God did create a perfect earth and a perfect human family to enjoy it! In Genesis, we are told that after God created Adam, He pronounced His creation “very good.” Adam was indeed a perfect man living in a perfect home. But Adam’s free will allowed him to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit. His disobedience brought upon himself the curse of death. And now, all human beings die because we have inherited Adam’s sin. Romans 5:12 reads, “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men because all sinned…”
The curse pronounced by God was required by His perfect justice. However, God’s love also planned to rescue mankind from sin, and begin their journey back to human perfection. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Jesus’ death guarantees a resurrection for the human family. We have not yet seen the real benefits of this; however, the Apostle Paul tells us that this will “be testified in due time.” (1 Tim. 2:6)
Why is God letting the whole human race continue to live in suffering and imperfection if He loves us so much? Adam sinned because he didn’t understand how horrible sin was. He didn’t comprehend the horror, suffering, and grief sin brings. But we sure do! Yes, when everyone is resurrected in the kingdom, we will remember that opposing God (who is love I John 4:8) brings nothing but sorrow. Then when people have the choice to choose between God’s way and Satan’s way, they will pause and think: “been there, done that! This time I think I’ll try God’s way.”
When the resurrection of mankind begins, the love of God will be clearly seen as the Kingdom does its work of bringing mankind to perfection. It has been a long and difficult journey for our race. But in the end, man will have learned to trust God and serve Him without reservation. The personal experience with sin and death will be etched into the hearts and minds of all. The 1,000 year kingdom, mentioned in Revelation 20, will be mankind’s opportunity to learn to love righteousness. Those who obey God will be granted eternal life and human perfection on a restored earth. Then the true wisdom of God will be understood and His love made abundantly clear!
