| The Christian Life | October 1941 |
Thy God Reigneth
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.”—Isaiah 52:7,8
THAT the words of our text are intended as a divine commission to the followers of Jesus to proclaim the glad tidings of the Kingdom is evident from the Apostle Paul’s reference to the passage in Romans 10:13-16. However, it has always been in order for the church to announce good tidings of salvation through the redemptive work of Jesus, the due time for proclaiming the complete message outlined in this commission is not until the end of the age. A similar commission, given to the anointed ones of this age is that of Isaiah 61:1-3. Jesus quoted a part of this as applying to the ministry He introduced, but in His quotation omitted that part pertaining to the day of vengeance, and the comforting of those who mourn in Zion, because these phases of God’s work in the earth were not to be carried out until the end of the age.
The time element of our text which denotes the period when it would be proper for the Lord’s people to not only proclaim the hope of salvation, but also to announce the establishment of the Kingdom through which life would be brought to the people, is in the expression, “when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” (Verse 8) Thus, while Paul, in his day, could quote part of the passage as authority for then preaching salvation through Christ, he omitted reference to the statement, “Thy God reigneth,” for he knew that it would not be proper to proclaim such a message until the Lord brought again Zion. The prophet indicates that when this due time arrives it would be so manifest that God’s watchmen would see “eye to eye” concerning it, and that they would “together” lift up the message then due to be proclaimed by “the feet of Him.”
GOD’S ZION CEASED IN THE EARTH
The term “Zion” is one which the Lord uses to symbolize His governmental authority in the affairs of men. Its symbolism is based upon the fact that the literal hill of Zion was the seat of government in natural Israel. From Zion’s hill the kings of Israel, who sat upon “the throne of the Lord,” ruled this ancient and typical people of God. Like the term “kingdom,” however, it is sometimes applied to the people of God who are being prepared for a place in the divine government that is to rule mankind for a thousand years. In this latter sense, antitypical Zion has been in existence since the first advent of Christ, but not as a governing force among men.
Zion, as a government in the earth, ceased to exist when King Zedekiah, the last of Israel’s kings, was overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar and taken captive to Babylon. Even this, of course, was not the real Zion of the prophecies, but it was God’s Kingdom so far as the one little nation of Israel was concerned, the blessings of which were limited only by the sin and disobedience of the people. To the extent that Israel tried to obey the laws of this kingdom, they were blessed. God fought for them against their enemies, and cared for them in their time of need. Because of this we can well understand their sorrow as reflected in the words, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.”—Psa. 137:1
Yes, then Zion was no more. Through the prophet God terminated that typical arrangement by the decree of Zedekiah, saying, “Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: … it shall be no more until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.” (Ezekiel 21:26,27) Thus God brought to an end the Zion through which He ruled ancient Israel, and at the same time promised that He would “bring again Zion” through another, “whose right it is.” This One is none other than the Messiah, long promised to Israel as the King through whom God would bless them everlastingly, with health, life, liberty and happiness. The right is His because it is to Him that all of God’s promises apply, and, furthermore, because He proved His right by faithfulness in doing the Heavenly Father’s will.
With the overthrow of Zedekiah, God’s governmental authority ceased to be exercised anywhere in the earth. True, it was only on a small scale before this, in that the one little nation of Israel was the only one that came under it. But, it was there, and on occasions other nations came in contact with it when they were defeated in their attempts to destroy Israel. But now “Zion” was no more. While God permitted Gentile nations to carry on to maintain a semblance of order among men, they did not represent Him, nor did He sanction or bless what they did, whether good or evil.
“UNTIL HE COME”
This absence of divine government in the affairs of men was to continue “until He come whose right it is.” Jesus came as man’s Redeemer at His first advent. By faithfulness in suffering and death He proved His worthiness to inherit the divine Kingdom. When raised from the dead He was highly exalted, far above all principalities and authorities, to the very throne of God. After His resurrection Jesus said, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” (Matt. 28:18) However, so far as mankind in general was concerned, Jesus did not begin to exercise that power then.
