A Child is Born

MOST of the things which occur in the experiences of the human race are soon forgotten. Very few events are considered of sufficient importance to be recorded on the pages of history, and nearly all of those which are recorded are seldom referred to, and are comparatively unknown by the rank and file of the people. Few indeed are the events that are remembered by the general public. “Pearl Harbor” is still quite vivid in the minds of most Americans, but there are millions in the United States today who wouldn’t know what was meant by a reference to the Munich Crisis of 1938.

And when we turn backward over the pages of history to the experiences of a former generation, the list of events which are still well known today narrows down even more. For example, how many now would be able, without extensive research, to name definitely, and with some detail, as many as two or three news items of a thousand years ago? But when we go back to nearly two thousand years ago it is different, for then a child was born, a child who was destined to be a King, yes, the King of kings, and he was born in a manger. Here is an event which has continued to be outstanding news throughout all the centuries since it occurred; and for a few weeks each year, even in this twentieth century, it occupies more space in our newspapers and time on the radio than does any single item of current events.

The impact of the birth of this child has changed the course of history, so much so that throughout the entire civilized world even time is reckoned from his birthday, upon a “B.C.” and “A.D.” basis. Yet, from one standpoint, the most extraordinary thing arising out of the birth of Jesus is the fact that up until now, practically nothing in connection with the high hopes of peace and joy and life which have been centered in him have as yet been realized. Despite this, however, the whole world continues to commemorate the birth of the “Prince of Peace.”—Isa. 9:6

It is nearly two thousand years since the angel said to those shepherds on the Judean hills, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10) Almost twenty centuries have come and gone since that heavenly choir sang the refrain: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Under ordinary circumstances, had claims of this sort failed of fruition for as many as fifty years, they would have been forgotten, but the angelic message of peace and good will is sung with as great enthusiasm today as ever.

The song of the angels is by no means forgotten. Two global wars in a generation have not silenced it, nor has the din of battle by the ever warring factions of Christ’s professed followers caused the world to forget the angels’ song. And it is well that this is so, for the song has not lost its meaning, nor does the long seeming delay in its fulfillment indicate that the divine purpose in the birth of Jesus has failed.

On wings of peace and blessing this song has found its way throughout the world all down the centuries, and has entered and gladdened many Christian hearts. It has cheered heavy-hearted prisoners in their dungeon cells. It has brought comfort to weary voyagers on the tossing sea of life. It has soothed the dying pilgrim when the gaunt and grasping hand of death was about to sever the slender cord and break the tender tie that bound him to loved ones here. It has shone as a glittering star of promise to light the Christian’s course through earth’s long gloom, and has pointed with a silvery shaft to a coming day of deliverance for the sin-sick world. Sweet words! Thrice blessed refrain! That angelic anthem will be the future song of all mankind, when all the earth will be clothed in endless and heavenly peace.

True, not many today of all the millions who rejoice in the spirit of Christmas, believe that the birth of Jesus will ever mean any more to the world than a date for a festive holiday and for the giving of gifts and exchange of good wishes. Indeed, only a small minority believe that the Bible story of the birth of Jesus is really true. Most people think of it as a sort of myth, a fairy tale, suitable to interest children, but having no foundation in fact. Probably the main reason for this widespread lack of faith is the fact that the beautiful ideology of peace and good will which is associated with the Christmas message has for more than nineteen hundred years not seen fulfillment in universal, practical reality.

It is true, of course, that there has been no lasting peace on earth since Jesus was born. It is also true that some of the bloodiest wars which have been waged during the nineteen hundred years since he was born, have been instigated by his professed followers, and fought in his name. Even as late as the first World War professional representatives of Jesus right here in America told the boys that went to war that if they died on the battlefield they would he rewarded with a sure passport to heaven. The German boys were told the same things, during the same war. All Christians today are properly ashamed of what was done in the name of the Prince of Peace throughout the centuries of the past, but being ashamed does not alter the fact that the peace song of the angel has not yet been fulfilled.

But is there a genuine basis for faith that one day the angels’ song of “peace and good will” is to be translated into reality? Can we still believe that the Christmas story is ever to be more than a holiday theme song, despite the fact that there are bomb-shattered cities throughout much of what hitherto has been referred to as a Christian world? When half the human race is looking upon the other half as criminals, can we still believe that peace on earth is to become a reality?

