| Highlights of Dawn | December 1962 |
The Crisis
RECENTLY the world situation became extremely tense, due to the Soviet arms build-up in Cuba. While statesmen of good will strive to prevent this situation from erupting into a shooting war, which might well become world-wide, the lessons of history teach that whenever there is a feverish armament race among the nations war is ultimately the result, and war today could easily mean the end of whatever civilization is left in the world.
From the human standpoint the outlook is indeed dark. Even though the western world feels reasonably sure of victory in case of war this is small consolation, for as President Kennedy said in his speech announcing the intended blockade of Cuba, victory in a world-wide nuclear war would be as “ashes in our mouths.” The bright ray of hope which we have is that the Lord is at the helm and that everything will come out according to his plan.
How reassuring indeed are the words of the Psalmist, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in [the time of] 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, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” (Ps. 46:1-3) “God is in the midst of her”—the church class, the Lord’s faithful followers—“she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early,” or, as the marginal translation states, “when the morning appeareth.”—Ps. 46:5
Those whose spiritual vision is based on the “sure word of prophecy” recognize that we are indeed in the morning of a new day. (II Pet. 1:19) But it is still dark, very dark, so far as the world is concerned; for those whose eyes of understanding have not been anointed with the eye salve of present truth do not see the meaning of the world-shaking events of this time. They do not realize that the Armageddon of the nations is essential in order to prepare the way for the full establishment and manifestation of the long-promised kingdom of Christ. They do not realize that universal and lasting peace can come to the world only through the agencies of Messiah’s Kingdom.
But, thank God, we know these things, and in the dark days that lie ahead there doubtless will be many golden opportunities of speaking a word of comfort to those whose hearts are filled with fear as they contemplate the trouble that they see coming upon the earth. But to comfort others our own hearts must be assured that the Lord is directing the issue for the ultimate enlightenment and blessing of the people of all nations.
We need also to have faith that the Lord is overruling in our own affairs, for our eternal good, and to his own glory. We have covenanted to lay down our lives in sacrifice, and we know that it is only as we are faithful unto death that we will receive the crown of life, and in the resurrection be exalted to live and reign with Christ in his glorious world-government now so near. So, regardless of the situations in which we may find ourselves in this great “time of trouble,” let us rejoice to realize that the Lord knows and cares, that, symbolically speaking, every hair of our heads is numbered, that no trouble can come to us except by his permission.
We do not know the details of development in the prophetic “time of trouble.” (Dan. 12:1) But we do know that the end will be glorious. The Lord has assured us that he “will make wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” “He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire,” wrote the Psalmist. (Ps. 46:9) This work of destroying war and the implements of war is not yet completed. Ultimately, however, it will be consummated, and the Lord will say to the raging nations of earth, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen [Gentiles], I will be exalted in the earth.”—vs. 10
Meanwhile, let us view the world situation with faith and calmness, knowing that “the Lord of hosts is with us,” and that “the God of Jacob is our refuge.” (vs. 11) What better shelter from the storms of human passion could we have! How comforting it is in these dark days to know the truth!
The Vatican Council
WHEN 2,500 religious leaders of 550 million people assemble under the direction of their recognized head, Pope John XXIII, to discuss the practices and beliefs of their church, it makes news. This is especially so, since for many centuries the claim has been that this is the one and only true church, and that its practices and beliefs would therefore of necessity be of the Lord. The Pope was cautious in his use of words to describe the purpose of the Vatican Council. He avoided the use of the word “reform,” and used “modernization” instead.
In his opening speech the Pope made a plea for church unity, although it is not the openly announced purpose of the council to woo the Greek Orthodox Catholic Church and Protestant churches into the fold of Roman Catholicism. It is hoped, of course, that the “modernization” of the Roman Catholic Church, which the Vatican Council will endeavor to accomplish, may help to prepare the way toward the far distant goal of bringing all professed Christians into one united church, but this is not one of the items on the agenda for the council that opened in Rome on October 11.
Judging from the general educational level of the rank and file of the people in countries which have been predominantly Catholic, it would seem that Roman Catholicism has flourished best in symbolic “darkness.” It is true that in the world today there are many outstanding Catholic universities, and thousands of parochial schools, but despite this the percentage of illiteracy among the common people has been higher in Catholic countries than elsewhere throughout the Western World.
But now the flood tide of increasing knowledge foretold in Daniel 12:4 is causing even Catholics to ask questions concerning traditions of the past to which heretofore they have so blindly subscribed. Among these is the requirement that priests do not marry. There is also the abstaining from the eating of meat on Fridays. Many are also questioning the pomp and priestly garb of the clergy. The use of the Latin language in the Mass is also being questioned, many Catholics wondering why they are not permitted to understand what is said at the Mass for which they pay. And again, why should Catholics be forbidden to read books which are not approved by the church?