It was in the divine plan that Jesus was not to occupy antitypical Zion’s hill alone. There were to be 144,000 with Him, chosen from among both Jews and Gentiles, upon the basis of their faithfulness in following the “Lamb” in sacrifice unto death. (Rev. 14:1-5) These, too, were to come up on Mount Zion as saviors to dispense the salvation promised during the Messianic Kingdom period. (Obadiah 21) Hence, before Zion could be brought again into existence as a ruling force in the world it was necessary that the Zion class should be selected and perfected. This has been the work of the Gospel age, and it is as this work draws to a close that Jesus returns for His people and to begin the Kingdom reign.
“THY WATCHMEN”
It is at this point that the “watchmen” mentioned in our text enter into the picture. Near the close of Jesus’ earthly ministry His disciples began to grasp vaguely the thought that the Messianic Kingdom was not to be established at that time. In accepting Jesus as the Messiah these disciples had supposed that He would there and then reestablish Israel as a nation under God’s control, and free them from the Roman yoke of bondage. They thought that the time had come to “bring again” Zion, which had ceased to be more than six centuries before. But they were to learn differently.
And, now having grasped the thought, at least vaguely, that Jesus was to go away and return at a later date to establish the long-looked-for Kingdom of Messiah, they came to Him on the Mount of Olives, and asked what would be the signs of His second presence, and of the end of the age. It was in reply to these questions that Jesus introduced the thought of the watchmen, showing that His followers at the end of the age would be these watchmen who would be looking for His return and for the establishment of His Kingdom.
“Watch therefore,” said Jesus, “for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matt. 24:42; 25:13; Mark 13:33) Thus Jesus makes it plain that while none would know in advance concerning the time of His return, yet that the watchers would know when He did return, and that, to begin with, they would be the only ones to know about it. The Apostle Paul, in I Thessalonians 5:1-3, gives us the same thought. He here refers to the time of the Lord’s presence as the “day of the Lord,” and explains that it would come upon the world unexpectedly and suddenly, being manifested in the destruction of the present order. “But ye, brethren,” the apostle adds, “are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
Yes, this is one of the blessed Scriptural facts concerning the Master’s second presence—His watchmen learn about it in advance of the world in general. And one of the main reasons why this is so is that they are commissioned to make announcement of it, and of the events associated with it. This thought is clearly revealed by the prophet in his use of the watchmen illustration. He shows that not only do the watchmen “see” that the time for the Kingdom reign is here, but also, seeing it, they together “lift up the voice” that is, they proclaim what they see. And what is it that they see? According to the prophet it is the fact that “Thy God reigneth.”
Let us remember that all the followers of the Master, the Zion class, have been watchers. This has been true from the very beginning of the age, as Jesus said, “What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” (Mark 13:37) All these watchers have proclaimed “good tidings of good.” They have all announced that salvation is available through Christ, thus they have all published salvation. But it is only those watchers who are “alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord,” who see “eye to eye” concerning the fact the He has come, and because of this, add to the general message of the Gospel age, “Thy God reigneth.”
“WHEN THE LORD SHALL BRING AGAIN ZION”
This is because these watchmen are watching at the time “when the Lord shall bring again Zion”; that is, at the time when, after more than twenty-five hundred years of non-intervention in the affairs of men, from the standpoint of exercising governmental control over them, His Zion begins to function. The proclamation of this accomplished fact is made before the world in general knows about it. In the first instance, and in fact, primarily, it is made to the Zion class; that is, to the prospective joint-heirs of Jesus still this side of the veil during the early part of the Master’s second presence. When glorified with Christ, none would need to have this fact announced to them; and when the reign of Christ becomes apparent to the world, such a proclamation would be unnecessary as a witness.
