God’s Word tells us what the future will be like. It creates a powerful vision—one that should fire our imaginations. And young people—equipped with great imaginations—should use that ability while studying the Scriptures.

I’d like you to consider one way that Herbert W. Armstrong did that with a specific scripture—both for himself and the entire Church. The logo he established for the Worldwide Church of God was based on a scene found in Isaiah 11:6: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”

That scripture fired Mr. Armstrong’s imagination. Mr. Armstrong understood how moving and powerful this image of peace is. This image was used not only for the Church’s seal, but at one time, it was also used in the introduction to the Church’s television program—with a real, live lion.

You have probably often seen the famous mgm lion roar before a movie begins. So had Mr. Armstrong—and he hired that lion for the Church’s television program! He wrote: “He [the mgm lion] was big, powerful looking, kingly. And he was almost tame—almost, but we dared not trust that he was altogether tame!

“This lion—a real lion, in the flesh!—was brought by his trainers over to the Ambassador College campus, and allowed to walk out of his cage in his big truck, and onto the grounds, in front of Mayfair, one of our girls’ student residences. He surely seemed tame. But his trainer explained that he was neither tired nor altogether tame—he was just lazy!”

I can picture it now: A living, breathing, roaring lion—in fact, probably the most famous lion on Earth—on God’s campus to depict what is probably the most peaceful scene in all the Bible. And it helps to show how not peaceful our world is today. Consider the precautions they had to take to film a real lion:

“We had to obtain a permit from the City of Pasadena to have him there.

“But, in planning this, we had to decide how we could photograph a helpless lamb beside this big beast, and a little girl leading. We decided not to risk it. Our motion-picture producers said we could do it with trick double-photography.

“The producers decided the little girl must be a professional child actress. I think union requirements had something to do with this. They obtained the girl and the lamb. We photographed the lion, coached by his trainer to move slowly toward the camera. Then, after the lion was again safely in his cage, and with the camera securely locked in the same exact position in its tripod, we had the little girl and the lamb walk toward the camera, and a foot or two beside the spot where the lion had walked. Later the film editor blended the two together, so that, when it appeared on the TV screens in broadcast, we had the picture of the little girl leading the ferocious lion and the gentle little lamb.”

“Yes, we were in the movies, now!” (Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong).

In the world today, lions are so dangerous that the child was never actually allowed in the lion’s vicinity. And Mr. Armstrong was in the presence of this magnificent, kingly—yet ferocious—animal picturing a time when peace will break out over the entire Earth!

The description in Isaiah 11 has been available to mankind for thousands of years. But look at what an inspiring vision Mr. Armstrong was able to deliver with it. Think about the term: “Millennium.” It is actually not the primary way we refer to the Kingdom Christ will set up. So I ask you, what do we call it? What do you call it? Up until this point, I have deliberately avoided writing it in this article, and it wasn’t easy: We call it “the World Tomorrow.”

Look at what Mr. Armstrong did with that concept. He prayerfully studied the verses that talk about that coming time. Then he meditated on it—reasoned with God (Isaiah 1:18). He pictured the thousand-year reign of Christ in his mind’s eye and fleshed it out—gave it detail. Then, he gave what God had revealed to the Church.

Of course, his research was meticulous. He studied these things thoroughly. Arthur Conan Doyle said: “To let the brain work without sufficient material is like racing an engine. It racks itself to pieces.” In other words, our imaginations won’t work if we haven’t learned the source material. That worldly concept of meditation, that we empty our heads, hum and hope brilliance will come rushing in, doesn’t work. It simply isn’t godly meditation or godly study.

Consider that fabulous book, The Wonderful World Tomorrow—What It Will Be Like. What we see today on those pages began with Mr. Armstrong reading the pages of his Bible and meditating on it—reasoning together with God—then taking action with what he envisioned. Everything in that book is based on the book—the Bible, the Word of God. That “World Tomorrow” concept went out in hundreds of thousands of booklets. Mr. Armstrong’s television program was titled The World Tomorrow. The seal of the Church, a small child with a lamb and a lion, made that idea real to millions of viewers. Mr. Armstrong really stretched himself to bring us that.

And it was so real in his mind’s eye. He spent so much time studying these things, and the result was a vision that was palpable, that everyone could reach out and touch—so real, that we’re more likely to say “the World Tomorrow” than “the Millennium.”

That time will be ushered in by you. If you, young people of the living God, are going to usher in that time of peace, it needs to become real to you today. You represent tomorrow’s world—a world of peace. You are an ambassador for that coming World Tomorrow.

Here is an exciting verse about you: “Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth” (Psalm 45:16).

Can you let that stir your imagination the way Isaiah 11 stirred Mr. Armstrong? How real is the vision of your future in your mind? How much do you yearn for that time when you will be a prince? Can you picture this when you pray, “Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10)? And how specific is your vision of that future?

I have often heard people make comments like: “In the Kingdom, I can’t wait to meet Rachmaninoff.” I work, though, with the Church’s music director, Ryan Malone, whom I have heard say in the course of his daily work: “I’m going to assign Rachmaninoff to write new lyrics for his choral works.” It’s less like he is presenting a vision of the future than making a note for later:

1) Write new Music for Life episode.

2) Make lesson plan for Rachmaninoff.

I have more than once heard him talk about some of the things that will need to be done in the World Tomorrow to make some of today’s masterworks appropriate for the World Tomorrow. He thinks in practical terms about our millennial future.

And of course, that’s simply an extension of what Mr. Armstrong taught us—what we learned by reading The Wonderful World Tomorrow—What It Will Be Like. Do you want to fire your imagination even more? Study that booklet in depth. Read all of Isaiah 11 and the other scriptures Mr. Armstrong writes about. Imagine that coming utopia and your place in it as one of the future princes or princesses that God is preparing today. And as you look into these magnificent scriptures, grab on to that vision—and make it real.