10. Epilogue
New Heaven, New Earth
Karl Mark dreamed of a world of great unity, where there would be no exploitation of man by man, based on the logical reasoning of the historical process of class struggle. The so-called scientific socialism failed after 74 years of unsuccessful experimentation (1917-1991).
The prospect of a peaceful and prosperous society forever is only a dream.
A peaceful society according to the Bible
The prophet Isaiah wrote:
“Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall graze, together their young shall lie down; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the viper’s den, and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair. They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain” (Isaiah 11, 6-9).
“He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again” (Isaiah 2, 4).
The Book of Revelation, a prophetic book that speaks of the future, says:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, … God will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away. The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then he said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.” He said to me, “They are accomplished. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water” (Rev 21, 1-6).
Is the peaceful society according to the Bible real?
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mt 24, 35). The holy books, inspired through human writing, developed over 1,500 years, are without error.
Vision:
“The lion will eat straw like the ox” means no more struggle for survival, living together in peace.
“They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” means no more war between nations.
“There will be no more death, no more mourning” means the law of birth and death will no longer exist, pain and suffering will no longer exist.
When it will come true
We should not judge history by just one slice. History must be seen as an evolutionary process, and historical judgment must be based on this principle. Otherwise, we are grossly distorting it. That is, we must consider and evaluate events in their entirety, in their social relationships and in their ultimate purpose.
Human beings are groping their way, with trial and error, sometimes having to start almost from scratch, learning from experience and continuing to walk. They are looking for a predetermined goal. They walk by themselves, no one leads them and they do not let anyone lead them. No one knows how long it will take to reach their destination.
It is only known that collective experience is abundant nowadays, developing on seven-mile boots: one day is equal to centuries of evolution of their ancestors.
More and more, humans discover that nature is truly miraculous, and their accumulated knowledge is nothing.
They have become more and more convinced that the existence of the Absolute is indisputable, even though they do not understand it.
Human institutions also change according to the level of consciousness. Science also changes. What it considers to be true today may be different from yesterday.
In fact, the end of the world has come for each individual when he dies and the end of this society is the doomsday.
According to scientists’ estimates, the universe has existed for 14 billion years, compared to the appearance of Homo sapiens only 300,000 years ago. It is believed that human writing was only 5,000 years ago. As for the sun, it sets in the west at night and rises in the east in the morning.
Jesus said: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming” (John 16, 12-13).
God is the master of history, time is His, and His time is not the same as ours. Human life is too short, we are in a hurry, while God is not.
All our assessments and judgments will be wrong if we consider history to have only progressed temporarily, even in a single slice.
Evolutionary history is very long, and so is the process of human cognition: from the primitive ignorance, just escaping animal instincts, it also takes time for the cognitive process to progress to higher and higher levels. Nowadays, this process happens so quickly that people are afraid.
Some people predict that in just a few decades, artificial intelligence will develop, find new directions of development, new operating rules, our knowledge will have a breakthrough, leading to a new human life and universe.
Perhaps Jesus’ words above apply very well to our current poor level: “you cannot bear it.”
The secret curtain of the universe is gradually revealed according to the level of evolution of the mind. At that time, we will see the “full truth” of the Spirit of God manifest.
The world is barbaric and has not yet escaped the instinct: “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Humans are exploiting each other, competing fiercely for survival, where the strong wins, the weak loses. And war is a vivid expression of that instinct.
However, the majority has realized that it is really wrong to launch wars, kill our fellow human beings indiscriminately, especially with today’s advanced technology, which does not bring life and longevity. Many people are not easily attracted by narrow-minded nationalism, vague ideals, sacrificing for fanatical religion at the expense of their precious lives.
The number of people who advocate forgiveness, love, tolerance and sacrifice, and suffering a little loss to reconcile and build peace is gradually increasing. At some point, when we have enough strength to stop the evil hand, taking advantage of the remaining ignorance of a part of the population to do evil, the world will have true peace.
We look forward to that day coming, because it will definitely come, but we cannot imagine that it will happen in a day or two.
The Kingdom of God is near, where justice will prevail, injustice will no longer exist, people will treat each other like brothers and sisters. It is not far-fetched, unrealistic, but near or far is up to us to decide.
Religion is an ideal and attaining religion is when we reach that ideal. Only a few saints today have attained religion. When society evolves to a high level, many people will attain religion, and the universe will also change. At that time, a new heaven and a new earth will also be possible.
Now this time is ideal, although many people still think it is utopian. But looking at the history of human beings from the primitive time of eating raw meat and living in caves, society has made a lot of progress: from ignorance, vagueness in perception to clarity in thinking, from narrow local concepts to globalization, from collective consciousness that everyone considers moral and normal but now is immoral and backward, such as eliminating gender inequality, abolishing feudalism, abolishing slavery, giving individual freedom… moving towards equality for everyone in all nations.
Humans are like children, emerging from instinct and living according to instinct, gradually maturing with consciousness and responsibility, becoming people leading the universe in one direction. The path of evolution is very difficult, at times it seems like degeneration, going down, but in general, like a rising tide, it has progressed very quickly in terms of knowledge, humanity, moral consciousness, and clarity in action.
The doomsday will certainly come, when the earthly life of all people ends and a new heaven and a new earth begin. At that time, hatred will be destroyed, love will reign, and there will be no more suffering, no more death, but only peace and joy.
To conclude:
Human beings are swimming in the river of their own history: not knowing the beginning, not knowing the end, not knowing where they come from and where they will go, always worried and anxious about their uncertain fate and that they cannot save themselves.
Human beings deeply desire, in their nature, for someone to come and save them from drowning and to give meaning to their lives. Human beings are in great need of Saving Grace to relieve those constant worries and anxieties. That’s why the old man Simeon, when holding the Savior in his arms, exclaimed, “Let your servant go in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation” (Lk 2, 29-30).
Everyone is thinking about an ending and wishing for a happy ending.
But whether it is happy and quick or not depends on whether the path we take is correct and shortest.