| Highlights of Dawn | December 1951 |
The Prophecy of Angels
“The angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. … And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” —Luke 2:10-14
DURING the year now closing, and more than nineteen centuries after the angels prophesied that there would be “peace on earth,” a little girl in the State of California became so, terrified by the thought of atom bombs that she begged her mother to take her to some place where there was no sky. (Reported in The Christian Herald.) On that holy night when Jesus The Prince of Peace was born, there came a message from the sky: “Fear not.” But now the world is filled with fear as people everywhere contemplate the destructive forces which one day may come raining down upon them from the skies. What has happened? Must we conclude that the powers of evil have made a mockery of that glorious proclamation of the angels, or is there another answer to, this apparent defeat of the divine purpose in sending Jesus into the world to be The Prince of Peace?
Certain it is that from the standpoint of human wisdom, and the almost universally accepted conception of Christianity, the close of 1951 finds the world more shrouded in darkness, so far.’ as the hope of peace is concerned, than ever before. Not only have the year’s efforts to attain peace been frustrated, but the professed followers of The Prince of Peace remain hopelessly divided in their endeavors to Christianize the world.
Whether we look on the international, political, or religious front, confusion and lack of direction continue to characterize all the efforts which are being made to find a way out of the darkness and distress which now engulf the dying world. So far as the political and international aims of this country are concerned, the matter is well summed up by Gabriel Courier who, writing in The Christian Herald, says:
“Just what is it we want? Just where are we going? In the direction of peace, we hope. But what will bring peace? A free Japan? Formosa in the firm hands of the nationalists—or given to the Reds? A Europe strengthened against Franco tactics, or using Franco? What of Burma, Indo-China, India? What of Iran, Egypt, the whole turbulent Middle East? We don’t seem to know. As Mr. Truman says so blandly, ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.’ But you can’t even play chess that way.”
There is, of course, one general objective which practically all in the world this side of the Iron Curtain are agreed upon, and that is that if our present way of life is to be saved, communism must be defeated. The confusion lies in the conflicting opinions as to just how this can be done. It is agreed amongst most of the alleged free nations that an all-out armament program is one of the prime essentials in the battle against aggression; so, instead of beating swords into plowshares, as the prophet foretold would be done during the reign of The Prince of Peace, they are beating plowshares into swords, as forecast in Joel 3:9-11.
It is not possible to obtain too clear a picture of just what is happening behind the Iron Curtain, but it seems reasonably certain that the rulers of the communist world are convinced that the well-being of all nations depends upon bringing them under the control of Marxian philosophy. They try to give the impression that they are united in their objectives and agreed as to how best to attain them, but probably if the truth were known we would discover that, like Mr. Truman, about the best they can do is to cross each bridge as they come to it, somewhat fearful, perhaps, lest it collapse under them.
But the communist world seems also to be united on the matter of armament; so behind the Iron Curtain the munitions factories are operating around the clock, turning out weapons of destruction. Thus the mad race for superiority on the land, on the sea, and in the air, continues unabated, and at the close of this year of our Lord, 1951, is more furious than has ever before been witnessed by man.
On the armament front, on both sides of the Iron Curtain, scientists are playing their grim part, producing weapons with ever-increasing potentiality for destruction. Since Hiroshima, the world has been fearing the atom bomb, and justifiably so. Then came the announcement of the hydrogen bomb, which, it was claimed, would be even more destructive. But now it has been announced that an instrument of destruction much more powerful than these has been perfected, on which production is about to begin. Referring to this, President Truman, in a speech at San Francisco, said that if there is another war and this new weapon is used, it will certainly mean the complete destruction of civilization.
Is There Hope in Religion?
Increasing numbers of statesmen, philosophers, clergymen, and even politicians outside of the communist world are reaching the conclusion that only through a general adoption of religious principles by the nations and presenting a united religious front against the forces of atheism and paganism, can civilization be saved. But here again disunity and chaos stand in the way of united action. This fact, universally recognized by religionists, was highlighted toward the close of September in a speech made by President Truman in the National City Christian Church, of Washington, before 1,200 attending the first Washington Pilgrimage of American Churchmen, when he told them that he had failed to get men of various religions to agree, even on a common statement of faith, “in the face of the peril we confront today.” The President further said:
“For some time I have been trying to bring a number of the great religious leaders of the world together in a common affirmation of faith and a common supplication to the one God that all profess. I have asked them to join in one common act which will affirm those religious and moral principles on which all agree.
