TOMORROW'S CITIES
An Exciting Preview
Tomorrow's cities
are going to surpass your wildest imagination! They will be the most
exciting, the most spectacular, the most modern up-to-date cities the
world has ever known. They will be like sparkling jewels on the
landscape—filled with radiant beauty, with peace and prosperity,
with happy, healthy people. Mankind will never have seen anything like
it!
Sound too good to be true? Sound impossible? It isn't.
Such cities arc coming—and that before the end of this century!
But where will they be built? And who will build them—and how?
Blueprints Already Prepared
Basic plans for these fabulous cities
have already been drawn up. All the necessary resources to see this
entire plan through to successful completion are available.
The plan is already so far along that a select group is right now being
given top-flight training to qualify for future responsibilities as
administrators of these cities.
Everything is being carefully worked out. Nothing is being left to
chance. The major problems of today's cities will be completely solved
in advance before construction on tomorrow's cities ever begins.
Today's cities, by contrast, are a mess. And the bigger the city, chances are, the bigger that mess is.
Problems That Need a Solution
Today, city air is laden with every kind of foul pollutant imaginable.
Noxious soot, dust and chemical debris from industry. Toxic monoxide
fumes and lead from hundreds of thousands of motor vehicles. Stale,
filthy smoke from the millions of cigarettes smoked daily. In some
big-city areas multiple tons-per-square-mile of such refuse and waste
float down every single month.
City water has frequently been reused oftener than anyone cares to
remember. The water being used in one city today has often been flushed
down a commode and into the sewer in another city just a few days
before.
The food eaten by city dwellers—probably grown on depleted soil
to begin with—has been waxed, polished, colored, pasteurized,
homogenized, taken apart, preserved and chemically "enriched" until it
contains pathetically little nourishment.
The noise level is right on the brink of what the human mind can tolerate and still remain sane.
The normal working day's routine for many begins and ends with a
nerve-wracking fight through miserably congested traffic. And what are
the sights along the way (besides the back end of the car in front of
you)?
A miserable jungle-like labyrinth of steel, glass, wire, asphalt and
cement—of streets, supermarkets, shopping centers, housing
tracts, office buildings, railroad tracks, electrical lines and
industrial smokestacks. A helter-skelter conglomeration of unsightly
billboards and gaudy neon signs. A sickening bluish-yellow haze called
smog.
Small wonder so many people seek escape!
But these are by no means the only problems.
Personal Safety and Crime
In today's cities personal safety is almost nonexistent. Without God's
protection you aren't safe anywhere—not even in your own home.
Not even with an elaborate alarm system.
And on the street? Anything can happen! Day or night.
The danger on city streets is no longer confined to traffic accidents.
Today, the "normal" street dangers include the possibility of being
robbed, assaulted, stabbed or murdered. It includes the constant danger
of someone suddenly going raving mad and shooting everyone in sight.
In certain areas, especially at night, the streets have plenty of motor
traffic, but the sidewalks are empty. And if you do see an occasional
person on the sidewalk, you immediately wonder whether he is about to
commit a crime or if he has lost his mental balance.
This is the shocking point to which we have
progressed—or retrogressed—in this "enlightened" 20th
century!
Huge sections of some cities are designated as "crime containment
zones." Poverty, unemployment, overwhelming welfare loads, wall-to-wall
children, illegitimacy, looting, riots, racial tensions and gangs are
the trademarks of these areas. Here crimes of every description run so
rampant that the police hope, at best, merely to keep this excessive
crime from spilling over into other areas.
Farther downtown there is the bowery or skid row. Its trademark is
cheap hotels and saloons, filled with hopeless derelicts, dope addicts,
prostitutes and similar types of degenerate humanity.
And out in suburbia—in the nice part of town? Well, the problems of today's society are here, too.
The homes out here may contain two-car garages, boats and double ovens.
But they also contain family strife, broken homes and divorce. The fear
of not being able to meet next month's payments on the house, car,
boat, stereo and color television. Envy at the neighbors next door who
just installed a backyard swimming pool and are planning a trip to
Europe.
Bored with the blessings of life— but coveting more—many of
the inhabitants of suburbia seek escape in the excitement of wild,
permissive parties—replete with alcohol, drugs, and sexual
debauchery.
And the younger suburbians, with too much free time on their hands and
with too little parental supervision, run the usual gamut of
licentiousness from vandalism and crime to promiscuity, drunkenness and
drugs. At every level of city society and in every part of town we see
serious problems in need of a solution.
And we have yet to mention the matters of corrupt business practices,
bribery, cheating, bitter labor disputes, organized crime, payoffs,
weak and ineffective city government and exorbitant taxes.
Add all these problems together and you can begin to comprehend what a
tremendous top-to-bottom change is necessary for our cities to become
decent places in which to live.
