A little more than 43 years ago, Walt Disney tried to create a place where people could see the future with their own eyes. The EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) Center was meant to be a window into mankind’s fantastical future. Yet Disney’s idea of the “prototype community” was not original; he pulled the concept from 19th-century futurist Ebenezer Howard’s “garden cities of tomorrow.”
The idea was that to plan a city most efficiently, it was necessary to lay out a circular design with a series of rings. The innermost ring would be the municipal and commercial center, with greenbelts between it and the residential ring. The thought was that the greenbelt would provide the sustainability and tranquility necessary for the ideal society—a revolutionary and unprecedented statement in city planning. This would have been a genuine spark of genius on Howard’s part, but—whether he realized it or not—he did not originate this revolutionary concept.
Blueprints for the “cities of tomorrow” have been in existence for millennia. The book of Numbers contains a set of instructions for constructing a very special type of city, including pastures extending 1,000 cubits outside the city walls, approximately the equivalent of one-third of a mile (Numbers 35:4–5).
These pastures would serve to feed livestock for the city’s sustenance, and a city one mile across would have more than 1,500 acres of pastureland surrounding it. These cities were to be centers for guidance, governing and education—not large by today’s standard, but their impact was to be felt throughout Israel; they were meant primarily to develop and advance people, not to multiply distractions and preoccupations. God’s “cities of tomorrow” will focus on people’s development into the likeness of God, rather than being concrete jungles where they live on top of one another.
Soon, God will use these ancient blueprints to create a beautiful future for mankind. He has been extending invitations to some in this present age to help fulfill instrumental roles in building that future—a future that brings a tangible hope! As God used the Levites as priests to the physical nation of Israel, He will soon use those He is calling now to be leaders ruling over cities in His Kingdom in sustainable, just, and ethical ways as members of His Family.
The prophet Daniel assures us that “the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.... Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:18, 27). Likewise, the Apostle John recorded testimony from Heaven that those saints will be “kings and priests to our God” and “shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:8–10). Having proven their devotion to Christ in this lifetime, they will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:14–30).
The future most likely will not bring hovercars, humankind may not colonize Mars before Christ’s return, and we may never end up outsourcing all our chores to robots. The cities of tomorrow may not have a lot of gadgets and “things,” but they will bring tranquility, peace, and joy to those who dwell within them.