| Highlights of Dawn | February 1950 |
“The Morning Cometh”
“Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night.” —Isaiah 21:11,12
MANY of the important lessons of the Bible are presented in pictorial form, partly for the purpose of concealing its meaning until God’s due time for it to be understood, and partly—although it seems paradoxical—to help the devout student of the Word get a clearer understanding of its meaning when it is God’s will for him to know. Thus Jesus’ parables were calculated to hide the meaning of his teachings from the hypocritical Pharisees, yet when they were explained to the disciples by Jesus the same parables enabled them and now us to understand more clearly than otherwise would be possible, the “mysteries of the kingdom of God.”—Mark 4:11; Matt. 13:11
Our text presents one of the most meaningful pictures of the Bible, a symbolism which, in reality, encompasses human experience on the earth from the fall of man in the Garden of Eden until his restoration from sin and death at the close of the thousand-year reign of Christ—a nighttime of darkness followed by a daytime of light. The darkness of night is used for the purpose of conveying to our minds the chilling effects of sin, and the fruitless efforts of the fallen race to finds its way back to God, and to health and joy and life.
It has been a dark “night” indeed, with disappointment, suffering and death its chief characteristics. But to those who by faith have walked with God it has not been a night without hope, for the promise is that though “weeping may endure for a night, joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) It is this morning of joy that is referred to in our text by the statement of the “watchman” that “the morning cometh.” Yes, there is to be a glad new day when human experience will be changed from sorrow to joy; from disappointment to happy fruition; from war to peace; from sickness to health; from death to life, fulfilling the Psalmist’s promise that “joy cometh in the morning.”
Furthermore, the Scriptures reveal the manner in which this nighttime experience of the human race will be changed into a morning of joy, showing that it will be as a result of the second coming of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom. One of the prophecies concerning this likens Jesus to the sun, and tells us that the “Sun of Righteousness [shall] arise with healing in his wings.” (Mal. 4:2) This prophecy also refers to those who “fear my name,” emphasizing that those who throughout the ages have exercised faith in the promises of God, in anticipation of their fulfillment, have looked for the Sun of Righteousness to arise.
The Watchers
Those who have looked for the return of Christ and for the establishment of his kingdom, are represented in our text by the “watchman.” Jesus addressed these as a class in his great prophecy pertaining to the time of his coming and the end of the age, and admonished them all to watch. His disciples had asked concerning the time of his return, but Jesus explained that then he did know himself, but that they were to “watch.” The implication was that none of the “watchmen” would know in advance the time of Jesus’ coming, but that if they watched faithfully they would know when he did come, while all others would for a time be unaware of what had occurred.
The Apostle Paul grasped the meaning of Jesus’ prophecy, and to the church at Thessalonica wrote, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you; for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” (I Thess. 5:1,2) Paul knew this “perfectly,” and so did the brethren at Thessalonica, because they were acquainted with Jesus’ prophecy. But Paul fills in the picture somewhat for us in that he associates the thief-like return of Christ with the coming of the “day of the Lord.” Much is said throughout the Scriptures concerning the “day of the Lord” and Paul knew that this “day” would break upon the world as a result of the return of Christ.
Paul continues to unfold the fuller meaning of Jesus’ prophecy by explaining some of the characteristics of the dawning of the Lord’s day, and what Jesus meant by his prophecy that it would come upon the world as a “thief in the night.” He writes, “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.” Thus we are reminded that the “day of the Lord” will not at first be a peaceful and happy one, but rather, a time of destruction—“sudden destruction”—upon “them”; that is, those who have not been watching, and who have been trying to assure the people of peace and safety.
“But ye, brethren,” continues the apostle, “are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” (Verses 4,5) Language could not more plainly tell us that the Lord’s own people, because they would be spiritually awake and watching, would understand the meaning of that which was to come upon the world as a “thief in the night.” In other words, they would know when the day of the Lord had dawned, and would understand that it was because the “Sun of Righteousness” had begun to arise, that the Lord had returned.
And there is a striking similarity between our text and the apostle’s statement concerning the “day of the Lord.” When asked about the “night” the watchman replied, “The morning cometh, and also the night.” And Paul explains that with the dawning of the “day of the Lord” there will be “sudden destruction” which will come upon the world as “travail upon a woman with child.” Travelers who have visited the regions around Mount Seir—the geographical setting of our text—tell us that often when the sun arises, its intense heat causes a rapid evaporation of the moisture that has settled in the valley during the night, and that the dense mist thus caused blacks out the light of the rising sun, resulting in a short period of dense darkness even after the sun starts to rise.
