Which book’s world would be the absolute worst to live in?
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When I read the Old Testament, there are some amazing instances and happy moments, but for the most part, life was disappointing and tough. They awaited the Messiah, but He was a long time coming. And life in the New Testament wasn’t easy either, but I feel as though I might have felt more at home there. And even when I read biographies of those who lived in past centuries, life was very tough. Last night I was watching a show about Shakespeare and it mentioned that in some periods during the 17th Century, only about half to two-thirds of children survived to age 15.
So, I’m happy in my 21st Century world, but I even tend to long for 1990s and the late 20th century 😀. That seemed a happy period, when things improved in Eastern Europe and South Africa. There’s many ominous news stories now. Following World War II, maybe we thought that nothing like that would ever happen again, but when I watch the news, I begin to wonder. Things are getting scary.
Some Christians believe that things will get worse and worse. Others believe that things will get better and better. You can find Bible verses that appear to justify both viewpoints.
Isaiah 11:9
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Luke 18:8
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
And maybe it’s a bit of both. For example, when I search for YouTube hymns, I find videos from all over the world. Back in Isaiah’s time, few outside Israel knew about the true God. I don’t know what sort of religion we had in Ireland before Patrick came with the gospel.
Yet, in Ireland and Europe nowadays, it sometimes seems that people are drifting away from belief in God. Maybe we’d become complacent if we thought that things were going to get better and better. And if we thought that things were gonna get worse, maybe we’d cut ourselves off from the wider community like the early monks. Maybe God wants to give us the general picture without giving us all the details – though some believe that they have all the details worked out. I remember seeing The Late Great Planet Earth movie back in 1980. I’ve rarely heard anyone praising it. But it was interesting even if it was mainly speculation. If you wanted one of the evangelical perspectives, I’d suggest Wayne Grudem’s talks (scroll to the end of the page for his talks on the end times). But you get various views and YouTube debates on the end times. Some believe in the pretribulation rapture, where God’s people will be removed from the world before it goes really downhill. But plenty don’t see it like that.
But either way, in the new heaven and new earth, things will certainly be better. Here are some hymns about the future:
