How Will the World Be Different When Christ Returns? (Part 2)

The Bible assures us that Jesus Christ will one day return to earth and restore “all things” as has been prophesied by God’s prophets “since the world began” (Acts 3:21). He will establish at that time a literal world ruling kingdom, that shall never end (Revelation 11:15). In part one of this series we discussed several ways in which the world will be different from today’s world when Jesus Christ establishes the Kingdom of God on earth.

As discussed in that article there will be: (1) An end to oppression. (2) Just government. (3) End to war. (4) Harmony among races and nations.

Now let’s continue with a discussion of some other ways in which the world will be different, and far better, than today’s world after Jesus Christ returns to establish his kingdom.

(5) Stable government.

A sufficiently strong and stable government is essential to the well-being of the people of a nation, or other political entity. Yet, human governments are inherently subject to the weaknesses and limitations of human beings.

There are many examples in history of how nations have suffered as a result of weak, corrupt, and unstable governments. Many examples could be cited. One is an article written by William J. (Bill) Federer, well known author and speaker, titled “Why is Mexico’s government so unstable?”

“From 1821 to 1857, fifty different governments ruled Mexico. [Meaning that on average there was a new government in just under nine months over a period of 36 years]. Revolts and revolutions in Mexico usually began with class-warfare, where the poor were organized to overthrow the rich, but ended up with the revolutionary leaders themselves grabbing power – and becoming dictators.” (“Why is Mexico’s government so unstable?,” Bill Federer, 2-1-18, WND.com, retrieved 9-25-18).

In 1858 Benito Juarez became President of Mexico, to be replaced by Maximilian 1 in 1864 with the backing of European powers. With the help of the United States, Maximilian was overthrown in 1867 and executed by Benito Juarez. Lerdo de Tejad succeeded Juarez upon his death, but in 1876 his government was overthrown by a revolt led by Profirio Diaz. Diaz was in power from 1876 to 1911, when a revolt was instigated by Francisco Madero. The next decade saw a civil war in which millions died, and the government sought to crush the influence of the Church and suppress dissent.

More revolts and assassinations followed this period.

In 1848, following the Mexican-American war, the United States purchased 525,000 square miles of territory from Mexico, under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. Mr. Federer comments: “Since the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, there developed a stark contrast in the health, safety and economic status of the land north of the border and the land south of the border. This is most obvious when comparing border cities:

San Diego – Tiajuana
El Paso – Juárez
Laredo – Nuevo Laredo
Brownsville – Matamoros
McAllen – Reynosa

“During the same period of time that Mexico has had several dozen different governments, the United States, other than the period of the Civil War, has had only one. As both sides of the border have similar climate, geography, plants, and in many cases a similar cultural-racial makeup, reasons for the disparity must lie deeper.” (ibid.)

There are other reasons for disparity between the United States and Mexico in terms of wealth and prosperity, the most significant of which is the blessing of Abraham. But unstable governments do not generally produce the best of possible outcomes for a nation or its peoples. One of the blessings God has given the United States and other Israelitish nations in the past 200 or more years is relatively stable governments.

Most of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa since the colonial period have had unstable governments, which is one reason why they are among the poorest countries in the world.

Would you really like to live in a country that has a different government every few months? In the United States, we elect a new House of Representatives every two years. And Senators serve six year terms, a third of which expire each two years. Presidents serve four year terms, and may be re-elected under current law no more than once, for a total of eight years in office.

So although the government in a sense remains the same, policies even in a democratic republic like the United States may change significantly from one election cycle to another.

How much can you really depend on such a system, in the long term?

Is democracy really the best form of government, as many Americans believe?

“Between 1833 and 1855, the Mexican presidency changed hands at least 36 times, with Antonio López de Santa Anna ruling 11 of those.

“Antonio López de Santa Anna, styling himself after Napoleon, laid aside Mexico’s Constitution in 1835, dissolved the Congress, and declared himself dictator. Santa Anna had previously told the U.S. Minister to Mexico, Joel R. Poinsett, 1824: ‘I threw up my cap for liberty with great ardor…but very soon found the folly of it. A hundred years to come my people will not be fit for liberty. They do not know what it is, unenlightened as they are. … A despotism is the proper government for them.’” (“Why Is Mexico’s Government so Unstable?”).

The United States itself was established as a reaction against what was regarded as a despotic government. Yet, the founders of the American republic were suspicious of democracy, and established the nation as a republic, with limited suffrage (voting rights). Under the Constitution of the United States there was a division of power in the Federal government, enumerated rights were guaranteed to the citizens, and other rights and powers were vested in the states. The founders never intended the United States to be a pure democracy, which is probably one reason it has lasted so long.

However, with changes in how the Senate is chosen, and the expansion of voting rights, the United States has become more democratic, and more susceptible to the inherent weaknesses of democracies. One of the most significant weaknesses of a democracy is the tendency towards mob rule.

Masses can on occasion be easily swayed by clever politicians who know how to appeal to their desires and prejudices. The word “demagogue” is from the Greek words for people and leader. Demagogues can gain popularity by whipping up passions and appealing to the people’s emotions in ways that are deceptive and destructive.

Adolph Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany after his party had become the largest party in the German Reichstag as a result of a democratic election. In Italy, “On …October 30, in 1922, after a round of elections brought the Fascist party the majority of the vote, Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy” (“Mussolini Becomes Prime Minister of Italy,” by Gary Satanovsky, www.famousdaily.com; retrieved 9-25-18). So both Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini started out as democratically appointed politicians, after which they abolished democracy in their respective countries and became dictators, and then led their nations into a destructive war.

