| The Everlasting Gospel | March 1940 |
Christ Has Returned
CHRIST HAS RETURNED! But, some will counter, that can’t be true, because when Christ comes it will mean the end of the world. Our reply is that the world is already ending. It is generally recognized that the memorable year 1911 marked the end of an epoch in human experience, and the beginning of a new world. This is now admitted and proclaimed by an increasing number of statesmen, historians, economists, clergymen, and others. For example, Dr. Kingdon of Newark University, speaking at a conference held by the Institute of Human Relations said:
“Tonight the air is tremulous with the hum of machines flying over cities with a dreadful freightage of sudden death. What can it mean? It means that it is given to us for weal or for woe to live at the end of an epoch in the world’s life. An old era began to die in 1914.”
It is precisely just such a change of world order that the Bible refers to as the end of the world. Already the pre-1914 world is so nearly destroyed that statesmen are beginning to make plans for a new world, not realizing as yet that the returned Christ is to be the Ruler in the new order that is to be established following the complete collapse of the one that is now crumbling.
Much of the old world has already been destroyed by the conflagration and upheaval that began in 1914. From the days of Ancient Babylon and on through the triumphant days of Persia, Greece, and then Rome; the old world was governed by a group of ruling families who claimed divine authority for their rulership. The only remaining ones of these families still occupying thrones today are the heads of a few helpless neutral states of Europe, and these live in constant fear of having their lands wrested from them and they themselves exiled, by the present anarchistic and powerful machines of aggression now blighting what is left in Europe of Western Civilization.
As these powerful, hereditary ruling houses were overthrown, the church-state systems of government so closely allied with them have also either been destroyed, or else reduced to impotency as vital factors in world politics. Vast countries which were formerly held in the grip of ecclesiastical rule, are now either openly atheistic, or aggressively pagan. And the end is not yet, for one country after another continues to be wrested from ecclesiastical control.
While all this has been going on, the Jews and their affairs have almost continuously been making front-page news. First, the now defunct League of Nations arranged for the Jews to have a national Homeland in Palestine; and Great Britain was given a mandate by the League to see that these plans were not sabotaged by others who might think the Holy Land belonged exclusively to them. More than three hundred thousand Jews have returned to Palestine, and large areas of that once desert country have been made prodigiously fertile; and now a veritable paradise exists where before there was but a wilderness, a barren waste.
But, among all the strange things taking place in this crumbling world is the sudden, almost complete closing of Palestine’s door to the Jews, while increased bitter persecution in Europe makes a new home for them more needed than ever before.
Economically and financially, the world is collapsing. The best example of this is in our own fair America. We entered the first World War with a national debt of only one billion dollars; but today, that debt has risen to more than forty billion dollars; and many other major nations are even worse off than is America.
And the unemployment situation continues to get worse rather than better, the world over. Even Great Britain, with hundreds of thousands of men in the armed forces of the empire, still copes with an acute unemployment problem. The cries that something be done about this are becoming more and more insistent and threatening.
These are but a few of the outstanding things that can be mentioned in evidence that something epoch-making has been transpiring since 1914, and the answer for which human wisdom has been unable to find. Statesmen and philosophers, clergymen and writers, are quite able to analyze the conditions, and to tell us what is happening; but they have no workable solution for the difficulties, nor are they able to tell us what the end will be.
We make no apology, therefore, for inviting attention to the prophecies of God’s Word, the Bible; and for examining these prophecies in the light of the claim that inasmuch as the world is ending it means that Christ, the King of the new world, is even now present as a “thief in the night,” and that it is the influence of His divine newer in earth’s affairs that is producing so many otherwise unexplainable situations and developments in this increasingly-chaotic and dying world.
Those who profess to believe the Bible should be glad to re-examine its prophecies pertaining to the end of the age; and it is our hope that some of those who hitherto have not been able to believe in the inspiration of the Bible may find its testimony concerning present world conditions so accurate, and its foretold remedy so harmonious and beautiful, that they will want to say in the near future, as one of the prophets predicted, “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”—Isa. 25:9
Two Views of the Second Advent
The return of Christ to earth is commonly referred to as the Second Advent. Views concerning this great event are widely variant. Some claim that it took place at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the waiting disciples and that since then, as each sinner is converted, it constitutes a further coming of Christ, hence that when all are converted He will have fully come. The claim is made that in this way Jesus fulfils His promise, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world [age].”—Matt. 28:20
On the other hand, many claim that Jesus will return to earth as a man, and that He will be recognized by the print of the nails in His hands and in His feet, and the spear wound in His side which He received at the time of His crucifixion. This latter view depends to a considerable extent upon a literal interpretation of certain prophecies; such as that of Revelation 1:7, where we read, “Behold He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him.”
We believe that the truth of the matter, supported by the entire testimony of the Scriptures, lies between these two extreme and opposing views, The first view does away with the necessity of a personal coming of Christ yet approximates the truth concerning the nature of Jesus in that it considers Him to be so far above human beings nature that He can be said to be present with them without their being able to see Him.
The second view holds to the clearly established Scriptural fact of a personal return of the Master, but circumscribes the grandeur and possibilities of that momentous event by the unscriptural claim that He returns to earth as a sort of glorified man, and not the powerful, invisible divine being that He became when the Heavenly Father raised Him from the dead, and gave Him a name which is above every name.—Eph. 1:18-23
The Scriptures teach that when Jesus was raised from the dead He was no longer a human being, but a powerful divine being, the “image of the invisible God.” (Col. 1:15; II Cor. 5:16; I Pet. 3:18) Hence, by nature, He is now invisible to the human eye, even as God is invisible. It is this divine Christ who returns to earth at the Second Advent, hence the fact of His return will need to be recognized otherwise than by seeing Him with the natural eye.
True, Jesus did appear as a man to His disciples on several occasions following His resurrection; but this does not mean that He was, by nature, still a human being. The circumstances of His few brief appearances prove to the contrary. For example, He always appeared in a different body, which would not have been the case had the human body in which He appeared been His real body.
Only once did Jesus appear in a body similar to the one which was crucified, and that was because Thomas made it plain that he would not believe the Master had been raised from the dead unless he could see His wounds. Jesus satisfied the doubter’s lack of faith; although only this once did the disciples see any wounds. In fact, on the occasions of His other appearances to them they did not recognize Him by His personal appearance, but by the things which He said and did.