It is because He has come “whose right it is,” that Zion, as a power among the nations, is again operative, and it is for this reason, also, that the message, “Thy God reigneth” is now in order. But, the fact that the watchmen are the only ones to know about this indicates that it is not discernible to the general public. Nor will the general public believe it when it is told to them. But Zion believes, and rejoices, and together they lift up the voice of truth.
But how, some may ask, are the watchmen to be sure of the correctness of such important information? How, and for what, do they watch? And what do they see that is so convincing? The Apostle Peter tells us what we are to watch—it is the “sure word of prophecy.” And Peter admonished the church to give heed to this sure word of prophecy “until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” (II Pet. 1:16-21) Peter tells us about that wonderful vision on the Mount of Transfiguration, in which he saw the Kingdom illustrated. “We … were eye-witnesses of His majesty,” says the apostle, hence have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and the presence [parousia] of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But important though this vision was, Peter knew that those who recognize the reality of Christ’s second presence and Kingdom, would be those who continued to watch for the fulfillment of the “sure word of prophecy” concerning it, and because of this would be blessed by the “day star” arising “in their hearts.” The “Day Star” is Jesus coming at His second advent. He comes before the full light of the new day is diffused by the rising of the “sun of righteousness.” When that stage of His parousia becomes a reality the entire church will be with Him, shining with Him “as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.”—Matthew 13:43
But before this full rising of the “sun of righteousness,” Christ rises as the “Day Star” in the hearts of His faithful watchers. What a beautiful way the apostle thus illustrates the manner in which the watchers become aware of the Master’s presence! He arises in their hearts. The sincere ones, seeing the fulfillment of the prophecies which were to mark His return, are convinced of what has occurred, and believing this in their hearts, they join in the proclamation, “Thy God reigneth.” It isn’t sufficient that this information reaches merely their heads. It is “with the heart that man believeth unto righteousness,” the apostle tells us. (Rom. 10:10) That is to say, it is only a heart belief that causes one to act in harmony with the will of God. In this case, the will of God is that the watchers, in whose hearts the Day Star arises, together will lift up this voice of truth.
WHAT THE WATCHERS SEE
A wonderfully interesting account, describing early events associated with the return of the Master, is that of Luke 12:35-44. A careful study of this passage indicates that Christ would first reveal His presence to a company of watchers. Notice that the term “servants” is used in the plural. This harmonizes with the facts as they occurred back in the early seventies of the last century, when, according to the time prophecies of the Bible, the due time had arrived for the Master to return. A review of the experiences of Brother Russell and others at that time, clearly shows this.
But Peter wanted to know more of the details. To him this was important information, vital to all who were seeking first the Kingdom of heaven, so he inquired: “Lord, speakest Thou this parable unto us, or even to all?” In other words, Peter wanted to know just who were to share in this privilege of having “meat in due season” served to them by the returned Lord. In answer to this question, Jesus said, “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when He cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that He will make him ruler over all that He hath.”—Luke 12:43,44
The obvious thought here is that from among the company of watchers who would first discover the fact of Christ’s parousia, one would be specially selected to dispense the information to the entire household of faith. The Greek word here translated “ruler” does not have the thought of one who “lords it over God’s heritage,” but rather that of a steward, or servant, who dispenses the food. The manner in which the harvest work began is fully in harmony with this entire prophecy.
The outstanding “food” which the Master served to the household through “that servant” was the fact that Christ had returned, and that the “times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets,” were soon to become a reality. In a very special way this was meat in “due” season, for the reason that the great Restorer of the world had returned. It didn’t mean that disease and death were to be immediately destroyed. But, as illustrated in Israel’s jubilee system, the time had come for the blowing of the antitypical jubilee trumpets of truth—restitution truth, which had long laid buried and virtually lost sight of through human tradition.
