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Announcer (00:00:01): It's time to think about the Bible like you never have before. This is Christian Questions. After this episode, go to ChristianQuestions.com to check out other episodes, Bible study resources videos, download the CQ app and more. Today's topic is, "Will the World's Pain and Suffering Ever End?" Coming up in this episode; as Christians, we believe that God is love. Having said that, can we then explain why sickness and deaths still rage on? How do we explain crime, violence and the overwhelming fear that many live with? God is love and the Bible does have answers for all of these things. Let's see what it teaches. Here's Rick and Jonathan.

Rick (00:00:41): Welcome everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over 20 years. Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for today's episode?

Jonathan (00:00:50): Revelation 21:4: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death; neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away."

Rick (00:01:04): In all of the recorded history since Adam, there has never been a time when humanity did not know pain, sorrow, trauma, and death. Never. These things are so ingrained into the fabric of our lives that the very idea of not knowing pain or suffering is a pipe dream and death, it's a given. Everybody has had death touch those around them, as we all eventually will be swallowed up by it. If we try and have someone imagine a world without these things, the thought of it is often met with the classic response, "That'd be great, but it sounds too good to be true." Why do we bring up this hope that sounds like a fairytale endinga pipe dream? We bring it up because the Bible explains it through many prophecies. We bring it up because we believe it is the true conclusion of the stated plan of God. So Jonathan, we're essentially answering the question before we even give ourselves time to ask the question, will the world's pain and suffering ever end? We're saying yeah, because we believe the Bible teaches us this.

Jonathan (00:02:13): Let's briefly look at the reason we believe what to most is beyond belief. God's plan both allowed the misery of sin to exist and provided the cure for that misery.

Rick (00:02:26): Adam disobeyed God's command, and that sin doomed his entire unborn family to be born in sin and to ultimately die. It's a simple, simple equation and it's shown to us in Genesis 2:16-17:

Jonathan (00:02:40): This is from the Young's Literal translation: "And Jehovah God layeth the charge on the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden, eating thou dost eat; and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it. For in the day of thine eating of it, dying, thou dost die."

Rick (00:02:59): So what you have is a very straightforward equation. You have all of these trees in the garden from which to eat and except for one, and if you eat of that tree, you are disobeying, and there's a consequence. And the consequence is the beginning of the death process to be upon you and your family. Very straightforward. Do this and live; do that, not so much. So as a result of this, we have the misery of sin because Adam did not obey, which brings death everywhere all the time. That's stated for us in Psalms 14:2-3:

Jonathan (00:03:37): "The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one."

Rick (00:03:52): So in Psalms it says, look, nobody does well, nobody can do "good" before God. Not even one. Because that's how we're born. We're born into that very difficult situation with such an apparently hopeless state of affairs, because if no one can do well before God, then it's pretty hopeless. So with this hopeless state of affairs, we have seven pointed questions that we want to ask. Their scriptural answers will give us a foundation for understanding the height, the depth, the length, and the breadth of God's plan to alleviate all pain and suffering. And these seven questions are questions that a lot of people ask when they're musing over, they're thinking over, they're wondering about, well, what about God? What about all of this misery and death? God's supposed to be love. What about, what about, what about? So seven questions, Jonathan, what's the first one?

Jonathan (00:04:44): And before that, Rick, alleviate all pain and suffering? I mean, you mean forever? You know Rick, this is what most people dream of.

Rick (00:04:53): Right? They do. They dream of it; all pain and suffering forever. If there could only be a way life could be lived without any pain and suffering, wouldn't that be awesome? Too good to be true. Let's see what the scriptures actually say. Now let's get to the first question:

Jonathan (00:05:09): Does God really care about the massive suffering of His creation?

Rick (00:05:14): Does He really care? Even when the consequences were handed down for the first sinful acts, God showed - He did show how He cared in the midst of His righteous judgment of Satan. Genesis 3:15 is an example of this:

Jonathan (00:05:29): "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel."

Rick (00:05:38): God cares.

Jonathan (00:05:40): Rick, this is a confusing verse. Sin has done its damage. So how does God care?

Rick (00:05:48): All right, well, God cares because in this verse what it's saying is you have disobedience. And in the process of proclaiming the consequences of disobedience, God is telling Satan that you will be destroyed for your disobedience. Which means there are consequences for that disobedience that go beyond just the death sentence; it is that the destruction of the one who brought the sin to humanity. So there is a caring there. Now I know it looks tiny at this point, but take that tiny caring and let's let it build, okay? Let's let it build. Let's go a little further, let's go to the next one. Long before Jesus came, there were those who searched for God with godly righteousness in their heart and they knew that He could be merciful to them because they really wanted to serve Him.

Final Notes (00:06:39): Let's give a few examples of those early ancient individuals who had such worthiness. Noah is our first example, Genesis 6:8:

Jonathan (00:06:48): "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."

