“This Nation Under God”

WHEN, toward the close of 1950, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. was formed in Cleveland, Ohio, as a backdrop on the great stage of Cleveland’s huge civic auditorium where the delegates met there hung a banner, with towering letters large enough to be plainly seen from all points in the auditorium, spelling out the words, “This Nation Under God.” Seemingly it was left to the judgment of each delegate as to what meaning should be taken from these words, which originally were used by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address.

There are a number of meanings which could be taken. The words could have been designed to indicate that this nation came into being and continues to live by the will of God; that is, by his design. They could imply that this nation has grown to great power by the providence of God. Perhaps the words were intended to mean that the United States, conscious of its sins, relies on the patience and mercy of God. The originators of the banner may have been saying that in their opinion this nation looks to God for guidance. Or, and this is most unlikely, the words may have been calculated to convey the thought that this country stands in danger of the judgments of God. The delegates may well have been reminded of this possibility when they were addressed by the Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, who warned them of the grave perils which face the United States, and the world as well.

As an outsider, and thinking objectively of the possible meaning of the expression, “This Nation Under God,” it seems clear that they were intended to convey the impression that in one way or another—depending upon the viewpoint of the individual groups participating in the Cleveland conference—the United States is a Christian nation, and that it is a part of the Christian duty of all believers to support what the nation does, and to participate in every way possible in its affairs, particularly in its legislative activities.

True, there was probably not a single delegate at the Cleveland conference who would not gladly give his life in defense of the Constitution’s provision for the separation of church and state. The people of this country well know the evils of that form of government, but the unholy spell that was cast over Christian thinking during the long period when Europe was ruled by a combination of church and state, still beclouds the spiritual vision of practically the entire Protestant world. Its leaders are still trying to imagine that in one way or another the kingdom of Christ is functioning through the kingdoms of this world.

This is one of the fundamental errors of the professed Christian world. It crept into the church in the very early centuries of the Christian era. Jesus plainly taught that peace on earth, and the general conversion of the world would come about as a result of his second advent and the establishment of his divine kingdom; and it was for this kingdom he taught his disciples to pray. Nothing that Jesus ever said, and nothing that his inspired apostles taught, gives the slightest authority for supposing that his followers, by reform crusades and legislative lobbying, could win the world for him and cause the will of God to be done on earth as it is now done in heaven.

It was when the church began to lose sight of the glorious hope of Christ’s return and the kingdom blessings which then would reach the world, that the idea gradually developed that the setting up of God’s kingdom in the earth was the responsibility of man. Throughout the age this basic error of viewpoint has found expression in many spurious attempts to force false versions of Christianity upon the world; but all have failed, and today the civilization which was falsely styled Christian is crumbling under the weight of its own sin.

Many injustices and cruelties have been perpetrated in the name of Christ by those who have deceived themselves into believing that their positions of authority had come to them from heaven, that their government was in reality Christ’s kingdom. In this day of greater enlightenment, and when there is such a clamor for freedom, the authority of the world’s God-men cannot make itself felt in such a realistic manner; although the disposition to do so still exists. The Roman and Greek Catholic hierarchies are the two most powerful remaining examples of the intolerance which results when puny human minds become imbued with the delusion that they are the vicegerents of Christ on earth.

The era of liberalism among Protestants has served to eliminate much of the religious intolerance which is even yet manifested in the “mother” systems, but still they cling to the old error that Christ’s kingdom must be established by the efforts of his professed followers here on earth. Today this must be a very discouraging viewpoint, for everything on earth which supposedly has been Christian is threatened with destruction. God’s kingdom plan is not failing, however, and those whose spiritual vision is not befogged by the errors of the Dark Ages are now rejoicing in the many evidences that the answer to their prayers for Christ’s kingdom is so near.

It requires a great deal more than the words, “This Nation Under God,” to make a nation truly Christian. On the other hand, the Scriptures indicate that at various times nations have risen to power, or fallen into decay by God’s design. But this is true only when such circumstances are related to the outworking of God’s own plan of human redemption and salvation. The Early Church, for example, was instructed to pray for the rulers of that time, not with the idea that God would pour out special blessings upon those pagan rulers, but in order that conditions under their jurisdiction might be favorable for the spiritual development of the newly established church.

God’s hand in the affairs of men might well have had something to do with the discovery of America toward the close of this age, in order that it might serve as an asylum for the oppressed, and in order that there might be a favorable place for the birth and growth of freedom. This does not mean that God has been guiding and blessing all the affairs of the nation, but merely that he has overruled in certain circumstances, that his own designs might be carried out.