Another major weakness of democracies is the tendency for politicians to over promise in order to get elected, which leads to over spending and eventual insolvency.

“The sheer nature of western democracies have an inbuilt self destructive component. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the burgeoning welfare and health budgets of western societies, the two sacred cows of western democracies. These ever expanding budgets win votes. All western governments have massive unfunded liabilities, which are unsustainable in the long run” (“The Weaknesses of Democracy,” James Hearne, jameshearne.wordpress.com, 7-18-12; retrieved 9-25-18).

It’s been suggested that an enlightened Monarchy or despotism is the best form of government. The trick is finding a truly enlightened monarch, or finding one who can successfully implement policies that serve the best interests of the governed. And even if one is found, there’s no guarantee that his style of administration will outlast him.

There are a number of good examples of that in the Bible. Solomon, who was a wise king, although he did some foolish things, wrote: “Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 2: 18-19).

Solomon had acted foolishly in building pagan places of worship in Jerusalem. For his sin he was told his heir would lose the kingdom, except for the tribe of Judah, and as it turned out, the relatively small tribe of Benjamin and most of the tribe of Levi. This occurred after Solomon’s death when his son, Rehoboam, made a decision which led to the revolt of ten of the 13 tribes of Israel.

“Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.’ So he said to them, ‘Depart for three days, then come back to me.’ And the people departed” (1 Kings 12:3-5).

The account continues: “So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, ‘Come back to me the third day.’ Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, ‘My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying: ‘What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David!’ So Israel departed to their tents” (1 Kings 12:12-16).

So Rehoboam’s foolishness, added to that of Solomon, cost the house of David most of its kingdom.

Hezekiah is an example of an enlightened and righteous king over the kingdom of Judah. “…he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went” (2 Kings 18:3-7).

When Hezekiah died, he was succeeded by his son Manasseh, one of the most wicked kings in all the history of Israel and Judah.

“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel” (2 Kings 21:1-2).

……..

“Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the Lord spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, ‘Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”’” (2 Kings 21:9-15).

However, when Jesus Christ establishes his government on the earth, it will not only be a just government, it will be a stable, lasting government. His government will be a hierarchical government, in which Jesus Christ will be ruling as king, and others will be ruling with him under his direction and authority. The authority in the government of God will be aimed at serving the needs of the people ruled by that government, according to the judgment of the all-wise God who created the heavens and the earth.

“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

……..

“Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” (Daniel 7:27, cf. Revelation 11:15).

“Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s Son. He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice. The mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness. He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear You As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth. In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more.” (Psalm 72:1-7).

……..

“His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun.” (Psalm 72: 17).

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, The earth will grow old like a garment, And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be abolished. Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation.” (Isaiah 51:6- 8).

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” (Psalm 45:6).

“I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145: 1-4).

……..

“All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever.” (Psalm 145:10-21).

(6) Predictable and Favorable weather, and Abundance produce for all.

One of the sources of calamity for mankind throughout recorded history is unfavorable weather. War and inept government are actually frequent causes of famine, as there are several countries in the world today facing famine as a direct result of warfare and dysfunctional governments. However, untold millions have died down through the ages as a result of drought and resultant famine. Many more thousands and millions have died as a result of other weather related calamities, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, etc. Even today, there are ongoing droughts and famines in various parts of the world.

From an article published July, 2017:

“As Yemen, South Sudan and parts of northeast Nigeria are already officially facing famine — in what the UN is calling the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII — neighboring countries also find themselves increasingly at risk.

“Now, neighboring Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia could fall into famine as early as 2018, due to another year of below-average rainfall. The drought has left harvests bare, killed livestock and forced many to leave their nomadic lifestyles and flee to informal communities where water and food aid are available.

“These three countries are now experiencing what’s called a Phase 3 food crisis, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS) Network’s five-tier scale. According to the FEWS Network, Ethiopia and Somalia are on track to reach Phase 4 acute food insecurity by 2018; by that same year Somalia could reach Phase 5, full-fledged famine.” (“These African Countries May Fall Into Famine by 2018,” www.globalcitizen.org, July 17, 2017).

God promised Israel that if they would obey his commandments: “The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand” (Deuteronomy 28:12)

These blessings will apply especially to the peoples after Jesus Christ returns, and they begin to practice God’s way of life.

“You will also defile the covering of your graven images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, ‘Get away!’ Then He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures.” (Isaiah 30:22-23).

“I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.” (Ezekiel 34:26-27).

“I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations.” (Ezekiel 36:29-30).

“Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.” (Joel 2:18-19).

“Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you– The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame.” (Joel 2:21-26).

“By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas; Who established the mountains by His strength, Being clothed with power; You who still the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples. They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing.” (Psalm 65:5-12).

“The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:1-10).

When Jesus Christ establishes his rule, he will put an end to famine. There will be no want from lack of food, no drought will affect those who have learned to obey God, but rather, rain in due season. There will be an abundance of food and all that human beings need to thrive and prosper.

The government and its policies will be stable and predictable, it will rule from one generation to the next forever, to the benefit of mankind. There will be no successful revolutions or rebellions against the government of God. There will be no unpredictable changes in government policy to upset and ruin people’s lives. Instead, there will be peace and stability, and blessings for all who submit to the benevolent rule of the Creator God.

These are additional blessings we can look forward to when Jesus Christ reigns at last on the earth.

This article is also available in pdf format.
Download How Will the World Be Different When Christ Returns? (Part 2)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.