CHAPTER NINETEEN: WHEN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD FILLS THE EARTH

SUPPOSE a great artist has just completed a splendid painting.  He rightfully considers it to be very good-a masterpiece! But overnight a jealous rival defaces it. Understandably, this causes the artist great pain. How eager he is to see the vandal locked up!  And you can imagine how the artist yearns to have his creation restored to its former beauty.

Like that artist, Jehovah created a masterpiece in preparing the earth and putting mankind upon it. After creating man and woman, he pronounced all his earthly work "very good."  (Genesis 1:31) Adam and Eve were God's own children, and he loved them. He envisioned a happy, glorious future for them.  True, Satan let them into rebellion, but God's wonderful creation was not damaged beyond repair.  -Genesis 3:23, 24; 6:11, 12. 

God has determined to set things straight.  He dearly wants to see us live the way he originally purposed.   Our short and troubled existence is not "the real life,"  for it is far inferior to what Jehovah has in mind.  "The real life" that God wants for us is "everlasting life" under perfect conditions. -1 Timothy 6:1,19.

The knowledge of God brings responsibility before Jehovah.  (James 4:17) But think of the blessings you will enjoy if you apply that knowledge and reach out for everlasting life.  In his Word, the Bible, Jehovah God has painted a beautiful picture of what that life will be like in the Paradise earth so near at hand.  Of course, as Jehovah's people we do not serve God solely out of a desire for a reward. We serve God because we love him. (Mark 12:29, 30) Moreover, we do not earn life by serving Jehovah. Everlasting life is a gift of God.  (Romans 6:23)  It will do us good to meditate on such a life because the Paradise hope reminds us of the kind of God Jehovah is-the loving "rewarder of those earnestly seeking him." (Hebrews 11:6)  A hope that burns brightly in our minds and hearts will enable us to endure hardships in Satan's world. -Jeremiah 23:20. 

Let us now focus our attention on the Bible-based hope of everlasting life in the future earthly Paradise. What will life be like when the knowledge of God fills the earth?

Next time: WHEN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD FILLS THE EARTH/AFTER ARMAGEDDON-A PARADISE EARTH

From the book: KNOWLEDGE That Leads to Everlasting Life