Certainly this nation, and all nations, are debtors to the grace and mercy of God. From this standpoint the expression, “This Nation Under God,” is very meaningful. There is no individual or nation that does not exist by the grace of God, for all have sinned and come short of his glory. None has a just right to live.

On the other hand, if we think of this or any other nation under the judgments of God, we are made to realize very definitely what ultimately must befall them all. And it is just this that the whole world is facing today; that is, the judgments, the wrath of God. The prophecies describe the times in which we are living as the “day of God’s wrath,” a time when his indignation is upon all the nations, and his fury upon all their armies. (Zeph. 1:18; Rom. 2:5; Rev. 6:17) Men throughout the earth are feverishly attempting to stave off the inevitable through reformation of governments and of society in general. But their efforts remind us of attempts to put new patches on old garments, which is something Jesus condemned.

Meanwhile the divine program moves forward independent of human efforts, and despite all the hindrances resulting from misguided but well-meaning attempts to create substitutes or Christ’s kingdom. If those who are creating these substitutes could realize that their efforts are doomed to failure, and that God has the situation fully in hand, and in his own due time—which is near—will establish a world of righteousness and peace far more glorious than anything men have ever visualized, how much happier they would be!

David wrote, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Ps. 33:12) If this statement were true of the United States, how much better off the nation would be, particularly in its spiritual health and prosperity! When Christ’s kingdom becomes fully operative in the earth, all will come under this benediction, for then all nations will say—and say it with sincerity and determination—“Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, … and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.”—Isa. 2:3; Micah 4:2

When that divine kingdom is functioning, should there be any people or nation that does not come willingly under its rulership, that nation will be “rebuked” by the Lord, the prophet tells us, which indicates that forcible means will be used to spread the influence and authority of Christ’s kingdom. (Isa. 2:4; Micah 4:3) Not that coercion will always be needed, for when the nations learn the advantages of righteousness and love, in contrast to the disadvantages of selfishness and hate, they will gladly bow the knee, and give glory to earth’s new King.

Then, in reality, and to the rich blessing of all the peoples of earth, all nations will be under God; that is, they will be under divine guidance and protection, receiving daily the rich bounties of kingdom blessings which then will be flowing to all the families of the earth. “In this mountain,” or kingdom, we are told, the Lord will make “a feast of fat things for all people.”—Isa. 25:6

Not only will the physical needs of the people be provided in abundance, but they will also be privileged to feast on the true knowledge of God and of Christ, and will rejoice in the many evidences of divine love with which they will be surrounded.

Furthermore, man’s greatest enemy, death, will be destroyed; for the promise is that the Lord will “swallow up death in victory.” (Isa. 25:8) This means that sickness and pain will also be destroyed throughout all the nations which then will be under God—under his beneficent care and keeping power.

Only by faith can this new world of tomorrow be properly visualized. Only by faith can we have assurance that it will become a reality without, and despite, misguided human efforts. Those who have ears to hear and appreciate the voice of the Lord today, are being invited to have a share in the kingdom of Christ, not by attempting to reform the old order, but by being faithful ambassadors of Christ now, thus proving worthy to participate in the “first resurrection” to live and reign with him in his new world kingdom.—Rev. 20:6

While the Christian knows that he is not commissioned to reform the world now, he also realizes that there is much he is called upon to do in God’s service. He is to work out his own salvation by faithfulness in doing God’s will. He is to lay down his life in the service of the truth and his brethren. He is to be a faithful steward of the mysteries of the kingdom of God—faithful in obeying the precepts of the Gospel in his own life, and faithful in letting his light shine for the encouragement and blessing of others.

Christians are not to be idle just because they know that the establishment of the kingdom does not depend upon their frail efforts. Like their Master, they are to work while it is called day, knowing that the night cometh wherein no man can work. The darkness is already settling down upon a distressed world, and as the shades of night deepen, it is our privilege to announce to the fear-filled and distressed who will listen, that a morning of joy is near; that the real kingdom of Christ is about to be manifested in blessings of peace, security, health, and everlasting life for all; that then, reflected from the radiant faces of all mankind will, as it were, be seen the words, “This World Under God.”