Jesus’ appearances to His disciples subsequent to His resurrection were after the same order as the appearances of angels in more ancient times. For example, three, angels appeared to Abraham. They angels talked and ate with him; but they were not human beings—although for a time Abraham thought they were.—Gen. 18:1,2; Heb. 13:2
Jesus was present with His disciples for forty days between the time of His resurrection and His ascension; but only a very small portion of this time were the disciples able to see Him; and then, as we have seen, only when He miraculously appeared to them. It is this Jesus, therefore, who is able to be invisibly present among human beings, and who, the Scriptures declare, is to return to earth for the purpose of establishing a Kingdom of righteousness by means of which the redeemed race is to be restored to life and happiness upon the earth.
Jesus’ Flesh a Ransom
Jesus was made flesh in order that He might give Himself as a corresponding price, a ransom, for Adam and his race. The Master said, “My flesh … I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51) Had Jesus been raised from the dead as a human being it would have meant that the ransom was taken back and thus the world of mankind would have been unredeemed.
But the Scriptures show that while Jesus was put to death in the flesh He was made alive in the spirit, or as a spirit being. (I Cor. 15:44-47; I Pet. 3:18) Jesus had previously explained to Nicodemus that one who is born of the spirit can come and go as the wind, that is, be invisible to the human eye, although having great power. He proved this to be true in His own case, for, after His resurrection, His disciples could not tell from whence He came nor whither He went, when appearing to them.—John 3:8
That Jesus still possesses the power to appear to human beings, as He did to His disciples following His resurrection from the dead, we do not dispute; but the Scriptures do not say that His second coming will be revealed to the world in this manner. His appearances following His resurrection were evidently intended to establish in the hearts and minds of His disciples the fact that He had been raised from the dead; but this fact having been established we have no reason to expect their repetition.
How Divinity Is Manifested
In Romans 1:20 we read concerning God, “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Here is a key which will help us understand the significance of the prophecies pertaining to the second coming of Christ. Christ is now invisible to human eyes, like the Heavenly Father, hence, at His second Advent can be recognized only by the visible things which transpire, and which can be identified through the prophetic page of the divine Word as the “signs” which were to mark His return.
Let us state the matter in another way: We believe in the existence of God, not because we have ever seen Him, but because we see His works. With our limited abilities we survey the vast universe and we say there must be a powerful all-wise Creator back of this. Similarly, in the divine Word, we find set forth an impressive array of events which were to take place in the world following the return of the divine Christ; hence, if we can see that many of these events are already taking place, the logical conclusion must be that that which the Bible describes as the second coming of Christ is already a reality. It is upon this basis that the assertion forming the caption for this article is held to be true; namely, that Christ has, indeed, returned.
God of this World Invisible
The Scriptures teach that there is a personal devil; yet no human being has ever seen him; but we have all seen the results of his nefarious influence: The Apostle Paul tells us that Satan is the “god of this world,” the one who now “works in [the hearts of] the children of disobedience.” (II Cor. 4:4) Paul also explains that Satan is a spirit who is the “Prince of the power of the air.” (Eph. 2:2) Jesus speaks of Satan as the “prince of this world.” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) If we believe the Bible, we must, therefore, believe that this powerful being has, throughout the centuries, been exercising control over the affairs of men.
The devil, however, is the invisible ruler of “this present evil world.” Peter declares that he goes about as a “roaring lion,” seeking whom he may devour. (I Pet. 5:8) This clearly indicates that Satan’s field of operation has been right here on earth; yet even those who realize this most fully have never heard him literally roar.
With the coming of Jesus, there also comes a change of dispensation. A new world, or order of things is instituted, and in this new order, Jesus will be the King supplanting the rulership of Satan, who has been the “prince of this world.” In vision, John saw an angel come down from God and lay hold upon Satan, and bind him with a mighty chain. Following this, Christ and the church are seen to reign for a thousand years. As Satan, who is bound, is invisible, certainly the agencies which bind him must likewise be invisible.—Rev. 20:1-4,6; 5:10
Satan’s power and influence in this evil world have been none the less potent because of his invisibility. On the contrary, it has given him certain advantage in that unseen he has been a powerful force for evil. Thus he has been able to make his influence felt in the council chambers of the rulers and princes of the earth, and to a considerable extent to direct their affairs.
Jesus’ rulership will also be an invisible one, exercised through earthly agencies. He will rule the people with a rod of iron; but He will rule them in righteousness, and not in unrighteousness, as Satan has done. Even as the results of Satan’s rulership are now easily discerned, so Jesus’ reign will, ultimately, be recognized by all mankind through the results accomplished. Of this we shall see more as we proceed.
In Matthew 12:29 Jesus speak; of entering into the “strong man’s house,” binding the strong man, and spoiling his goods. The strong mar here is Satan, as the context shows His “house,” or domain, is the earth His “goods” are evidently sin, sickness, and death. (Heb. 2:14) Satan’s house, workshop, or domain, has been this present “evil world,” or “age,” or as the Greek puts it elsewhere, kosmos, or order of things.—John 18:36
The entering of this house on the part of the Master is what occurs at the second advent. The overthrow of Satan’s empire and the binding of the adversary himself first takes place. The commotion resulting from this is described by the prophet as being a “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.” (Dan. 12:1) Evidently that trouble is already upon the world. This work completed, the remaining thousand years of the Master’s second presence will be devoted to the destroying of all Satan’s goods, including death, “For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (I Cor. 15:25,26) And with sickness and death destroyed, what a wonderful new world it will be!
Truth Concealed by a Mistranslation
Important truths pertaining to the manner and time of the Second Advent have long been hidden by a mistranslation. As we all know, the Bible was not written originally in the English language; hence we who use the English language must depend upon translations from the original Hebrew of the Old Testament, and the Greek of the New Testament. While in most instances in our English Bibles, very little of the richness of meaning has been lost through translation, there are exceptions in which profound truths of the divine plan have been long hidden by unwitting mistranslations.
One of these exceptions is in the case of the Greek word parousia which is used by Jesus and the apostles to describe the Master’s second visit to the earth. In our Common English Version of the Bible this word is almost universally translated “coming.” The result of this was that students of prophecy attempted to interpret the prophetic signs pertaining to the end of the age with the thought that they denoted that Jesus would soon come. However, the true meaning of this Greek word is “presence.” It follows, therefore, that the fulfilled signs of the Master’s parousia, or presence, indicate that He is already here.
