Good Will Toward Men

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” —Luke 2:14

THE glory song the angels sang on the night Jesus was born more than nineteen centuries ago is by far the most universally known and best loved anthem ever to thrill the souls of men. No words of philosophers, poets, sages, or even of Holy Writ, have been so widely and frequently quoted as those which comprise that wonderful chorus of praise following the announcement that in Bethlehem that night the Messiah, the Christ, had been. born, and that he would be the Savior of the world. This was indeed good tidings of great joy, which, as the angel declared, would ultimately be heard and appreciated by all people. How appropriate that a host of angels, in response to this proclamation, should sing, “Glory to God in the highest”!

How appropriate that God be glorified when it is recognized that because of his gift to men—even the gift of his beloved Son—there was to be peace on earth. How could the Creator more effectively demonstrate the fact of his good will toward men than through the gift of his beloved Son, who would die for the sins of the people, and later reign as King, and this in order to re-establish the divine will in the hearts and lives of a race that had transgressed the divine law and consequently was dying because of its sin.

Four thousand years prior to the birth of Jesus, divine justice had condemned sinful man to death, but now love was providing a way of escape from that condemnation—a Savior was born, and for this gift of divine love men as well as angels will yet give glory to God, for who shall not reverence and glorify him when his righteous acts are made manifest!

But it has been a long while since Jesus was born, and there has been very little of the time since when the world has not been plagued by wars. This year the customary commemoration of the birth of “The Prince of Peace” will take place amidst more ominous threats of further war than humanity has ever before known. As though it were not enough that the nations should be dragged through two global wars in a generation, situations multiply almost daily for which the wisdom of this world is unable to find a peaceful solution. It is like a man walking in quicksand, whose every attempt to extricate himself leaves him more deeply and more hopelessly embedded.

And it is not merely a matter of worldly governments being at odds with one another. The great and powerfully organized churches of the world, the organizations which have professedly been carrying the banner of The Prince of Peace, are themselves under fire, being attacked by the equally well organized forces of atheism operating in the name of communism and other forms of totalitarian dictatorship.

All over Europe, for example, in countries where the church has for centuries reigned supreme, her lands are continuously being confiscated, her clergy imprisoned and often murdered, her monasteries destroyed, and her privileges of teaching removed. Whether we look to the Protestant Churches or the Catholic Church, we find them impotent in their desires and efforts to establish peace among the nations, and there is grave concern in church circles generally as to whether or not organized Christianity will even continue to exist, especially should there be another global war.

But this does not mean that Christ was born in vain! Nor does it imply that the glory song of the angels is but sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. True, millions have lost faith in the Christmas message of peace and good will. They still try to enjoy the “spirit of Christmas,” but inwardly feel that the birth of Jesus has long since ceased to have meaning for a world that is threatened with total destruction by atom bombs. They cannot be sure but what some Christmas Eve, when the church bells of the world are playing “Holy Night,” a blitz atom war may start, and within a few days all civilization be destroyed.

That this fear is actually plaguing the people of the world today has been emphasized in New York City, when suddenly there appeared signs a few blocks apart, directing people on the streets to the nearest air raid shelters. Similar preparations for the preservation of the people are being made in many other large cities of the United States, even as such precautions were taken in Great Britain and Continental Europe a few months before the outbreak of the last global war. This was done then, even as now, because those in responsible positions of government know what is developing behind the scenes.

In view of these plaguing fears of what the future may hold for a world already terribly shaken by war, is it strange that millions are beginning to wonder what genuine meaning Christmas has for thinking people? And yet, to those who think along proper lines by basing their thoughts on the promises and prophecies of the Bible, there is no reason at all to doubt that peace will yet be’ established by The Prince of Peace, and that Jesus, the world’s Savior and rightful King, shall yet be revealed in the eyes of all the nations, and that “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”—Isaiah 52:10

One reason so many fail to see the full significance of the birth of Jesus is that they have thought that the divine plan which centered in him depended upon the frail and imperfect efforts of man. They have imagined that the many promises of the Bible assuring us that Jesus is one day to be King over the whole earth can be fulfilled only as the followers of Christ are able to induce the world to become Christian and to conduct their affairs in keeping with the principles of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Since the churches in every part of the age have miserably failed to achieve this result, and since the entire human race is threatened with destruction because of this failure, those who have held to this wrong viewpoint of the divine plan must of necessity lose faith in the Christmas message of salvation and peace.

