| Highlights of Dawn | September 1953 |
“It Shall Come to Pass”
“In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And 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 4:1-4
IN THIS inspired prophecy of God’s Word, we are given a preview of coming events which assures us that the peoples of earth are not always to be plagued with fear and war—that the nations will learn war no more, and that “none shall make them afraid.” Besides, we can depend upon this bright outlook for the days ahead for, as the prophet declares, “the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.”
It is becoming increasingly clear that human wisdom is unable to find a solution to the many complex and distressing problems which confront the nations. Every effort that is made by the world to extricate itself from the quick-sands of despair leaves the people and nations sinking deeper and deeper into the mire of confusion and hopelessness. The world wants peace, it wants security, and it is feverishly seeking them, but thus far all efforts to reach these goals of human happiness have failed.
Because of the continued failure of the nations to find a workable formula for peace, the world is becoming increasingly apprehensive of that terrible cataclysm of destruction which science has made possible by equipping the nations with instruments of war which, in their capacity to spread devastation and death, stagger the imagination. Human wisdom insists that the only way this dreaded holocaust of modern war can be prevented is to continue the production of more and better bombs and, if possible, increase their horrible potentials of destruction.
But this offers a slim hope of security. The lesson of history is that war is never prevented by becoming better prepared for war. But the world’s statesmen have no other wisdom to guide them than imperfect human wisdom; so, while hoping for the best, they prepare for the worst. However, our text assures us that this will not always be the case, that the time is coming when, recognizing their own failure, the nations will say, “Come, and 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.”
Our text informs us that this is to be one of the developments of the “last days.” Many have misunderstood the meaning of the prophetic expression “last days,” supposing it to be synonymous with “doomsday” of Dark-Age origin. It has been misunderstood to mean the last days of time and the beginning of a dreaded eternity of torture for the vast majority of the human race. They have thought that the “last days” meant the destruction of the earth, and the end of all human experience and life on the earth.
This viewpoint is wrong! The “last days” are indeed synonymous with the prophetic “end of the world,” but the “end of the world” does not mean, as many have supposed, the destruction of the earth. The Scriptures assure us that “the earth abideth forever.” (Eccl. 1:4) In Isaiah 45:18 we are informed that the Lord has established the earth, that he created it not in vain, but formed it to be inhabited.
This is fully in keeping with the Genesis account of creation, where we read that when God created man he commanded him to multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. (Gen. 1:28) It is true that man sinned and forfeited his right to live on the earth forever, but the Scriptures reveal that through the divine plan of redemption accomplished by Christ the death sentence against the human race is to be lifted, so that all who desire may be restored to life and health, and enjoy the blessings of an earthly paradise forever.
The Apostle Peter describes this work of recovery as “restitution,” and informs us that in the divine plan the work, or “times” of restitution, follows the second coming of Christ. (Acts 3:19-21) This is the ultimate objective of the second coming of Christ, and it is obvious that this great feature of the divine plan for human restoration to life on the earth could not be accomplished if, at his return, the earth is destroyed.
It is true, however, that the prophetic end of the world is associated with the second advent of Jesus, but the prophecies pertaining thereto refer to the end of a social order, not to the burning up of the literal earth. The Greek word mostly used in these prophecies is kosmos, meaning simply order, or arrangement, not the planet earth. It is this word that the Apostle John used when he wrote to Christians, saying “Love not the world [kosmos], neither the things in the world [kosmos].”—I John 2:15
It is this word that Jesus used when to his disciples he said, “I have chosen you out of the world [kosmos].” (John 15:19) It is this “world” which Christians are not to love, and from which they are to keep themselves separate, that comes to an end. It is a selfish, sinful world. It is characterized by greed and graft and oppression, by crime, by war, by pain, and by death—by all the evil things which right-thinking men and women despise and hate. Obviously, the coming to an end of such a world or arrangement, instead of spelling “doomsday” for the human race, will prove to be a great blessing for all mankind.
Satan’s Empire Destroyed
When properly understood the “last days” of our text is seen to be a transition period in human experience during which the “world” comes to an end, and a new social order under the rulership of Christ is established in its place. Jesus referred to Satan as the “prince of this world” which comes to an end; and Paul refers to the devil as being its “god.” (II Cor. 4:4; John 14:30) The destruction of this “world,” therefore, means the end of Satan’s rulership, the end of his empire of wickedness.
The time in which this “present evil world” comes to an end is also prophetically described as the “day of the Lord.” (Gal. 1:4; I Thess. 5:2) It is the time in which the Lord no longer refrains from interfering in human affairs, but exercises his power over the Satan-controlled world to destroy it. The Apostle Paul refers to this “day of the Lord,” saying that it would come “as a thief in the night,” and that the Lord’s people would be able to identify it by the fact that there would be a cry of “peace and safety,” followed by “sudden destruction” which would come “as travail upon a woman with child.”—I Thess. 5:1-3
In Isaiah 42:13,14 the Lord’s relationship to events in this day of destruction is described. We quote: “The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. I [the Lord] have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.”