When, for example, the disciples enquired of Jesus, “What shall be the sign of thy coming [parousia, presence]?” they were not asking how they might know in advance when He would come, but how they could identify His presence when He did come. In other words, in harmony with Romans 1:20, they wanted to know what visible things they were to look for as a token that the invisible Christ had returned to establish His Kingdom.
Archaeological discoveries in recent years reveal that the Greek word parousia was used in those ancient times to describe the visits of kings and emperors to various cities and provinces of their realms. One discovery reveals that taxes to pay the expenses of such a visit were raised by the issuing of a special “parousia coin.”
How appropriate, then, that this word should be used in connection with the visit to earth of the King of kings, and Lord of lords. But, as in the case of the earthly rulers whose visits are thus described, so with Jesus, parousia does not mean the moment of coming, but covers the entire duration of the visit.
Present for a Thousand Years
Jesus’ Second Advent, then, is truly a “visit,” and not merely a coming: It is a Scripturally established fact that His second presence or parousia, is to, continue for a thousand years. It is this thousand years that students of prophecy refer to as the Millennium. During the Millennium, Christ, and together with Him, His church are to reign upon the earth. (Rev. 5:10) The object of the reign is to destroy death, and establish peace and righteousness everywhere.—I Cor. 15:22-28; Rev. 20:4; 21:1-5; Psa. 2:2-8
The first presence of Jesus, when He was here upon the earth as a man, lasted in all but thirty-three and a half years—from His birth to His crucifixion. He remained forty days longer as a divine being, invisible to the world, and then He returned to the heavenly courts. There are many prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the period of Jesus’ first presence. Some tell of His birth; some of one or another part of His life and ministry. Some tell of His death as man’s Redeemer. Manifestly all of these prophecies were not fulfilled in any single day of the Master’s earthly experience; and it would lead to confusion should we undertake to apply them all to any one event in His life.
The promises and prophecies concerning the second presence of Jesus, covering as they do, the work of a thousand years in the divine plan, are even more varied; hence call for a greater carefulness in study, if we are to understand them with any measure of correctness. For example, we are told that Christ returns to claim His bride, the church. (John 14:3) Again we are told that He appears with His church. (Col. 3:4) Manifestly these two events must take place at different times, yet both are related to the period of His presence, or parousia.
The Scriptures represent the Master as being present carrying on a harvest work, He, Himself being the Chief Reaper. (Matt. 24:31; Rev. 14:14,15) But He is also shown to be present as a great King to whom all nations must bow down and give homage. (Rev. 11:15-18) It is only as we keep in mind that His second visit to the earth embraces a period of a thousand years, during which a variety of work is accomplished, first on behalf of His church, and later for the whole world, that these apparently contradictory statements of the Word are found to be harmonious. As this discussion has to do primarily with the effect of Jesus’ return upon the world of mankind in general, we will not digress to take up the matter of His coming as a reaper to gather His church, etc., referring the reader for this information to Volume Two of Studies in the Scriptures, entitled “The Time is at Hand.”
Manner of His Presence
In answering the disciple’s question concerning the signs of His presence, the Master took occasion not only to outline a number of signs by which that great event would be revealed, first to the church, and then to the world, but also to point out certain fundamental facts pertaining to the manner of His presence. Apparently Jesus knew that it would be difficult for His people to grasp the greatness and true import of the event, that they would be prone to think of His returning as a man, hence might be tempted to look for Him in some hidden, secluded spot, as they would naturally hunt for a human being whose presence they might wish to locate; so He said to them:
“Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning [Greek, astrape, bright shining] cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming [parousia, presence] of the Son of man be.”—Matt. 24:26,27
By these words Jesus is endeavoring to convey to our finite minds that His coming and presence was not to be like that of a human being. He was to return as a great divine being, the express image of the Father’s invisible person; so we must consider the subject from that standpoint. You won’t find Me, Jesus is saying, hidden away in some secret chamber, as you might find a man or a woman. Rather, you will discern My presence, even as you discern the existence of God Himself, and that is, by the great things which you ascribe to Him.
And so it is. We behold the sunshine and the rain, watering the earth and warming it, that it may bring forth and provide for those upon it and we say, this is evidence that God exists; a great Creator is back of it. So, Jesus explained that we will know of His second presence, because it will be like the lightning (Greek, astrape, bright shining) that, similar to the sun, cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west.
Some have mistakenly supposed that, by this illustration of the lightning, Jesus is endeavoring to impress upon our minds how suddenly He would come, that is, like a flash. But the time element does not seem to enter into this picture at all. Rather, the Master is describing the effect of His presence, saying that it will be world-wide, and like a bright shining that comes out of the east, and shineth even unto the west. The light of the sun is the only light that fits this description.
When we think of light coming out of the east we think of the dawning of a day; so, the Scriptures describe the thousand years of Christ’s second presence as a “day”—the “day of the Lord.” (I Thess. 5:2; Psa. 30:5) The full scope of the blessings to be dispensed to a dying world during that “day” are represented as coming to the people because the “sun of righteousness” arises, bringing healing to the nations.—Mal. 4:2; Rev. 22:1-3
Brethren Not in Darkness
In connection with the illustration of the “day” of Christ’s presence, other Scriptures come to mind which fit into the general harmony of the divine testimony. For example, the Lord’s people are represented as being “watchmen,” who, throughout the long night of sin and death that precedes the coming of Christ’s new day of blessing, are earnestly watching for the coming of the morning. It is made plain that these will not know in advance of the return of the Lord, for He will come as a “thief in the night.” Hence, they are told to watch, with the clear implication that when He does return, and the early dawn of the new day appears, they will be the first to know about it.—Matt. 24:36-42
It is important also to note that the coming of the Lord is synonymous with the coming of the “day of the Lord;” for it is His coming that ushers in His day. Hence, the Apostle Paul says, “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night, … but ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” (I Thess. 5:1-5) In verse three of this prophecy we learn that those who are not watching fail to discern the thief-like presence of the day of the Lord.
The fact that the “watchers” are privileged to know of the early dawning of the day of Christ, while others are unaware of what is taking place, is further emphasized by Jesus’ comparison of the conditions that existed before the flood, when Noah was present with the people, with those that prevail at the end of this age, in the “days of the Son of man.” While Noah and his family knew of the coming flood, and preached about it, the people in general refused to believe, hence were in total ignorance of the significant times in which they were living. See Luke 17:26-28; Matt. 24:37-39.