The Scriptures tell us that known unto God are all his works from the foundation of the world, and God knew that today, nearly two thousand years after the birth of Jesus, conditions among the nations would be just exactly as we now find them. (Acts 15:18) He knew, and through Jesus, foretold that at this time there would be very little faith in the earth. (Luke 18:8) He knew, and again through Jesus, foretold that this would be a time of fear and distress among the nations—a time of trouble so distressing and destructive that unless “those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.”—Matt. 24:22; Luke 21:25,26

But some may ask why an all-powerful God has permitted this sort of thing to develop, why he has not shown the nations a better way, and caused them to walk in it. The answer to this question is that God’s plan embraces the entire human race, the living and the dead. He created the earth, not in vain, but to be inhabited—fully inhabited—so the glorious consummation of his plan, that climax of everlasting peace and happiness and life, could not take place, until the human race had become large enough to fill the earth; for he designed that all should have an experience with evil, and by that experience have an opportunity to learn the terrible results of disobedience to his law.—Isa. 45:18; Rom. 7:13

But why, then, was Jesus, The Prince of Peace, born far in advance of the time designed by God for him to rule over the nations? The Scriptures reveal that there was another feature of the divine plan to be carried out. It was God’s plan that Jesus should have representatives of the human race share the glory of his kingdom, that these were to be selected upon the basis of their willingness to follow in his footsteps of sacrifice, thus suffering and dying with him. Jesus therefore came and died as man’s Redeemer sufficiently in advance of the time for him to reign, to make possible the preparation of this “little flock” to whom it is the Father’s good pleasure to give the kingdom.—Luke 12:32

It is this class that the Bible refers to as the church. The word church is a translation of the Greek word ecclesia, which means a called out class. So Jesus said to his disciples, “I have chosen you out of the world.” (John 15:19) The Gospel has been preached throughout the world during these nineteen centuries for the purpose of calling others out of the world—as many as God desires shall be called. This, the divinely authorized work of the present age has gone grandly and successfully on, although unobserved by the world and, to a large extent, by worldly churches.

Meanwhile, the Lord has not interfered with the downward course of the world. He has allowed the selfishness of the human race to drag it down into ever lower depths of sin and degradation. Even when his professed people, misguided by their lack of understanding, and motivated by their unscriptural ambitions, have established church-state systems in his name, he has not interfered. And when these have fallen, and when all the misguided efforts of those who have tried to establish peace for The Prince of Peace have left the nations in an all-out armament race the end of which no human mind can conceive, God still has not intervened. His plans for peace have been separate from all human efforts, and he wants the whole world, including worldly churches, to learn that apart from him they can accomplish nothing permanently beneficial or completely satisfactory. He wants them to learn that in order to achieve success they must work with him, and in keeping with his plans, rather than expect him to bless their plans and efforts to establish his kingdom.

There are many prophetic evidences now that the divine plan for this age is about complete, that soon all the members of the true church of Christ shall have been gathered from the world and made ready—by proving faithful even unto death—to live and reign with Christ in his kingdom. This means that the glory song of the angels will soon take on a deeper, a more profound, a more far-reaching meaning than has ever previously been attached to it.

“Glory to God in the highest”—how appropriate! Why did the professed followers of the Master ever imagine that peace could be established in a way that would bring glory to the great and the wise of this world? There has never been a great achievement in the world but what the glory has gone to man. We have our George Washingtons, our Lincolns, and in other parts of the world they have their great heroes. Had the angelic prophecy of peace been fulfilled through human channels, human leaders living at the time would have been given the glory. But it is not to be that way. The prophetic song of the angels ascribed glory to God, because it will be through his provision and in keeping with his loving plan to bless the nations with happiness and life that peace will come to the world.

“The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this,” wrote the Prophet Isaiah. (Isa. 9:7) Man, in many instances, has been very zealous in trying to establish peace, but has failed. Only the zeal of the Lord of hosts, manifesting itself by means and through agencies of his choosing, will translate the glory song of the angels into reality. ‘Thus will God demonstrate his “good will toward men.”

Human misunderstanding and failure is indicated by the modern way of translating this wonderful glory song of the angels. It has been wrested to read “peace on earth among men of good will.” But this is not the thought at all. This mistranslation again emphasizes the erroneous viewpoint that whatever of peace is brought to the nations will be done by human efforts, with God not doing much more about it than smiling his approval.