Rick (00:06:52): And through Noah, humanity was able to continue, and that shows us that God cares.

Jonathan (00:06:58): Now Rick, are you sure about this? Now what about the thousands and thousands that were destroyed in the Flood? How does that show caring?

Rick (00:07:07): Okay, good question. And the answer is that whenever you see any movement by God that shows salvation of some kind or other, it's always a picture of the bigger picture of salvation that comes to all who have ever lived. So this was one of the first pictures of the bigness of salvation that we'll get to later. So yes, Jonathan, it is a picture of God caring. And you're right, it's a little bit hard to see because you have to put it in its larger context. Let's go to the next example of somebody who sought to serve God, Abraham. Genesis 22:15-18:

Jonathan (00:07:46): "And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time and said, By Myself, have I sworn, sayeth the Lord, for because thou has done this thing, and has not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the seashore, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed My voice."

Rick (00:08:19): Through Abraham, humanity was given the promise of future blessing through a promised seed. Again, evidence that God cares.

Jonathan (00:08:30): But the skeptic might say, people are still dying. There's no blessing yet. Did God forget? How long ago was that promise, anyway?

Rick (00:08:39): The promise is thousands of years old, absolutely, thousands of years old. And the skeptic can say that, but what the skeptic doesn't seem to understand or has not been able to have explained to them is that the plan of God that cares is a plan of very small building-block steps. God never makes a promise He doesn't keep. Now, that promise may take thousands of years to unfold, but when it does, it's big. So yes, it is a dramatic step in showing that God cares. Let's go to another example of one who sought after God way back in those ancient times; David, King David. Psalms 143:1-2:

Jonathan (00:09:20): "Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness! And do not enter into judgment with your servant, for in Your sight no man living is righteous."

Rick (00:09:34): Again, David says, "In Your sight, there's nobody living who's righteous." David understands. And yet even though he knows he's not righteous, he asks God for mercy, and God gives it to him. And we understand that through David's kingly authority, the promised seed was to be established, and that again shows that God cares.

Jonathan (00:09:57): Rick, how do we prove that? This verse doesn't say Jesus was from the line of David.

Rick (00:10:04): You're right, this verse doesn't. Jonathan, where are you getting all these questions? This verse doesn't say that, but we understand that the line of David, there are several prophecies that talk about the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And when you look at the lineage of Jesus, you see that no matter how you look at it, he comes from the tribe of Judah, he comes from the line of David, he comes from the kingly line, which will bring God's plan to fruition. And so we're using this scripture as an example of one who had God's favor. David was a man after God's own heart. And David still knew that, no, I can't do right before God, but God has mercy upon me. And that shows us that God cares even in our state of a lack of being able to stand before Him. He loves His creation even though we're imperfect, even though we're broken. What was ultimately needed? So now Jonathan, we're going to get to the balancing point here. What was ultimately needed to bring man back to God was a just trade to pay the price for Adam, and to pave the way for evil and death to be removed from the human experience. We needed a just trade because God is a just God. 1 Corinthians 15:21-23 helps us understand this:

Jonathan (00:11:23): "For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who were Christ at his coming."

Rick (00:11:40): So you look at this verse, there is a comprehensiveness to Adam's sin. I mean, it covers everybody. It's comprehensive, "as an Adam all die," and that comprehensiveness is matched by the value and comprehensiveness of Jesus' sacrifice. And this shows us that God cares. So you don't have a question there, do you?

Jonathan (00:12:05): I don't. <Laugh> I like the justice though. A man for a man, an eye for an eye, just reminds me of God's justice throughout the Old Testament.

Rick (00:12:14): And it fits perfectly. You have the just trade necessary, and this is great evidence that God cares. Let's go further with this. Jesus' inherent value to each and every person, to each and every person, is stated and restated in Scripture. Hebrews 2:9 is just one of those statements:

Jonathan (00:12:34): "But we do see him who was made a little lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

Rick (00:12:47): See? God cares.

Jonathan (00:12:49): This makes me think back to Noah when we talked about the Flood earlier. All those people that were destroyed are included in this "everyone," aren't they?

Rick (00:13:01): And that's the point. That's why when you look at the Flood, if you isolate it as just a one-shot example, it doesn't tell the whole story. It tells a little tiny part of the whole story. You get to these scriptures and now the story begins to expand and you say, wait a minute. Oh, there's so much more to it. God does care. One more in Romans, the apostle Paul restates it, this God caring in powerful detail, to dissolve any confusion or any doubts. Romans 5:18-19 and then Romans 6:23:

Jonathan (00:13:35): "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous." And to Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Rick (00:14:05): Jonathan, if we would go back and read Romans 5:18-19 again and again to ourselves with the concept that God cares, with all of the scriptures we laid out before, what we would see is a powerful resounding panoramic view of how strong His caring is for every single man, woman and child who ever lived. Romans 5:18-19 is irrefutable logic that God's plan includes every human being who ever lived. God does care.