Yes! is the answer to all these questions. The reason that the angelic song of peace on earth has seemingly failed to bear fruit is due to our failure to understand properly the divine purpose which is centered in Christ. One of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus reads, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder.” “The government shall be upon his shoulder”—here is God’s viewpoint of how peace on earth would be established through Christ. (Isa. 9:6) Many of the professed followers of Jesus have had quite a different viewpoint—they have believed that the “government,” that is, Christ’s kingdom, was supposed to be on their shoulders, that the responsibility of establishing peace on earth and good will among men, was theirs.

Every Christian should radiate peace and good will in his daily life, but it is not the business of Christians to unite with worldly governments in order to establish peace on earth; yet this is what they began to do very early in the Christian era. This inevitably led to war, and not to peace. And while we do not tolerate church-state union in the United States, many of our church leaders seem to think that somehow the churches should work through the state in an effort to safeguard the peace, thus taking the responsibility of the kingdom of Christ away from him and placing it upon the shoulders of politicians.

“The Government shall be upon his shoulder”—let us allow this great truth to enter our hearts this Christmas time and give us assurance and hope that in God’s due time peace on earth will be established.

The Bible gives us a wonderful preview of the experiences of the professed followers of Christ throughout the nineteen centuries which have elapsed since the beginning of the Christian era, and in that preview we learn that the plan of God has not failed.

Jesus commissioned his disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel as a WITNESS unto all nations. This has been done, but many misinterpreted this commission and thought Jesus wanted them to convert all nations—through preaching the Gospel, if they could; otherwise to use coercion through the arm of the state.

Thus there has been a true Christian work in the earth, and a false work as well. Jesus foretold this, and illustrated it by his Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. In this parable, he pointed out that the wheat field would be overrun with tares, and so it has been. Jesus also explained that at the end of the age—the time in which we are now living—there would be a burning of the tares; and that then—not before—those represented by the wheat would shine forth with him in his kingdom.—Matt. 13:24-30,36-43

The tare class throughout the age have tried to establish Christ’s kingdom ahead of time, and through their own methods. But according to this parable, all the great systems built up by these were to be destroyed at the end of the age. In another forecast of conditions that would exist at this time, Jesus indicated that there would be very little faith left in the earth. (Luke 18:8) This is surely true of our day. And besides, the atheistic forces are making inroads into the great religious systems of the earth. But if we have faith in the promises and the prophecies of the Word of God we will know that true Christianity cannot, and will not be destroyed; we will know that the systems which will not be able to stand up against the opposing forces are those represented by the “tares.”

When we view the world situation from this standpoint, and in the light of the many prophecies of the Bible pertaining to our day, it can be seen that the conditions which might seem to indicate that Christianity is failing, actually prove the contrary, for they reveal that we are at the very threshold of the long-promised kingdom of Christ.

When the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men,” they referred to God’s good will toward men—his good will, his love, which was even then being manifested in the birth of Jesus. Concerning this we read, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) This was the greatest of all gifts, and a gift that will yet benefit all the peoples of the earth.

That gift was given for the benefit of all who would believe. But the difficulty with our theology has been that we limited the opportunity of believing to this life. The purpose of Gospel preaching throughout the present age has not been to convert the world, nor to bring condemnation upon those who might not believe. It has been, rather, to attract those willing to sacrifice their all in the service of the Lord and thus prove their worthiness to live and reign with Christ during the thousand years of his kingdom now so near. This work has gone on unknown to the world and by worldly churches, and it has been a gloriously successful work. Now it is nearly complete. Soon this little company of earnest Christians—named by Jesus the “children of the kingdom” (Matt. 13:38)—will be brought forth in the first resurrection, and will participate with Jesus in that wonderful government which will bring lasting peace to all nations.