In this prophecy, even as in Paul’s forecast of events in the “day of the Lord,” the foretold destruction is described as coming like “travail” at childbirth, indicating that while the first “seizure” of pain would come upon the nations suddenly and unexpectedly, the “world” or social order would not be completely destroyed by one short and crushing blow. Rather, the pattern of destruction was to be a series of “spasms,” increasing in intensity, with ever shorter periods of easement between.
There is much reason to believe that the first of these “spasms” of destruction began in the year 1914. It was the first World War, a war which resulted in the destruction of many of Europe’s hereditary ruling houses—governments which had constituted the mainstay of so-called civilization for centuries. The second global struggle of the nations was another hammer blow of destruction, leaving civilization still nearer to the brink of chaos. Now another is feared.
Meanwhile, as Paul foretold, there has almost constantly been the cry of “peace and safety.” Nineteen thirteen was an international peace year. Peace societies and peace fronts almost innumerable came into being. A few months before the outbreak of the second global struggle Neville Chamberlain, then Prime Minister of Great Britain, returning from the Munich conference waved a peace treaty before the crowd which welcomed him and said, “I have saved the peace for our times.”
But peace was not “saved,” nor have the nations on either side in the great ideological struggle in which the nations are grappling for control “won the peace.” The prophetic pattern of this time of “great tribulation” will continue until, in the final convulsion of a dying world, the Lord will reveal himself to the nations, and their eyes will be opened to behold his glory. Geographically, the focal point of this last “spasm” will be in the Holy Land.
“The Captivity of Judah and Jerusalem”
During all the painful years of this prophetic time of trouble (Dan. 12:1) the Lord has been accomplishing something else in the earth. While, as in the days when he turned the Midianites one against the other and destroyed them, he has now been doing the same with the nations of the earth, his helping hand has been upon his ancient people of Israel, the natural descendants of Abraham. One of God’s promises concerning this reads, “For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”—Jer. 30:3
This and the many other promises of God pertaining to the restoration of Israel in these “last days” are having a remarkable fulfillment. Jewish people are going to Palestine from all parts of the earth, and the new state of Israel has been formed there. It is one of the outstanding signs which identifies the time in which we are living as being the “day of the Lord,” the “last days,” during which he will establish his long promised kingdom.
In Joel 3:1,2 the Lord refers to this, and informs us that “in those days, and in that time” when he would “bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem” he would “also gather all nations, and bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there” for his people, his heritage Israel.” The cause of this “pleading” is, the Lord declares, that these nations have scattered his people and “parted my land.”
Beginning particularly with the overthrow of Jerusalem and subjection of Palestine in A.D. 70-73, the Gentile nations have been responsible for scattering the Jewish people. With few exceptions throughout all the centuries, they have had no sense of security among the Gentile nations. And now, when God’s due time comes to restore them to their own land which he promised to their fathers, the United Nations have decreed a dividing of the land, telling the Jews that they can have only part of what the Lord promised to them.
We have witnessed the foretold gathering of the nations during the same time that the Jews have been returning to Palestine—not into the literal valley of Jehoshaphat, but, as this “valley” is identified later in the prophecy, into the valley of “decision.” And God’s decision is against them because they are attempting to prevent the accomplishment of his design concerning his ancient people, the descendants of Abraham.
The Scriptures do not give us the details of how this controversy over Israel will shape up, but do show that ultimately the people will be dwelling in their land in safety and in prosperity. This is brought to our attention in the prophecy of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. This prophecy reveals that then aggressor armies from the “north,” allied with Persia, Ethiopia, and others, will attack regathered Israel, to “take a spoil.”
It will be at this juncture in the development of the time of “great tribulation”—evidently the final spasm of that trouble—when the Lord will miraculously deliver his people from the hands of their enemies. The Lord says concerning this, “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”—Ezek. 38:28
The Jews, also, at the same time and by the same means, will have their eyes opened to realize that Jehovah is their God, and that it was he who restored them to their land. Concerning this, the Lord says, “So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the Gentiles shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.”—Ezek. 39:7
“Let Us Go Up”
When the eyes of the nations are thus opened to recognize the hand of God in their affairs, preventing them from accomplishing their selfish designs, they will begin to look to him in humility and dependence. It will be then, as our text declares, that they will say, “Come, and 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.”