It should be noted well that, in this illustration, the sudden coming of the flood does not represent the sudden coming of Jesus, but the cataclysmic trouble that is precipitated by the Master’s return—the “sudden destruction” of the old order described in I Thessalonians 5:3-5.
As a Thief
Thieves in Bible times apparently were destroyers as well as robbers of other men’s possessions. See John 10:10; Job. 24:14; Jer. 49:9; Luke 10:30. Paul employs this characteristic of a thief to illustrate to our minds that in addition to the day of the Lord coming, secretly upon the world, it also results in the “sudden destruction” of Satan’s world. “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”—I Thess. 5:23
In II Peter 3:10 also, the thief-like presence of Christ is associated with the work of destroying the old world. In Revelation 16:12-20 the final overthrow of the kingdoms of this world, preparatory to the full establishment of the Kingdom of Christ, is described as the battle of Armageddon In the midst of this cryptic account we read the Lord’s statement “Behold, I come as a thief,” as though He would have us understand that the gathering of the nations to the great battle of Armageddon is due to the fact that He has secretly returned and is engineering the overthrow of Satan’s world.—Rev. 11:15-18
Bright Shining of His Presence
As we have already noted, Jesus explained that His second presence would be like a bright shining. (Matt. 24:26,27) Here, unmistakably, is the idea of enlightenment, symbolizing increasing knowledge. The Prophet Daniel, describing conditions that were to obtain in the “time of the end,” declares, among other things, that “knowledge shall be increased.”—Daniel 12:4
In this same prophecy of Daniel (verse 1) the prophet, speaking of Christ as “Michael,” explains that when he stands up—that is, begins to take a hand in earth’s affairs, “there shall he a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” Evidently, therefore, the increase of knowledge, or “bright shining” of the Master’s presence, is closely associated with the great time of trouble that overthrows the old order.
It is not difficult to discern the manner in which this is so, as a recent statement by H.G. Wells, the renowned British historian, indicates. Mr. Wells mentions the large army of educated but unemployed youth of the world and shows why these are an important factor in opposing established customs and are ready to overthrow the constituted authorities of the old world. We quote:
“And this modernized excess population has no longer any social humility. It has no belief in the infallibility of its rulers. It sees them too clearly; it knows about them, their wastes, vices and weaknesses, with even an exaggerated vividness. It sees no reason for its exclusion from the good things of life by such people.”—Magazine Digest, condensed from the Fortnightly, London.
In these few words Mr. Wells reveals the true cause of much that is happening in this generation tending to bring this order of things to an end. Indeed the phenomenal increase of knowledge peculiar to this generation has contributed largely to the downfall of the pre-war kingdoms and institutions of earth. As we have seen (Matt. 24:26,27; Dan. 12:4), it was foretold to be a sign of Christ’s presence. Back of this increase of knowledge then is the fact of the Master’s thief-like return—the knowledge itself being but the first gleam of the bright shining of His presence. It is the means by which the old world is destroyed and a new one established.
Satan, the Prince of Darkness
How perfectly logical it is that an increase of knowledge on the part of the masses of mankind should be one of the first evidences of the presence of Christ, the King of the new world. The long reign of sin and death under Satan, the prince of this world, is described in the Bible as a night—time of darkness. “Darkness shall cover the earth and, gross darkness the people,” the prophet tells us; and in contrast he says concerning the time when Christ is King, “And the Gentiles shall come to Thy light, and kings to the brightness of Thy rising.”—Isa. 60:2,3
In John 1:9 it is said that Jesus is that “true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” The prophecies clearly show that the complete fulfillment of this promise will be during the second presence of Christ; that it will be then that the “earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9) It will require the work of the entire thousand-year day of Christ to complete the work of scattering all the mist s of ignorance and superstition so that the people will be able to know and worship the true God and rejoice in His blessings.—Isa. 25:6-9
However, before the people can learn about the true God, they must first unlearn a lot of things. And this they are now doing. As Mr. Wells points out, they are becoming more and more aware of the false claims of the privileged minorities and ruling classes of the earth. This is true in the political, economic, financial and also ecclesiastical circles.
No longer can the masses of mankind be held in restraint through ignorance nor by superstition. Even among the ignorant peasantry of Russia, education is beginning to spread. As superstition is exposed, the first desire on the part of the masses is to destroy the systems that have fostered it. This has given rise to all sorts of reform and pseudo-reform movements among the nations. Yes, even nations themselves, whipped into frenzy by opportunist dictators, embark upon crusades for liberty from under the yoke of former world-powers.
Already, in many countries old forms of governments have given place to new ones. In some cases the new governments may be better than the old ones, but very frequently they are worse. But in every ease, the general agitation is resulting in a continuous increase of chaos which threatens the very existence of what men have called civilization. Dr. Butler, of Columbia University, describes the matter vividly by saying that “Civilization has been torpedoed.”
This, then, is the first result of the bright shining of the Master’s presence. The increase of knowledge that has precipitated present world-chaos, has not been of a gradual development throughout the ages. No, it has come suddenly—that is, suddenly as compared with the thousands of years of ignorance that preceded the last few decades of increasing education and enlightenment. The fact that it has come suddenly, and has already produced such world-wide upheavals, is evidence that it is not a “natural” development, but an interposition of divine influence resulting from the second presence of Christ—the “bright shining of His presence.”
A Night Also
In a cryptic prophecy recorded in Isaiah 21:11,12, the prophet speaks of a “night also” that follows the early dawn of the new day—that new day of blessing when mankind will be given a new, divine deal. The geographical setting of this prophecy is the ancient mountain of Seir. Travelers who have visited this territory tell us that with the rising of the sun there occurs a peculiar phenomenon, in that the rapid evaporation of the dew that has fallen in the night, caused by the sudden rising of the sun over the mountain, produces a thick fog, or mist, which temporarily hides the sun; and that hence, even though the morning has come, it is followed by a short period of dense darkness.