“I am sorry to say that it has not yet been possible to bring the religious faiths together for this purpose of bearing witness that God is the way of truth and peace. Even the Christian churches have not yet found themselves able to say, with one voice, that Christ is their Master and Redeemer and the source of their strength against the hosts of irreligion and danger to the world, and that will be the cause of world catastrophe. They haven’t been able to agree on as simple a statement as that. I have been working at it for years.
“We should lay aside our differences and come together now—for never have our differences seemed so petty and insignificant as they do in the face of the peril we confront today.”
“I have been working at it for years,” the President complains; but he has failed, according to his own testimony, to get the churches to agree on a simple statement of their faith in Jesus as their Redeemer and Master. Evidently, in his busy political life, Mr. Truman has failed to keep abreast of the trends of belief—or we might better say, of disbelief—in most of the great churches of our land. Perhaps he does not realize that the modernist churches, comprising probably three-quarters of all denominations, no longer believe in the saving blood of Christ, or that he is actually the Redeemer of the people. He may be unaware of the fact that the leaders of these great denominations have concluded that the idea of redemption through Jesus is “bloody” and “revolting” in the light of twentieth century “intelligence.”
Besides, while this vast majority of church leaders still quote some of the ethical and moral teachings of Christ, and are willing to give him a place among the great teachers of history, they hesitate to acknowledge him as their own and only “Master.” If the President were up-to-date on these points, he would have less difficulty in understanding why he has failed to get church leaders to adopt a common statement of their faith in Jesus as their Redeemer and Master; for most of them do not have such a faith. It is just. that simple.
Human Efforts Futile
There are millions in the world today, among them thousands who are looked up to as teachers of Christianity, who assert their faith in the Bible and its teachings, but who seem not to comprehend the fact that God has ever promised to do anything for the world. They would gladly lay down their lives trying to do something in the world for God, but their vision is limited to what man is able to accomplish, and they have no hope beyond that. As an illustration of this, note the following quotation from a published treatise on one of the International Sunday School Lessons for October.
“The Bible teaches that man makes his surroundings, that he is responsible for the kind of world in which he lives. Carlyle said, ‘History is the story of the world’s great men.’ If greatness is seated in faith we can accept that statement. We read history as the record of God-responsive men, men like Abraham who recognize and respond to God’s leadings. Hope in our confused world still depends on God’s pioneers.”
This is a strange blending of half truth and error. The Bible does teach concerning Christians that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal. 6:7) But this does not imply, nor has it ever been true, that Christians, no matter how faithful, have ever materially influenced the course of this world. Jesus said to, his disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Jesus did not overcome the world in the sense of reforming it, but in the fact that he lived apart from it, and above its self-seeking spirit. Otherwise, the world actually overcame him, for it put him to death.
And so it has been with all the prophets who went before him. Read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews for a record of how they fared in this world of sin where Satan has been the prince. Instead of reforming the world of their day and lifting it up to a standard. of righteousness by which their own lives were guided, Paul tells. us that they “all died in faith, not having received the [fulfillment of the] promises.”—Heb. 11:13
The Early Church did not reform the world of that day. Indeed, following the death of the apostles, the majority of professed Christians succumbed to the influences of the world, and became a part of it. Doubtless they felt that something could be done for the world by joining hands with the state, but this only led to intrigue, oppression, persecution, the un-Holy Inquisition, and war.
It has been said that the Bible is the torch of civilization, and when, as a part of the Reformation, great Bible societies were organized and the Bible was circulated more widely, a small portion of the world was given a ray of hope and a new incentive to struggle for freedom. If the ethical teachings of the Bible had been more faithfully followed by the lawmakers and by the general public, much more would have been accomplished; but peace on earth has never come anywhere near to being established, for there has scarcely been a decade in all the centuries since Christ came and died that at least parts of the earth have not been drenched in blood. In most instances, the bloodletting has been initiated by professed Christian nations.
And now, if there is no hope for humanity other than that which rests on the efforts of God-fearing men, regardless of how zealous they may be, the outlook is dark indeed. And this is true, notwithstanding how highly placed in world affairs these ardent religionists may be. In September, a report from Rome stated that the Pope and his co-workers have for some time been laboring to bring about a union of all the various Catholic, and near-Catholic, religions of the world. This, of course, was not news; but the report indicated that little real progress is being made, and that not much is expected in the near future, and then added, “A reunion of Catholicism and various Protestant sects is considered a more distant possibility.”
