| The Christian Life | May 1945 |
The Morning Cometh
What of the Night?
“He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye.”—Isaiah 21:11
THE nighttime of human experience with sin, sickness, war, famine, pestilence, pain and death has been a long and dark one. The question has been often asked, “What of the night?” Outside of the Bible we search in vain for a reasonable answer as to why we are here amidst these untoward conditions. There are many leaders if thought in the world today, however, of whom we might inquire regarding this question. We might inquire of evolutionists, “What of the night?” They would probably answer somewhat after this manner:
“We believe that beginning in the Silurian and Paleozoic periods, perhaps from protoplasmic slime, man has been ascending through the night to ever loftier heights of development and achievement. He has come a long way on the road to perfection, but we know that he has yet far to go before he reaches the goal of his marvelous possibilities. We attribute the inventions, knowledge and enlightenment of our day to man’s increased brain capacity and believe that some day in the far distant future he will triumph over all his difficulties and thus emerge from the nighttime of his uncertainties.”
While evolutionists deny the fall of man, they cannot deny his imperfect and sinful condition which shrouds all human experience in darkness. Were we to accept what the evolutionary theory has to offer, it would be a hopeless outlook indeed for all of us now living. It has little to offer by way of a satisfactory solution to life, death and the hereafter. It offers no real hope for the individual of the past or present, and only a limited hope for those of the future. At best it holds out a hope that through the survival of the fittest untold generations hence, and through cycles of progression accompanied by great upheavals at times, there will gradually emerge the ultimate of human personality and achievement. But even with this grand result, there is no hope held out for an enduring life of peace and happiness for those who will then be living, nor will it mean a thing for the billions who have died.
Nor is it a proven fact that the fittest always survive. The truth is that most of the physically fit and many of the mentally fit are sacrificed in war and thus lost to civilization. The evolutionist may counter with the suggestion that while that is true, nevertheless those who have the ingenuity and intelligence to produce the superior weapons of war and make the better use of them usually survive. But this is only a specious argument to bolster a very weak case. It cannot be successfully refuted that the cream of physical manhood is often ruthlessly sacrificed to the objectives of war-mad nations, while the aged and physically unfit are permitted to survive and reproduce. In fact, if we revert to prehistoric evidence of the value of this evolutionary doctrine, we cannot help but realize its folly; for surely the prehistoric mammoth and the sloth were physically fitted to survive, but they have long since ceased to exist.
For the individual, the theory of evolution offers no hope of escaping from the darkness of night, for it knows nothing of any permanent survival, nor of life after death, nor of a resurrection. It raises more questions than it answers, and there are so many missing links in the proofs of its verity that whole sections in the chain of evidence are lacking; the only whole thing about it being the “whole cloth” out of which it is made. William Jennings Bryan expressed it well when he called it “A series of millions of guesses strung together.”
Sectarianism’s Answer
Let us now turn to inquire of sectarianism, “What of the night?” From this source the answer comes, “The night is dark indeed, for all but the very few, because those who do not now believe are lost forever.” The following lines of a sectarian hymn well express the dark outlook as seen from this quarter:
“A hundred thousand souls a day
Are passing one by one away
In Christless guilt and gloom.
Without one ray of hope or light;
The future dark as endless night.
They’re passing to their doom,
They’re passing to their doom!”
While sectarianism offers no hope for the unsaved dead it claims that the dark night will break into day when the church in the flesh shall have converted the world to Christ. Surely this is indeed a dark outlook and an illusionary hope; for there are more heathen in the world today than there have ever been. More heathen are being born into the world every day than are being converted in a year.
There can be no question but that their dilemma springs from the belief that the soul cannot die. Hence they reason that the unsaved must live on in suffering. The Bible unequivocally states, however, that “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezek. 18:4,20) God said to Adam, as recorded in Genesis 2:17 (margin), “In the day that thou eatest thereof dying thou shalt die.” It was Satan through the serpent who said, “Ye shall not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4) Therefore he is the author of the undying soul theory which makes possible the belief in a theological hell of torment manned by fireproof devils. This God-dishonoring theory has driven many away from a worship of the true God. Surely this fiendish superstition has been nothing short of a nightmare in a nighttime of gross darkness, sorrow, pain and death.
There Is No Night?
