A Visual Has More Impact Than A Description

"The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah 11:7-9 Can you imagine a world like this? The Lord will end the curse of death and destruction that currently rules this old earth because of sin, and in that day peace will reign. Even the animals will become peaceful and will play together without fear. So then, why did the Lord allow the fall and the sin which has brought such destruction into the world as it is now? "If God is good," they ask, "why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?" One reason is that knowledge is more effectively shown rather than described. It's much more effective if a child touches and hot stove and learns not to touch it again, than if the mother just tells him not to. God has granted Satan a certain amount of time to freely work his vile rebellion among the sons of men. We have been allowed to experience the world of sin and destruction so that we will know first-hand how terrible it is. This time period is very short, relative to eternity. In the age to come, peace will reign under Jesus Christ. But again, after a one-thousand-year period of peace and righteousness, Satan will be loosed and set free once more upon the earth, albeit for a very short time, because those living in those days will never have experienced the hellishness of sin and its consequences, and they need to see it for what it is. "Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth..." Revelation 20:7-8 Once again the visual will be there as Satan gathers those in the nations who will follow him - to bring them into rebellion against God and God's interests, especially against his holy city, Jerusalem. Man in his innocence will see the awfulness of the devil in all that he can lure men to do. Thankfully, it will be short lived. vs 8-10: "...to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Once the people who have lived in the age of peace have witnessed what they had never seen before, the visual will give way once again to the end of all rebellion once and for all and peace will reign, this time forever. "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4 If you desire to see those days, refuse to follow Satan who is called "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) as he lures mankind into unbelief and rebellion. Renounce him and surrender your life to Jesus Christ. He will make all things new for you even now, and you will see the day when all the curse and destruction will be over forever. And what is left ...will be unimaginable joy. "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18