Justice Among Nations

GOLDEN TEXT: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; lust and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.” —Revelation 15:3,4

MICAH 4:1-7

OUR lesson states, “Many nations shall come, and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.” Isaiah’s prophecy of this same happy time in human experience says that “all” nations will indicate their desire to recognize the authority of Christ’s kingdom, symbolized in both these prophecies by a “mountain,” the mountain of the house of the Lord.” (Isa. 2:2-4) As a result of the fulfillment of this prophecy justice will be administered among the nations, because the governing authority among them will be the kingdom of Christ.

The fulfillment of both Micah’s and Isaiah’s prophecies is explained to be in the “last days”—not the last days of time, nor the last days of human experience, but the last days of the reign of sin and death; the last days of Satan’s empire. To begin with, these “last days” witness a “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.” Jesus describes the same period of international distress as a “great tribulation.”—Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:21

This tribulation will leave the nations prostrate and helpless. Recognizing their failure to bring peace to the world, they will turn to the Lord for help and be willing to recognize the authority of Christ’s kingdom, which by then will have begun to function. The Lord will “teach us of his ways,” say the nations, “and we will walk in his paths.” When this is true the result will be that they will “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.”

Nothing but the authority of Christ’s kingdom will bring about such a happy situation as this! Fallen man is too selfish, left to his own devices, to establish a world government based upon justice and equality for all. But the Bible abounds with promises that Christ is able to do this, and will do it. And when he does, and when, as our Golden Text explains, “his judgments are made manifest,” “all nations shall come and worship before” him.

ACTS 10:34,35; EPHESIANS 2:13-16

IT WAS as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, that Peter said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” It was given to Peter to witness the beginning of a new phase of the divine plan for human salvation. Prior to this, Gentiles had not been accepted by God unless they became Jewish proselytes.

When Jesus first sent his disciples into the ministry he instructed them not to go to the Gentiles. After his resurrection he lifted this restriction, and they were commissioned to go into all the world to preach the Gospel. James explains that the purpose of this was to take out from the Gentiles a people for the Lord’s name; that is, to become his children, his ruling house of sons. (Acts 15:13-17) This opportunity was first offered exclusively to the Jewish nation, and many of them accepted. (John 1:11,12; Rom. 11:5,7) But there were not enough of these to make up the foreordained number, so the opportunity was extended to the Gentiles, Cornelius being the first to benefit thereby.

Writing to Gentile believers, Paul said, “Now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both [Jewish and Gentile believers] one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” The result of this is, as Paul further states, that Christ hath made in himself “of twain one new man.” Christ’s body members are therefore actually neither Jew nor Gentile; neither male nor female; neither bond nor free.—Gal. 3:27-29

Let us keep in mind that the work of God among his people in every age prior to the Millennium is preparatory. During the ages preceding Christ’s first advent, the official personnel of the earthly phase of the kingdom were being developed. During this age the spiritual phase of the kingdom is being prepared. When the work of preparation is completed, then the kingdom will be set up.

QUESTIONS

What are the prophetic “last days”?

What will cause the nations to recognize the authority of Christ’s kingdom?

Explain the change in the divine plan which took place at the time of Cornelius’ conversion.

Explain the difference between God’s work in the earth up until the present time, and in the Millennium.

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