| Highlights of Dawn | March 1964 |
The Resurrected Christ—The World’s Only Hope
ON SUNDAY March 29, the professed Christian world will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Many will participate in the ceremonies of the day with reverence and belief. Others will use the occasion as an opportunity to display their new Easter finery, and to enjoy the festive music of the day. The message contained in the music, and in the thousands of Easter sermons delivered on that day, will temporarily give a measure of hope to some. In general, however, the true significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead will be overlooked and principally because it is not understood.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ bears a vital relationship to the great plan of the ages which the Creator is working out for the ultimate blessing of the condemned and dying race of mankind: It is not a suggested plan, with mankind given the opportunity of accepting or rejecting it. God’s plan will be carried through to a successful conclusion. With human plans it is different. If proper laws can be enacted; if the people will do this or that; if the right people can be elected to high office in government; if the churches could take a more definite leadership in human affairs; or if this, that, or something else could be done, then the world would be a much better place in which to live, they say.
There is much suffering in the world today. This has been true throughout all the ages since creation. Now, in addition to the usual afflictions associated with the reign of sin and death, the world is passing through the prophetic “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” (Dan. 12:1) This distress is world-wide, and often people ask, “If there is a God in heaven why doesn’t he do something about his suffering human creatures here on earth?” The true answer to this question points up the real difference between God’s plan for humanity and human plans.
The Bible points out that ever since man transgressed divine law back in the Garden of Eden, God has been doing something to extricate his human creatures from death, which was the result of man’s transgression. God is not looking to man to inform him what he should do about human suffering. He has his own plan, a plan which, from century to century, and from age to age, moves forward toward completion. This plan calls for the elimination of all human suffering; even the destruction of death. The application of this plan is not limited to the people of one generation, but of all generations. God loves the people of the world who lived before the Flood just as much as he loves the people of today. When we read that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” the reference is to the entire human race.—John 3:16
Experience with Evil
God desired all of his human creatures to experience the terrible results of sin. His design in creation was that the earth be filled with his human creatures, and this was to be accomplished by means of procreation: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth,” he commanded our first parents. (Gen. 1:28, RSV) God permitted our first parents to transgress his law, for he knew that an experience with evil would be the best way, in the long run, to create within them a determined resolve to resist it.
God knew that this experience with evil would likewise benefit all his human creatures, so he has allowed sin and death to continue throughout the ages and will continue to do so until a sufficient number have been born properly to fill the earth, before he intervenes on behalf of suffering humanity. This does not mean that God has been disinterested in his human creatures. He has continued to love the people, and, through all the ages has been preparing for their deliverance from sin and death.
Promises
The outworking of God’s plan is reflected in the many promises of his Word, beginning with Genesis and concluding with the Book of Revelation. When sentencing our first parents to death God remarked to Satan, symbolized by the serpent, that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head, and that the seed of the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. (Gen. 3:15) This is very vague language, but in the light of the subsequent unfolding of the plan of God we find that it is a reference to the final destruction of Satan, and evil, and which will result from the sacrificial work of Christ.
In Revelation 20:1,2 the “Seed,” referred to as an angel, is seen coming down from heaven and laying hold upon that “old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan,” and binding him a thousand years. It is during this thousand years that Christ will reign, and the blessings of life to the people resulting from that reign are depicted in this chapter of Revelation, these blessings being so far-reaching that the dead are seen to return from hades, the Bible hell. (Rev. 20:12-15) Once this glorious work begins, the people will no longer be asking why God doesn’t do something about human suffering.
Promise to Abraham
Subsequent to the Flood, God made a wonderful promise to Abraham, a promise which again revealed his intention to do something about human suffering. God said to Abraham that through his “Seed” he would bless all the families of the earth. (Gen. 12:3; 22:18) Later, after Abraham had demonstrated his faith and loyalty by his willingness to offer up his son Isaac in sacrifice, God confirmed his promise by his oath.—Heb. 6:13-18
In confirming the promise, God said to Abraham that his Seed would possess the gate of his enemies. (Gen. 22:17) In ancient times when cities were walled for protection against enemies, those who possessed, or controlled the gates, actually controlled the cities. So here was a promise which implied that Abraham’s “Seed” would be a conquering hero. Thus the thought of sacrifice, as in the offering of his son, and the idea of rulership, were associated in God’s promise to Abraham. Throughout the Old Testament, and on into the New Testament, God’s promises continue to dwell on these two aspects of his plan of salvation.