The “mountain” of the Lord is the kingdom of the Lord. The prophecies were originally addressed to the Jewish nation, and this people were accustomed to thinking of God’s control in their midst as being located in a mountain—in Mount Zion, of Jerusalem. From Mount Zion God ruled over the ancient nation of Israel through their various kings, of whom it is written that they sat upon the “throne of the Lord.”—I Chron. 29:23
Our text speaks of the “mountain,” or kingdom, of the “house” of the Lord. This is language which should readily be understood by those who are acquainted with history. Beginning from very early in ancient times, the nations and empires of the old world were governed by ruling “houses.” These were “royal families,” in which the right to rule was passed on from one generation to another.
God uses the term “house” in connection with the kingdom he has promised to establish because that kingdom will also be governed by a royal, or ruling family. It will be his own family, or sons, of which Jesus is the chief, the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Jesus will have associated with him those who have faithfully followed in his footsteps during the present age.
The opportunity to become joint-heirs with Jesus in his kingdom was first offered to the Jewish nation. This was at the first advent of Christ. Concerning this we read that he “came unto his own, but own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power [margin, the right or privilege] to become the sons of God.” (John 1:11,12) But not enough from among the Jewish nation accepted him and responded to his call to sonship, so the Lord turned to the Gentiles to seek the remainder of those who were to make up this ruling house of sons.—Acts 15:14
These believers in Jesus, from among both Jews and Gentiles, qualify to be members of God’s ruling house of sons upon the basis of their faithfulness in suffering and dying with Jesus. Paul, faced with death in a Roman prison, wrote to Timothy and said, “It is a, faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with him.”—II Tim. 2:11,12
In Romans 8:16,17 we read; “The Spirit 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.” The work of this age has been the calling out from the world, by the medium of the Gospel, those who have been willing to suffer and die with Jesus. This is the people “for his name,” referred to in Acts 15:14.
This work completed, then comes the establishment of “the mountain of the house of the Lord.” The mighty power of God guarantees this, and it began to operate toward this end more than nineteen centuries ago by raising Jesus from the dead. It was in the divine plan that Jesus should die for the sin-cursed race, for it was God’s design that the kingdom reign should be over a living race rather than a dying race; so Jesus died for his subjects in order that they might have an opportunity to live. But Jesus’ enemies put him to death, one of the charges against him being that he claimed to be a king. Satan may have thought that he had triumphed over God’s plan to establish a kingdom in the hands of Jesus, but he did not, for divine power raised the King from the dead.
That was at the beginning of the age. At this end of the age, divine power accomplishes another mighty miracle in the setting up of the long-promised kingdom; for those who throughout the age have suffered and died with Jesus, are also raised from the dead. This is referred to in the Scriptures as the “first resurrection,” and the purpose of it is that these might “live and reign with Christ a thousand years.”—Rev. 20:4,6
Jesus, together with his church, as the ruling “house” of God, will be the invisible rulers of the new social order. Throughout past ages, as Jesus explained, Satan has been the “prince of this world,” this “evil” world, as Paul described it. (John 14:30; Gal. 1:4) Satan has exerted his power through human agencies of one sort and another; but he himself has been invisible to the people. So it will be with the kingdom of Christ. Jesus and his associate kings will be unseen by the world, but will exercise their power and authority through human representatives.
These human representatives also have been educated, trained, and disciplined in advance. They are the faithful servants of God who lived and proved their fidelity to him prior to Jesus’ first advent. Righteous Abel was the first of these, and John the Baptist was the last. Jesus said that of those “born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding,” said Jesus, “He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.”—Matt. 11:11
This does not mean that John the Baptist will not be saved. It simply means that he will not be in the spiritual phase of the kingdom, here referred to by Jesus as the kingdom of heaven. John the Baptist was the last of those referred to in Psalm 45:16 who will be made “princes in all the earth.” They will not be kings, but will, as princes, represent King Jesus and his associate kings, as “princes.”
Prior to the time in the experiences of ancient Israel when they were ruled by kings who sat upon “the throne of the Lord,” God appointed “judges” to administer the affairs of the nation. These judges were raised up for service at times when the nation was oppressed by surrounding enemy nations. By divine overruling these judges delivered Israel from their enemies and the nation had peace. See Judges 3:9-11.
In a promise recorded in Isaiah 1:26 the Lord says to Israel, “I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.” These “judges” which are to be restored to Israel will be their ancient prophets, their “fathers,” those who will be made “princes” in all the earth.
About the time in the “great tribulation” when divine intervention is manifested on behalf of the restored people of Israel in the Holy Land, these “judges,” or “princes”—“Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets”—will be raised from the dead and will become the recognized leaders and statesmen in the new social order, which will be the kingdom of the Lord.
This is referred to in Matthew 8:11 and Luke 13:29, where we are informed that from all parts of the earth—east, west, north, and south—the people will recognize the resurrected ancient worthies as their instructors and guides, that they will “sit down” with them. This will begin among the restored Israelites in Palestine. Just as Jesus presented himself to the people of Israel to give them the first opportunity of becoming associate kings in the spiritual phase of the kingdom, so now again, when the due time is here for the blessings of the kingdom to begin flowing out to the people, they will be given the first opportunity to receive and rejoice in them.