There are other points also. Archbishop Lorenz Jaeger, of Germany, is one of the most outspoken advocates of change. He argues that Catholicism can no longer continue with concepts which were molded in the Constantinian era. He insists that the church must abandon a lot of cherished concepts, one of them being that the union of church and state is “natural” and therefore should be favored by the church. These, according to reports, are among the traditions and practices of the Catholic Church, which, ere it is finished, will be re-evaluated by the “Second Vatican Council.”
An Apostolic Council
IT IS the claim of the Catholic Church that its bishops are the successors of the original twelve apostles, Peter being the first pope. They therefore hold that the Apostolic Council at Jerusalem a few years after Pentecost was the first of such gatherings. (Acts 15) This viewpoint, however, is not in keeping with the Scriptures, the main reason being that the Lord made no provision for successors to the apostles. Jesus chose only twelve apostles. Judas deflected, and later Paul was chosen by Jesus to take his place, and that was all the Lord arranged for. In a symbolic picture of the completed church as the “bride” of Christ, which is given to us in Revelation 21, where the “bride” is said to be a “city,” the New Jerusalem, twelve foundation stones are identified as the twelve apostles of the Lamb.—vs. 14
We see, then, that that original gathering of the apostles to settle questions pertaining to the acceptance of Gentiles into the church of Christ was in a class by itself, in the sense that it has been the only one in which the participants were the bona fide apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore divinely inspired. But there have been a number of other councils. Notable among these was the Nicean. It was at this council that the doctrine of the trinity was established. At that time there were approximately a thousand bishops in the Roman Catholic Church, but only three hundred of these attended the Council at Nicea.
The chief business at hand at this council was the attempt to refute the teachings of Arius, an Alexandrian priest, who insisted that according to the Bible there is only one God, the Father, and Jesus Christ is his Son; and that the Holy Spirit is the invisible power of God. The bishops debated and wrangled for months, and finally Emperor Constantine stepped in and settled the question by deciding in favor of the trinitarians. Now we wonder what the bishop of Germany has in mind by insisting that the church has come to the end of the Constantinian era.
The last council of the Roman Catholic Church, designated Vatican I, was held in 1869 and 1870. The 774 bishops who met at this council succeeded in declaring the infallibility of the pope. There is now some dissatisfaction over this dogma, and it may come up for further discussion at Vatican Council II.
One of the dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries has been that there is no salvation apart from belief in and obedience to its teachings and practices. However, in recent centuries the leaders of the church have been permitted to “interpret” this dogma to suit their local environments. As recently as 1953, Boston’s ex-Jesuit Leonard Feeny was ex-communicated for insisting on the rigid application of this doctrine.
This is one of the points which, according to reports, might well come up for review. For the council to “bend” a little on this dogma would of course be a tacit acknowledgment that the Catholic Church is not so completely the one and only true church as has been claimed. But this is a good illustration of how the general “increase of knowledge” is weakening these dogmatic claims of religious bodies; the claims, that is, which are based merely on tradition, and not on the Word of God.
The Catholic Church has never believed in Christian liberty as that expression is interpreted by the Protestant churches. The Catholic claim is that “error has no rights.” This is, from the Lord’s standpoint, a true principle, but it cannot be applied by men whose imperfections hinder them from arriving at completely correct conclusions as to what is error and what is truth. This is a principle, therefore, which can only be, and will be, applied during the thousand-year reign of Christ, when the Law goes forth from Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.—Isa. 2:14; Micah 4:14
We read concerning the kingdom age that then the Lord will turn to the people a pure message, that they may all call upon him to serve him with one consent, or in complete agreement. (Zeph. 3:8,9) The teaching of error in the kingdom will not be permitted, and those who disobey the laws of the kingdom will be destroyed from among the people. (Acts 3:23) But that will be a safe arrangement, because at that time Christ and his glorified church will be the invisible rulers, and the resurrected ancient servants of God, raised to perfection of life, will be their unselfish and divinely guided representatives. Those in both phases of the rulership aspect of the kingdom will have been previously instructed in righteousness and tested as to love for God and his holy laws.—Rev. 20:6; Heb. 11:13,35,39,40; Ps. 45:16
It is reported that Vatican Council II will probably take another look at the idea that “error has no rights,” although any change will be opposed by bishops from South America, Spain, and Italy, where the Catholic Church is still attempting vigorously to apply this principle. However, bishops from many other parts of the world are learning that the trend toward religious tolerance, brought about by increasing knowledge, places this traditional stand of the Catholic Church in a very unfavorable light in the eyes of the thinking and liberty-loving public, and these will probably press hard for a relaxation of this intolerant concept of the church’s duty.
Christian people, as individuals and groups, should zealously and steadfastly support what they consider to be right in belief and practice. We should do what we can to safeguard the interests of the truth within our own fellowship. But in this age of faith and development the Lord has not given his people a commission to stamp out the efforts of those who do not agree with them. On the other hand, Christian liberty does not call upon the believer to assist in the promotion of what he considers to be error.