No, it is not, fundamentally, the good will of man toward man that will usher in the foretold everlasting peace, but the good will of God toward man. That good will was manifested in an outstanding manner on the night Jesus was born; for God had sent him to give his life to redeem the world, and thus to lay the foundation of peace, not only among men, but—and even more important—between God and men.

Every provision of God through Christ for the establishment of the divine kingdom is a further evidence of his good will. Part of the kingdom arrangements, as outlined by the Prophet Micah (4:1-4), is a program of education by which the nations will be instructed in the advantages of peace. This is a further divine arrangement manifesting God’s good will toward the people.

Thus it will be through God’s good will that peace will come to the world. First, and of greatest importance, through Christ the world will find peace with God. Then it will naturally follow that they will be at peace with one another. And when this divine purpose is accomplished—and accomplished it will be soon—all the glory will go to the Lord to whom it will be due, and the nations will praise him forever.

Crisis in Israel

THE new State of Israel has been in the news again. In October the Israeli government experienced its first cabinet crisis. The basic problem which brought this crisis was the worsening economic position of the country. The population of Israel has nearly doubled since the government was formed in 1948, and during the last year the amount of money for aid which previously had poured into Palestine from the United States has rapidly dwindled. In order to meet the crisis, Mr. Ben Gurion, Israel’s Premier, sought to impose a more rigid austerity program upon the people, opposition to which was so strong that it resulted in a cabinet crisis.

In the 1948 general elections none of the several political parties represented on the Israeli ballot won a majority of the 120 seats in Parliament. Mr. Ben Gurion’s party won the largest number—that is, 46. He invited the Orthodox Party to join with him in forming a coalition government. The Orthodox Party’s chief concern in matters of government seems to be along religious lines, and at every opportune time has urged the enactment of laws to govern the religious life of the new state. In this recent crisis the Orthodox Party again brought pressure to have its viewpoint recognized, but Ben Gurion was not willing to grant the concessions demanded, and, not having a majority in the Parliament without the orthodox group, he resigned.

Reports out of Palestine indicate that “The orthodox group wants something resembling a theocratic government.” In brief, a theocratic government is one in which God is recognized as the Supreme Ruler, and in which those who enact laws do so merely as his representatives. Were this actually true of any government, it would mean that the laws of the state would be the laws of God, and that any punishments resulting from disobedience to those laws, while inflicted by the state, would in reality be the judgments of God.

Ben Gurion is wise in resisting the establishment of such a viewpoint, even to the smallest degree, within the new state of Israel. While different language has been used in discussing the issue, it is just this, nevertheless, that the American people have always sought to guard against by maintaining separation of church and state. By profession, the church-state governments of Europe were theocratic in nature, and the American people are well aware of the many evils and injustices which were practiced by these governments in the name of God.

However, it is quite understandable why the orthodox group in the Israeli government are working toward the establishment of a theocratic government in Palestine. All genuinely orthodox Jews believe in Moses and in the prophets of ancient Israel. They believe that when Israel formerly existed as a nation it was ruled by God, through its kings, such as David, Solomon, and others. They believe that Israel’s kings were appointed by God, and that disobedience to their laws was in reality disobedience to God.

Furthermore, orthodox Jews believe that the restoration of Israel in Palestine, their Promised Land, is being accomplished in fulfillment of the promises of God, so their concern is to see the new state set up and function as they believe God designed that it should. Their viewpoint is that if God continues to bless the reborn state of Israel it will only be because his laws are recognized and enforced. Thus in the new government of Israel there are these two opposing viewpoints; one the modern, democratic view which demands that religion not be permitted to enter into the affairs of state; and the other, the ancient biblical concept in which God and his laws are given paramount consideration as the foundations of government. While granting that both sides are sincere, it is obvious that these opposing ideologies cannot work together harmoniously.

Pseudo Theocracy—Its Evils

The ancient theocratic government of Israel is the only such government that God has ever in any degree recognized as representing him. It came to an end in 606 B.C., and since then all human claims of theocracy have been false. Not only have they been false, but they have led to many evils. When a king claims to rule as the representative of God, as he views it no one has a right to disagree with him, or disobey him. Such alleged power and authority in the hands of imperfect and selfish men have in the past led to all sorts of political corruption and injustices. The pages of history are smeared with blood which was spilled as a result of the tyranny imposed upon people and nations by those who claimed to rule by the authority of God.