We mention this in passing merely to emphasize that even if we assumed that a united religious front could bring peace out of present world chaos, there still is no hope, for here again human efforts are failing. Besides, those acquainted with history will remember that the bloodiest wars of the past were fought in Europe during the centuries when the Catholic Church reigned supreme throughout that continent. A united religious front under the leadership of the Vatican, therefore, would not assure anything better than what the world has already suffered many times even in the name of Christ.
Will Not Return Void
But the promises of God cannot fail of fulfillment. The Lord himself assures us of this, saying, “As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”—Isa. 55:10,11
Over and over again God has declared that it is his purpose, by means of the kingdom of Christ, to establish peace—universal and everlasting peace—on earth. One of the outstanding promises of God assuring us of this reads, “He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.”—Micah 4:3,4
“For the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it”—herein we may rest our hopes for a better world, a peaceful world, a world in which “none shall make them afraid.” Because the Lord has decreed it, no longer shall it be necessary for children to ask their parents to take them to a place where there is no sky; no longer will the whole world be filled with fear of the destruction which may almost any time be wrought by human foolishness and selfishness.
It was the Word of the Lord which came to the shepherds on the night Jesus was born, announcing that through him as the world’s Savior and King there would come “peace on earth.” Because it was the Lord speaking through the angels, we need have no doubt that what they proclaimed will, in God’s due time, become a reality. One of the beautiful and comforting prophecies of the birth of Jesus is Isaiah 9:6,7, and in this prophecy the great objective of his birth is explained. It declares that he was to be “The Prince of Peace,” and that “of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.” But it does not leave the accomplishment of this wonderful purpose of God in human hands, for it concludes with the reassuring statement, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
All the prophecies and promises of the Bible concerning peace on earth reveal that this divine purpose will be accomplished by means of the setting up of Christ’s kingdom in the earth. Concerning this messianic government the Prophet Daniel declares, “In the days of these kings [represented by the ten toes of the human-like image which pictured Gentile dominion] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom.” (Dan. 2:44) Many efforts have been made throughout the centuries, some by ambitious men, others by the well-meaning and sincere, to set up governments which would assure peace to the people. They all failed because this was not the Lord’s way for his peace plan to be carried out. It was to be done by “the God of heaven.”
Jesus was born to be the King in the kingdom which the “God of heaven” had promised to establish. Satan tempted him to accept and to co-operate with a different plan for ruling the world, saying of the kingdoms of this world, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me”; that is, acknowledge Satan as the supreme ruler. (Matt. 4:9) But Jesus did not yield to this temptation. Instead, he waited for God’s time and way to exalt him as the Ruler of earth. Meanwhile, his enemies killed him, one of their excuses being that he was a traitor to the Roman Empire because he claimed to be a king.
When brought before Pilate, this Roman ruler asked him if the charge were true, and the Master replied, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36) What could be plainer than this? All the kingdoms and governments of this world have been established and maintained by the force of arms. Humanly constituted governments are still resorting to this method. But it will prove just as true now as it has always been, that those who “take the sword shall perish with the sword.”—Matt. 26:52
The reason we can have confidence that Christ’s kingdom will bring peace to the people is that it is “not of this world.” Christ’s kingdom will not be made up of the selfish elements of what the Apostle Paul describes as “this present evil world.” (Gal. 1:4) Nor will his kingdom employ the methods of this world to gain and maintain its power and authority over the people. That there could be a king whose kingdom was not of this world was difficult for Pilate to understand, so he asked Jesus further, “Art thou a king then?” How could there be such a kingdom?
Jesus replied to Pilate, saying, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.” (John 18:37) Then Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (vs. 38) Seemingly Jesus did not reply to this question, but as to the truth concerning God’s plan to establish a kingdom in the earth and through it to give peace and life to the people, he had already answered it; and that great truth was, and still is, that the “God of heaven shall set up a kingdom,” that the fulfillment of his promises has not been left in the hands of men, nor to human methods—“My kingdom is not of this world.”
All nominal conceptions of Christianity fail to take this great truth into consideration. Worldly churches are co-operating with “this world” in their efforts to establish peace, rather than looking to God to accomplish it. Their efforts are failing because the “kingdoms of this world” with which they are co-operating and on which they are pinning their hopes are being removed to make way for the kingdom which the God of heaven will set up. One of the basic errors of Christendom is this false idea that God expects man to establish his kingdom for him, whereas the great fundamental truth on this point is that God will do it in his own way, and by the exercise of his own power. This is truth!
