| Highlights of Dawn | May 1953 |
Heaven’s Windows Opened
“It shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.” —Isaiah 24:18
FEAR, the “pit,” and the “snare” are used by Isaiah as symbolic of various evils which would come upon the world in these last days, and he indicates that as the people attempt to escape from one distressing circumstance they would be confronted with another. What a graphic description this is of the world situation today! As a matter of fact, there are many more than three evils from which a fear-filled and distressed world is endeavoring to escape, and even if a partial solution is found for one problem, more distressing ones loom up in its place.
The prophet also speaks of the windows of heaven being opened, and as a result, a great shaking of the earth. In the Book of Malachi the Lord uses this expression to denote the outpouring of his blessings, and the thought is the same in our text. To appreciate this, however, it is essential to realize that the “shaking” and destruction of the “present evil world” is an evidence that the Lord is preparing the way for his long-promised kingdom of peace and joy and life.
Verse 20 of the same chapter declares that the earth would “reel to and fro like a drunkard,” and that it would be “removed like a cottage.” The reason given for this is that “the transgressions thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.”
Regardless of how sincere and righteously inclined some world leaders may be, the stark fact is that the crumbling of civilization, symbolically described in this prophecy as “the earth,” is the result of the accumulated sins of governmental and other institutions which make up the “world.” Surely these transgressions are resting heavily upon civilization today.
The instability of the world was highlighted by the death of Russia’s premier, Joseph Stalin. Along scientific and technical lines mankind has reached a high pinnacle of achievement. Man can travel at the rate of hundreds of miles an hour. He can communicate with his fellow-man back and forth around the earth. He can utilize the pent-up energy of the atom. He can, in fact, do almost anything he wants to do, except find peace and security. These blessings are so far from reach that the death of Stalin spread consternation throughout the earth.
This was not because the world loved this ruler. It was simply that his death, and the coming to power of a new dictator over the communist world, left everybody wondering what turn of events this might precipitate. Would it bring war nearer, or increase the prospects of peace? Even now, no one but the new dictator himself—and possibly a few of his most trusted associates—knows the answer; although as we go to press Russia seems to be holding out the olive branch of peace. But even if this leads to a temporary escaping from the “fear” of war, it will probably lead to the “pit” of economic depression. The fear of this has already caused a slump in the stock market.
When the new administration came into power in Washington there was awakened in the hearts of millions a glimmering hope that the outlook for peace in the world might brighten, but that glimmer was quenched as world tension increased. Renewed efforts to bring the Korean War to an end, failed, although there is now revived hope of an armistice. Animosity grew between the Iron Curtain countries and the State of Israel. Border incidents in which British and American planes were shot down by the Russians increased the world’s nervousness.
A new atomic bomb test in this country, broadcast and telecast for all America to hear and see, emphasized how terrible the next all-out war can and will be. This test was utilized to help stimulate greater interest in civilian defense, and cities all over the country are staging mock atomic bomb raids in an effort to train civilian workers in the best methods of saving lives and property in the event of real raids.
In hundreds of towns and cities throughout the United States the people are confronted nearly every time they turn around with signs pointing to the nearest “shelters” to which they can rush when they hear the sirens warning of approaching bombing planes. The need for civil defense training and for “shelters” is emphasized by the highest government and military officials, indicating that deep down in their hearts they feel quite certain that even though they are trying to avoid war, this great evil will sooner or later spread itself over the earth as a paralyzing plague which will almost certainly destroy what is left of civilization.
And how feverish are the efforts of the nations to secure allies who, when the zero hour strikes, will fight on their side. An example of this was the featured visit of Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia to Great Britain. From the time he left his native country to travel to the British Isles he was given exhibitions of the vaunted air might of the British, brought up the River Thames in a battleship, wined and dined by Britain’s royalty and other bigwigs, and given a further demonstration of the mighty air power of Britain.
When two British pilots lost their lives in the demonstration, Tito himself begged to have it stopped. One cannot help wondering what thoughts were in the Marshal’s mind while he was being whisked from one scene of wealth and military might to another. Perhaps he remembered that only a few decades ago Britain was the head of a mighty world empire on which the sun never set, and that this empire has now been almost completely lost. He may have reflected that had it not been for American dollars and other grants in aid, Great Britain would, today, have been completely bankrupted and quite unable to raise an army and build jet fighters.
And as he noted the very elaborate preparations being made in England for the coronation of a queen who has no power in government, he may have wondered just why this display of royalty was being made so brilliant at a time in human history when kings and queens have only the trappings lift as symbols of a power departed.
On the religious front as well, confusing paradoxes present themselves. For example, there has appeared in print a booklet published officially by an agency of the Catholic Church, in which Catholics everywhere are urged to greater zeal in saving the “kingdom of Christ” from complete destruction. This booklet speaks of the Mohammedans robbing the church of Africa and Turkey; of the loss of Russia to the Greek Catholics; of the loss of Great Britain and northern Europe to the Protestants; and that now only parts of central and southern Europe and Central and South America are still in the fold. The booklet could have added that even in central and southern Europe a tremendously large percentage of the people are now voting against the church.