It is evidently this which is referred to in the prophecy of our text as the “night also” that is seen by the watchman after the morning has come. It is in keeping with this that Paul speaks of the coming of the “day of the Lord” as resulting in destruction—a time of trouble which in some respects is more distressing to the world than has been the dark “night” of the past 6,000 years. Yes, this “night also” experience of the human race is a dark one indeed, so dark, and its destruction so great that Jesus said, “except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.”—Matt. 24:22
The Prophet Joel identifies these same characteristics as belonging to the morning of the “day of the Lord.” He wrote, “Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains.” (Joel 2:1,2) From these prophetic descriptions of the early morning hours of the “day of the Lord,” it becomes apparent that the “watchmen” must identify the dawn of the new clay largely by events which portend the destruction of “this present evil world [Greek, age],” or social order, rather than by evidences that kingdom blessings are beginning to reach the people.
Distress of Nations
We find, in keeping with this, that when the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of his coming—or presence, as it is in the Greek—he had much to say about the trouble which would come upon the world at that time. He said that there would be “distress of nations, with perplexity,” and that men’s hearts would fail them for fear as they looked forward to the things coming upon the earth. (Luke 21:25,26) These are conditions which the “watchmen” now see, and they are signs of the times which become increasingly evident every day.
There is now no question about the foretold distress of nations. And truly men’s hearts are failing them for fear. Joel wrote, “Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,” and they are trembling today as never before. Even in the United States, fear is gripping the hearts of the people to such an extent that factories—particularly those manufacturing war materials—are being moved into safer places, away from the sea coasts, and, when possible, away from the larger cities. Prompted by this fear, the government is issuing instructions for civilian defense—what to do when bombed.
Was there ever before a time when fear seized the hearts of thinking people, and those in responsible positions, as it has done today? Can we imagine a more literal and more complete fulfillment of the Master’s prophecy concerning the time of his presence! And, as the Lord’s watchmen see this, they recognize it as one of the unmistakable signs that “the morning cometh, and also the night,” this being a token of that short and darkest of all periods just before the full blaze of the morning sun begins to warm and heal a distressed and dying world.
The Apostle Peter indicates that the prophecies are to be our guide in watching for the day, saying, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn.” (II Pet. 1:19) Now that the day is dawning the sure word of prophecy is more illuminating than ever before. For example, the Prophet Isaiah foretold the impending destruction of the present social order and indicates that the nations would make an effort to prevent that destruction by banding themselves together. We quote: “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought.”—Isaiah 8:9,10
The “watchmen” are seeing the fulfillment of this prophecy in the League of Nations—now deceased—and the United Nations. They see that the failure of these efforts of the nations to stave off the inevitable is augmenting the fear of the people as they look forward to the things coming upon the earth. The “watchmen” themselves do not fear, for they know the larger meaning of what is occurring, that the “day of the Lord” is here, and that shortly it will emerge as one of glorious light and peace and joy. So, as the prophet indicates, we do not fear their fear, neither are we afraid. (Isa. 8:12,13) Also, as the Psalmist wrote, we know that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble; therefore will not we fear, though the earth BE removed, and though the mountains BE carried into the midst of the sea.”—Psalm 46:1,2
“Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace”
The “watchmen,” alert to notice the signs which portend the coming of day, note the prophetic statement which declares that even in the midst of the destruction of the great “time of trouble” “they” would be saying, “Peace and safety.” Or, as the prophet puts it, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” (I Thess. 5:3; Jer. 8:11) We see that this has had a fulfillment, and continues to be fulfilled by all the various efforts which claim to safeguard the peace.