“The Mountain of the Lord’s House”
In Isaiah 2:2 we read: “It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established.” The “last days” referred to here are not, of course, the last days of time, nor of this earth, nor of human experience, but simply the last days of the reign of sin and death in the earth, the last days of “this present evil world.” (Gal. 1:4) And it is in this period that the “mountain” of the Lord is established. By consulting Daniel 2:35,44 it will be found that this “mountain” is in reality the kingdom of the Lord, the kingdom which the God of heaven will “set up,” or “establish,” as the prophets Isaiah and Micah state it.—Micah 4:1-4
It is said to be the mountain, or kingdom, of the “Lord’s house.” This is God’s way of telling us that his kingdom will be made up of a divine ruling house, or family. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that Jesus, God’s own beloved Son, will be the Ruler supreme in this “house,” the “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” But there are to be other sons of God associated with him. These are referred to many times in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament. Paul, speaking of a work of the Holy Spirit, wrote: “The Spirit [of God] itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”—Rom. 8:16,17
“It is a faithful saying,” wrote Paul, that if we “be dead” with Christ we shall also “live with him,” and if “we suffer,” we shall also “reign with him.” (II Tim. 2:11,12) These Spirit-begotten sons of God who suffer and die with Jesus are described in Acts 15:14 as “a people for his name,” and the explanation is given that the divine purpose in proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles was to take out of them this people to be members of the divine family. The further explanation is given that it will be after this work of God in the earth is accomplished that both Jews and Gentiles will receive their promised blessings, that all will then have an opportunity to “seek after the Lord.”
So the work of God in the earth throughout the centuries since the peace prophecy of the angels was given has not been the converting of the world. Men have tried to do this and have failed. God’s work during this Gospel age has been the selection and preparation of that small’ group whom he has called to be sons. Their worthiness to live and reign with Christ has been demonstrated by their faithfulness in suffering and dying with him. Each one of them has been given the assurance, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”—Rev. 2:10
But how can these reign with Christ, since they have all died? The answer to this is simple, for the Bible assures us of their resurrection. At the same time, this fact highlights the meaning of the promise that the “God of heaven shall set up a kingdom.” More than nineteen centuries ago, and in the exercise of his mighty power, God raised Jesus from the dead to be the King supreme in his kingdom. At this end of the age God again exercises his mighty power to raise the true church of Christ from the dead—those who have suffered and died with him—that they might be associated with him in his kingdom. They are said to come forth in “the first resurrection” to “live and reign with Christ a thousand years.”—Rev. 20:4,6
Consideration of this helps us to grasp more fully the meaning of the statement, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this,” for it emphasizes that his zeal is manifested in the use of his mighty power even to the extent of raising the dead, yes, even to exalting Christ and his church to the divine nature and to his own right hand of authority, in order that his ruling “house” might be established.
We can have every confidence, then, that the “mountain of the Lord’s house” will be established in the “last days.” Conditions around us in the world are clearly in fulfillment of the prophecies which testify that already the kingdoms of this world are being removed. We are already in the transition period, when the old world, dominated by sin and selfishness, is passing away, and the new about to be manifested. And David declares, “Therefore will not we fear, though the earth [the social order] be removed.” (Ps. 46:2) If we can exercise faith in God’s providence, and confidence in his ways, we will not need to fear at this time when the hearts of so many are filled with fear.
To us the angelic message of peace on earth will take on a new and brighter luster, despite present chaos in the world, if we are able to grasp and believe the thought that its fulfillment is certain because the Lord has promised it and his “zeal” will perform it. And not only will the kingdom established by the God of heaven, bring peace to the people, it will also bring health and life; for Jesus was also announced to be a “Savior.” Paul tells us that Christ must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet, and that the “last enemy to be destroyed is death.”—I Cor. 15:25,26
Let us, then, rejoice in confidence that this dark night of human experience is soon to terminate in a wonderful morning of joy. And while rejoicing in this knowledge ourselves, let us tell the whole world these blessed tidings. No gift could bring greater joy to hearts filled with fear than the assurance that God has a plan which is soon to reach fruition in the blessing of all the families of the earth, that the prophecy of the angels is really true!