to be invested as a king and returns to rule. The parable of the talents (or minas) begins, "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return" (Luke 19:12).

Undoubtedly, this passage is familiar to many who have heard it used to emphasize the lesson that believers must use the gifts God gives them (a "talent" was a monetary unit, symbolic of power from God). They understand that we are not simply to wait around for Christ's return, but rather we are to live by His teachings now.

But, do you know the principal reason Christ told His disciples this story? Allow the Bible to speak for itself. The previous verse tells us why: "Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately."

The main character of His story travels a long distance, which takes him away for a long time. Jesus' clear intention was to help the disciples understand that He was going away and that He would be gone for a long time.

In speaking of the man of noble rank receiving a kingdom, He was also plainly continuing the primary theme of Old Testament prophecy—the Messiah would rule over the earth as its King. Some think that when Christ returns, everything physical will end and that everything after His coming is spiritual. This is an inaccurate view. The truth is, God intends to do a great deal with physical people after Christ returns.

When Christ taught this parable, it would have been a perfect opportunity for Him to correct the understanding that He would come as a conquering King. But He didn't! That is because the disciples weren't wrong in their basic expectation—only their timing was wrong. So, that's what He set out to correct—their understanding of the timing of when He would become King over the world.

For much more biblical proof that Christ is coming to establish His Kingdom on the earth, request and read our booklets Jesus Christ: The Real Story and The Gospel of the Kingdom.

Where you might fit in

Having this insight into the future should cause us to wonder what our part might be in all that is to come. It's more fantastic than anyone could imagine, and you can prove it from the Bible with the help of another free publication, What Is Your Destiny? WNP