Okada claimed that God has a plan ("the divine plan"), and in preparation for a heaven-like civilization on earth, the world was entering a time of great upheaval. Okada said that an increase in what he called the spiritual energy of fire would result in abnormal weather phenomena such as flooding, fires, and water shortages, and encouraged people to transition from a way of life based on excessive materialism to a sustainable way of life in harmony with the environment and universal principles.