This Un-Christian Century

THE world is now well entered into the second half of the twentieth century, and how different it has turned out to be from what was confidently expected by the vast majority of people fifty years ago, when the new century was just beginning. This fact is highlighted by information published recently in the independent Protestant weekly, The Christian Century. It seems that prior to 1901 this magazine was called The Christian Oracle, but the name was changed to The Christian Century beginning with the first issue of 1901 as an expression of the editor’s conviction that the next hundred years would witness the virtual conquering of the world for Christianity, and he wanted his paper to be among the. first to recognize and herald this great accomplishment in the progress of the human race. Commenting on the reason for this change, a recent issue of the paper said:

“The files [of The Christian Century] offer no evidence that the paper’s readers found any element of presumption in the new title. Rather, it was greeted as a reflection of the spirit of optimistic prophecy which everywhere marked the passage into a new cycle of time. The nineteenth century just closing had been a period of unparalleled triumph in man’s perennial pursuit of control over the forces of nature. What could be more reasonable than to expect that the twentieth would see these conquests multiplied, and that to the physical there would be added commensurate moral and spiritual triumphs? Why should not the century then dawning come to be known, long before its close, as the Christian century? As we come to the halfway point, the contrast between the mood in which men entered the century and that which now envelops them is so complete, irreconcilable, that it is difficult to convince oneself that the optimistic expectations of 1901 were so widely and deeply held as scarcely to be challenged.”

Perhaps the editor who penned this confession of the failure of human wisdom to properly forecast world developments is not aware of the fact that the optimistic view of 1901 was at that time challenged, and that the challenger was held up to ridicule and scorn by professed Christian teachers and leaders throughout the world. That challenger was Pastor C.T. Russell, the author of “Studies in the Scriptures.” The first four volumes in this series of books—all published before the turn of the century—repeatedly called attention to prophecies of the Bible which forecast the collapse of civilization within the twentieth century, and that in the place of this selfish social order, there would be set up in power and great glory the long prayed for kingdom of Christ. Volume four of the series entitled, “The Day of Vengeance,” was devoted entirely to this forecast of world developments, pointing out that the year 1914 would mark the turning point in man’s boasted progress.

We mention this not to emphasize the prophetic foresight of Pastor Russell, but to call attention to the importance of the prophecies of the Bible; for Pastor Russell in his writings merely set forth what the Bible teaches pertaining to the times in which we are living. Many of the Bible’s prophecies foretold these tragic years of the twentieth century, but the meaning of all of them is best summed up by the Prophet Daniel who wrote that there would be a “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” Jesus quoted this prophecy and indicated that its fulfillment would be at the time of his return, when the end of the age would be reached, and the time had come for the establishment of his kingdom. Contrary to the expectations of the optimists at the beginning of the century, we are already in the prophetic “time of trouble.” This is apparent, when, for example, we read the statement of the late William Faulkner, a Nobel prize winner. While in New York on his way to Stockholm to receive the prize, he said to reporters:

“Man has only one question in mind: ‘When will I be blown up?’ The question of honor or no honor, courage or no courage, virtue or no virtue, doesn’t exist.”

Certainly this a far cry from the expectations of the worldly-wise in 1901. All the elements of the social order, which is now sick unto death, have undergone changes which were wholly unexpected by the majority of people in 1901. Take the political changes, for example. What was thought to be a fairly stable political world by the statesmen of that day has almost entirely vanished. In 1901, at the funeral of Queen Victoria of England, there assembled a most impressive array of reigning monarchs who marched through the streets behind the coffin of Victoria. By contrast, when near the close of 1950, the King of Sweden was buried, the best showing royalty could make was a thin line of three Scandinavian rulers, a royal duke from England who represented the British crown, and an Ethiopian crown prince.

Not only has royalty disappeared as a controlling factor in the crumbling world of today, but almost no one is advocating a return to the hereditary ruling house form of government. Winston Churchill is about the only conspicuous defender of monarchy as a preferable ruling system of government. Truly, kings have had their. day, and with their going has passed one phase in the crumbling of a social order which must completely give place to God’s new social order—the kingdom of Christ.

One might suppose that with the passing of monarchy the world would experience a great upsurge in the popularity of the republican form of government; and indeed, the virtues of democracy have been trumpeted far and wide. But as all now know, democracy is very unsafe in the strife-ridden world of today. One of the objectives of the first World War was to make the world safe for democracy. It was thought then that this could be achieved by defeating the monarchists of central Europe. But with their defeat, together with the overthrow of nearly all royalty, including the House of Savoy in Italy, there sprang up the ugly head of dictatorship in the form of fascism, naziism, and communism.

The world was again dragged through the weary and suffering years of another war in order to stamp out fascism and naziism; but, by joining hands with communism in order to attain victory the democracies helped greatly to spread the influence and power of this form of dictatorship. And now the struggle is on again. Ostensibly, the freedom of democracy is the battle cry of the western world; but in order to defeat the dictatorship of communism as the common foe, democracy is now lining up again with dictatorships of one sort or another, seemingly blind to the end result of this unholy alliance.