Church councils of the past were usually called because of critical situations within the church, or severe attacks from without. The Council of Trent, for example, was called because Luther and others had widely publicized the church’s selling of indulgences. This forced a situation which the church could not ignore.
Now, however, it would appear that the Catholic Church has never been stronger. Its total membership is at an all-time high. There is seemingly no immediate crisis with which the bishops will have to deal. However, apparently the Pope and his counselors realize that the church must modernize somewhat if it is to keep pace with the world’s increasing knowledge and desire for liberty. Just what will be accomplished along this line remains to be seen. The conservative minded bishops, who are mainly from the Latin countries, will endeavor to “hold the line” in so far as it is possible. On the other hand, the liberals will probably succeed in getting some of their reforms etched into the “new look” of the Roman Catholic Church.
While, as we have noted, Vatican Council II was not called with the object of re-uniting the professed Christian world, it is no secret that the Pope and other high officials in the church are hopeful that any changes which might be made in order to be more appealing to the modern world will make a favorable impression in Protestant circles, and also among the authorities of the Greek Orthodox Church. Thus a greater degree of unity in the professed Christian world could be said to be one of the long-range objectives of the present council.
The Vatican Council II comes at a time when the spirit of unity throughout the professed Christian world is very strong. The officials of all denominations are realizing that they have a real enemy in communism, and that it is necessary that they fight this enemy together if they hope to survive. Nor is the Catholic Church unaware of this menace from without. Especially is this true in Italy, which at one time was one hundred percent Catholic, or essentially so. But now communism is making itself felt in Italy, so much so that in national elections millions are willing to vote for communist candidates.
The pressure of communism against the Catholic Church in Italy is so strong that Pope John has asked the conservative bishops not to be too outspoken in condemning communist elements in the government lest, presumably, they become more aggressive. As reported, the church, according to one close to the Pope, is “not a dam against communism,” the explanation being that the church should not be against anything, but that it should be definitely for something. The further explanation is that “when we support only one bloc, we alienate half of humanity.”
What will be accomplished in the great stir among all the denominations, Catholic and Protestant, remains to be seen. If the cataclysm of the Third World War falls upon humanity, there perhaps would not be too much left for the churches to work on. On the other hand, should there be a few more years of uneasy peace, there could be a large degree of outward unity brought about. So far as we know the Scriptures do not furnish us with any definite information along this line.
The Bible does indicate that efforts toward unity would be made. The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “Associate yourselves, O ye people, yet [margin] ye shall be broken in pieces. … Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand.” (Isa. 8:9,10) “Yet ye shall be broken.” This is the final picture of all the prophecies pertaining to the various elements of this present evil world. What intervenes between now and then we should, with interest and prayer, watch to see, knowing that no matter how it may affect us, the Lord will be our everlasting portion; and that if we are faithful even unto death we will be delivered in the blessed kingdom of his dear Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The doctrinal conclusions reached at that original and only Apostolic Council in Jerusalem should be a great encouragement to us today. (Acts 15:1-23) That was at the beginning of the age when, for the first time in the outworking of his plan, God was calling Gentiles into his fellowship. They learned, at that council, not only that this was taking place, but the reason for it—“God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.” (vs. 14) Soon after the apostles fell asleep in death the church began to lose sight of this great truth, and began to believe that God wanted them to convert the whole Gentile world, even if it had to be done at the point of the sword.
But the apostles had the correct understanding. The divine purpose for the present age was merely to take out from the Gentiles this people for his name; those whom, through the Holy Spirit, he would beget as children, and later unite them with Christ as his “bride.” The total number of these throughout the entire age has been small—a “little flock.” (Luke 12:32) But it is these to whom the Heavenly Father gives the rulership of the kingdom, not to a man-made union of church and state, symbolically described in Revelation as spiritual harlotry.
At that council Peter explained that after the “people for his name” had been taken out, the Lord would return and build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen down, and build again the ruins thereof and set it up. (vs. 16) This coincides with the promise of the birth and work of Jesus as recorded in Isaiah 9:6,7. It reads, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
When the throne of David is re-established under Christ, then the “residue of men, … and all the Gentiles,” upon whom the Lord’s name is called will have an opportunity to seek after him. This will include the 550 million Roman Catholics now in the world, the Greek Catholics, and all the Protestants also—of all denominations. With the Lord turning to these a pure message of truth, as he has promised to do, they will soon learn to know him in the proper way, and to serve him “with one consent.” (Zeph. 3:9) Then the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.—Isa. 11:9
Let us, then, continue to look sympathetically upon the efforts of the world to make things better, realizing that although their efforts will, in the long run, fail, God has a plan which cannot fail. And let us thank God for the assurance that the glorious culmination of his plan for the blessing of all the families of the earth is near.