Those who know the facts concerning the “Present Truth” movement, cannot doubt that the Lord was back of it. The message of restitution went far and wide throughout the civilized world. Those who joined in the proclamation were accused of teaching a “second chance.” This was quite understandable, because it was the first time since the days of the early church that a message of hope for the unsaved dead had been heralded far and wide throughout the world. Men had made God’s love too narrow by false limits of their own, and had decided that those who did not join a church during this life were to be forever cast off from divine favor.
But the “meat in due season,” dispensed to the household, yea, in large measure also to the world—although not accepted by the latter—changed this traditional, and narrow viewpoint. Now it was announced that Christ’s return was not for the purpose of destroying nearly everything, but for the “restitution of all things” divinely forecast. To the faithful watchers there was no doubt about the truthfulness of this message, for they learned that God had spoken it, not one, or twice, merely, but by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. The restoration of this blessed truth, accompanied, as it was, by other signs of the times, constitutes one of the outstanding evidences of Christ’s return. He has, indeed, served the meat in “due season” exactly as He foretold He would do when He returned.
The watchers also learned that these restitution blessings were to be dispensed to a dying world through the Messianic Kingdom, through “Zion,” exalted to power and great glory. But meanwhile, throughout the age, a false Kingdom had been established in the earth, a counterfeit Kingdom. It had several branches. There was the “mother” system, and also the “daughters,” but all were a part of “Christendom”—Christ’s Kingdom, as it had been misconceived by the politico-religious rulers of the nations.
So it was, when the “mighty angel”—Christ came down from heaven, and the brightshining of His presence began, the admonition went forth, “Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” The “her” mentioned in this text is “Babylon,” that harlot woman, “which reigneth over the kings of the earth,” and who also committed fornication with them. God’s true Zion class become united in marriage with the “Lamb,” and thus constitute the “Holy City,” through which the restitution blessings soon are to come to the people. But this other woman is a harlot, who, not willing to wait for the return of the Bridegroom, sought to establish the Kingdom through an illicit union with the “kingdoms of this world.”—Rev. 18:1-4; 17:1,18; 19:7; 21:2-5,9,10
This, too, was “meat in due season.” Certainly, those who were to reign with Christ in the “Holy City” would need to recognize the unholiness of the counterfeit city, and separate themselves from it before it was destroyed. These could not consistently have part or lot in any branch of this false system—neither in its politics, nor in its blasphemous worship of the torment deity. How perfectly logical it was, therefore, that when the time came for the establishment of the true Kingdom, one of the first works of the returned Christ should be the calling of His people from all association with the false systems, and that then these false systems would be destroyed.
This was and is, the “Harvest” work. It is the separation of the “wheat”—the “children of the Kingdom”—from the “tares”—the “children of the wicked one.” This Harvest work, according to the prophecies, was to be conducted by the Chief Reaper, Christ. (Rev. 14:6-8,14-16) And notice in the prophecy cited from Revelation 14, how the preaching of the “everlasting gospel”—the gospel that God has outlined, beginning with Moses, that “all the families of the earth are to be blessed”—is associated with the fall of symbolic Babylon, and the harvest work which is shown to be under the direction of Christ.
The watchers have seen all of this, and have participated with Christ in the proclamation of the Gospel, and in saying to God’s people in Babylon, “Come out of her … that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Furthermore, we are now witnessing some of the plagues coming upon the counterfeit kingdom. As the watchers witness these things, they become more than ever convinced that the “Day Star” has arisen, and taking this glorious truth to heart, they are, glad to sacrifice everything in “together lifting up the voice.”
“THY GOD REIGNETH”
While God’s wondrous dealings with the watchers themselves have been convincing evidence of the Master’s presence, yet in a sense the present state of the nations is even more so, especially of the fact that “Zion” is again in authority, and that therefore it is now true that “Thy God reigneth.” If some fail to discern the significance of the signs which assure the watchers of this, it is because they overlook the important information on the subject given to us in many of the prophecies, and especially by the Apostle Peter in the 3rd chapter of his 2nd epistle.