Jonathan (00:14:42): Let's go back to our first question: Does God really care about the massive suffering of His creation?

Rick (00:14:50): If you've been listening, you can see that yes, He does. We're talking about the destruction of the world's pain and the world's suffering. Jonathan, let's wrap this piece up.

Jonathan (00:15:01): The ending of the powerful grip of sin and death upon our world would be impossible without a loving God. When we quote "God is love," let's remember to apply it to all of humanity because that is what the Scriptures do. God does care.

Rick (00:15:19): He certainly does care. To realize the depth of God's care is inspiring and makes us want to look deeper into how His caring blossoms into action.

Jonathan (00:15:31): Knowing that God cares is a good start, but there are still many questions. How do we explain all the past centuries of sin?

Rick (00:15:41): It would be quite unfair to announce that the Bible unequivocally declares God's love and care without addressing the obvious. If God is so loving, then why, oh why, are sin and death still alive and well 2,000 years even after Jesus came? The details of this answer are many, and we'll briefly examine some of those key points as we continue with our questions. And remember, we're going through these seven questions that so many people ask because they look at God and they look at the world and the two don't seem to make sense, because the world seems to be so out of sorts and out of harmony with what we think we want God to be. So Jonathan, what's our next question?

Jonathan (00:16:27): What benefit could there possibly be for the thousands of years of traumatic human experience? Rick, isn't this a little overboard? Haven't we had enough?

Rick (00:16:38): Whenever anybody is in a situation of sickness or trial or trauma, you go through it and it's like, okay, I've had enough. Okay, I've had enough, but it's not enough until it's completely done. And that's what we're going to find here. Let's take this apart and go piece by piece. God proclaimed that sin and death would rule. We knew that, okay? Ecclesiastes 3:10 adds an interesting dimension to that:

Jonathan (00:17:06): "I have seen the travail which God has given to the sons of men to be exercised in it."

Rick (00:17:13): The travail that God has given so they could be exercised. The experience of suffering is a teaching experience. And that's the first and most important point. And you can say, well, that's a pretty lame point to make the whole world suffer for thousands of years. Hold your thinking on that and let's develop this a little bit further, all right? Let's go a little further. Let's go to Romans, back to Romans 5, this time verses 12-14:

Jonathan (00:17:39): "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned - for unto the Law sin was in the world. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses."

Rick (00:17:55): You have death reigning. Why is the apostle so specific here? He's saying, "death reigned from Adam to Moses." He's telling us that no matter where you are in the stream of time, the same condition existed, and it was the result of sin. This experience of sin and death took immediate hold right after Adam and the apostle's saying, and it brought us up to the time when the Law was brought into place. So even before the written Law from God that came through Moses, even before that, you had the consequence. And remember right after, well not right after, but years after Adam and Eve are expelled from the garden, they have family and Cain murders Abel. It is just this irrevocable situation that continues to get worse and worse. So it was there from the very, very beginning all the way up to the Law. Then God brought the Law through Moses. Why?

Jonathan (00:19:01): Well, what benefit could there possibly be? Let's trace what God did. Let's look at Galatians 3:19-22 from the Young's Literal Translation, starting with verses 19 and 20: "Why then the Law? On account of the transgressions it was added, till the seed might come to which the promise hath been made, having been set in order through the messengers in the hand of a mediator." Well, why show everyone that they couldn't keep the Law?

Rick (00:19:33): It was important to show them because it was important to show them that once you're born in sin, you are not able to rise up to a level that is acceptable to God. And so God gave them a law that said, okay, if you can do this, you do this. As a matter of fact, in Deuteronomy it said that any man who keeps the law can live and live and live and live, and nobody could. They needed to recognize that it was something that was beyond them. And it's interesting because it was given through the hand of a mediator. The Law set things in order. And this was given through the mediator Moses to define the depth and the power of sin. That's what it did. They saw the depth and power of sin. This defined it. So up until from Adam until Moses, you see it; now it's really clearly, clearly defined. This mediator situation also pictured Jesus in his future mediatorial role of setting things in order, of bringing righteousness to the world. And we'll get to that a little bit later. So let's get back to Galatians 3, picking up with verses 21-22:

Jonathan (00:20:39): "The Law, then, is against the promises of God? Let it not be! For if a law was given that was able to make alive, truly by law there would've been the righteousness, but the writing did shut up the whole under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ may be given to those believing."

Rick (00:21:00): The Law made it painfully clear that being right before God was impossible for imperfect humanity. We could not bring ourselves up to that height, and that's why Jesus would eventually be needed.

Jonathan (00:21:15): But God wanted them to strive for the ideal.