We read in the Scriptures concerning the birth of Jesus, that “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman.” (Gal. 4:4) It is important to realize that there is a “fulness of time” with respect to every phase of the divine plan for human redemption and salvation. Failing to notice this, many supposed that it was God’s intention that Jesus establish peace on earth at once; but this was not the case. The first work of Christ was to die for the sins of the world. Then there came the work of selecting and preparing those who were to constitute his true church, that church which lives and reigns with him “a thousand years.”—Rev. 20:6

Only after this work is complete—a work which has required nearly nineteen centuries—will it be God’s due time to establish peace on earth. But that time is near. Soon that new government, the kingdom of Christ, will manifest itself in power and great glory. Then that glorious peace song of the angels will become more than words which men have set to beautiful music. Out of appreciation for God’s great gift to men, and for the peace which he will establish, and the everlasting life which he will provide, a world-wide Hallelujah chorus of praise will ascend to the Creator, and to his beloved Son—that Son whose birth the world commemorates this month.

Are We Drifting Toward Doom?

IN AN editorial appearing in The Christian Century, the week before Armistice Day, the writer inquired: “Are you going to celebrate Armistice Day in your town next week? Will you, perhaps, have some sort of commemorative service in the churches on Sunday? … Will the whistles blow at 11 on Friday morning, and will people stop in the streets to doff their hats or lay their hands on their hearts for two minutes? Or, have you reached the point in your town where the whole business of ‘celebrating’ what happened at 11 o’clock on November 11, 1918, has become such a mockery that you can scarcely go through the motions any more?”

Thus does one of the editors of a well recognized Protestant magazine acknowledge the failure of world leaders to establish a genuine peace following the first World War, and a similar failure since the close of the second World War. To this writer, in view of the world situation today, it is nothing short of a farce to continue celebrating Armistice Day. The article from which the quotation has been taken traces the succession of failures on the part of world leaders between the first and second World Wars, and since. These failures were due to shortsighted selfishness, power politics, nationalism, and a number of other factors; and no one had, nor yet has, the magic formula for dealing with these factors in a way to bring peace to a fear-filled world.

Throughout all the years of crisis and chaos since 1914, the world has been given high sounding slogans as incentives to keep hoping and fighting. As one after another of these has turned sour, the accommodating public seems ready to forget them and reach out to grasp at another straw of hope. Some of these slogans may be recalled, “making the world safe for democracy”; “a war to end wars”; and the “Atlantic Charter” with its “Four Freedoms.”

Now it’s not a pepping up slogan that the world is thinking about, but the dread realities of the “cold war” which is feared may almost any day become “hot,” with all the horrible realities which that implies. Wherever men gather to talk about these things they reveal their fear of coming disaster, yet everybody feels helpless to change the direction in which the world is moving—as helpless as the driver of an automobile that is skidding down an icy hill.

And, in so far as human wisdom is able to foresee, there is ample reason for feeling helpless. It was from fifteen to seventeen years from the original Armistice Day before the principal enemy in World War II became a military threat. But how much faster is the world now moving toward the third world cataclysm! General Bradley has testified that already the potential enemy in the next struggle is in a position to throw 175 combat divisions into action tomorrow, 300 divisions within sixty days, and 500 divisions in less than six months. By comparison, it is said that the best the western allies could do would be to put twelve divisions in the field at once, and thirty divisions in six months.

But this is not all. It is now claimed that Russia’s air force is larger, faster, and of a more modern design than ours. This potential enemy is reported to have submarines which go beyond anything with which Germany ever scoured the sea lanes. Russia has made good use of Germany’s experiments with guided or robot missiles. And now we know that Russia has the atomic bomb. And there are disturbing rumors that she also is prepared to wage deadly bacteriological warfare. At the outbreak of the first World War, Germany had Japan as an ally; but now Russia has China, and long before will probably have other Eastern territories.

In view of the present situation, we hear little talk in high circles about the pursuit of justice, the limitation of national sovereignty, or the ending of the burden of armament. Instead, every effort is being made to alert the people to the possible dangers ahead, that they might co-operate more willingly in every move the governments in the Western world may deem necessary to make in order to preserve what is left of civilization.

Does this mean that the world is foredoomed to destruction, and that nothing can be done to change the trend of events which is forcing the nations almost daily nearer to the brink of destruction? Replying to this question The Christian Century, says:

“The Christian cannot admit any such despairing conclusion. But it does mean that in some tragic fashion we have so used the freedom God has given us that now we seem free only to act on inconsequential matters, while on the great issues of human destiny even we who boast of our democracy appear to have lost control to implacable and impersonal forces of evil. Somewhere, somehow we must have mistaken, or flouted the will of God, for it cannot be his will that his children should plunge onward to this threatening annihilation. … Where did we go astray from God’s will and turn into the path that leads to collective death? How can we retrace our steps to the point where we can regain a real choice in determining matters of life or death?”

