Thus saith the Lord: Here and now you shall start to live in my commonwealth. You shall devote yourselves to do my will. You shall examine honestly the evils of the world, and humbly acknowledge your own involvement in them. You shall draw new courage from your obedience to me, so that you may have the strength to undertake risks and sacrifices. Your love for your neighbors shall give you joy and hope as you work to bring about the new world.
In that day the Lord in tender mercy shall heal all the divisions, fears, and hatreds of the suffering earth. God shall establish justice and peace among all humanity. Patience, moderation, humility, and self-sacrifice shall replace greed, pride, punishment, and revenge in human hearts.
Then every person shall be valued as a child of God, and distinctions of race, class, age, and sex shall cease to be important. The resources of the natural world and of human society shall be justly shared among all people. No one shall fear hunger, poverty, or loneliness, for we shall minister to each other with acceptance, joy, and compassion.
Each person shall have free and full opportunities to grow and to serve, through education and meaningful work; and children shall know at an early age that there is a place for them. All forms of useful work shall be respected and valued.
We shall love each other, rejoicing in our rich variety, and no one shall fear the stranger. We shall learn to listen to others with humility and love; with the help of divine love we shall respect the feelings and needs of others as deeply as our own. The strong shall serve the weak and shall help them to grow. The special wisdom of the very young and the very old shall be treasured and shared by all. Celebration and creativity shall enliven human fellowship; solitude and sharing shall each add richness to life.
People shall find their fulfillment in the service of God and neighbor, and not in the accumulation of material possessions and power. We shall respect that of God in all Creation. We shall live in loving harmony with the earth.
Humankind shall be a joyful gardener of the world given us by God, and shall use its fruits wisely and moderately. Knowledge and technology shall serve human needs and human goals. The sick shall receive loving care, and the dying shall be served with dignity.
All weapon systems shall be converted to peaceful uses, and both nations and individuals shall resolve their differences patiently, justly, and nonviolently.
People of all religious faiths shall follow the leadings of the divine light within each heart.
Then the Lord shall proclaim the year of Jubilee: the great celebration of justice for the poor, of peace for all the earth, and of love and joy in God’s commonwealth.
A Prophetic Vision of the Peaceable Kingdom came out of the 1980 New England Yearly Meeting’s Peaceable Kingdom Workshop, and was mailed out with the Yearly Meeting’s 1980 Epistle. Reprinted in 1982 with permission by The Wider Quaker Fellowship, a program of Friends World Committee for Consultation (Section of the Americas), 1506 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102.