Hope for a Better Future
SURVEYING the earth from 150 miles up, the commander of space shuttle Columbia’s third flight, Jack Lousma, proclaimed: “It’s clear that we were looking at a world that was just the way that God made it without those boundaries that we see on the globes and maps that we have in our homes and schools.” Then, comparing the earth to a spacecraft, he added, “We’re going to have to get along better as a crew or it’s not going to be a successful flight for any of us.”
By now, it is clear to most observers that the scope of the problems facing us today is far beyond what any one nation, or even a group of nations, can handle. Many authorities and agencies have recognized that the only way mankind’s pressing problems can be solved is for the nations to surrender, or at least to subordinate, their individual sovereignty to a central, or world, government.
Arnold Toynbee, the noted British historian, in his 12-volume A Study of History and in other writings, repeatedly advocated the idea that the future of mankind lies in the creation of “a World united under the control of a single political authority” and a “confederation of peoples with a central government claiming and receiving the direct personal allegiance of every individual citizen of the union.” He also saw such an arrangement as the only way by which war can be eliminated. “War can be waged only by states, and it takes at least two states to wage it.” “No state, no war,” as he put it.
Though Toynbee’s views of a quarter of a century ago have been criticized as being idealistic, many other similar voices have been heard since. For example, Aurelio Peccei, founder of the Club of Rome, asserts that today’s political order of individual, competing sovereign states not only is “unstable, irrational, obsolete” but also fails to “correspond to modern realities.” Though not advocating an absolute world government, he feels that a new kind of world society is needed to save mankind out of its present predicament. “If you are aboard a sinking ocean-liner,” he adds, “there must be solidarity between crew and passengers, otherwise a riot would develop and all would perish.”
The logic and insight of such observations are very evident. But they also raise the question: How is such a world order, or government, to come about? Indeed, who is qualified to be the ruler to save mankind from destroying itself?
Source of Hope
About 3,000 years ago a wise and capable king, near the end of a successful reign of 40 years, said:
“Yours, O Jehovah, are the greatness and the mightiness and the beauty and the excellency and the dignity; for everything in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Jehovah, the One also lifting yourself up as head over all. The riches and the glory are on account of you, and you are dominating everything; and in your hand there are power and mightiness, and in your hand is ability to make great and to give strength to all.”—1 Chronicles 29:11, 12.
In expressing the above, King David of ancient Israel recognized what political thinkers are searching for—a powerful, unifying, central rulership with greatness, excellence and dignity, yet at the same time with the “ability to make great and to give strength to all” its subjects. But the important question for us is whether the Almighty God Jehovah himself is interested enough in the affairs of mankind to want to rule over us. Here is his answer through the prophet Daniel:
“And in the days of those kings [the individual, competing sovereign states on earth in this time of the end] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Daniel 2:44.
Yes, God’s Kingdom and Sovereignty will come to man’s rescue. A better future for mankind lies just ahead.
This is not a Utopian dream or something imagined by men who are in a desperate situation. For in his Word, the Bible, God has clearly set out how he will bring about the solution to mankind’s problems.
Peace and security will be realized, not by an arms race, but by total disarmament. “He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth,” says the Bible. How? “The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire.” (Psalm 46:9) What the United Nations organization claims to do, namely, “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” will be realized only under the righteous and peaceful rule of God’s Kingdom.—Isaiah 2:4, Authorized Version.
A clean and safe environment, free from pollution and its ill effects, will be the result of God’s Kingdom administration on earth. Mankind will not have to abandon the earth and go off to outer space to look for such an environment in which to live. God will stop the destruction and pollution of the environment by ‘bringing to ruin those ruining the earth.’ (Revelation 11:18) Then the subjects of the Kingdom will be given the opportunity to carry out God’s original mandate to subdue the earth and take care of its plant and animal life. (Genesis 1:28) Earth will be mankind’s permanent home—a Paradise.
Happiness and freedom will be the lot of every inhabitant of that cleansed Paradise earth. This will not be achieved by abandoning all standards or by following the “do your own thing” philosophy. The well-known golden rule—“All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them”—will become the everyday rule of conduct. Everyone will come to appreciate that, indeed, ‘there is more happiness in giving than in receiving.’—Matthew 7:12; Acts 20:35.
In our brief examination of the subject of the future, we have seen that for many years environmentalists, scientists, historians and others have been warning that urgent action is needed to avert a catastrophic end to civilization as we know it today. We have also seen that, by and large, such warnings have been ignored, resulting in serious threats to mankind’s continued existence, not to speak of a better future.
Act Now to Secure a Better Future
On the other hand, a new kind of world society is seen as the only alternative to extinction. While the experts are hard pressed to come up with a workable scheme, Jehovah God, long before mankind even became aware of the problems, clearly outlined a detailed, step-by-step arrangement for restoring the earth to a Paradise under one righteous government, his Kingdom.
For over 100 years Jehovah’s Witnesses have been pointing to God’s Kingdom as mankind’s only hope for a better future. It is our earnest desire to assist you, our reader, to find out what you must do now to secure that happier future for yourself and your loved ones.
[Pictures on page 10, 11]
Will THIS be the future or . . .
. . . will it be THIS?