Surely this is a forthright acknowledgment of defeat arising out of wrongdoing. And with The Christian Century it has become a matter of such serious consequence that unless the people, particularly professed Christian people, arouse themselves to find a solution, it will be their “acquiescence in the drift toward doom.”

In The Christian Century editorial from which we have been quoting, the writer fails to make any clear distinction between the church and the world. He takes the position that the whole western world is essentially Christian, and that if it falls apart it will mean a failure of Christian objectives.

Allow us to suggest that it is right in this connection that the professed Christian churches have gone astray in their understanding of the will of God. It is the age-old error of supposing that God intended the church to work in conjunction with the state to make a Christian world. The Christian Century editorial asks, “How can we translate our desire, and our need, to do the will of God into political action in this divided, fear-plagued world?”

“Political action” by the churches, even if it is carried on in America, is just as much out of harmony with the will of God as were the church-state governments of Europe. It is a lack of understanding of the will and plan of God to suppose that it is the business of the church to guide the affairs of civil governments either in times of war or in times of peace. This is not the way God intends to answer the Christian’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” How long will it be ere the churches learn this simple fact of truth!

Nor is The Christian Century alone in this misunderstanding of the will and plan of God. This is the view of the Catholic Church, and, in a more modified form, the view of nearly all the Protestant churches. And now all these major religious bodies are making a desperate effort to save the world by inducing the people to become religious and thus be in a position to bring religious pressure to bear upon the world’s rulers, forcing them to keep the peace.

The interesting thing about this is that such a world-changing revolution of viewpoint is all to be accomplished in a little over a year. The campaign is already under way, having started in time to take advantage of the Thanksgiving Day reminder of our dependence upon God, and our need to live closer to him. But the idea of saving the world through religion is not new. It has been tried over and over again. It has never been any more successful than has been the idea of having “a war to end wars.” If centuries of Roman Catholicism and other centuries of Protestantism have failed to prevent the world from drifting into its present state of chaos, why should religious leaders be so naive as to suppose that now, beginning toward the close of 1949, and finishing in 1950, the kingdom of Christ can be established through their efforts?

The Christian Century asks where the churches have gone astray from the will of God. In this connection they have been astray from his will for centuries, ever since they lost sight of the fact that God had not commissioned them to convert the world during this age, that the purpose of this age has been merely to select from the world a people who, in the first resurrection, would be raised from the dead to live and reign with Christ in his thousand-year kingdom. James tells us that Peter announced this great truth, saying, “God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.” (Acts 15:14) But Christendom has changed this, and acted as though they believed that God at first did visit the Gentiles to select those who would combine for political action—through church-state unions or otherwise—and thus set up the kingdom of Christ on earth prior to the second coming of Christ—his return and presence, according to the Scriptures, being the time for the establishment of his kingdom.

As for the threatened destruction that is now striking fear into the hearts of the people, this has been foretold in the Bible, in prophecies which indicate clearly that this age is destined to come to an end in a “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.” (Dan. 12:1) Jesus quoted this prophecy, referring to it as a time of “great tribulation,” a time when there would be “distress of nations, with perplexity,” and when, even as is true now, the hearts of the people would fail them for fear as they looked forward to the things coming upon the earth.—Matt. 24:21; Luke 21:25,26

This foretold time of trouble is already upon the nations, and has been since 1914. It is quite possible that there will be another violent outbreak of hostilities, and that the atomic bomb will actually be used. But of this we are certain: God will not permit the destruction of the human race, for the time has come when the kingdom of Christ is to be established for the blessing of the people. Jesus promised that this trouble would be cut short before all flesh were destroyed, and we can place our confidence in this assurance.—Matt. 24:22

It is quite possible that there will yet be a tremendous loss of life, but even that is under divine control, for shortly after the final outburst of trouble, and through the agencies of the kingdom of Christ, which then will be manifested as the controlling factor among all nations, divine power will begin the work of restoring the dead to life.

No, the world is not headed for doom!

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