How clearly this illustrates what is taking place in the world today! The great effulgence of light accompanying the Master’s presence, and the consequent dawning of earth’s new day, piercing, as it does, the veil of superstition that has so long kept the world of mankind in darkness, causes a sudden inflaming of enlightened passions which temporarily results in a short dark night of increasing trouble—a “time of trouble,” indeed, “such as never was since there was a nation.”—Dan. 12:1
While thus far man credits the phenomenal enlightenment of the present time to the achievements of what they call the “brain age,” yet the world is awakening more and more to the stark reality that the alleged brain powers of our day are tragically unable to rescue the out-worn institutions of the world that was before 1914, from the clamoring; masses of humanity who have become enlightened enough to know that they are entitled to a “bill of rights” which, throughout the ages,, has been denied to all except the privileged few.
Peace and Safety
Man, not knowing the true significance of the increase of knowledge that has come to him in our day, imagines that at long last he is able, as a result of the enlightenment, to find his way to lasting peace and goodwill, nationally and internationally. Hence, 1913 witnessed a world-wide hue and cry of Peace. It was in that year that the Peace Palace at the Hague was dedicated, with all the so-called civilized nations of earth participating in the ceremonies. There seemed to be an expectancy of peace in all the diplomatic quarters of the world.
But this expectancy of peace proved to be without foundation in fact. It was like the proverbial wish that is father to the thought. The Apostle Paul foretold this situation, and in the fulfillment of his prophecy, we have another evidence of the Master’s presence and of the early dawn of His new day. Paul writes: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction shall come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child.”—I Thess. 5:3
How manifest has been the fulfillment of these words since 1914. The apostle explains that the destructive trouble would come like travail upon a woman with child; that is, in spasms. That is exactly how the world’s troubles have developed since the old world began to die. And all the while, the persistent cry of Peace and Safety continues. All sorts of peace efforts have been made since 1914. There have been peace conferences, and disarmament conferences. Hundreds of peace societies have been formed throughout the world. Each spasm of trouble seems to call forth new formulae for peace. Even the mighty armies of the nations, formed in battle array, are called “Peace Fronts.” But, adds the apostle, “they shall not escape.”
In Jeremiah 8:11 and Ezekiel 13:10 we are also told of a cry of “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. These prophecies were evidently the inspiration for Paul’s statement noted foregoing. So outstanding has been their fulfillment that the Pope, in his Easter message of 1939, called attention to them, saying that undoubtedly they are being fulfilled in this, our day. What the Pope evidently didn’t recognize is that the fulfillment of this, and like prophecies, denotes the second presence of earth’s new King.
We hold that the only plausible answer as to why the world, in spite of all the blessings and advantages of our day, is unable to extricate itself from chaos, is that our returned Lord; by dispelling the darkness of the long night of superstition and error, is bringing about the end of an order of things so fundamentally out of harmony with Him that it must be destroyed ere His Kingdom of righteousness can establish the glad new world of tomorrow.
The Antichrist Destroyed
In II Thessalonians 2:8, the Apostle Paul explains that antichrist is to be destroyed by the brightness of the Master’s presence. This, then, is another result of His bright shining, and, if it is taking place, is another evidence of His presence. In this text, the Greek word translated “coming” is parousia, meaning, as we have seen, presence. In the beginning of this chapter Paul explains, for the benefit of some in his day who thought the Lord had then returned, that this event could not take place until there come a great falling away from the faith, and the man of sin, or antichrist, be developed. He then explains that this man of sin would he destroyed when Jesus did return, by the “brightness of His presence.”
Some are still looking for this “man of sin” to manifest himself, failing to note that Paul says that what he describes was already beginning to manifest itself even in his day. The evidence is overwhelming that what Paul refers to is not an individual, but a system—a system that claims to be Christ’s Kingdom; and has masqueraded as such down through the centuries. For details on this point refer the reader to Volume Two, of Studies in the Scriptures, entitled, “The Time is at Hand.” We here briefly identify this antichrist as being primarily the Papal Church-State system of ecclesiasticism and politics by which the western world was ruled throughout that period of the Gospel Age history known as the “dark ages.”
Some of the points by which we are able to identify this counterfeit are its claim to infallibility; its attempts to rule the world through the arm of the state; its great “swelling words” of blasphemy relative to alleged power to open and close the doors of what is called purgatory, upon consideration of a fee; etc.
One reason we know that this system did not actually represent God, and did not constitute the true Kingdom of Christ, is because the perpetuation of its power was dependent upon keeping its subjects in ignorance. To do this, Papacy suppressed the Bible throughout the period of its power; and cruelly persecuted those who dared to read the Sacred Word. The tortures of the Holy Inquisition are well known historical facts. It is undeniable that even now where Papacy’s influence is felt most is where there is a lagging in the general increase of knowledge.
The increase of knowledge that becomes the bright shining of the Master’s presence, has its foundation in the invention of the printing press. Curiously enough, the Bible became one of the first pieces of literature to be made available for the masses through the printing press. It was about the beginning of the 19th century when many large Bible Societies were formed, and the general distribution of the Bible got a good start. Previous to this, every effort was made to suppress the circulation of the Bible, even the British government burned at the stake some who attempted to circulate it in England.
By referring to Paul’s prophecy of II Thessalonians 2:8, it will be noted that the antichrist system is said to first be “consumed” by the “spirit of His mouth,” and then “destroyed by the brightness of His presence.” This is the true historical sequence of what has actually occurred. The spirit of the Lord’s mouth, is His Word, the Bible. Through its circulation in effective quantities from about the opening of the 19th century, the power of Papacy began gradually to be weakened.
By the Word of God itself, Papacy’s dogmas concerning apostolic succession, infallibility, purgatory, masses for the dead, indulgences, church-state government, etc., were exposed as being false. Not everybody became acquainted with the fallacies of these claims and many who might have learned were reluctant to give up their superstitious reverence for a system they had so long held sacred. However, many did get their eyes open. The Protestant movements gave impetus to this breaking down of reverence for Papacy, so that the way was prepared for what we now see taking place; namely, the final destruction of the system by the brightness of the Master’s presence.
This antichrist system, it should be remembered, is not alone a false church, but is, rather, the union of church and state, with the claim that this union constitutes the Kingdom of God on earth. While the false church, as one of the component parts of this union, still exists—although rapidly being weakened by the loss of her children in one country after another—yet the church-state system of government by which the Vatican ruled Europe for so many centuries, is already virtually destroyed. This, then, is a clear indication of the Master’s presence, for, as Paul says, this system was to be destroyed by the brightness of His parousia, presence.