But thank God, such a change is coming—and soon!
But how? Who and what will bring it about? Where would you start if you
were responsible for undertaking such a gigantic project?
Biggest Problem Solved First
Today men seek to solve the problems of our cities by money, schools,
integration, night lights to deter criminals, new laws, more police.
But all these methods ignore the basic reason that today's cities are the way they are.
What is the biggest problem in cities today? What makes cities so bad?
It's people!
It's the fellow who takes off for work in the morning with his eyes
filled with smog and depressing sights, a hostile look on his face, the
din of traffic in his ears, his lungs and nostrils full of foul air and
cigarette smoke, his stomach full of nutritionally raped food, his
veins full of drugs and tranquilizers, and his mind filled with the
violence of the previous night's television programs or his plans to
beat the other guy out of as much as he can when he gets to work. He's
the problem in today's cities—along with millions of men and
women just like him.
And what is it that makes people so bad? It's their unconquered human
nature. This nature is a nature of vanity, jealousy, lust and greed.
In tomorrow's cities, this basic cause of human suffering is going to be solved first.
Human nature will be changed.
But how?
Through the prophet Ezekiel, God gives us the answer: "A new heart also
will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an
heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to
walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. . . .
I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be
builded" (Ezek. 36:26-27, 33). See also Jeremiah 31:31 and Hebrews 8:10.
Human nature will still exist in tomorrow's cities. The inhabitants of
these cities will still be physical, flesh-and-blood human beings. But
God is going to give these people his power—his Holy Spirit to
resist and overcome the downward pull of their human nature. They will
be able to direct, control and guide their lives into constructive
channels. They will obey God's laws. They will live in the way that
brings peace, happiness and prosperity for all.
God's Holy Spirit is available today. But mankind as a whole is not
interested in God's Spirit. He is by nature hostile to God and thinks
he can solve his problems without God's help. He won't submit to God's
way unless he is forced to. And that is where tomorrow's mayors come in.
Tomorrow's Mayors
The mayors in today's cities are little or no different from those over
whom they rule. They, too, have human nature. They, too, are subject to
vanity, jealousy, lust and greed—all too often increased because
of their position.
Mayors often must ignore urgent problems because to bring them out into
the open and to suggest a concrete solution would offend a certain bloc
of voters and wash their whole political career down the drain.
And when a mayor does make a sound proposal for getting rid of some
evil in his city, it often gets bogged down or lost entirely in a
mountain of bureaucratic red tape or in political haggling. Meanwhile
the city suffers on.
Many mayors are mere figureheads. Their office sounds important and
impressive, but often in fact it is weak and rather powerless.
The mayors of tomorrow's cities will have no such problems. They will
possess the power they need. And they will not be motivated by greedy,
selfish desires in using this power. They really will have the interest
of their people at heart.
The rulers of tomorrow's cities, as shocking as it may seem, will be
divine Spirit Beings. They will be members of the God Family, the
Kingdom of God—immortal spirit beings ruling in God's government
on this earth under Jesus Christ!
God has promised a position of rulership in the soon-coming world
tomorrow to all who by their lives in this present age—the world
today—meet the conditions which God has laid down.
"And he that overcometh [and that includes human nature], and keepeth
my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And
he shall rule them with a rod of iron" (Rev. 2:26-27).
For some this "power over the nations" is going to involve ruler-ship
over cities. This is shown by the parable of the pounds in Luke 19. In
this parable example, ruler-ship over two, five or ten cities is given
to those who qualify. Those who overcome and produce more arc given the
greater rewards (verses 16-19). Those who fail to produce anything
receive no reward (verses 20-27).
God is going to appoint as tomorrow's mayors those who qualify for
positions of rulership over cities. For more details about the entire
pattern of God's government, as it will be in the world tomorrow, write
for our free book The Wonderful World Tomorrow—What It Will Be
Like.
Tomorrow's cities will be ruled by Spirit Beings who are God. And how
will they rule? Why, with all the resources of wisdom, understanding.
love, might and power of the God Family!
How These Mayors Will Rule
These rulers won't cater to some groups and individuals at the expense
of others. They won't be influenced in the least by petty politics.
Their rule will be just.
They won't fear being thrown out of office by unruly troublemakers.
They will possess the power to swiftly put down any self-exalting,
rebellious elements.
Neither will these rulers tolerate filth, shiftlessness and degeneracy.
Today when uncultured families are put in new apartments and schools by
the government, what happens? Do these people appreciate what they are
given? In many cases no! In a period of months many new
facilities have fixtures
stolen, doors and windows are broken, the smell of urine pervades halls and elevators and the whole place is a wreck!
In tomorrow's cities people will be taught that this is not the way to
live. They will simply not be allowed to be degenerate. Those who
insist on being that .way will be punished so swiftly and surely that
they will learn very quickly. And all will hear and fear!
