3. The hope for mankind’s restoration announced

Everlasting Life on Earth is A God-Given Hope


“The creation was subjected to futility . . . on the basis of hope.”—ROM. 8:20. Today, many religions and Bible scholars deny that the hope of living forever on earth is a Christian teaching. Most people hope for an afterlife in the spirit realm. So when readers of the Christian Greek Scriptures come across the expression “everlasting life,” many think that it always refers to life in heaven. Is that true? What did Jesus mean when he spoke of everlasting life? What did his disciples believe? Do the Christian Greek Scriptures hold out the hope of everlasting life on earth?


PERHAPS you recall the joy you felt when you first learned that in the near future, people will no longer grow old and die but will live forever on earth. (John 17:3; Rev. 21:3, 4) You have probably enjoyed sharing that Scriptural hope with others. After all, the hope of everlasting life is an essential aspect of the good news that we preach. It molds our very outlook on life.


For the most part, the religions of Christendom have ignored the hope of everlasting life on earth. Whereas the Bible teaches that the soul dies, the majority of churches teach the unscriptural doctrine that man has an immortal soul that survives death and lives on in the spirit realm. (Ezek. 18:20) Hence, many people are skeptical about everlasting life on earth. We might therefore ask: Does the Bible really support that hope? If so, when did God first reveal it to humans?


In his letter to the Hebrews, the apostle Paul addressed his fellow believers as “holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling.” (this leads to another subject to be discussed on another page at a later date) However, he also stated that God has subjected to Jesus “the inhabited earth to come.” (Heb. 2:3, 5; 3:1) In the Christian Greek Scriptures, the original word for “inhabited earth” always refers to earth populated by humans. Hence, “the inhabited earth to come” is the future system of things on earth under the rulership of Jesus Christ. Jesus will then fulfill God’s promise: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”—Ps. 37:29.


The entire human family inherited imperfection as a result of Adam’s sin, and that gives rise to countless problems that eventually lead to death. (Romans 5:12) The situation is aggravated by the fact that Satan the Devil is “the ruler of this world.” (John 12:31; 1 John 5:19) Jehovah did more than express sorrow over the unhappy situation that confronts humankind. He sent his only-begotten Son as a ransom to provide deliverance, and He told us that we can be relieved of the effects of Adamic sin if we exercise faith in His Son. (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10) God also foretold that Jesus Christ, who has been entrusted with all authority in heaven and on earth, will destroy Satan and his entire wicked system of things.—Matthew 28:18; 1 John 3:8; Revelation 6:2; 20:10.


To strengthen our confidence in his promises, God has preserved abundant evidence that whatever he foretells comes to pass. (Joshua 23:14) He included in the Bible a record of what he has done to deliver his servants in the face of humanly impossible odds. (Exodus 14:4-31; 2 Kings 18:13–19:37) And through Jesus Christ, Jehovah demonstrated that his purpose includes healing people of “every sort of infirmity,” even resurrecting the dead, whether those died by disease, old age, by accident or that died for any number of unfortunate reasons. For in this system, we are all going to die. (Matthew 9:35; 11:3-6) But, when will all of this take place? In answer, the Bible contains a description of the last days of this old system, which precede God’s new heavens and new earth. Jesus’ description matches the times we are living in.—Matthew 24:3-14; 2 Timothy 3:1-5.


The comfort that Jesus brought was embodied in “the good news of the kingdom of God.” This was the message Jesus proclaimed wherever he went. (Luke 4:43) He emphasized the relevance of that message to people’s everyday problems by demonstrating what he as the Messianic Ruler would do for mankind. He gave suffering individuals renewed reason to live by restoring sight and speech (Matthew 12:22; Mark 10:51, 52), curing disabled limbs (Mark 2:3-12), cleansing fellow Israelites of loathsome diseases (Luke 5:12, 13), and relieving them of other grievous sicknesses. (Mark 5:25-29) He brought great relief to grieving family members by raising their children from the dead. (Luke 7:11-15; 8:49-56) He demonstrated his ability to control dangerous storms and to satisfy the needs of large crowds for food. (Mark 4:37-41; 8:2-9) Moreover, Jesus taught them principles of living that could help them to deal constructively with existing problems and that would fill hearts with hope for righteous rulership under the Messiah. Thus as Jesus carried on his ministry, he not only comforted those who listened with faith but also laid a basis for encouraging people for thousands of years to come.


More than 60 years after Jesus had laid down his human life in sacrifice and been resurrected to heavenly life, the apostle John was inspired to write: “My little children, I am writing you these things that you may not commit a sin. And yet, if anyone does commit a sin, we have a helper with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one. And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s.” (1 John 2:1, 2) Because of the benefits of Jesus’ perfect human sacrifice, we are greatly comforted. We know that we can have forgiveness of sins, a clean conscience, an approved relationship with God, and the prospect of eternal life.—John 14:6; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:24-28; 1 Peter 3:21.


The last book of the Bible stirs our hearts with its vision of mankind lifted to perfection. (Read Revelation 21:1-4.) This has been the hope of believing mankind ever since human perfection was lost in the garden of Eden. Upright people will live in Paradise on earth endlessly without aging. This hope is solidly based on both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures, and it continues to strengthen faithful servants of Jehovah to this day.—Rev. 22:1, 2.