You can look forward to the planet of peace

There is an aspect of God that does not come out very clearly in the New Testament (because it covers such a short time span). However, when we look carefully at the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit gives evidence of how God rules over history. That is very important, because if God cannot control and direct history, believers in Jesus have no security that the promised eternal planet of peace will ever arrive.

We want to give two examples that show how God is in control of history:

• Israel. In Genesis 12:1 God called Abraham and promised him a homeland. Today it is clear that God fulfilled that promise. The Jews, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, live in Israel, the homeland that God promised to Abraham.¹ He made the promise only to Abraham, not to the Philistines, Arameans, Assyrians, Edomites, et cetera (who are ‘lost nations’).
• World empires of that time. The Bible foretells the demise of the great empires of the Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Greeks and Romans. The dream was given to Nebuchadnezzar and explained by Daniel.² Nebuchadnezzar was a heathen, not a worshipper of God. So it is interesting that God revealed the course of history to him. The Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman empires are all past history. History will end with the ultimate victory of Christ.

The foretelling of such momentous events in Daniel is unique and because of this, unbelievers maintain that it was written down after the events happened. This concerned Professor Dick Wilson and caused him to spend years investigating the book of Daniel. ^3,4  He found no evidence that it was written later, as the critics claim.

If God is in control of history in the Old Testament, what about Jesus and the New Testament? Jesus said that He and the Father are one.⁵ So Jesus is also in control of history. That means we never need to doubt Jesus’ words, ‘In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’  ⁶

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit gave us 66 books. They all have the same message: we have a wonderful Lord and Saviour, and our future is bright. If we persevere, we will be with Him eternally. There is no greater reward for putting one’s faith in God.

References

1. Genesis 17:8
2. Daniel 2
3. R D Wilson, Studies in the book of Daniel, G P Putman’s Sons, New York and London, 1917 (this book is available on Amazon).
4. R D Wilson, A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament,Moody Press, Chicago, 1959
5. John 14:9-11
6. John 14:2-3