Is Christianity Doomed – or Does it have a Future?
Is. 65:17-25
Ez. 36:22-38
Is. 66:22-24
The combination of scriptures above are too long to include in one article, but I highly recommend you read them, as they give the tremendous promises of God concerning the future of His people on planet earth.
New heaven and new earth will endure
I want to mention Is. 66: 22-24 first, where it talks of the new heavens and new earth He makes, which will endure before Him. It goes on to say so will our offspring and name endure before Him.
A lot of Christians wrongly believe this is a reference to a time after we’re resurrected, but the scriptures clearly teach in 2 Cor. 5:16-17, that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things has passed away, all things have become new.
When pointing to the new heaven and new earth long ago, God was referring to the time when people would be born from above or regenerated, which is the very definition of what the new creation was and is; it’s also what the new heaven and new earth are talking about.
New Jerusalem
Some get confused because the same words are used at the end of Revelation where John describes the new heaven and earth coming down out of heaven, i.e. New Jerusalem. While there will be a culmination of all that God has planned for those that are born from above in this age, and this is a reflection of what that will be, just as important, we have to understand this will happen gradually as God gives us wisdom to understand it and empowers us to respond to it.
For example, we have the lamb of God in the center of the throne, the throne itself, the tree of life, water coming from under the throne and out through the gates, street of gold, light, among other things.
The leaves of the tree of the tree of life are for the health of the nations, we’re the leaves of the tree, as confirmed by Jesus who said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” Concerning the water coming from under the throne, we are also told that out of our innermost being will flow rivers of living water. This things come from within and work themselves out into the world, and will eventually affect everything we come in contact with.
Keep in mind that the things talked about here are within the city, not without. The river flowing out through the gate points to what is within expanding and enlarging throughout the world, spreading the glory of God in His people everywhere. This is the result of being increasingly conformed to the image of God, which is His eternal purpose.
All of these are part of what is being done now by the Holy Spirit in His people, and that is expected to expand through the entire world as the scriptures teach us in a number of places. That was part of the command Jesus gave in the Great Commission, that they should go to all the world and preach the gospel, teaching the nations to do what He commanded them.
Read Ezekiel 36: 22-38 to confirm what I just said. God talks of the nations knowing He is God when He proves Himself holy among His people in their sight.
Promise of cleansing and blessing for His sake
He goes on to say He will cleanse us from all our filthiness and idols and give us a new heart and spirit. He will remove our hard heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh. All that is another way of saying we will be born from above.
Finally, He refers to us once again walking in His statutes and ordinances, He goes on to talk about many of the blessings that will accompany our obedience to His laws and commands.
In Ezekiel, He talks about cities once again being inhabited and the desolate land will become like the garden of Eden. In other words, rural and urban areas will fulfill their purpose in accordance with God’s will. This is a reference to being fruitful and multiplying and filling the earth, as God commanded Adam and Eve, and of course the command to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
All of this is tied into knowing the commandments of God and obeying them. God says for His sake He’s going to a work in man so His name will be vindicated among the nations.
Also speaking of the new creation in Is. 65:17-25, God gives more details of what this all means in this age. He promises in the future of this age infants won’t die early, which refers to miscarriages, and I believe, the permanent ending of abortions.
If you die at 100 you’ll be considered a youth in those days, and old men will live out their days, meaning they’ll be very old. This has a lot of implications; something I’ll get into more in the future. One crumb I’ll throw you is the way we view time will change, and how that affects the plans of our lives, and even things like insurance, will change drastically. If we live to an old age, it doesn’t only point to longevity of the body, but also longevity from what appears to suggest the lack of accidents.
As the lifetime of a tree, so will be the lifetime of His people, the Lord promises. If this means only those obedient to Jesus Christ will enjoy these long lifespans, it would be a evangelist tool to call men to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
One more thing I want to touch on here, is it says while before we even ask Him for something in prayer, He’ll answer; while we’re calling He’ll hear. This is an extraordinary promise of a interaction between God and man that seems to be instantaneous in nature.
We know God knows what we desire before we ask Him now, and is able to hear us, but this goes beyond that to the immediate performance of it.
There’s a lot more to these promises, but they’re made while people are still getting married, having children, working, and ultimately dying. This isn’t something after the resurrection, it’s something we can eagerly look forward to in this age.
Even though we hear a lot of the apparent spread and dominance of evil in this world through various media outlets, the truth is we’re moving toward a time when people will walk in obedience to God’s commands to His glory, and the result will be extraordinary blessings of coming to His people, and spreading throughout the world.
Christianity isn’t doomed, it has a extraordinary future ahead of it as a result of the promises of God that He has assured us He’ll do for His sake and glory among the nations of the world.
Our job is to ask Him to do it and believe He will.