Rick (00:21:19): Yeah. Yeah, see, that's an important point. God says, okay, you're My children. You are supposed to be wanting to honor your Father. Here's how to do it. And yes, you're going to fall short. And the interesting thing about it, Jonathan, is that when they were under the Law and they would fall short, but get up and try again, He would love them, He would forgive them, He would help them, He would bless them, He would encourage them, He would strengthen them, He would provide for them. He would do all of those things because the effort was there, even though they could never live up to it. It's when they started to push His Law away from them, that's when they began to suffer other kinds of consequences. And that brings us to the next point. And you know, we're looking through what benefit could there possibly be for thousands of years of sin? We're laying out the process by which sin is understood and lived through and becomes a teaching tool that can last for eternity. The next point on this is the power of generational experience, which cannot be understated. Let's look at Amos 3:1-2:

Jonathan (00:22:28): "Hear this word which the Lord has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt, you only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your inequities." The generational effect of sin also shows the inherited sins pass down from family members.

Rick (00:22:52): It does, and that's another aspect of understanding why thousands of years, because the generational effect of sin is a growing, developing monstrosity of a thing. You know how we talk about COVID in our day and age and how it's got all of these different mutations and all of this kind of stuff and it's now different than it was. That's what sin is. It's still evil and dark and miserable, and it mutates into all of these different things through generations. It needs to be allowed to show its ugly face. It needs to be allowed to show what it produces. Here's the thing; Israel's sins, while being guided by God, echo the need to learn the sinfulness of sin for everybody. So we look at Israel's sins and we realize, according to scripture, they're an example. 1 Corinthians 10:6-12:

Jonathan (00:23:44): "Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we could not crave evil things, as they also craved. Do not be idolators, as some of them were; nor let us act immorally, as some of them did. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, nor grumble, as some of them did. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall." Well, I would rather learn from others' mistakes than make them myself. Rick, you go first. I'll watch.

Rick (00:24:25): Thank you so much. <Laugh> Thank you for your kind support, but no thank you.<Laugh> But see, it's important Jonathan, it's important. Personal or observed experience with sin provides a basis upon which to understand godliness. That's what that scripture showed us. We have Israel to learn from. It's a panorama of learning. Pay attention. There are many things in our own lives, in the lives of one another like you just stated, we can learn from. We need to pay attention because there is learning to be done. And this learning is so valuable. As a matter of fact, let's look at the value of this learning experience. It's beautifully expressed in 1 Timothy 2:3-6:

Jonathan (00:25:13): "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time." The word for "knowledge" means recognition. That is, a full discernment, acknowledgement.

Rick (00:25:37): This is important because what this is saying, Jonathan, you asked that question originally. Why thousands of years? Because God has a plan for salvation, and He'll have all men to have that salvation and come to the full disclosure of truth. How do you get full disclosure of truth? You understand the consequences of sin and the consequences of righteousness. You understand how it all works. You know all the details. This is why it's been allowed to go on for so long. It's a full disclosure, and it takes humanity a long time. Look at how we've invented new ways to be sinful. Think about this.

Jonathan (00:26:22): Yuck.

Rick (00:26:23): Well, but see, think about how things that are now somewhat commonplace would never have been thought of many ages ago, and you look at this and say, well, why is that allowed to be? So we understand that that's what we're capable of in a sinful circumstance. This is what we need to see.

Jonathan (00:26:41): Well, let's go back to our second question: What benefit could there possibly be for the thousands of years of traumatic human experience?

Rick (00:26:50): What benefit could there possibly be? It's the benefit of that full disclosure, the destruction of the world's pain and suffering. That's the benefit. Jonathan, let's pull this together.

Jonathan (00:27:01): The experiencing of sin and utter chaos and darkness is vital for the eternal benefit of every human being. Having this experience in hand is part of the full disclosure needed for them to, with clear understanding, choose to live with eternal righteousness and loyalty to God. Rick, we've been given full disclosure so we can see sin from every possible angle.

Rick (00:27:30): That is the point. And that's why it takes such a long time. And thank God He allows it to take the time it needs so that we do see it from every possible angle. Let's get on to our third question, Jonathan.

Jonathan (00:27:44): Is it the earth's destiny to be burned up or be desolate, or is it to be continually inhabited? Well, there are many people who are very concerned that we are abusing and destroying the world if we go on as we are.

Rick (00:28:00): And you see legitimate concerns to say, wow, yeah, wait, what are we doing? What are we doing? Well, let's look at God's plan for this. God's original proclamation was that the earth would be the eternal home of humanity. And we know that from Genesis 1:28:

Jonathan (00:28:16): "God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Rick (00:28:28): Notice He didn't say, I'll give you a thousand years to do that, or two thousand. He said, this is your domain. You have the tree of life which brings life as long as you eat of it. This is what you're supposed to have. He shows eternity in this plan. Of course, sin enters. Even after sin entered, there are many assurances that God's original proclamation still stands. Let's look at a few scriptures, Isaiah 45:18:

Jonathan (00:28:55): "For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), I am the Lord and there is none else."