Let us turn to one of the more recent “watchers” (if we can call those who have taken the so-called modern trend in Biblical interpretation, watchers). “Christian Scientists, What do you say of the night?” These answer, “There is no night, but only day. There is no darkness, but only light. God is good, and good is God. It is mortal error to admit that such things as sin and evil exist.” Thus we are urged to deny our senses, our feelings, our touch, our sight, our reason—to affirm that “there is no night, but all is bright; there is no death, but only light.” To a totally blind person, day and night appear alike, but surely those with physical sight would have to deny their senses in order to affirm that day is night.
But why multiply answers to the question, “What of the night?” from those who do not accept the Bible as authoritative? Doubtless some measure of light might be obtained by so doing. But we shall still be far from the correct answer to our query as long as we ignore the only true source of information. The Prophet Isaiah himself speaks of watchmen in his day who were blind. He likens them to dumb dogs, which cannot bark; “Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea … they are shepherds that cannot understand.” (Isaiah 56:10,11) We do not want our questions answered by human guesses, philosophy or speculation—any more than, as Christians, we would want to build upon the shifting, sinking sands of this world’s wisdom. We want solid ground upon which to build, on which to rest our faith. We want to be able to say with the poet:
“How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!”
What then of the night? Has it been total blackness? Have men lived in total despair? No, it has been well said that “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” In Romans 8:20 we read, “For the creature was made subject to vanity [frailty, Diaglott], not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope.” Certainly many with little knowledge entertain considerable hope. Man, it seems, almost instinctively looks for an improvement of his condition. One of the poets expressed it thus, “I saw the powers of darkness put to flight. I saw the morning break.”
However, hope without reason therefore, or hope against hope, is not entirely satisfactory; far from it, and so we ask in the words of our text, “Watchman [true watchman], what of the night?” J.B. Rotherham renders this passage, “Watchman, how far gone is the night?” In either case the night is the important consideration. Then comes the further illuminating declaration, “The morning cometh.”
This is the logical sequence of night followed by morning, as shown in Genesis 1:5 where we are told that, relating to the creative period, “The evening and the morning were the first day.” Even so has it been with the experiences of mankind, with the exception of our first parents’ short period of bliss in Edenic purity. All others have first entered their evening or nighttime experience with sin and its results. Naturally any other experiences they are to have, must of necessity be those of the future, even as the morning follows the evening.
But, what has God been doing throughout this long nighttime of suffering and death? He has been doing many things in general and several things in particular. The permission of the nighttime experience with sin, in itself, in view of the morning-time of His favor which is to follow, will have taught the evil consequences of disobedience, and the undesirability of sin. It is to be presumed that with these indelibly impressed lessons learned from present experience, man will, when given an opportunity in God’s tomorrow, learn righteousness, and then having knowledge of both good and evil, will choose the good.
Abel to John
The Bible shows that from Abel to John there were men and women who, by their loyalty and obedience, were pleasing to God. Paul mentions a number of the most outstanding of these in the 11th chapter of Hebrews and states that “These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” The promises made to these ancient worthies were distinctly of an earthly nature—promises of inheriting the earth, and, as perfect human beings, serving as God’s earthly instruments in blessing their fellow men. God’s promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and others of Old Testament times pertained to life here on the earth and the blessings to come to the people of the earth, etc.—Gen. 12:2,3; 13:17; 17:6-8; 50:24; also Gen. 26:3,4; 28:13,14; I Chron. 16:15-19
That John the Baptist was one of the last who, in the resurrection, was to be of this human class, is attested by Jesus when He said, “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven [spiritual phase] is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:11) These worthies, from Abel to John the Baptist are referred to in relation to the Messiah as being once the “fathers” of Israel, who in the Kingdom become the “children” of the Christ.—“Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.” (Psalm 45:16) Discussing the Kingdom of heaven on earth Jesus stated, that “ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves [scribes and Pharisees] thrust out.”—Luke 13:28
Jesus and His Church
Following the preparation of this earthly class who lived prior to Christ, we find that a new and living way was opened up by the death of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:20) Jesus became the “firstfruits” of a heavenly, spiritual class (His church) who, with Him, are to live and reign a thousand years, judging and blessing the world.—I Cor. 15:20; Rev. 20:4,6
The basis for the hope of any of the human race centers in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross. There He gave His perfect human life as a corresponding price for the forfeited human life of Adam. Taking Adam’s place, suffering the just for the unjust, His death provided the price which will yet be used to cancel the death penalty which rests upon Adam and his race. The coming, death and resurrection of Jesus and the call and selection of His church, have been the important features of God’s program which He has been carrying out during the Gospel Age. It is for the completion of this work that the full dawn of the world’s morning awaits. The whole creation awaiteth the manifestation of the sons of God.—Romans 8:19,22
A revised Swedish translation answers the question of our text, “What of the night?” by saying, “The morning is here and a night also.” But what a paradox is this! A critical study of the time in which we are living, when the old order is passing and a new order is coming in, reveals a time of confusion and conflict between light and darkness. It is a time both of advancement and retrogression. This seems very well described by the expression, “The morning is here and a night also.” Let us examine this seeming paradox and see how it fits into these peculiar times different from any other of recorded history.