A Peacemaker
When Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, approached death, he bestowed blessings upon his sons. His blessing upon Judah was in the nature of a prophecy concerning the coming of that great Ruler implied in the promise made to his grandfather. Jacob refers to this one as “Shiloh,” meaning, tranquility, rest, a peaceful one, and said that unto him would the gathering of the people be. (Gen. 49:8-12) He also referred to this One who would come out of Judah as a “lion.” The Hebrew children were in Egypt at this time, and in the Egyptian government a lion symbolized the regal right to rule. So again we have the thought of rulership associated with the promised “Seed.”
In Isaiah 52:10 this coming Ruler is referred to as the “Arm” of Jehovah. The promise is that this “Arm” will be revealed in “the eyes of all the nations,” and that all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God. In chapter 53 there is revealed the fact that this Arm of the Lord must first be sacrificed, “brought as a lamb to the slaughter,” that his rulership must wait until his sacrificial work is completed.—Isa. 53:1,7
A prophecy of the birth of the “Seed” of promise is recorded in Isaiah 9:6,7, where we read, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: 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. … The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
When Israel became a kingdom, her kings ruled from Mount Zion in Jerusalem. This was a theocratic government in which the successive kings represented the Lord, and were said to sit upon the throne of the Lord. (I Chron. 29:23) In the promises of future kingdom blessings the Lord used Mount Zion—sometimes stated to be just a mountain—to symbolize the messianic kingdom. Reassuring, indeed, are the promises concerning the “mountain of the Lord.” Isaiah 25:6-9 reads:
“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 mouth of 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.”
The Prophet Daniel also forecast the establishment of this “mountain of the Lord.” In Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the dream in which this king of Babylon saw a human-like image with head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, and legs of iron, he gives us a preview of the fall of four great Gentile powers, beginning with Babylon and ending with Rome. We recognize from Daniel’s interpretation of the head as representing Babylon that the feet and toes of the image represent the divisions of Rome, the last of the great empires. These were represented in the various states of Europe prior to the first World War which began in 1914.
In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw a stone “cut out of the mountain without hands” which smote the image on its feet, causing it to fall, and grinding it to powder. Then the stone became a great mountain which filled the whole earth. (Dan. 2:45) Daniel interprets this to indicate that in the days of the rulers represented by the toes of the image the God of heaven would set up a kingdom. This “mountain,” or kingdom of the Lord, Daniel foretold, would not be given to other people, but would remain forever.—Dan. 2:44
The Prophet Micah also records a prophecy in which the kingdom of Messiah is likened to a mountain. We quote:
“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
Jesus, the Promised One
These and many other promises and prophecies gave the devout and believing Israelites a definite hope that God would one day send them a great Deliverer, One who would free them from foreign domination, and exalt them to a position of dominance among the nations. When Jesus came, some of the Israelites accepted him as the Messiah of promise. Andrew said to Peter, his brother, “We have found the Messiahs, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.”—John 1:40,41
All of Jesus’ true disciples had this understanding and belief. To them Jesus was the One whom God had sent to fulfill all the wonderful promises concerning a “Seed,” a “Shiloh,” the “Arm” of Jehovah, “The Wonderful Counselor,” “The mighty God,” “The everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace.” They believed that he was to be the Head over God’s ruling house in the antitypical Mount Zion, the One who would set up a kingdom which would bless all nations with peace and security.