Yes, tomorrow's mayors will guide their subjects to obey God and to
receive his blessings. They will impose a warm and merciful rule that
will bring joy! They will insist on happiness for their citizens. They
will demand goodness in their lives. And they will command them to be
healthy, and filled with a sense of well-being and contentment!
And most of these subjects will quickly learn that God's way is best.
They will want God's Spirit to lead and guide them. They will desire to
obey God's laws. They will be converted, cooperative people.
With this kind of divine ruler and this kind of subject, the rest is a sheer joy to think about.
Can Cities Be Clean, Beautiful, Safe and Inspiring?
Why can't city streets be clean, broad, tree-lined avenues interspersed
with sparkling fountains, interesting malls and imaginative
sculpture? Why can't the city's conglomeration of
bright lights be arranged in beautiful, artistic schemes and designs?
Why can't unsightly poles, conduits and wiring be universally hidden
from view? Why can't gaudy neon signs be toned down and ugly billboards
be eliminated? Why can't necessary information on buildings be done in
neat lettering with good taste?
Why can't city buildings have appealing architectural flair and
design—complementing one another in an aesthetic, harmonious
whole? Why can't public buildings, schools and churches be devoid of
pagan symbols and be kept unde-faced and unmarred?
Why can't air and water be clean and pure? Why can't dumping
unnecessary soot, waste, refuse and chemicals into air and water be
stopped? Why can't industry be located in a separate part of the city,
where its natural noise and dirt wouldn't affect the homes, schools and
stores?
Why can't cities have adequate parks and playgrounds with trees, shrubs, flowers, birds, animals, lakes and streams?
Why can't cities have fast, efficient systems of transportation that
will whisk people downtown without having to clog the street with their
cars? Why can't cars be built so they don't pollute the air?
Why can't cities be safe? Why can't elderly people go for an evening
stroll without being assaulted? Why can't children play without fear of
being molested? Why can't people go shopping without fear of being
robbed—either by a pickpocket or by the cheap, shoddy,
misrepresented products they buy?
The answers to all these questions—and dozens more like them
is—they can! Cities can be clean, beautiful, safe and inspiring.
But about the only hope of ever achieving these things in today's
cities is to start from scratch! And that is exactly what is going to
be done. But how?
Today's Cities to Be Destroyed
As we have already shown, in tomorrow's cities, God is going to
establish a program to rehabilitate human nature. As this program gets
into full swing, the sociological problems—the problems of crime,
violence, immorality, divorce, delinquency—will be solved.
Then it will be possible to go to work on the physical aspects of the
city—the streets, buildings, parks, homes, schools,
transportation.
Here, too, God will start from scratch. But how? How can you start from
scratch in cities like Chicago, New York, London, Sydney, Toronto,
Johannesburg, Tokyo or Manila?
In the same way that Berlin, Warsaw and other European cities started from scratch after they were destroyed in World War II!
Yes, shocking as it may be, Bible prophecy reveals that our present-day
cities are going to be devastated with all the destructive force of
modern warfare! But why?
WHY Our Cities Destroyed
God is going to allow this world's cities to be destroyed for the very
reason why they are festering sores on the earth's face to begin
with— and that reason is sin! Our cities are full of sin. Of
course all this could be avoided.
Speaking to modern Israel—the United States, the British
Commonwealth peoples and the democracies of northwest Europe—God
warns:
"For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly
execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; if ye oppress not the
stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in
this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: then will I
cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your
fathers, for ever and ever" (Jer. 7:5-7).
Yes, if we as a people would even now quit sinning and turn to God, our
land and cities could be spared from the catastrophes shortly to come.
If we were willing to cooperate with God, he would work out some other
way to make our cities decent places to live—without having to
suffer the ravages of war. But human beings refuse to do this (Jer.
7:8-10, 28; 8:5-6; 9:5-6, 8).
Yes, it is because of sin that God is going to punish us and destroy
our cities. Whole chapters and books of the Bible are devoted to
warning us of this sobering real fact.
Notice Ezekiel's dire prediction: "In all your dwellingplaces the
cities shall be laid waste, ... And mine eye shall not spare, neither
will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and
thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know
that I am the
Lord that smiteth------
"The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he
that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the
city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. . . . They shall cast
their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their
silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of
the wrath of the Lord. ...
"Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is
full of violence. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and
they shall possess their houses. . . . And ye shall know that I am the
Lord: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my
judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are
round about you. . . .
"They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water
with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is
therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. And
the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall
be desolate: and ye shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezek. 6:6; 7:9, 15,
19, 23-24; 11:12; 12:19-20).
What a terrible lime of destruction that will be. But, thankfully the story doesn't end here!
The Joyous Rebuilding
An all-wise God will have to deal with us in the only language we understand—physical force and punishment.