The Dawning Begun
Bible chronology quite clearly teaches that six thousand years after Adam’s creation, ended in 1872. These have been six great days of a thousand years each. Peter furnishes us with God’s method of counting time by saying: “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years.” (II Peter 3:8) Now the great seventh day, also a thousand years lung, has commenced. We have been enjoying its dawning. It is to be a grand day! What wonder if the dawning be remarkable! It may surprise some to be told that the last half century has meant more to the world in the increase of knowledge, education, wealth and all manner of labor-saving devices and conveniences than did all the six thousand years which preceded it. Yet these changes have come so naturally and seemingly so gradually, that few have noticed them. In fact most of us seem to take these things for granted as though they had always been a part of our lives.
Prior to the close of the six thousand years from creation, man labored from sun to sun; today we have generally adopted the eight-hour day and the forty-hour week. Labor, formerly done by sweat of face is largely done now by machinery. Science, as related to electricity, chemistry and metallurgy has wrought wonders undreamed of a century ago. The prophecy of Isaiah (35th chapter) respecting streams in the desert and the wilderness blossoming as a rose, is beginning to be fulfilled—not miraculously but in harmony with the divine order of an increased intelligence among men. Great dams and water projects have been completed in recent times which irrigate vast areas of otherwise barren land, causing them to bring forth abundantly.
Concerning the time of the end—the end of the old order and the beginning of God’s new order—God declared through Daniel (12:4), “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Modern transportation has made possible the running to and fro of the many today on a scale and at a speed undreamed of in the days of the galley, sail and caravan. Yes, everyday running to and fro is something of the present and not of the past. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of the modernity of steam, gasoline and electricity as motive powers, on land, sea and in the air.
The prediction of God through Daniel that “knowledge shall be increased” is also in the process of fulfillment. With the advent of the printing press, and later, with more general education and ability to read and write, knowledge has been increased along all lines. By means of books and radio, vital knowledge may become the common property of mankind almost over night.
Another indication that we are already in the dawning of the new day and that God’s time for dealing with the world is at hand, is in the regathering of the children of Israel in Palestine. Jesus said, “When the branch of the fig tree is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh.” (Matt. 24:32) The fig tree is used in the Scriptures to illustrate the Jewish nation with its hopes based upon the promises of God. When we see the progress of Zionism and other movements effectively establishing many of the Jewish people in their ancient homeland, we may hail this as another sign of the morning, for it is with the house of Israel and the house of Judah that God is to establish His New Covenant in that day when He will regather them from all parts of the world where He hath scattered them. (Jer. 31:31; 16:14-16) When established in their land, “The Law shall go forth of Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” for the instruction and blessing of all mankind.—Micah 4:2
Storms before the Full Break of Morn
The reference of our text to “a night also” doubtless indicates a period of darkness before the Millennial day has fully dawned. This time of trouble which, indeed, we are now witnessing was clearly foretold in Daniel 12:1, where it is stated to be “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” Jesus, in Matthew 24:21, quoting this prophecy of Daniel, adds the words, “no, nor ever shall be.” This clearly indicates it to be the world’s last great trouble before the incoming reign of Christ’s new order, elsewhere called the “new heavens and new earth.”—Isa. 65:17; 66:22; II Peter 3:13; Rev. 21:1
Beyond the present clouds of trouble and tribulation will come the rising of the “Sun of Righteousness” with “healing in His wings.” (Mal. 4:2) Then the things of darkness which yet prevail on account of sin will gradually disappear, even as the early mists are dissipated by the rising sun. With such a hope for mankind, well may we say in the words of the Psalmist, “Wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His Word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning.” (Psa. 130:5,6) “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”—Psalm 30:5
“Watchman, tell us of the night,
For the morning seems to dawn.
Trav’ler, darkness takes its flight,
Doubt and terror are withdrawn.
Watchman, will earth’s sorrows cease,
And God’s will on earth be done?
Trav’ler, yes, the Prince of Peace,
Earth’s appointed King, has come!”