And it has been knowledge that has destroyed this iniquitous system of hypocrisy and tyranny. To see this in its true light we must cut through the maze of political intrigues of Europe, discounting as merely incidental all the various incidents and elements that have led up to what we now see on that continent, and get all the way back to fundamental causes. When we do this we will realize that it has been the enlightenment of the people as to the fallacies of the claims of Papacy that has reduced that system to its present state of impotency as a vital ruling factor in the world.
And what is true of Papacy, is also true, although perhaps to a lesser extent, of many of the Protestant systems. Probably very few, for example, still believe that the non-governing church-state system of Great Britain is actually backed by genuine divine authority and power. It is a token of our day that people are beginning to realize the sham of much of the religious trappings by which former generations have been impressed.
Does this mean the failure of Christianity? Nay, verily! It is but the discovery of the false gods that, for so many centuries, have been worshiped as the true God. With this discovery there is a turning away from religion altogether for awhile. It is not a turning away from the true God, for the illiterate masses of the world have never really known Him.
Their god has been the torment god, the purgatory god, the god of intrigue, exploitation and war. To these, the God of love and kindness is a total stranger. The God who sent His Son to die for them, and who, in His love and mercy, is about to establish a Kingdom for their everlasting blessing, is indeed an unknown God to the hordes of atheists who are now such a menacing threat to what is left of civilization.
“He Cometh in Clouds”
In Revelation 1:7, we are told that Jesus returns in clouds, and that every eye shall see Him. As Christ is a divine being, the express image of God Himself, men can see Him only through the incidents and events which accompany His return. The time will yet come—and that time is not far off, we believe—when these events will be of such a pronounced character that all men will readily recognize their true significance.
In Joel 2:1,2, there is further reference to the “clouds” that become so distressingly ominous in the early dawn of Christ’s new day. Here we are informed that this day, to begin with, is not to be a day of peace, but rather the reverse. It is to be a “day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall he any more after it, even to the years of many generations.”
It will be noted from this that the “clouds” which appear in the early dawning of the day of the Lord’s presence, really consist of “a great people and a strong,” the like of which has never before been known. This is evidently a reference to the uprising of armed forces so tremendous that civilization will crumble and fall under the impact of the revolutionary struggle they will precipitate.
These clouds of trouble are even now visible. Already the tribes of the earth are mourning because of them, although, as yet, they do not “see” the Master’s presence as the immediate cause of the trouble. Jesus said that there would be a great mourning because of His presence, that there would be upon the earth distress of nations and perplexity. (Luke 21:25,26; Matt. 24:30) As the atheistic and paganistic forces, armed and unarmed, become increasingly threatening, the world looks forward with fear to the outcome.
God’s Hand Over Israel
But how, you may ask, will the people in general be made to recognize that this world-wide trouble is the death throes of the old world, and is caused by the presence of the King of the new world? The Scriptures indicate that this will come about through divine intervention on behalf of the Jewish nation, now being so bitterly persecuted.
The experiences of the Jews throughout these days of trouble constitute additional evidence of Christ’s presence. It is the time, according to the Scriptures, when their land is to be restored to them, and they are to be reestablished in it. What has occurred along this line since 1914 has been miraculous, and should be viewed as part of the constructive work of the new world. This regathering of Israel was prophetically due at the very time when the nations, as a whole, were being gathered unto the final destructive “battle of Armageddon.”—Joel 3:1,2
But these prophecies concerning the Jews also indicate that while they were to have their land returned to them, and to be permitted to go there and restore much of it to a high state of cultivation, as has been done, yet that additional trouble and persecution was in store for them. This too, we see, has come to pass. These troubles are to increase, for awhile, even as the trouble upon the world will increase; one spasm following another.
It is not wise to go into details concerning events which have not yet transpired, but the Scriptures do make it plain that near the end of the final death-struggle of the nations, the Jews in Palestine will find themselves in a very precarious situation, with virtual annihilation threatening them; and that then the Lord will intervene on their behalf, rescue them from their enemies, and under the leadership of their resurrected prophets, establish His Kingdom as a literal governing power over the whole earth.—Ezek. 38:18-23
Evidently, therefore, it will be in this final phase of the “time of trouble” that the nations will recognize the hand of God; for, in the last verse of Ezekiel 38, cited above, the Lord says: “Thus will I magnify Myself, … and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”
In this prophecy the forces of Gog and Magog are identified as the enemies of Israel. The etymology of these names indicate that they are used prophetically to describe armies of Europe and Asia. While we cannot know the details in advance, the prophecy would seem to show that eventually certain of these forces will be lined up in an attack against Israel in Palestine. This also, perhaps, will coincide with a concerted effort to “liquidate” the Jews elsewhere. For God to intervene at this point and save His people would certainly be, to the world, the strangest of all the strange events now transpiring.
The Kingdom Established
The defense of Israel by divine power will be merely the first manifestation of the operation of the new world powers. From then on the Kingdom agencies will rapidly calm the storm of human passions which by that time will have brought the people of the whole earth to a state of desperation and despair.
But, just what is the new order we look for? Will it be merely a holy influence that will sweep over the earth? It will, indeed, be such an influence, but in addition it will have a definite Kingdom personnel. Christ will be the King, the invisible Ruler. The church—all those throughout the age now closing who have faithfully followed in His footsteps—will be associated with Him in the spiritual phase of the Kingdom. The promise to these has been, that if they suffer with Christ, they shall also reign with Him.—II Tim. 2:12
God’s promises to the church are all of a spiritual character. Misunderstanding the intent of these promises, many have concluded from them that it has been God’s purpose to take as many of earth’s inhabitants to heaven as would believe on Christ; and that all those who do not believe were to be lost. But now it is seen that in preparing the church to reign with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom, the Lord has merely been getting ready to save mankind in general by restoring them to Life upon the earth.—Rev. 5:10; 20:4
There will be earthly representatives of the Kingdom, also. Even as the invisible prince of this world, Satan, has operated chiefly through visible agencies, so Christ, and the church, the invisible rulers of the new world, will have visible representatives. The Bible tells us who these will be. Jesus, for example, explains, that in the Kingdom, men will come from the east, west, north and south, and will “sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets.”—Luke 13:28,29
In Psalms 45:16 this same class of ancient worthies are described as those who will be “princes in all the earth.” In Psalms 47:7-9, the same thought is presented. Here the Lord is said to be King over the whole earth, but the “princes” are His representatives, who will execute the laws of that new Kingdom. This class of princes will be made up of all the faithful ones from Abel to John the Baptist.