Rick (00:29:09): He created it to be inhabited. This is a big deal. This was God's intention. And when God intends something, Jonathan, He does what His intention has stated. It's also shown to us in Ecclesiastes 1:4:

Jonathan (00:29:26): "A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever." You know, that's a pretty long time; forever and ever, amen.

Rick (00:29:37): Amen, amen. So we have these clarifications that are so important for us. Isaiah 35 is a future prophecy that shows the earth blossoming as the Garden of Eden did. Let's just read the first two verses:

Jonathan (00:29:50): "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon, they will see the glory of the Lord; the splendor of our God." Now that's good news. Obviously this hasn't happened yet. That'll be amazing to see the earth in this way.

Rick (00:30:18): We don't even understand what the capacity of God's perfect earth will bring to us.

Jonathan (00:30:25): Let's go back to our third question. Is the earth's destiny to be burned up or be desolate or is it to be continually inhabited?

Rick (00:30:34): The answer always comes back to it. We're looking at the destruction of the world's pain and suffering, and that does include the condition of the earth. Jonathan, what do we have?

Jonathan (00:30:43): The earth's destiny is to be an eternal home for God's physical creations. What a relief it is to know that imperfect humanity will not be allowed to destroy this planet beyond God's ability to restore it.

Rick (00:30:59): And that is something we can all take great heart in and take the anxiety and say, thank God He's got control of this. Learning lessons of righteousness from evil and the earth abiding forever. What a great future God has planned for His human creation.

Jonathan (00:31:17): God cares enough to allow sin as a teaching tool and preserves our planet. What will the results be for humanity?

Rick (00:31:26): This is where the questions and answers we're exploring begin to get exciting. So far we've seen the big picture pieces being put in place, and we can grasp the magnitude of God's plan. Now let's get personal and explore the questions that can plague every heart of each of us. What about fear? What about violence? How does God's plan handle these things? Jonathan, so now we're getting into the real worries of our physical human lives, fear and violence. Let's get to our fourth question:

Jonathan (00:32:03): Will there ever be a time when humanity can live in a world that is free from fear?

Rick (00:32:09): How do you become free from fear? Fear dissolves when a powerful sense of tangible security appears. Not a hope for security, not a promise of security, not a blueprint for security, but actual, tangible security appears. We're going to read a prophecy and folks, if you've noticed, we're reading a lot of prophecies and the prophecies are basically self-explanatory. We don't have to go into a lot of explanation. They're showing you, they're explaining God's plan, and we're taking these several, several prophecies and putting them together to say, this is how God's mind works. He laid it out for us in Scripture. This particular prophecy is from Isaiah 25:7-9. Let's do 7-8 to begin:

Jonathan (00:32:58): "And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil, which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken." In this verse, mankind is no longer a disappointment or disapproved of God. They have a new standing.

Rick (00:33:27): They do and that's the beauty of this. And He said on this mountain, His government, He swallows up those things that have plagued the earth and covered over the earth. And here's what the attitude of humanity is at that point. Verse 9:

Jonathan (00:33:44): "And it will be said in that day, behold, this is our God from whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." If we finally get this saving we were hoping for, that fear of whether or not we're going to be delivered is over. What a relief.

Rick (00:34:09): And that's the difference between now and then, Jonathan. Now it's an age of faith. We look forward and say these prophecies will come true. When these prophecies do come true, the people will be living in an age of sight will say, this is what God does for us. I don't have to be afraid. I have tangible proof in front of me. It's a big deal. It's a big deal when you can say fear will fade. With this palpable sense of security present just like in that prophecy, all that has caused fear and anxiety will be drained away from the lives of people. So let's think about the kinds of things that cause fear and anxiety within people. Let's begin with the personal healing of the people. We're going to go back to Isaiah 35. We're going to read 5-10, but we're going to start with 5-6:

Jonathan (00:34:56): "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy." If someone is blind, deaf, lame or can't speak, they have inherent fear. Limitations bring fear. My wife has a severe hearing disability. Even though she has a cochlear implant, there are things she doesn't hear well. Say, for example, we're taking a walk together, I always worry that she's going to get hit by a car if she doesn't hear it coming. So I'm always on the lookout and making her aware of a car approaching.

Rick (00:35:36): So what you're saying is that that example in your own personal life is that there's that extra level of fear on both of your parts because of the lack of hearing, the lack of being whole.

Jonathan (00:35:49): Exactly.

Rick (00:35:50): So that there's no more fear that comes from not being whole because there's no more fear from that kind of limitation. That's what that prophecy is saying. Those things are gone. The fear that comes from those things, it's going to be gone. What about the earth? Now we talked about the earth a little bit. Let's go back. Let's move to the healing of the earth, as is mentioned in Isaiah 35. Now in the latter part of verse 6-7:

Jonathan (00:36:17): "For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah. The scorched land will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt (or home) of jackals, its resting place, grass becomes reeds and rushes."