As Jesus proceeded with his ministry, his enthusiastic disciples became more and more convinced that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. As he went about preaching concerning the kingdom, and illustrating kingdom blessings by his miracles, they knew that the God of Israel must certainly be with this wonderful man. They believed that while he did not have an army, that somehow, by the help of God, Israel under his leadership would be able to throw off the Roman yoke, become a free nation, and under their Messiah extend the promised messianic kingdom world-wide. Only a few days before he died, when he rode into Jerusalem on an ass, he was hailed as king by a “Multitude” of his enthusiastic supporters.—Matt. 21:9-11
Consternation, Bewilderment
But almost without warning, and contrary to the expectations of his disciples, Jesus was put to death by his enemies. And what seemed even more bewildering to them was that he surrendered to his enemies, making no effort to free himself from the charges leveled against him. Naturally, while they still maintained a flickering hope, they felt that a dead Messiah could not fulfill the promises made concerning him. How could Jesus now set up a kingdom? How could he now be The Prince of Peace? How could he be any of the things, or do any of the things, which had been foretold concerning him? Jesus was dead!
But their hope was soon revived. Even before the full impact of his death had reached into the disciples’ consciousness, Jesus was raised from the dead. And he announced to them that “all power” had been given to him in heaven and in earth. (Matt. 28:18) They did not at once comprehend fully all the implications of Jesus’ resurrection. But through his various appearances to them, and finally the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the disciples came to understand that Jesus would indeed establish the long-promised messianic kingdom, and on a grander scale than they had ever before imagined. The Messiah was not only alive, but had been highly exalted to the divine nature, and to the right hand of the throne of God.
But they also learned that before his kingdom would be set up in the earth, a little company of faithful followers were to be selected from mankind, and prepared to live and reign with him when he returned at his second advent. This work has continued throughout the age, but with the world knowing nothing about it. The many who have asked why God doesn’t do something about human suffering, have not realized that he has been preparing the personnel to administer the laws of a government which will alleviate all human suffering, and even destroy death itself. Yes, Jesus died on Calvary’s cross to take the sinner’s place in death, that all mankind might be restored to life.—I Cor. 15:21,22
“If Christ Be Not Risen”
There were some in Paul’s day who did not believe that Jesus had been raised from the dead. “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain,” Paul wrote. (I Cor. 15:14) Jesus died to redeem mankind from death, but a dead Redeemer could not restore those for whom he died. If Christ be not risen, then there is no “Seed” of promise to bless all the families of the earth. If Christ be not risen, there is no one to fulfill all those wonderful messianic promises. If Christ be not risen, there can never be a world-wide kingdom of peace and righteousness. How important indeed is the resurrection of Jesus in the outworking of the divine plan of salvation!
Paul also wrote, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (I Cor. 15:20) All the dead, Christians and non-Christians, are asleep, unconscious. Even Christians, those who “are fallen asleep in Christ” have perished unless there is a resurrection of the dead. (I Cor. 15:18) Our assurance of the resurrection and of a future life for all who have died is therefore predicated on the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead.
He became the “firstfruits” of them that slept, Paul wrote. Together with him as a firstfruits class are his faithful followers of the Gospel Age. (James 1:18; Rev. 14:4) These are brought forth from death in what the Revelator describes as “the first resurrection.” (Rev. 20:4-6) The selection and training of these has required the entire Gospel Age. Also prior to the general resurrection, those ancient servants of God, beginning with Abel, and on down to John the Baptist, will be brought forth from the sleep of death in what Paul describes as a “better resurrection.” (Heb. 11:35,40) These will be the human representatives of the divine Christ, “princes in all the earth.”—Ps. 45:16
Then will follow the general awakening of all the dead, “every man in his own order,” also made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus. (I Cor. 15:23) What a blessed hope this is to hold out to the weary and fear-filled world of today! It is the hope that soon that glorious kingdom of promise is to manifest itself in “power and great glory” for the blessing of all the families of the earth. (Isa. 40:5; Matt. 24:30) It is the hope that peace and good will is soon to be established throughout the earth, and that sin, selfishness, sickness, and death are to be destroyed. It is the hope that all our loved ones who have died are to be awakened from the sleep of death, that they also might share in the blessings of the messianic kingdom. All of this, and more, is assured because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.
Yes, there is a coming new day of opportunity for all, which the Bible calls the judgment day, which God has assured by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (Matt. 10:15) Paul wrote, God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”—Acts 17:31