This explains what has been a mystery text to many students of the Bible; namely, Matthew 11:11. In this text Jesus declares that while there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist, nevertheless, “he that is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Here the “Kingdom of heaven” means the spiritual, or heavenly phase of that Kingdom. Those who are with Christ in that phase of the Kingdom, will be like Him, powerful spirit beings; hence the least of them will be greater than John the Baptist, who will be one of the earthly representatives of the Kingdom.
Not Too Fantastic to Believe
Let us not say that these things are impossible with God. For the ancient prophets to become the visible rulers in the new Kingdom means that they will be raised, from the dead. Is it too much to believe that God will do this? Is it not a fundamental of the Christian religion that there is to be a resurrection of the dead? Surely if we are looking to the Bible for a solution of the world’s problems we should be prepared to believe that God is able to do all that He promises to do.
As for the church being raised to spiritual life with Christ, and with Him reigning as invisible rulers for a thousand years: surely we should have no difficulty in believing this. Have not most Christians always believed in the spiritual existence after death? While a mistake has been made in supposing that the moment of death is the moment of a change to a higher life, yet the thought has always been that there is a spiritual life, and that it is possible for loved ones to be present, although unseen.
The great mistake in this thought is that we have supposed this spiritual existence described in the Bible is a natural outcome of the “cycle of life” This is not so. The wages of sin is death, and the dead know not anything. (Rom. 6:23; Eccl. 9:5) Nevertheless, the Scriptures teach that in the resurrection some will be given spiritual bodies. Thus Christ was raised, and thus the church will be raised; and these will be powerful spirit beings who, through the resurrected prophets, will exercise control over mankind throughout the thousand years of the Messianic Kingdom.—I Cor. 15:44,45; 6:2,3
Of that time the prophet declares, “The law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Micah 4:2) Here the heavenly and earthly phases of the Kingdom are symbolized as “Zion”—Christ and the church (Rev. 14:1; Psa. 2:6-9)—and “Jerusalem”—the visible part of the Kingdom, probably centered in the literal city of Jerusalem with a cabinet of the resurrected prophets at its head.—Luke 13:28
Solving World Problems
With such a Kingdom arrangement in force, backed up by divine, miracle-working power, how wonderfully one after another of earth’s problems will be solved. Take the problems of war. When the Kingdom first begins to function it will find mankind devastated by the ravages of war, revolution and anarchy. The nations will recognize divine intervention on behalf of Israel, and being bled to the point of exhaustion by the dreadful carnage of Armageddon, their governments overthrown, in this wilderness of despair they will look to the power that defeated them, and say:
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain [symbol of kingdom] of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the Law shall go forth of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”—Micah 4:2,3
How wonderfully simple is this divine solution of the war problem! It reverses the age-old axiom that in order to keep peace the nations must be prepared for war. It starts at the very foundation with a program of education in the arts of peace instead of war; and thus a genuine disarmament program is put into effect. Then will the promises of God pertaining to Jesus as the Prince of Peace be fulfilled. Then will the angelic message of “peace on earth, good will toward men,” become a reality.
There is, also, the economic problem of today. How serious it is! Millions permanently unemployed, depending on charity for a mere subsistence. This problem will be solved in the Kingdom, for then the arrangements will be such that “every man shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.”—Micah 4:4
The problem of poverty is, and always has been, a menacing one to millions. The poor, the underprivileged, have ever been a pathetic group. But these shall no longer constitute an army of forgotten men, as heretofore, but will be considered and blessed. Concerning this problem the prophet says:
“He [Christ] shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. … For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper [the forgotten man].”—Psalms 72:4,12
Another problem which, today, is becoming a serious one in some countries is that of living room. Adolph Hitler, Dictator of Germany, is using this problem as an excuse for what most people in other countries believe is a war of aggression. Whether or not Germany actually needs more “living room” at this time is beside the point. Certainly some countries are over-crowded; and others will become so as time goes on. This problem would, indeed, soon become a fruitful source of further bloodshed.
But the Lord has provided a solution for the living room problem also. First, we have the promise that all the waste places of the earth will become habitable and productive. “The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose,” the prophet tells us. (Isa. 35:1,2) Think of all the unused lands in the two Americas, in Australia, in South Africa, etc. With these parts of the earth made habitable and available for the people, surely there will be no need to shed blood in order to acquire additional territory.
But there is still another way in which the population problem will be permanently solved, and that is by a gradual diminishing birth rate. When our first parents were created they were commanded to multiply and fill the earth. It should be observed that once a sufficient number of humans have been born to properly fill the earth, the purpose of this divine command will have been attained, hence the provision by which it was implemented will be withdrawn.
Jesus gave a hint along this line when answering a question concerning the resurrection. The Sadducees presented Jesus with a hypothetical question concerning a woman who had successively married seven brothers. They wanted to know whose wife that woman would be in the resurrection. Jesus’ reply to the question was that in the resurrection of the dead “they neither marry nor are given in marriage.”—Matt. 22:30
In other words, the populating of the earth has been arranged by divine decree, and the process will be halted when divine wisdom decides that the earth has been sufficiently filled. Thus there will be no need for concern along this line, for the matter will be adjusted to the entire satisfaction of all, and to the glory of God.
Then there is the problem of selfishness. There could never be genuine peace and good will in the earth as long as selfishness plays such an important role in the affairs of men. Thank God, even this problem will be solved through the Messianic Kingdom arrangements. When men are taught the Lord’s way it means that they will learn the value of love as against selfishness.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 assures us that during that glad day of the Lord’s Kingdom the law of God, which is a law of love, will be written in the hearts of the people; and that all, eventually, are to become so well acquainted with the Lord and His ways of love, that none will need to say to his neighbor, Know thou the Lord: for all shall know Him, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.
The religious problem is also to be solved. Today earth’s millions worship a multiplicity of gods, and even those who attempt to worship the true God are hopelessly divided into factional groups from which comes a jargon of conflicting claims, dogmas and doctrines. But all that will be changed, for the promise is that the Lord will “turn to the people a pure language that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent.”—Zeph. 3:9
Death to be Destroyed
Finally there is the major problem of sickness and death. Unless this problem can be solved mankind would still need to travel through the “valley of the shadow of death.” In such an event there could be no, lasting peace and happiness anywhere. Every peaceful and happy home would be currently blighted by the dread enemy that now counts its victims by the millions every year.
