I was 12 years old when I first began to hear and study the scriptures that describe the time of the Kingdom of God on this earth. I remember the conflicting feelings of interest, unbelief and wonder. It was so different from anything else I had heard about the Bible up to that point. Jesus was really coming to this earth with a government, a kingdom that will rule the world in a manner unlike any other form of rule ever experienced. What an incredible, almost unbelievable concept.

Yet the more I read in the Scriptures on the matter, the more real they became. The more I looked at our world and saw the problems man's rule had created, the more the Bible made sense and gave me hope in something beyond today. From that early period I formed a worldview that helped me understand today's world and the way to lasting solutions for the monumental problems facing mankind. I had hope, and still do, that it is going to work out all right.

We have two articles in this issue of World News and Prophecy that describe the coming age and what it will be like. We have been running a series by Mike Bennett that goes, in detail, into the transformation that will take place when Christ returns as Messiah. Past articles have talked about the scourge of war and what conditions will be like when war will no longer cast its dark shadow over the earth. This month's installment shows the healing effect when there is no more hunger or disease.

We have an additional article by Cecil Maranville, "What the World Tomorrow Will Be Like." This article gives an overview of the subject and emphasizes that this message of the coming Kingdom was at the core of Christ's message while He was on earth the first time. Christ came preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God and urging everyone to repent, believe and accept the impact of that message (Mark 1:14-15).

Christ addressed the issues of His day in the language of the world tomorrow. He met the immediate physical needs of many people by healing the sick and feeding them on occasion. But His sermons and talks centered on the laws and principles of the Kingdom. He showed people how to live happy, peaceful lives in preparation for the world to come. He clearly described the framework of the Kingdom. He addressed the big issues making headlines in our world today. All of this can be found in the Gospels, leaving us a clear vision of what lies ahead.

The Kingdom of God is the only hope this world has. Wherever we turn today, we see danger and gloomy prospects. You don't need us telling you all the bad news. Just turn on your television or go on the Internet to see the moral, spiritual, political and environmental problems facing the world. Where do you see the hope and the solutions for the problems? Governments will try, as all in the past have done. But will they bring a solution?

One author of a book about the biblical prophets concluded that if you believe in the prophecies of the Old Testament that foretell the millennial age of the Messiah, then you must conclude that they will not be brought to reality by any human effort. They will only be realized through the direct hand of God intervening in this world's affairs.

This conclusion is one I came to see as a young man. The Kingdom of God is just that—God's Kingdom established and administered by His intervention in world affairs at the very moment when human existence is most threatened. Then, and only then, will we see the conditions of world peace achieved.

If you missed the previous four articles in the series on the world beyond today, then go to the back issues on our Web site and read them. You'll receive an overview of the world as it will be when Christ sets His hand to restore to the earth His government of peace and righteousness. WNP