But once he has dealt with us in this way, and once we have learned our
lesson, then Jesus Christ will return to this earth to set up God's
government. And then our cities will be rebuilt—this time God's
way.
Notice the loving tone in which God comforts Israel whom he has had to punish:
"For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will 1
gather thee. In a little wrath 1 hid my face from thee for a moment;
but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord
thy Redeemer. For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the
left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate
cities to be inhabited" (Isa. 54:7, 8, 3).
"For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they
may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his
servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell
therein" (Ps. 69:35-36).
When God sets his hand to build tomorrow's cities with the help of his
spirit servants, how fantastic do you think those cities will be? They
will be beautiful beyond description!
And they will be filled with joyful thankful people:
"I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to
return, and will build them, as at the first. . . . Again there shall
be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and
without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of
Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and
without beast. The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice
of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them
that shall say. Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his
mercy endureth for ever . . ," (Jer. 33:7, 10-11).
A city can only be as prosperous as the hinterland upon which it
depends for its food and raw materials. In the world tomorrow this
problem will be solved, too. Agricultural prosperity will be
unbelievably great in all rural areas. "And the desolate land [most of
today's earth] shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of
all that passed by. And they shall say. This land that was desolate is
become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined
cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. ... I will increase them
with men like a flock" (Ezek. 36:34-35, 37).
In the world tomorrow, city dwellers aren't going to be crowded into
small, crackerbox apartments with no backyards and almost no privacy.
Instead, "they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they
shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make
gardens, and eat the fruit of them" (Amos 9:14).
Imagine! Gardens in the city!— actually growing food! And imagine
people interested in having a garden and working in it! With good food
and sufficient exercise, fresh air and sunshine, city people will be
robust and healthy instead of pallid and sickly.
Yes, the cities of the world tomorrow are going to be far superior to
anything on earth today. God promises: "And I will multiply upon you
man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will
settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at
your beginnings: and ye shall know that 1 am the Lord" (Ezek. 36:11).
Jerusalem the Capital City
In just a few short years Jerusalem will be the showcase of the whole
world. In the world tomorrow it will be the world capital and the model
city from which all other cities will get their example. It will be
fabulous beyond description.
Jesus Christ, as chief ruler, will make his dwelling there. With him
will be many other high-ranking spirit rulers and assistants who will
help him administer God's world government.
Here are a few highlights of what Jerusalem will be like then:
"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion [a
part of Jerusalem], on the sides of the north, the city of the great
King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge" (Ps. 48:2-3).
"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty. God hath shined" (Ps. 50:2).
"Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited" (Zech. 14:11).
"Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein" (Zech. 2:4).
The gates of Jerusalem will be open day and night (Isa. 60:11) so that
the various peoples and nations can bring gold, silver and valuable
materials into it. They will be richly blessed for doing this, and
those who refuse will be "utterly wasted" (verse 12).
All kinds of rare woods will be brought "to beautify the place of my
[God's] sanctuary; and I [God] will make the place of my feet glorious"
(verse 13).
Jerusalem will be called "The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy
One of Israel" and it will be made "an eternal excellency, a joy of
many generations" (verses 14-15).
"For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for
wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace,
and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in
thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt
call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise" (verses 17-18).
"Thou shalt be called. The city of righteousness, the faithful city" (Isa. 1:26).
Truly, "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God"! (Ps. 87:3.)
Delegations from all nations will go up to Jerusalem to worship, to
offer praise and thanksgiving, to be spiritually
uplifted and inspired,
and to receive instruction from God and his servants.
"Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together [skyscrapers]:
whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of
Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. For there are set
thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within
thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces" (Ps. 122:3-7).
"It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the
inhabitants of many cities: and the inhabitants of one city shall go to
another, saying. Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to
seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong
nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray
before the Lord" (Zech. 8:20-22).
This is what Jerusalem will be like in just a few short years!
Tomorrow's Cities and YOU
There is much, much more that could be said about tomorrow's cities.
They will have for visitors delightful restaurants whose personnel
cheerfully and courteously serve sumptuous meals—without a
sickening pall of cigarette smoke hanging heavy in the air. They will
have no obscene and violent movies—only clean, wholesome,
entertaining, educational films—all under supervision of God's
government. They will present thrilling musical productions. They will
have exciting recreational centers. They will have interesting,
scintillating museums of art, science and natural history.
Cities ought to be places where people go to be intellectually
challenged, to be mentally stimulated, to be socially invigorated, to
be culturally enriched and to be spiritually inspired!
In the world tomorrow, cities will be this way.
The big question for you is, will you be there to enjoy it? Will you
have a part in making these cities fabulous places for people to live?
by Eugene M. Walter reprint from the Plain Truth 1982