But Christ, the great solver of human problems, will solve this one also, for during His reign sickness and death are to be destroyed. Paul affirms that “He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet; the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (I Cor. 15:25,26) Isaiah 25:8 declares that He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.
And in the solving of the problem of death, none are to be overlooked, for even those who have fallen asleep in death throughout the ages, are to “hear His [the Son of man’s] voice, and shall come forth” from the tomb. (John 5:28,29) The living room problem having been solved, there will be an abundance of habitable land to take care of all—the living and those who will be raised from the dead.
This means that no one will need to lament the fact that Christ’s Kingdom did not come sooner, before their father, mother, or other dear ones died; because these dear ones will be restored to life. The power of that blessed One who broke up funerals in Judea more than nineteen centuries ago simply by raising the dead one from death, will again be exercised, not on behalf of a limited few, but for the restoration of all the families of the earth. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Not that all will be saved everlastingly irrespective of their obedience to the laws of that new Kingdom. No, for full obedience will be demanded, and “it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:23) All will be awakened from the sleep of death in order that they may be given a knowledge of God and His loving provision for them in the Redeemer; but once this knowledge is received, then each individual who wishes to continue to live upon the earth, and enjoy everlastingly the blessings of peace and happiness provided for God’s human creation, will need to render continued obedience to God’s law.
Thus it will be that all the various problems of fallen man gradually will be solved, and this as the increasing light of the Master’s second presence permeates one after another of the dark places of the earth. While the first effect of the bright shining of His presence is to cause confusion and chaos which is even now destroying this present order of things, it will, nevertheless, continue to shine, so that the chaos it first produces will be transformed into a wondrous new order in which the healing rays of that “Sun of righteousness” will continuously pour into the sin-sick and wounded hearts and lives of all mankind.
Sunshine Over All
From pole to pole, it will shine; and upon every continent and the isles of the sea, the soothing, life-giving powers of that divine Light and Life-Giver will be felt for good. There will be no unfinished spots or situations not taken care of by the bright shining of the Master’s presence, for nothing short of a full east-to-west dispensation of its healing rays can fulfill, the Master’s own promise concerning the manner and object of His coming.
The enlightening rays of Christ’s presence will fill the earth with a knowledge of the glory of God. This means that all “doctrines of devils,” all nocturnal hallucinations and superstitions, all human creeds and dogmas, all the precepts of men by which people are taught to fear God rather than to love Him (Isa. 29:13), all political intrigues, as well as the thousand and one other evils that have plagued a dying world, are to be swept away, and all of this replaced by a true knowledge of God and His righteous laws.
With the knowledge of the glory of God filling the earth, there will come also the clearing out of all the myriad citadels of sin and vice and crime. As that glorious Sun of Righteousness forces its enlightening and healing rays into the various dens of iniquity, the Satanic darkness of these rendezvous of evil will give place to the glorious enlightenment of the new day.
No, there will not be a nook or corner any place in the earth where the light from that glorious Sun will not penetrate. The warmth of its healing rays will cheer the slums of our great cities and radiate into the institutions of suffering which we call hospitals. How glad we are for these hospitals today; but how wonderful it will be when the bright-shining of the Master’s presence destroys the diseases which make them necessary. The beds of sickness in the cottages of the peasants, as well, also, as in the palaces of the rich, will all be reached. Indeed, the distinctions between rich and poor will be dissolved, because all will be made rich; for the promise is, that there will be a feast of fat things for all people.—Isa. 25:6
Such a stupendous, far-reaching work of reformation and restoration is not to be accomplished in a few days or a few months. It will require practically the entire thousand years of the Messianic Kingdom ere the bright shining of the Master’s presence will have scattered all the mists of darkness, and restored all the prisoners of death. For this reason the prophet describes the new day as being partly dark and partly light, but in the evening, or close of the clay, he declares, it shall be light. Thank God for this assurance of ultimate victory for the cause of truth and righteousness in the earth.—Zech. 14:6-9
Thus, because Christ has returned, earth’s problems, great and small, are to be solved. And what should that mean to us today? If we glimpse the import of the prophetic vision now being opened up by the compelling logic of events, we should rejoice in the imminence of the glad new world of tomorrow. Realizing what that new Kingdom world will mean for all mankind, we should more earnestly than ever pray “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”—Matt. 6:10
But to offer such a prayer from the heart will mean that we are endeavoring to have God’s will done in our own lives even now. It indicates that so far as possible, we will order our lives as we believe the lives of all the obedient ones of earth will be ordered when the Kingdom laws are fully in operation. This implies that we will put away selfishness as a ruling factor in our lives. It means that we will love God with all our hearts and with all our strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.
While we will look for and pray for the full establishment of Christ’s Kingdom, we will, nevertheless, be law-abiding now, “obedient to the powers that be,” realizing that even an imperfect government is better than no government.
If we have caught the inspiration of the vision of truth now revealed through the pages of God’s word, the Bible, and can see the fulfillments of its prophecies in the news parade of our times, we will want to tell the good news to others, to our neighbors and friends far and wide. Thus we may become ambassadors of our present King and Lord.
In brief, we can think of no better advice than for one to give his whole heart to the Lord, in a spirit of complete devotion to His will. It is from among the fully consecrated that the Lord is selecting those who will be associated with Him in the heavenly phase of the Kingdom. If this “high calling of God” reaches you, then run earnestly for that prize, for soon the church class will be complete and the opportunity closed.
But thank God, this does not mean a closing of the door of divine mercy and blessing for mankind. Indeed, it will signal the beginning of restitution blessings for all the people; that is, those blessings of life and happiness that were forfeited in Eden, purchased for the world by the blood of Christ, and soon to be dispensed by the divine Kingdom agencies. Yes:
“Christ is come! now let creation
From her groans and travails cease;
Let the glorious proclamation
Hope restore and faith increase.“Earth can yet but read the story
Of His cross and dying pain;
But shall soon behold His glory;
For He cometh now to reign.“Long thine exiles have been pining,
Far from rest and home and Thee;
But in heavenly vesture shining,
Soon they shall Thy glory see.