Mr. Ben Gurion knows this, and he is reasonably certain that religious influence in the government of Israeli would ultimately lead to various sorts of oppression, that the liberties of the people would gradually be taken away. He is right! Fallen human nature is such that seemingly it cannot resist the urge to exercise power, whether justly or unjustly, when it is believed that God authorizes and blesses what is done.

The question naturally arises as to why God permitted the ancient theocratic government of Israel to function for a time if such a government cannot rule justly and properly through the medium of imperfect men. This question is answered in the New Testament, where we have the explanation that many of the experiences of ancient Israel were intended by God to be illustrative, or typical, of what the Apostle Paul describes as “good things to come.” Israel’s kingdom, therefore, was a typical kingdom—typical, that is, of the kingdom of Christ, that kingdom in which Jesus will be the King, a world-wide Ruler, not by the permission or authority of men, nor in the wisdom of men, but by the authority of God and in the wisdom and power of God.

That will be the first wholly theocratic government ever to exist on the earth. In that government the laws of God will be the supreme and only rule of life to be tolerated. Those who will not obey, the Apostle Peter tells us, will be destroyed from among the people. (Acts 3:23) It is described by the Prophet David as a rulership enforced by a “rod of iron.” (Ps. 2:9) In the same prophetic description of this new rulership of earth, the present kings and rulers are bidden to make friends with earth’s new King and obey him, lest they perish.

But in that theocratic government of Christ there will be no injustice, for, as the Prophet Isaiah assures us, Christ will not judge and rule according to the sight of the eye, or the hearing of the ear, for he will be able to read the hearts of the people. (Isa. 11:3,4) Besides, we are told that the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding. No mistakes will be made by him, so no injustices will be practiced. Those who are punished under Christ’s rulership will deserve punishment, and those who are rewarded will be worthy of the rewards received.

No such government as this could ever be set up by the vote of the returned Israelites in Palestine, nor brought about by the orthodox members of Israel’s Parliament insisting that laws be enacted to control the religious life of the Holy Land. While undoubtedly the present Jewish state is a necessary expedient in connection with God’s purpose to restore the Jews to their homeland in order that they might be there and be the first to whom the blessings of Christ’s kingdom will be offered, it is not the kingdom of the Lord, nor will attempts to make it a religious government transform it into God’s kingdom.

The real theocratic government of Israel and the world is soon to manifest itself in Palestine, but it will not be set up by the vote of the people, nor by any sort of political maneuvering whereby a minority group may be able to fasten itself upon the people as rulers. The kingdom of the Lord is of divine origin, and will be set up and function by the authority and power of God. Miracle-working power will be used, the Scriptures assure us, in order to establish this rulership over the earth, and thus to answer the Christian’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”—Matt. 6:10

Miracle-working power has already been used toward this end. Nearly two thousand years ago, when the religious leaders of Israel plotted the death of Jesus, and he was crucified, divine power raised him from the dead. They rejected him then as their king, but they did not foil the purpose of God that he should ultimately be the King of all nations, including Israel. Jesus died to redeem the people from sin and death, but by divine power he was raised from the dead and now lives to be the King and Judge over those for whom he died.

During the nineteen centuries since Jesus’ death and resurrection, many of his professed followers have lost sight of the real purpose of his coming to earth, and have ignored the many promises of God assuring us of his return to establish the messianic kingdom. They have also lost sight of the purpose of God in connection with this long waiting period, during which representatives of the human race have been divinely selected and prepared to reign with Christ during the thousand years of his kingdom. These constitute the true church of Christ, and the promise is that they shall live and reign with him, sharing the work of administering the laws of his kingdom.

But in order for these to live and reign with Christ it is necessary that they, like Jesus, be raised from the dead. Thus again, miracle-working power is used in the setting up of the kingdom of Christ. It was at the beginning of the present age that Jesus was raised from the dead, and it is at the end of the age, and in the early dawn of the messianic age, that the church is raised from the dead to reign with him. No government on earth has ever been established under such outstanding circumstances.

But still another miracle is to be performed in order that the government of Christ may function properly, to the glory of God and for the blessing of the people. This will be the resurrection of the ancient servants of God, the prophets of Israel and other faithful ones of past ages, in order that they may serve as the human representatives of the divine Christ. The Psalmist David declares that these are to be made “princes in all the earth.” (Ps. 45:16) They were pre-trained for the position which they will occupy in that kingdom, and will be fully capable of handling all the difficult problems of government with which they may be confronted. The authority which they will exercise among men will be divinely granted and lovingly used in that theocratic government which will be the channel of blessing for all the families of the earth.

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