Rick (00:36:32): So there's no more fear of the earth being destroyed. You release the fear when there's tangible evidence of absolute security. And what this prophecy is showing us is tangible evidence in a very physical way for humanity and their physical being and in the structure of the earth. And this prophecy continues releasing fear because now we go to the reconciling of the people and the releasing of fear that comes in that way. Isaiah 35:8-10:

Jonathan (00:37:08): "A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the highway of holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way. And fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast go up on it; these will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return, and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."

Rick (00:37:43): Those verses are describing no more fear of being swept away by the power of evil. How many of us today live in fear day by day by day of being swept away, of being taken out by the power of evil? What those verses are describing is there will be tangible security in place that says, you don't have to worry, there will be no lion there. God will take care of it. So Jonathan, this is thrilling when you see how fear can be removed in God's plan in the future. Another prophecy, let's move to another prophecy, this one in Micah. Now we move to the fear of humanity destroying humanity. Micah 4:3-4:

Jonathan (00:38:25): "And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war...with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken."

Rick (00:38:48): No more fear of war and mutually-assured destruction.

Jonathan (00:38:53): And Rick, can you clarify that a little bit?

Rick (00:38:56): Mutually assured destruction; we live in an age where we assure ourselves, because of the great massive mighty military power that so many nations have, that if one nation decides to go nuclear on another, it will be retaliated in a nuclear way from another. And we assure ourselves that we will all destroy one another. We have this mutually assured destruction. What this verse is saying is, there is mutually assured growth and happiness and love and peace. No more mutually assured destruction. The fear of that goes away under the reign of God. Swords to plowshares, spears to pruning hooks, no more war.

Jonathan (00:39:41): Back to our fourth question: Will there ever be a time when humanity can live in a world that is free from fear?

Rick (00:39:48): What we're talking about is the destruction of the world's pain and suffering, and that includes fear. What do we have?

Jonathan (00:39:56): Through these prophecies it is easy to see that God not only destroys fear, but He does it comprehensively and completely for those of us who often experience that. But what about this kind of fear? God's plan is especially comforting as he will remove all of our "What about this" concerns. So the peaceable kingdom is literally at peace.

Rick (00:40:22): And that's exactly the point, that the absence of fear is the presence of tangible security. It will be obvious and utterly trustable security and fear goes away. What's our next question?

Jonathan (00:40:39): Question 5: Will crime and violence ever come to an end?

Rick (00:40:43): Well, when sin is allowed, it's allowed. When sin is not allowed, then it's not allowed. Okay? If you're going to take it away, you take it away in its entirety. Let's look at Psalms 37:8-11:

Jonathan (00:40:58): "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evil doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." What does it mean that evil doers will be cut off? The work of evil will not be allowed because of reconciliation.

Rick (00:41:33): So if you are not allowing the work of evil to be continuing because reconciliation is in process and you're saying the scripture's saying that the meek shall inherit the earth, what it's telling us is that if the meek inherit the earth, God's not going to give them the earth so that they can get all overrun. He puts it in place so it can be an abundance of peace that comes from an absence of violence and crime. The meek shall inherit the earth. It gives you a sense that "meek" means those who are loyal and following God in His righteousness. It doesn't mean you're a pushover. It means that you are standing firm in the righteousness of God. The next scripture, Jonathan, really gives a very powerful sense of this. Daniel 12:1-3:

Jonathan (00:42:26): "Now at that time Michael (we believe Michael was Jesus), the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others, to disgrace and everlasting contempt." Everlasting means age-lasting. They will need to be made right before God by changing their ways. Continuing in verse 3: "Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." "The many" here is the same as in the book of Romans that we read earlier, which means "all."

Rick (00:43:21): What we have is the sense that judgment and justice will prevail, and crime and violence will have no place. They'll be crowded out. You know, if you don't feed the virus, the virus dies. That's the point. It has to have something to feed off of. If you don't feed it, it can't grow. And that's what this is describing, that there is this clarity of truth and righteousness through Jesus' return, through the kingdom, and through God's overwhelming righteousness. All people will be led to righteousness. And for those who don't want to follow righteousness, they will face the hard choice of living righteously or losing the privilege of life altogether. It becomes that simple. It's a "full disclosure," as we discussed in the previous segment. Not only will humanity live without violence, but the rest of God's earthly creation will also be restored to the harmony of the original Garden of Eden. And I just can't get enough of those scriptures, Jonathan, that show us the beauty of the world in this next age. Isaiah 65:24-25:

Jonathan (00:44:33): "It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent's food. They will do no evil or harm in My holy mountain, says the Lord."

Rick (00:44:53): "They will do no evil or harm in My holy mountain, My holy government, My holy earth, says the Lord God." That is a powerful promise.

Jonathan (00:45:04): Back to our fifth question: Will crime and violence ever come to an end?

