Consequently, the blessings and curses found in the Bible, can be explained as follows. If you serve God, joyfully observing His way, He will bestow on you these blessings and remove from you these curses, so that you may study the Torah, engrossing yourself in it and in it's fulfillment, in order to merit life in the World to Come. "Good will be granted you," in a world that is entirely good, "and you will live long," in a world that is ever lasting, the World to Come. Thus, you will merit two worlds, a good life in this world, which, in turn, will bring you to life in the World to Come3. If a person does not acquire wisdom or good deeds in this world, he may not merit the World to Come4. As it is written, "There is no action, no reasoning, no knowledge, no wisdom in the grave." (Ecclesiastes 9:10). If, however, by indulging in food, drink, immorality, etc., they are led astray from the ways of God, He will cause these curses to come upon them, so that they live in constant fear and confusion. They will lack the peace of mind and the stamina to fulfill the mitzvos, thereby they will not merit life in the is World to Come. Thus they will be deprived of two worlds. When a person is perturbed by sickness, war, and famine, in this world he finds it difficult to involve himself in wisdom or mitzvos to merit life in the World to Come.
THE MESSIANIC AGE
[9:2] Israel, their prophets and their Sages have yearned for the Messianic age to live without the oppression of governments that do not permit proper Torah study and fulfillment of mitzvos. In the Messianic age, they will have the proper tranquility5 to enhance their Torah knowledge and practice, thus meriting the World to Come. In that era, knowledge, wisdom, and truth will flourish, as it says, "The earth will be full of the knowledge of God." (Yeshayahu 11:9). "No longer will they need to teach one another and say to one another, 'Know God', for all of them will know Me." (Jerimiyah 31:33). "I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh." (Yechezkiel 36:26).
The ruler who will be appointed by God and anointed as king, will be a descendant of the royal house of King David from the male lineage, and this ruler is referred to as Messiah, or the anointed one. This King will possess more wisdom than King Solomon, and his prophesy will be on a level only somewhat lower than that of Moses our teacher. He will teach the entire nation, showing them the path of God. The non-Jewish residents of the world will obey him, as it is written, "It will happen in the end of days. The Holy Temple will stand firm above the mountains ...and all the nations will flock to it." (Yeshayahu 2:2).
Although the supreme reward that will be endless and faultless, is life in the World to Come, however, during the Messianic age nature will continue according to its present rules6. The major difference will be that the world will be ruled by the laws of God through his anointed one, and the capital of the world will be in Jerusalem. The Sages have stated that the difference between man's previous history and the period of Messiah is that the world will be obedient to the rule of the anointed one, which was not so throughout past history. (Berachos 34b).
3 By this explanation we understand that, even if a righteous person suffers, as long as he is able to follow the Torah, which merits him in the World to come, it is considered that he lived a good life.
4 By this same reasoning, even if he had a good life in this world, but if his life style caused him to veer from the ways of God, it is considered that he did not live a good life.
5 The tranquility will be a result of God weakening the evil inclination. When one is less interested in worldly pleasures, he becomes more interested in knowledge and understanding of the world we live in and in the future world. As the Torah learning and practice increases, the holiness of the world increases, so that God can bring the next stages of the Rising of the Dead, and the World to Come. Reward in the World to Come depends on how difficult it was for him to perform the mitzvos and if it was done out of love and happiness. Therefore, many righteous people who lived before the days of Messiah, have merited the World to Come no less than those who will have lived in the days of Messiah.
6 If there will be peace in the world then the world will not be governed by the present rules. Maimonides means that the basic rules of nature will continue unchanged. However, nature was created with the potentiality to respond to the increase of holiness within the creation by causing peace in the world.