The Earth - What is for?
by Jim Kunz
A short time ago an acquaintance, formerly in a scientific field, informed my wife and me that the earth was a result of the big bang, purely accidental.It follows that the inhabitants who, according to him, evolved on this sphere, are a result of time and happenstance too. Existence is a gigantic, mindless accident!
This reminded me that the secular world does not try to explain what the earth is for. Their hypotheses about the earth’s beginnings invariably leave things to random chance. This in turn makes the question, “what’s it for?” moot, irrelevant. If it is by chance, there is no purpose for its existence. It would seem a rather clever way of obscuring the truth about the real reason it exists.
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Rom.1:20, NASV). But if everything is random, there is no way to know what the earth is for. Or is there? The awesome complexity of the earth and its systems, the even more awesome complexity of life, right down to its simplest forms, still imperfectly and only partially understood, is surely the most remarkable set of coincidental, by chance accidents ever known or recorded by mankind. Can we conclude, then, that the earth and the life therein are purely accidental and without purpose? By no means! No one has given irrefutable proof that the earth and life happened by chance. Many scientists, seeing the minute complexities and intricacies of “simple” life forms, have concluded that the earth and all that’s in it is by design and plan brought about by a cosmic mind. Chance happenings, in their minds, don’t have a chance. The odds are totally against such a thing. It is in the realm of impossibility.
Henry Morris in The Biblical Basis for Modern Science says, “....there are now thousands of qualified scientists around the world who quite definitely believe in the full verbal inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures” (p 20). Why does the earth exist? Perhaps we had better look to a far better source than the secular for our answer. The cosmic mind we spoke of is the awesome, eternal, creating God who does provide answers. Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” That’s no accident! Psalm 102:25 says, “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.” It was by plan and design. Therefore it must have a purpose, a reason for existence. The major church denominations today believe Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 102:25. The one I attended when growing up, however, did not give a definitive reason for the earth’s existence. The subject was never even mentioned. The Kingdom message was ignored. It was taught that the immortal soul, upon death, went to heaven. The earth became somewhat unimportant. Our future was in heaven. Perhaps, again, a clever way of obscuring and avoiding the reason the earth exists. One secular, one religious. Has God in His infinite wisdom given us knowledge about the creation of the earth, but withheld the reason for its existence? It hardly seems likely. Actually many scholars and students of the Bible have clearly seen its purpose. It is a major part of His revelation. And it is the centerpiece of Christ’s teachings. A hint is given in Isaiah 45:18: “For this is what YAHWEH says — He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited…” (NIV). It was created to be inhabited. But there is much more. George N.H. Peters in his Theocratic Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Vol. 1, p. 34, quotes from King Henry VI’s Catechism: “Before the Lord God made heaven and earth, He determined to have for Himself a most beautiful Kingdom and holy commonwealth.” To this quote, he adds one by Moll: “At the very creation of the world God looked forward to and made arrangements for the eternally abiding and unchangeable Kingdom of glory; and to the introduction of that Kingdom tend all the revelations, arrangements, and providences of God in the history of the world.” This shows a remarkable depth of understanding of what the earth is for. Christ’s ministry centered around the Kingdom of God teaching (Matt. 4:17, 23; Mark 1:14-15). He sent his disciples out with the same Kingdom-Gospel (Matt.10:5, 7). In Matthew 25:34 he gives a clear, concise reason for the earth’s existence: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” This global sphere, then, is not an accident. It was designed and prepared for the Kingdom. Peters says, “‘From the foundation of the world’ is indicative that God purposed this very earth, when founded, for this Kingdom” (The Theocratic Kingdom, Vol. 1, p. 35). The earth, as originally created, truly a crown jewel in the universe before it was cursed, was evidence of God’s intention to carry out His plan for His Kingdom. As Christ’s teachings show, this plan, though delayed through Adam’s rebellion, is still being carried out. The earth still exists for the coming Kingdom.
Isaiah 45:18 tells us that the earth was formed to be inhabited. As evidence indicates that the Kingdom was part of God’s plan before creation, so were the inhabitants of the Kingdom. In John 17:24 Christ speaks of the Father loving him before the foundation of the world. “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you” (I Pet. 1:20, NASV). The citizens who are to inhabit the kingdom were also planned for before creation. Christ was the centerpiece of that planning. “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph. 1:4, 5, NASV). God pre-planned the kingdom, the Messiah, ... It is clear that the earth was designed and created as the location of the Kingdom of God. If you are interested in Christian destiny, get out an atlas and look forward to inheriting the renewed planet (Matt. 5:5). We have seen what the earth is for. Let’s ask another question. Will God utilize it as it is when Christ comes to set up His government on earth? As human beings must change and be prepared to become citizens of the kingdom (Eph. 2:19), so the earth must be changed too. It is not the flawless sphere it was at creation, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22, NASV). It has been cursed. It must be restored to be a suitable dwelling place for the glorious Kingdom and its inhabitants, “For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me, declares YAHWEH, so your offspring and your name will endure” (Isa. 66:22, NASV). The present degenerate and decadent system will be forgotten and replaced with a new heavens and earth (Isa. 65:17-18). The apostle Peter says, “even now we are looking for a new heavens and earth in which righteousness dwells” (II Pet. 3:13). Revelation 21:1 portrays the new heavens and earth. The former has passed away. The earth is restored to its original, beautiful, radiant, breathtaking glory, now suitable for its new inhabitants. God, Himself, in this opulent, royal setting, will dwell here in His full glory (v. 3). This is what the earth is for.
Taken from: The Earth - What is for?
