The Renewal of the Earth

Any well-educated Christian should be well acquainted with the Lord's promise of creating a New Heaven and a New Earth. This was predicted by Isaiah, as well as Saint Peter, and also described in Saint John's Revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book of the New Testament. These events are suppose to happen after the Resurrection and Last Judgment. But as I read Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si, I also see the need of a restoration of this our "Old Earth" if you want.

Clearly, the rich developed nations cannot go on living like they do. The poor and indigenous are suffering because of them, and so is everyone in some way. All I can think about is how after years of biking everywhere, observing, spending time in nature, gradually eating healthier and slowly learning about ecology, permaculture, falling in love with plants and so on . . . how disgusted and disappointed I am with the U.S. way of life, including my own. Our military alone is the world's largest polluter.  We are an unwise and unenlightened people.  I'm ashamed about how we generally live in more ways than one. And the sort of base and example of greed we have set up in the U.S. is appalling. And our state of health is despicable.  And in general we are unhappy.

From a resource analysis, the only future I see is in these enlightened projects in regards to ecological restoration, agroecology, permaculture, holistic management, Pope Francis' call, and so on. I see the Holy Spirit hidden in these projects.  But again, its devastating to see people who have been living close to nature for thousands of years suddenly struck by problems because of the models developed countries impose on everyone. This is not a myth or some problem one with a conscience can close a blind eye too. Research what is happening to the Marshall Islands. They are getting their apocalypse before everyone else. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to deny that the Earth is slowly being converted by humans into a Martian like desert as well as a CO2 filled atmosphere like that of Venus.

I don't even know what to do or say. I feel so unsophisticated and humble in comparison to other brilliant people who are trailblazing and helping others find genuine long term solutions to problems.  These are the type that are wise and far-reaching, unlike quick fixes. There are so many civilized, and sophisticated solutions to problems, literally thousands upon thousands conceived by some of the most brilliant people we have never heard of and these could be taught and implemented . . . I guess it all starts with education and hope that people will take the call to change.

And all these environmental problems are closely related to ethics and social problems. It might sound naive but I think people would be happier if they could skillfully live close to the land, understand ecosystems, establish family farms, help the Earth, let the Earth help them and help each other. There are ways to produce abundant yields and treat animals humanely without all the drudgery, oil, and oppression of conventional farming. I'm not opposed to science, technology, arts, culture, civilization, etc. but this will always spring up from different basics of living via humans.

But . . . I also see that there will be a severe transition into these more enlightened ways of living. I don't think rich developed nations led by the shameless elite will give up their way of life so easily.  And they are guilty of many other sins of which they have not repented. And this is where I see the little Tribulation which Jesus will initiate and conclude by dropping the Comet Wormwood to the Earth and doing a little miraculous renovation, one that will foreshadow the New Earth. I see ideas of a renovation predicted by Isaiah. Below are some examples. You will notice a theme of deserts being converted into rich lands with water and so on. Some enlightened ecologists are already helping to do this at certain locations, but perhaps God will also miraculously intervene at some critical juncture and/or recruit the help of his saints on Earth

From the Prophecy of Isaiah

{41:17} The indigent and the poor are seeking water, but there is none. Their tongue has been dried up by thirst. I, the Lord, will heed them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
{41:18} I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the impassable land into streams of water.
{41:19} I will plant the cedar in a deserted place, with the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree. In the desert, I will plant the pine, and the elm, and the box tree together,
{41:20} so that they may see and know, acknowledge and understand, together, that the hand of the Lord has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.


{49:8} Thus says the Lord: In a pleasing time, I have heeded you, and in the day of salvation, I have assisted you. And I have preserved you, and I have presented you as a covenant of the people, so that you would lift up the earth, and possess the scattered inheritances,
{49:9} so that you would say to those who are bound, “Go forth!” and to those who are in darkness, “Be released!” They will pasture along the roads, and their pastures will be in every open place.
{49:10} They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the heat of the sun beat down upon them. For the one who takes pity on them will rule them, and he will give them to drink from fountains of waters.

{51:3} The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

{35:1} The desolate and impassable land will rejoice, and the place of solitude will exult, and it will flourish like the lily.
{35:2} It will spring up and blossom, and it will exult with rejoicing and praising. The glory of Lebanon has been given to it, with the beauty of Carmel and Sharon. These will see the glory of the Lord and the beauty of our God.
{35:3} Strengthen the lax hands, and confirm the weak knees!
{35:4} Say to the fainthearted: “Take courage and fear not! Behold, your God will bring the vindication of retribution. God himself will arrive to save you.”
{35:5} Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be cleared.
{35:6} Then the disabled will leap like a buck, and the tongue of the mute will be untied. For the waters have burst forth in the desert, and torrents in solitary places.
{35:7} And the land that was dry will have a pond, and the thirsty land will have fountains of water. In the hollows where the serpents lived before, there will rise up the greenery of reed and bulrush. 

Pope Francis Preaches Jubilee

Pope Francis Preaches Jubilee (this was also done in other ancient civilizations such as Persia). A general amnesty including debt amnesty. This is a way to restore and renew society. It touches on all three aspects of societal relations, namely communal, mutual exchange, & hierarchical as theorized by David Graeber in Debt: The First Five Thousand Years).

Link

[Quote]

"He took his cue from the biblical passage in the book of Leviticus in which the Jubilee was instituted among the Jews. According to the rules of the Jubilee, the year served as a “kind of general amnesty” in which a person who had been forced to sell their goods or property could regain possession of them, he noted.


In that time, “requirements such as the Jubilee were used to combat poverty and inequality, guaranteeing a life of dignity for all and an equal distribution of the land on which to live and from which to draw sustenance,” the Pope observed.

Because the land originally belonged to God, who then entrusted it to man, no one could claim exclusive possession of it or use ownership to create situations of inequality, he said.

“With the Jubilee whoever had become poor returned to have what was necessary in order to live, and whoever had become rich restored to the poor what they had taken from them.”

The result “was a society based on equality and solidarity where freedom, land and money would become again a good for everyone,” Francis explained." [Unquote]

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I would imagine that eventually a general amnesty will have to promulgated across the world.  We are already spinning out of control in our societies, and there seems no end in sight.  But before this can happen the little Tribulation will have to come it would seem.