“ALL creation keeps on groaning together and being in pain together until now.” So said the apostle Paul. (Romans 8:22) Despite advances in medical science, sickness and death continue to plague the human race. How wonderful, then, the promise that climaxes this part of Isaiah’s prophecy is! Imagine the time when “no resident will say: ‘I am sick.’” (Isaiah 33:24) In the beginning a resurrection was not necessary. It was not a part of God’s original purpose for mankind, because death was not the natural, purposed thing for humans. Rather, God indicated that he purposed the earth to be full of living humans, not a deteriorating, dying race. His work was perfect, hence without flaw, imperfection, or sickness. Sickness will not be with us forever. The prophet Isaiah pointed forward to the time when “no resident will say: ‘I am sick.’” (Isaiah 33:24) That promise will be fulfilled in the rapidly approaching new world. Until then, however, we have to live with sickness and death. Happily, God’s Word gives us guidance and help. The basic rules of conduct that the Bible provides are lasting, and they transcend the ever-changing opinions of imperfect humans. Consider also how unnaturally humans react to death! For the majority, the death of a wife, a husband, or a child can be the most upsetting experience of a lifetime. People’s entire emotional makeup is often jarred for a long time after the death of a person dearly loved. Even those who claim that death is natural to humans find it hard to accept the idea that their own death will mean the end of everything. The British Medical Journal spoke of “a common expert presumption that everybody wants to live as long as possible.” In view of man’s general reaction to death, his amazing potential for remembering and learning, and his inward longing for eternity, is it not clear that he was made to live? Indeed, God created humans, not with death as the natural outcome, but with the prospect of living on indefinitely