In this chapter the apostle makes it plain that the first visible evidence of the day of the Lord having come, would be the disintegration of the present symbolic “heavens and earth.” Some who know about God’s restitution project, and that it’s to be accomplished as a result of Christ’s return, might be inclined to reason that Christ has not returned because there is no evidence of restitution having begun. In Acts 3:19-21 the apostle clearly shows that the purpose of Christ’s return is the restitution of all things prophesied. He shows, furthermore, that God had proclaimed this fact to the fathers of Israel by the mouth of all His holy prophets. But some may say that since the fathers fell asleep, nothing has occurred to indicate that this promise is being fulfilled. They might reason that if Christ is present we should see more of these restitution blessings.
But Peter refutes this reasoning by showing that before the blessings of the new Kingdom can come, Christ’s parousia must first of all bring about the destruction of the old order. In presenting this proper sequence of events relative to the time of Christ’s parousia, Peter is not overlooking the great objective of our Lord’s return; for, after telling of the destruction of the present heavens and earth as its first result, he then adds, “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
By the use of the word “nevertheless,” Peter seems to be saying that he, in common with all the watchers, had not overlooked the main purpose of Christ’s return. However, at the same time, he wanted the, reader to know that the first evidence of Christ’s return would be the “time of trouble” by which this “present evil world” is destroyed. (Dan. 12:1) Peter knew this because Jesus, in giving instructions to the watchers, had made the matter plain. Jesus likened the beginning of His second presence to the days of Noah, which days were followed by the flood. Peter uses this same illustration, and shows that, in the day of the Lord, the present world would be destroyed, just as the “world that then was” perished in the days of Noah—not before the days of Noah, nor after the days of Noah.—Luke 17:26
The Apostle Paul also presents the same thought in I Thessalonians 5:1-4. Here he shows that the destruction of the old world occurs within the, day of the Lord. This “day of the Lord” is unquestionably the days of Christ’s presence, as is clearly seen from noting the language used in the latter part of Luke 17:24, and comparing it with verse 26. Thus we have the threefold testimony of these inspired teachers to assure us that we must look first for a time of destruction as evidence that the returned Christ has begun to intervene in world affairs—then will follow the restitution blessings.
THE ANGRY NATIONS
While the earlier years of the Master’s presence saw the nations lining up for an inevitable life-and-death struggle, yet it was not until the end of the Gentile Times, in 1914, that the “kingdoms of this world” began actually to crumble and fall. What has occurred since is a matter of record which no one can dispute. Practically all the old-world kingdoms, governed by hereditary rulers, and church-state systems, have fallen. Certain powerful military governments have risen their places, but the chief function of these thus far has been to continue the work of destroying nations. And, everybody knows that these military machines will eventually collapse, leaving Europe in the worst state of chaos it has ever experienced.
The Scriptural explanation of this is that the world is being prepared for the full establishment of the Kingdom of Christ. Nor do the prophecies indicate that the kingdoms of this world were to be set aside by a miraculous demonstration of divine power. In Revelation 11:17,18, it is made plain that the transfer of earth’s sovereignty to Him “whose right it is,” would be accompanied by an uprising of the angry nations, just as the watchers have witnessed during the years that have passed. Nor does this passage show that this raging of the nations would precede Christ’s taking unto Himself His great power to reign, but rather that it would follow.
In the 2nd Psalm we are given the same information. Here the Lord is shown as holding the raging nations “in derision” for the reason that He has set His King—the one “whose right it is”—upon His holy hill Zion. This shows that when these events occur, the Lord has brought again Zion; that is, that through Christ He has again taken up the reins of authority in the earth, and that no longer are the Kingdoms of this world to continue in their selfish ways unchallenged.