The Prophet Isaiah informs us that when their “judges” are restored to them “as at the first,” and their “counselors as at the beginning, afterward” they shall “be called, The city of righteousness.” The ancient worthy class, the human representatives of the kingdom, will be predominantly Jewish. They proved their fidelity to the Lord in the past. Since the restored Israelites in Palestine will be the first to have the opportunity of co-operating with these resurrected faithful ones, the human phase of this new “city” or government of righteousness will to begin with be made up mostly of the natural seed of Abraham.
But its sphere of influence will quickly spread until it embraces all nationalities. All people, regardless of race, will be given equal opportunities to become a part of the new social order and to partake of its blessings. Indeed, as our text declares, “many nations”—Isaiah 2:2 says “all nations”—shall say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.” Seeing that the people of Israel who, having recognized Jesus as their Messiah and are co-operating with those whom the Lord has made “princes” in the earth, are being richly blessed, the peoples of other nations will also want to learn of the Lord’s ways, and walk in his paths.
And when they do, they will learn the ways of peace instead of war. A genuine disarmament program will be put into effect, for the promise is that they shall, symbolically speaking, beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. How practical this is! For centuries the nations have tried to establish peace by preparing for war, but have failed. The laws of the “mountain of the Lord” will reverse this procedure, for the instruments of war will be destroyed and the people will be educated in the arts and advantages of peace.
Nor will the economy of the nations then be geared to the necessity of continued preparation for war. Peace, universal and lasting, will become the heritage of all people, and at the same time they will be economically secure. The reassuring thought is given us in the symbolism of dwelling under vine and fig tree, and the promise is that “every man” shall “sit under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.”
Today, shortsighted human wisdom and selfishness have brought the world into a state of chaos and fear. The people fear war, with its horrible consequences; but they also fear the economic consequences of peace, for they know that the industrial potential of the nations will quickly produce an oversupply of the world’s domestic needs, resulting in unemployment, depression, and hardship for the masses. But, thank God, this will not be the result of peace, when, in the “mountain of the Lord,” the people not only beat their swords into plowshares, but also dwell under vine and fig tree.
And, in addition to peace and economic security, blessings of health and life will be made available in the “mountain” of the Lord. The promise is that in this “mountain” the Lord will “swallow up death in victory,” and will wipe away the tears from all faces. (Isa. 25:6-9) This is the thought implied by the Apostle Paul when he wrote 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
Nor is this promise of life limited to those who will pass through the time of “great tribulation” and be alive when the divine kingdom takes control in earth’s affairs; for the promise is that the dead are to be raised that they also may have an opportunity to enjoy the blessings of that kingdom. In one of the beautiful kingdom chapters of the Bible—Revelation 20—the Apostle John tells us that “death” and “hell” will deliver up the dead which are in them.
In Revelation 1:18 Jesus tells us that he has the “keys” of hell. The testimony of the Scriptures assures us that he will use these keys to unlock the gates of hell—the death condition—and set free the prisoners of death. Awakened from the sleep of death, they will be given the same opportunity of obeying the laws of the kingdom as those who live through the present trouble into the kingdom. Those who, accepting the provision of life made for them through Christ, and obey the laws of the kingdom administered by the “princes in all the earth,” will live forever.
This glorious work of the kingdom will not be accomplished in a few days, or even in a few years, but it will require a thousand years, the Scriptures show. This period is described by the Apostle Peter as “times of restitution of all things,” which, he reveals, follows the return of Christ. In Peter’s prophecy he refers to Jesus as “that prophet” promised by Moses, and says that those who, in the “times of restitution,” do not “obey that prophet,” will be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:19-23) Thus, with the work of the kingdom, the “mountain of the house of the Lord,” fully accomplished, the human race will be restored to the home and dominion that was lost because of sin.
Our text states that when this “mountain” is established, the Lord will “judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off.” This work of judgment among the nations is described by Jesus in his Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. To those who, by obedience to the kingdom laws, prove their sheep-like qualities, the statement is made, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 25:34) This is the kingdom, or dominion referred to in Genesis 1:28.
This Parable of the Sheep and Goats is the last of the “signs” given by Jesus in answer to the disciples’ question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming [Greek, ‘presence’], and of the end of the world [Greek, ‘age’].” (Matt. 24:3) He indicated that one of the first signs of his second presence would be the great “tribulation” through which the world is now passing, and which is necessary for the destruction of Satan’s world. But his presence lasts for a thousand years and ultimately will result in the complete restoration of all the willing and obedient of the human race to life everlasting on a perfected earth.
This will be the full answer to the Christian’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” It is this which, according to the sure Word of God, is to “come to pass”!