SETTING OFF FOR A NEW WORLD?
Have you ever dreamed of a new world? It would be a world where there is peace and justice for all. It would be a world without pain or death, where there is joy and dignity for everyone. Many men and women cherish such hopes. People even have a name for that world. We call it 'heaven'. But can such a world be found?
The desire to make a better world has shaped the outlook of many people - teachers, doctors, politicians - of good intent as they have set out on their careers. Yet though there have been great advances through technology and medicine, a new world of joy and justice - heaven on earth - always eludes us.
But the Bible tells us that there is such a new world to be found. In the Scriptures we are told that though our present world is spoiled by selfishness and decay, one day God will remake the whole universe. It will be a world which will surpass our most treasured hopes. Here is one Bible passage which describes something of this new world: 'Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: 'Now the dwelling of God is with men and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' (Revelation 21.1-4).