But the strange part of this lamentation is the statement that these losses represent a deterioration of the kingdom of Christ. Of course, the claim is that the Catholic Church, with its totalitarian rule over the people, is Christ’s kingdom. But how do they harmonize what they admit is taking place with the promise of God that of the “increase” of Christ’s true kingdom “there shall be no end”?—Isa. 9:6
Besides, the Bible promises concerning Christ’s kingdom that its reign will cause the knowledge of the glory of God to fill the whole earth as the waters cover the sea, yet recent polls taken by the Catholic Church indicate that what they consider to be a knowledge of God and of his purposes is quite limited, even in so-called Christian America.
For example, while ninety-eight per cent of the people polled claimed that they believed in the existence of a God, when asked whether or not they believed God intended to punish sinners in a hell of fire forever, fifty-six per cent said they didn’t believe there was a hell of fire and torment. Of those who did believe it, only twelve per cent thought there was any possibility that they might go to such a place.
As for us, we are gratified that such a large percentage of the people in America have discarded this God-dishonoring tradition of the Dark Ages. But the Catholic Church views it as an indication of the ineffectiveness of its ministry, and urges that Catholic teachers everywhere endeavor to make the people more conscious of the terrible fate that awaits them if they do not become good Catholics. But how could the “kingdom of Christ” fail so miserably in its mission?
Confusion—National and Ecclesiastical
The confusion of the people is evident in all elements of society. National leaders are fighting a hopeless battle to keep the ships of state afloat, while religious leaders, both Protestant and Catholics, are unable to explain the meaning of events which, to them, are so completely at variance with their expectations and teachings. It is certainly the time foretold by Jesus when there would be upon the earth “distress of nations with perplexity,” and when fear would be causing the hearts of the people to fail as they look ahead to the things corning upon the earth.—Luke 21:25,26
Strange as it may seem, it is this very condition which prophetically marks the beginning of the “day of the Lord.” It is thus described in contrast with the centuries of the past during which the Lord has allowed evil to go unchallenged and unopposed so far as interference on his part was concerned. But now, and in contrast to the beneficent manifestation of his kingdom authority which is to come later, his hand is in the affairs of men to root out and to shake to pieces every vestige of Satan’s evil world.
This “world,” or social order, is symbolized in the Old Testament prophecies by the word “earth.” Isaiah wrote, “The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.” (Isa. 24:19) It was this that was to occur in the “day of the Lord.” Again Isaiah wrote:
“Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners [evil institutions] thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. … Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.”—Isa. 13:6-13
New Testament prophecies pertaining to the end of the age and the “day of the Lord” use similar language. Paul foretold that in the “day of the Lord” “sudden” or unexpected “destruction” would come upon “them”—that is, upon the unbelieving world—“as travail upon a woman with child.”—I Thess. 5:1-4
Jesus said that the “powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (Luke 21:25,26) Paul foretold that at the end of the age the Lord would shake not the “earth” only, but also “heaven.”—Heb. 12:26
The “heaven” and the “earth” symbolize the spiritual and material aspects of the present social order, and as we have already seen, both civil and ecclesiastical authorities are at their wits’ end endeavoring earnestly, but failing, to find a solution for the cataclysmic troubles which are shaking civilization to pieces.
The time was when the word of great ecclesiastical luminaries, symbolized in the prophecies by the stars, carried some weight of authority in helping to settle the differences among and within nations. But now this is not so. These “stars” no longer “shine.” The little light they once had has become so very dim that the world fails to recognize it. Thus the powers of the symbolic heaven designed to hold the world together are shaken, or weakened.
Our Position
Poor world! It is suffering, bleeding, and filled with fear. We do not call attention to this condition as pessimists, in order to prove that the “crack of doom” is near, but as optimists, because of our confidence in the promises of God to establish a new and righteous social order which will be the kingdom of Christ. Man’s failure is very apparent. It has been a long, downhill road from Eden until now, finally reaching a pit of chaos and destruction.
But this is not the end. Rather it is the beginning, the beginning that is, of the “day of the Lord”—that thousand-year day which, before its work is complete, will see mankind restored to perfection of life, with the glorious prospect of living in peace and joy forever. Only those at present referred to by Paul as “ye, brethren,” are aware of this glorious meaning of the times in which we are living. This is because they are “not in darkness” that “that day” should overtake them as a “thief in the night.”
“Ye are the children of light, and the children of the day,” Paul wrote, and are “not of the night, nor of darkness.” (I Thess. 5:4,5) Yes, the Lord is very gracious to the “brethren,” for he reveals to them the meaning of the trouble and distress which surround them and which is filling the hearts of the people with fear.