Now the nations are engaged in another armament race, with their armaments including atomic bombs and equipment for waging bacteriological warfare. This is being done in the name of peace, the claim being that the only way to be sure of peace is to be prepared for war. In this again the “watchmen” see the fulfillment of prophecy which traces further the pattern of events in this “day of the Lord.” “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles”; the prophet wrote, “Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.”—Joel 3:9,10
Heavens and Earth Pass Away
The present social order is symbolized in the prophecies as the present heavens and the present earth, the “heavens” being pictorial of the powers of spiritual control while the “earth” pictures the more materialistic phases of the social structure. Both are to pass away in this time of destruction, for there is to be a “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”—II Pet. 3:10,13
In this connection it is particularly significant to the “watchmen” that the religious controls over the people are losing their power, especially in the Old World. Jesus foretold this, saying that “the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” (Matt. 24:29) The time was when these powers of the symbolic heavens crowned and uncrowned the kings of Europe. Now it is no longer so. Instead, in many countries where this control was formerly the most powerful, the state now reigns supreme, and the church, if it wants to exist at all, must become the servant of the state and be subject to its every rule.
Actually, of course, both the civil and ecclesiastical elements of the present social structure are melting. Not only are they losing their cohesion to each other, but the increasing friction that is developing between them is causing their disintegration, as the people lose confidence in all the former standards and arrangements by which this “present evil world” was governed. Not only are the elements melting, but they are also, as the apostle predicted, passing away with a “great noise.”—II Pet. 3:10
The Roaring of the Sea and the Waves
When Jesus said that there would be upon the earth “distress of nations with perplexity,” he illustrated this condition by likening it to the roaring of the sea and the waves. (Luke 21:25) We read in Isaiah 17:12, margin, “Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of many waters.” It is plain from this prophetic explanation just what the Master meant by the roaring of the sea and the waves. It is a picture of the restless, discontented masses of the people clamoring for their real and fancied rights, and, as they lash against the bulwarks of the old social order, cause its governments or “mountains” to be toppled over and engulfed.—Psalm 46:3
These radical forces are now well organized—they have to be to accomplish all that the prophecies predict. Gradually, of course, even these powers of destruction will disintegrate into chaos. Now, however, as the “watchmen” see these forces of radicalism, both in the Eastern and Western worlds, overrunning the earth, as foretold in Joel 2:3-11, they recognize it as another sign that the “night also” phase of the Lord’s new day is already here.
The Budding Fig Tree
Not all the signs of the new day have to do with the destruction of the old order. The morning has come, and while the confusion of an awakening world is causing fear, chaos, and disintegration the world over, there are, nevertheless, evidences which have more directly to do with the incoming new order. One of these is the manner in which the Lord is dealing with his ancient people Israel. The Jewish nation was symbolized by a fig tree, and in Jesus’ great prophecy of the coming of dawn—a dawn that would break upon the world as a result of his return—he said that when his “watchmen” would see the fig tree giving evidence of life, then we would know the kingdom of God was near.—Luke 21:29-31
We now see the fulfillment of this prophecy. While we know that the present Israeli state is not the kingdom of the Lord, and that it will have to give place to Christ’s kingdom, just as will all the other governments of the earth, it is a necessary expedient to make possible a further regathering of the Israelites to the Promised Land. This could not be done in a haphazard manner. Organization was needed, and, in the Lord’s providence, this has been furnished as a means of accomplishing a work among and for this people in preparation for the time when their eyes will be opened to recognize their Messiah. Then they will be glad to recognize Jesus as their King, and the resurrected ancient worthies as their “princes.”—Psalm 45:16
Yes, the “watchmen” are confident that “the morning cometh.” It is as yet “spread upon the mountains”—that is, obscured by clouds of war and other disorders of a crumbling world society, But, like the convulsions of nature which accompanied the giving of the Law to Israel, so the “watchmen” see in the present symbolic storm clouds, and the thunderings and lightnings and earthquakes now convulsing a dying world, evidence that the new day of the Lord is dawning, that it hasteth greatly, and that soon the storms will have been scattered and the warming and healing rays of the “Sun of Righteousness” will be giving health and life to all mankind. And thank God for the promise that “joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) That joy will be so complete that it will result in wiping away tears from off all faces, the prophet writes. (Isa, 25:8) “Sorrow and sighing shall flee away,” both the prophet and the Revelator declare. (Isa. 35:10; Rev. 21:4) All the causes of darkness will be removed, and the reign of sin and death will be over. Because Jesus died to pay the penalty of sin, the race will be restored to that which was lost, and paradise, with its teeming millions of ransomed and restored humans, will be world-wide.
“What if the clouds do for a moment
Hide the blue sky where morn appears?
Soon the glad Sun of promise given
Rises to shine a thousand years.”