No matter from what standpoint the world situation of today is viewed, to all sincere and truly peace-loving people the outlook is very disquieting. During the hectic years which have followed the first and second global struggles much attention has been given to setting up some form of world government, some authority that would be able to resolve the differences of the nations and promote the well-being and happiness of all. We know how miserably the League of Nations failed. And as one writer stated it with respect to the United Nations, “The prospects for a true pooling of interests and mutuality of action are very dim. Those who sit in the halls of the United Nations hear a knell of doom in the echoes of the gunfire crashing among the bleak mountains of Korea.”

At the beginning of the century, those who lacked a vital faith in Christianity believed that Science was the god which would bring utopian conditions to the world. That hope has now foundered on the rocks of atomic despair. Science is no longer looked upon as the world’s redeemer and savior. Science today is feared by the masses, for while great technological advances have been made which could have meant prosperity and security, the assembly line on the one hand, if uncontrolled, soon results in an overproduction of human needs, thus leading to unemployment and depression; or, on the other hand, is speeded up to produce instruments of destruction by which the human race wantonly annihilates itself. Science as of 1951 has proved to be without responsibility, and totally unable to solve the problems created by its own inventive genius.

The Christian religious world in 1951 is also totally different from what was expected when the century opened. The last fifty years have been years of unparalleled missionary effort. China, one of the great missionary fields for all denominations, has now been lost to the churches; while all the missionary fields of Asia are so preoccupied with political strife and international struggle, that the missionaries are greatly hampered in their efforts to gain respectful attention.

Meanwhile, half of Europe, or more, has come under the atheistic rule of a godless dictatorship, which gradually is “liquidating” all religion. Even in the democratically free countries of the world genuine devotion to Christianity and its principles is at a very low ebb. In this country alone there are nearly seventy million who belong to no church and who make no profession of belief in God, while only about one out of fifteen attend church with any degree of regularity. True, there is seemingly a disposition to turn to God on the part of many, but to a large extent this merely reflects the attitude of a man who thinks he is about to drown and is willing to ask God to help him until he can get his feet on the ground. There has perhaps never been such a demand for religious literature; and, paradoxically enough, the churches on the whole have never been so nearly empty. If this indicates anything, it is that the people have lost faith in the churches, but are willing to try God.

Certainly, thus far the twentieth century has not turned out to be the “Christian century.” And yet, may it not be that ere the next fifty years shall have passed, the world will see Jesus Christ enthroned as its Ruler, and under his just and beneficent rulership, enjoying peace and happiness! This, indeed, is what the prophecies of the Bible clearly indicate—the prophecies which gave the true forecast of the first half of the century, although scorned by the wisdom of this world. But in calling attention to this bright outlook, let no one suppose that the statesmen, or militarists, or religious leaders of the world, will at last find a formula for peace, and that Christ’s kingdom will merely be a product of human wisdom which well-meaning men may presumptuously label the kingdom of the Lord.

No, Christ’s kingdom will be established by Christ, not by the diplomacy of man. Human efforts have failed! This great lesson the world will gradually learn as one after another of their plans for world peace and security end in failure. Few indeed have as yet learned this lesson. Even those who speak of God and seem willing to include him in their plans, still imagine that the welfare of the world rests upon their shoulders, and that God’s part is to approve and bless what they plan and do. This is emphasized by many speeches these days by important personages, in which their plans for world peace are elaborately and dogmatically set forth, and when in the last sentence they say, “And may God bless us.”

Well, God will bless them, as individuals, for he has promised to bless all the families of the earth. But God has his own plans for extending his blessings to the people. These we might call the kingdom plans. He has selected and prepared his own personnel for that kingdom. Jesus will be the Ruler supreme; although invisible to the people. Associated with him will be his church, that class of faithful disciples who will be raised from the dead in what the Scriptures describe as the “first resurrection.” (Rev. 20:6) These will reign with Christ in the spiritual phase of his kingdom.

But these spiritual rulers will have human representatives, who also have been selected and trained in advance. They are the ancient worthies of Old Testament times, beginning with Abel and ending with John the Baptist. These will be brought forth in a “better resurrection,” and will be made “princes in all the earth.” (Heb. 11:35; Ps. 45:16) What a wonderful government that will be! And there is every reason to believe that it will be ruling the earth before another fifty years have passed.

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