Rick (00:45:09): Oh yes, Brother. Oh yes. Undeniably so. We've just seen that again, it's about the destruction of the world's pain and suffering, and crime and violence are a part of that. Let's wrap this up.

Jonathan (00:45:20): Crime and violence have been fixtures of every culture from the beginning of humanity's history. God's plan allowed this to become a powerfully recorded history for all to see. His removing of these things will be so dramatic that the likelihood of any wanting to go back to that way of life will be very small. Why would someone not want to have a perfect, everlasting life? Possibly because of greed or power or influence they used to have, which has been taken away.

Rick (00:45:56): There can be all kinds of reasons. It's hard to imagine when you see the magnitude of how these scriptures unfold. But what we know is God's plan is perfect, it's just, and it gives every single individual exactly enough information, time, heart and knowledge to be able to absorb it and make it their own should they want to. The meticulous detail with which God's plan will be carried out is absolutely breathtaking. How blessed are we that God cares so much!

Jonathan (00:46:30): God cares. Evil has a teaching purpose. The earth remains forever. Fear will be dissolved and crime will vanish. What else could there be?

Rick (00:46:41): The beauty of all this is that God's plan does not leave any stone unturned. No matter how common any aspect of the consequences of sin might be, He has it covered. For our last two questions, let's think about the Garden of Eden. Sin brought death, and it broke the serenity of that perfect and peaceful place. So think about, go back to the very beginning and let's use that as the reference point as we move forward. What's our next question?

Jonathan (00:47:17): Question 6: Will death ever cease?

Rick (00:47:21): Look, death is powerful, but it is no match for the faithfully risen Lord Jesus, who will call all from their graves with the authority given him as he sits at the right hand of God's power. One of my favorite scriptures, Jonathan, is John 5:25:

Jonathan (00:47:42): "Verily, verily I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of Man; and they that hear shall live."

Rick (00:47:52): You have this powerful promise that they will hear his voice. What a powerful voice that overrides the power of being dead, of being non-existent. This extraordinary power was given to Jesus. Why? Because of his eternal loyalty to his Father. And that is shown to us very, very plainly. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-26. We'll start with 20-23:

Jonathan (00:48:21): And we read this earlier: "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at his coming."

Rick (00:48:46): So we have a promise that all will be made alive in Christ, and we have a promise that it's not going to be haphazard, but it will be in an orderly fashion so that God's plan can come to fruition exactly the way it's supposed to come to fruition. So when we're asking the question, will death ever cease? Well, what we're seeing is everybody coming back from the grave. Now, once the raising and the thorough testing of all is completed, and that's a big process. We're not going to be discussing that in detail today, but it's a big process, this thorough testing of all. Once that's completed, Jesus will then do what he's always done from the very beginning, before time was ever counted. And that's shown to us in 1 Corinthians 15:24-26:

Jonathan (00:49:36): "Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death." So death does cease, it will be finished.

Rick (00:49:58): That is such a powerful thought. There will be no more of anybody going into death. Now those that have died because they have chosen death as a way, that stays in place, but there's no more dying. It's over with. It is a thing of the past. That's what the scripture is telling us. We really want to just get a sense of how big this is. Let's get back to our theme scripture, but this time with some of its context. So Jonathan, let's do Revelation 21. We're going to do verses 1-4, but we'll start with 1-3:

Jonathan (00:50:37): "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." By the way, this new Jerusalem is a picture of the true church. Back to verse 3: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God."

Rick (00:51:11): That's just exciting. That's just exciting. You see this and you're like, whoa, this is like building up to this big crescendo. You're putting all the pieces in place. God completely sets the stage. So all of what we've talked about can and will happen. He has meticulously put this plan together. And Folks, how many prophecies have we gone over in just this episode that have plainly stated what the plans of God are? They come from all different parts of scripture. And when you put them together, you get this mosaic of perfection of a plan. And it's summed up in what our theme scripture is. Revelation 21:4:

Jonathan (00:51:54): "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death; neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." We have someone close to us that is in constant pain. Pain is so debilitating; it weighs on us mentally, spiritually, and physically. Thank the Lord that pain and worry will disappear.

Rick (00:52:22): Pain and worry, anxiety, depression, trauma, sickness disunion, all of these things will be gone. And the key here is that in this verse 4, no more tears, no more death. It just says it. It's plain, it's simple. It's not the only place in scripture. So you have this very, very, very clear, plain answer.

Jonathan (00:52:52): Back to question 6: Will death ever cease?

Rick (00:52:56): And the answer is absolutely, positively, unequivocally, undeniably yes, according to the word of God. It's all about the destruction of the world's pain and suffering. Just remember, Folks, the original question for this podcast, "Will the World's Pain and Suffering Ever End?" and the myriad of scriptures that we have talked about have laid out how it works, when it works, why it works. So we want to grab hold of this and say, this is God's plan. This is an amazing thing. Jonathan, go ahead.