It means, in fact, that they will not be permitted to continue at all; not because there is no good in them, but because the time has come for Christ to establish His Kingdom, which is to be a wholly righteous Kingdom, backed up by divine power and authority for the blessing of all the families of the earth with life and happiness. Yes, Zion has been restored. Christ is now King on Zion’s Hill, even though, as yet, its glory is not disclosed to all. Already He is overruling in the affairs of the nations, causing all their efforts to establish a new order, to fail. Witness the evidence of this in the failure of all the well-meant conferences of the nations since 1914.
“EYE TO EYE”
These are some of the outstanding facts concerning the presence of Christ and the end of the age that the watchers are seeing “eye to eye.” They may not understand every passage of the Bible in exactly the same way, but they do recognize the coming of the new day and what it portends of future blessings. The Day Star has arisen in their hearts, and together they are lifting up the “voice” of truth, the “everlasting Gospel,” and assuring Zion, and all who have a hearing ear, that because “thy God reigneth,” the blessings of the Kingdom are soon to be realized by the whole sin-sick, war-torn and weary world.
Yes, the time is near when Satan’s “goods” are to be destroyed. This becomes increasingly apparent by a study of the lesson given us in Matthew 12:22-29. Here we are told of a miracle which Jesus performed. He healed a man who was blind and dumb; arid we learn that this affliction was due to Satanic influence. Satan, we are told, has the power over death. (Heb. 2:14) Evidently, therefore, the “goods” referred to by Jesus in this lesson are the suffering, sickness, and death, incident to Satan’s usurped reign over mankind.
The Pharisees charged that Jesus had performed this miracle by the power of Satan. In refuting this charge the Master pointed out that while they had witnessed a manifestation of Kingdom power in the healing of this man who had been blind and dumb, yet, that before Satan’s goods as a whole could be destroyed it would be necessary to break into the “strong man’s house,” and “bind” the strong man. Jesus’ words are, “Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.”
The Diaglott word for word translation of this speaks of the “goods” as the “household stuff.” Instead of “spoil,” the Diaglott gives “plunder.” Plundering the household of its “stuff,” and plundering the house, therefore, would be the same. The thought evidently is that while the household may be entered before the binding of the strong man, it cannot be both entered and plundered until he is bound. Obviously Satan, the “strong man” of this lesson, lives in his own “house.” Hence it is necessary to break into this house in order to capture and bind him. Satan’s house is his empire, made up of all the ramifications of human society through which he operates to perpetuate his reign of sin and death. It would be useless for Christ to merely break into this house, and permit the strong man himself to go free. It is also clear that Satan’s empire must be broken into in order to find and bind the strong man.
Our main purpose in mentioning this point is to show that according to the prophecies, Christ does take His great power to reign, while Satan is still unbound, and that it will not be until his empire is well on its way to destruction, and restitution blessings about to begin, that Satan himself will be bound.
The first thing that is to he done to make possible the destruction of disease and death—Satan’s “goods”—is to break into the strong man’s house. It is this that is now being done. All the crashing of human elements by which Satan’s empire is being broken into and destroyed, give evidence of this. But Satan is still resisting the power of earth’s new King, who is now set on Zion’s Hill.
Yes, Christ has been set upon the Holy Hill of Zion; the time is here in which the Lord said He would “bring again” Zion; the watchers see this “eye to eye”; and together they proclaim the glad message, “Thy God reigneth.”
To proclaim the message, “Thy God reigneth,” implies the proclamation of the entire Gospel of the Kingdom. It means also to “declare the day of vengeance of our God,” because the first act in the reign of the new King is that of “devouring” the whole symbolic earth with the “fire of God’s jealousy.” We declare the day of vengeance, however, not by pronouncing vengeance, but by explaining the significance of world events, that they mean the imminence of Christ’s Kingdom, hence that a time of universal peace is near, because the Prince of Peace has already taken unto Himself His great power to reign.
What a blessed message! Good tidings of good, indeed. If the Lord has revealed the meaning of these things to us, let us determine that nothing will stand in our way of lifting up that glad message of truth, and singing it aloud.