Concerning this special care of the Lord in the troubles of a dying world, David wrote, “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; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled [as Jesus foretold they would be, Luke 21:25,26], though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.”—Ps. 46:1-3
Being enlightened and strengthened by the prophecies and promises of the Word, we are not only able to lift up our own heads and rejoice during these trying times, but we are also in a position to comfort others. And this we are admonished to do. For example, much of the 34th chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah is descriptive of the present day of the Lord’s vengeance; then the 35th chapter presents a beautiful picture of the bright outcome of this trouble. And it is in the 4th verse of this 35th chapter that we read: “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.”
This is the blessed message that has helped to remove fear from our own hearts as we look out upon a confused and dying world, and here we are bid to make it known to others. We can do this by using every opportunity we have to explain to those who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness what is the real reason for present world distress; that it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance upon the nations, that he is recompensing them for their iniquity.
But our message will fall far short of what the Lord wants it to be unless we also explain that the purpose for which God is now manifesting his wrath upon the nations is that later he may offer the people salvation through the kingdom of Christ; that while the Lord has come with “vengeance,” he has also come to “save you.” And what a blessed and complete salvation that will be, as pointed out to us in the remaining verses of the chapter! It will mean the opening of blind eyes, and the unstopping of deaf ears.
“Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” “An highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there: but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Trouble, Then Kingdom Joys
Many of the prophecies which describe the troubles of the “day” of God’s “vengeance” are followed by a beautiful description of the blessings of Christ’s kingdom. Thus, in picturing the dark clouds of the “time of trouble” the prophets also reveal their “silver lining.” This sequence of thought is found in the 24th and 25th chapters of Isaiah.
We have already quoted considerably from the 24th chapter concerning the fruitless efforts of the people to escape the troubles which come upon them, and about the shaking of the symbolic earth. And it is in the 25th chapter that we find the kingdom of the Lord symbolically described as a “mountain,” concerning which we read:
“In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”—Isa. 25:6-9
How glad we are that in addition to the blessings of prosperity, health, and life which will be provided through kingdom agencies, the “face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations” will be “destroyed.” This “covering” and “veil” seem clearly to refer to the blinding influences of the great deceiver of mankind, who is the devil. Paul refers to him as the “god of this world” who has “blinded the minds” of those who have not been especially enlightened by the Gospel.—II Cor. 4:4
But when God’s blessings begin to flow out from the “mountain of the Lord,” Satan will be bound, and instead of the darkening influences of his evil rule hindering the people from knowing God, the knowledge of his glory will fill the whole earth as the waters cover the sea.
The binding of Satan will also result in the “rebuke” of God’s people being taken away. Through his evil, and often unwitting agents, Satan has rebuked and persecuted God’s people in all the ages. For this reason the righteous have suffered. But this also will be changed. The Lord’s vengeance will destroy the evil agencies through which Satan has operated to persecute and destroy the righteous. Then, with Satan bound and finally destroyed, the righteous will flourish, and for them there shall be an abundance of peace forever.
No wonder the happy response of the people to the blessings of the Lord will be, “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, … we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” The same people are represented in Isaiah 26:12,13 as saying, “Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also has wrought all our works in us. O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.”
One of the “lords” which has had dominion over practically the whole world of mankind is the god of self-accomplishment. The viewpoint of practically all, even of those who profess to believe the Bible, is that whatever of peace and righteousness may be established in the earth, it will be accomplished by human efforts. Only those who have been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God have been made free from this god of self-accomplishment. These know that the only hope for the world is in the promise that “the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
But when the kingdom blessings begin to flow out to the people they will recognize the impotency of their former “gods,” and will rejoice in the true God of their salvation. And how wonderful it is to know this in advance, and to be able to say to a fear-filled world, “Fear not,” for while your own efforts will continue to fail, the God of heaven, through his appointed Christ, will save you—not only from the present time of “great tribulation,” but also from death and the grave, that he will “swallow up death in victory, and wipe away tears from off all faces.”
So, while the storm clouds gather and become ever more ominous and threatening, we will not fear, but are reminded of Jesus’ words, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption [deliverance] draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28) This does not mean that we rejoice to see human suffering increasing. Rather, our joy is in the fact that soon there “shall be no more pain.”—Rev. 21:4
The present destructive trouble is as the surgeon’s knife which removes a malignant growth that is killing the patient. Sin and selfishness have produced a social order which, if allowed to continue, would sooner or later lead to the destruction of the human race itself. Indeed, those who do not know God’s plan fear that this is even now in the offing. But God is intervening in time to save the people, and in this we can rejoice.
Yes, we can rejoice that the Lord will soon answer the prayer, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” A more detailed expression of this same sentiment is contained in a prayer by David, which reads:
“God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; that thy way may be known upon the earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear [reverence] him.”—Psalm 67
When this prayer is answered the people will know that the “windows of heaven” have truly been opened, and they will rejoice in the blessings of eternal peace, joy, and life then being copiously showered upon them.