Jonathan (00:53:30): Death would have been eternal if Jesus did not offer himself as a ransom on behalf of Adam and the world. This change in course was, is, and always will be the most important pivot point of God's entire plan. Because of Jesus, death will die.

Rick (00:53:49): What a powerful promise. What a powerful action. And if it doesn't help you just more fully comprehend the greatness of the sacrifice of Jesus, then you're not seeing this. This is so, so big. Jonathan, we have just one last question.

Jonathan (00:54:08): Question 7: Can world peace ever be a reality?

Rick (00:54:13): I'm just going to answer it. Absolutely positively, okay? <Laugh> I can't stand it. <Laugh> But let's look at it this way. Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the Monday before his crucifixion fulfilled this next Zechariah prophecy and gave everyone a glimpse of what his eventual kingship would mean - "Peace on earth and goodwill towards men." Let's just read Zechariah 9:9-10:

Jonathan (00:54:39): "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; he is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be cut off. And he will speak peace to the nations; and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." Isn't it amazing that at Jesus' birth the angel announced peace on earth? And here in this prophecy of Jesus riding into Jerusalem, we get the same message - peace to the nations. Awesome!

Rick (00:55:24): Well, and think about that. You get it at his birth, peace on earth, good will toward men. He's riding into Jerusalem the week before his crucifixion and you get this message of peace. When he's baptized in between, what does John the Baptist say? "Behold The son of God who takes away the sin of the world, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." So you have this message, this resounding repeated message, that comes not only throughout Jesus' life, but throughout all the scriptures that lead up to Jesus' life. It brings us to the sense that God has a plan, and the plan is for peace on earth, goodwill toward men. Why is it that we just look at that as poetic? Why do we not see the actual physical real value of the words that God gave that angel to say? We need to hold those close to our hearts and say, this is the will of God. It is coming. How does world peace come into existence? Through the necessary judgment of sin and the necessary reconciliation of all back to harmony with God's way. Isaiah 2:4, yet another prophecy:

Jonathan (00:56:33): "And He will judge between the nations and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war."

Rick (00:56:48): This is not the first time that was said in the Old Testament, is it?

Jonathan (00:56:51): No, it's not.

Rick (00:56:52): So when God repeats things through different prophets at different times, don't you think we should start to pay attention and say, He's got a message for us and it's real? It's absolutely real. Jesus the King, along with his true faithful disciples, will judge and reconcile the world. This work is so comprehensive that it produces an indestructible kingdom with unending peace. Let me say that again. An indestructible kingdom with unending peace. One more prophecy, Jonathan, Daniel 2:44:

Jonathan (00:57:33): "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever." Where it says He will put an end and crush all these kingdoms, it is referring to Satan's evil governments, which will be destroyed because God's kingdom with Jesus as our king will lead the world throughout eternity. All nations will have the right leadership with no hidden agenda.

Rick (00:58:09): So, and I love that last phrase, with no hidden agenda. So when we look at this whole thingwe want to understand the magnitude of what God's plan is. We've asked these seven questions; well, first of all, let's finish this up. I'm running ahead. I'm so excited, I can't stand it, okay?

Jonathan (00:58:29): Back to question 7: Can world peace ever be a reality?

Rick (00:58:34): Yes, it can. Yes it can. Yes it can. Yes it will. Yes it is. It's coming. You've got to understand it is coming, the destruction of the world's pain and suffering, and I might add, the destruction of the world's hidden agendas as well. Jonathan, let's wrap this up.

Jonathan (00:58:50): World peace will sweep over the entire earth in due time and never again be undone. Let us be patient, knowing God's plan takes time. Let us be faithful, knowing that truly faithful Christians will play a significant future role. Let us be loving, knowing that God loves all, even the worst of sinners. And let us be vocal, so we can bring hope for the future to this fearful and suffering world. Share the good news!

Rick (00:59:21): "Good News of great joy, which shall be to all people." When we hear those words now, Folks, what do you think of when you hear those now? Now you've heard these prophecies. Good news for all people. "Unto You born this day in the city of David is a savior, which is Christ the Lord." He saves all. The world's pain, the world's suffering, the world's hidden agenda, sin, death, destructiveness, trauma, trial, all go away. Why? Because that has always been the plan of God, and it has always been written in the holy Word of God. Listen to God's word, believe and change your life. Think about it. Folks, we love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback questions on this episode or other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Coming up in our next episode: "What Does It Feel Like to Have Real Faith?" Talk to you then.

Final Notes (01:00:24): Copyright @2023 Christian Questions. In addition to this transcript, we provide comprehensive CQ Rewind Show Notes for every episode. They include every scripture quoted during the podcast, as well as graphics, illustrations and bonus material. Click the "CQ Rewind Show Notes" button near the audio player or sign up to receive these weekly at ChristianQuestions.com. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence. While we believe it to be accurate, we apologize for any errors that may exist.