| Highlights of Dawn | July 1967 |
Unending Life on Earth
“The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” —Revelation 22:17
TODAY more than one hundred and fifty thousand humans die every twenty-four hours, and this staggering death list continues to lengthen as the population of earth increases. A small minority of these die by accident, war, and murder, but the vast majority by so-called natural causes—although in a recent article appearing in the Newark Star Ledger the statement is made that scientists now believe there is no such thing as “natural death.”
The daily death toll around the globe is made up of infants, the young, the middle-aged, and the old. While it is true that within the present generation the average length of human life has greatly increased as a result of progress in medical science, there have been no significant discoveries as to why humans inevitably grow old and die, although there is much scientific research taking place to find the answer to this question. While some scientists are busily engaged in developing more effective weapons of destruction, and others are endeavoring to conquer outer space, many of them are engaged in projects designed to improve the health of the world and to increase the human life span. This is commendable.
The Creator designed man to live forever. This comes to light in the Genesis account of creation. We read that “the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” When our first parents transgressed God’s law and brought upon themselves the sentence of death, the Lord said, “Now, lest he put forth his hand, and take … of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: … the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.”—Gen. 2:8,9; 3:22,23
The Hebrew word here translated “tree” can also be translated “trees,” suggesting a grove of trees. The thought seems to be that in these trees of life God had provided a perfectly balanced diet. Had man been permitted to continue partaking of the fruit of these trees, he would not have become decrepit, but would, with God’s blessing, have remained strong and healthy and would have lived forever. But man was driven away from this provision of life which the Creator had made, with the result that he began to die.
Death Unnatural
Nobel Prize winner Dr. Peter Medawar has tried for years to find just one person who died of old age. He has not been successful. It seems that with advancing age the body becomes susceptible to diseases of one sort or another, and it is these that bring death, not old age per se. It seems that many scientists have now reached the conclusion that there is no such thing as the disease of old age.
More than one thousand research efforts are now under way in the United States to discover why advancing years lead to what we have come to accept as the evidences of old age—the wrinkled face, the falling hair, the decaying teeth, and the failing eyesight. Basically, the scientists agree, there seems no reason why our body cells should not continue to replace themselves so that we might go on forever in vibrant youth and health. But the Bible sets forth the reason for this in very plain words. Paul wrote, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Rom. 5:12) The scientists do not as yet accept this explanation, so they are still searching, hoping that sooner or later they may find the reason for the aging process and may do something about it.
Varying Life Spans
During the antediluvian world people lived much longer than they do now. Adam, for example, lived for nine hundred and thirty years. One reason for this was the fact that he was closer to physical perfection than mankind is today. It took time for the ravages of disease to cut down the length of life. Besides, the climatic conditions were probably much better before the Flood than they have been since. It is to be noted that the length of human life was greatly reduced after the Flood—although Noah, who was born before the Flood, lived to be nine hundred and fifty years old. Abraham died at one hundred and seventy-five years, and he was considered to be an old man. Moses, in his day, referred to the years of man as being “three score and ten,” or seventy.—Ps. 90:10
But even the seventy-year life span did not continue for long beyond Moses’ time—at least, not as an average. At the turn of this century the average length of human life was between thirty and forty years. This average varies from country to country, and even from state to state in America. In America it was above forty, but now it is on the increase. In 1964 the average life expectancy for males in the U.S.A. was sixty-eight years, and for females, seventy-five years.
But we should bear in mind that these are averages. Millions are still dying at very early ages, while there are thousands in the world today who are more than a hundred years old. The Soviet Union claims to have twenty-one thousand citizens who are a hundred or more years old. This is ten times the known centenarians in the United States. The oldest known man in Russia claims to be one hundred and sixty-one, and “still going strong.”
There was a report out of Brazil not long ago of the death of a man who was one hundred and fifty years old. An Egyptian without teeth claimed that he was two hundred; and one of his sources of annoyance was that his eighty-year old son did not give him enough to eat.
Forecasts of Medical Scientists
Medical scientists are claiming that the time is not too distant when it will not be unusual for people to live far beyond the century mark—some of them insisting that there is no reason why many will not live to be two hundred, and even more. Even now there is serious discussion as to the advisability of raising the retirement age from sixty-five to seventy-five. Naturally, the increasing average of human life is adding to the difficulties being posed by the population explosion. It may seem somewhat paradoxical that one group of human benefactors should be working to keep the population of earth down, while another group is doing all it can to keep the living alive as long as possible. But this only emphasizes man’s futility in solving the problems posed by the reign of sin and death.
Actually God’s solution for these situations is the only workable one. God’s plan calls for people to live, not for two hundred years or more, but forever. The scientists have made one important discovery in that they have found that basically there is no reason that man should die at all. However, only God knows the secret of life, and through the agencies of the messianic kingdom all the willing and obedient of the human race will be able to keep right on living. It will be then that sickness and death will be completely destroyed.—Rev. 21:4
Love Found A Way
It was a just sentence that fell upon Adam when he disobeyed his Creator’s law. There was no just reason for the Creator to do anything about it. He could justly have let the human race continue to die, without any hope of a future deliverance. But God in his love and wisdom provided a way of escape from that original sentence of death. He wisely permitted all mankind to share in that sentence, to give them an experience with evil, but in his love he sent his only begotten Son into the world to redeem Adam and his race from sin and death: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”—John 3:16
God’s gift of his Son to die as man’s Redeemer has provided a hope of future life for all mankind. This hope is based on the promises of God to restore the dead to life in what the Bible describes as “the, resurrection.” Paul wrote, “Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”—I Cor. 15:21,22
Writing to Timothy about this, Paul said, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man. Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (I Tim. 2:5,6) The word “ransom” as here used by Paul means “a corresponding price.” It was the perfect man Adam who sinned, and it was the perfect man Jesus who took Adam’s place in death. Thus Adam was redeemed from death, and since his offspring shared his condemnation, they also share in the benefits of the ransom provided by Jesus’ death.
The Scriptures declare that “whosoever believeth in” Jesus will not perish. But very few during the present short span of life have an opportunity to believe in Jesus as their Redeemer. Paul wrote, however, that the knowledge of the ransom will be “testified” or made known to all in due time. From Jesus’ first advent until now has been the “due time” for some to believe. The believers of this age have been invited to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, suffering and dying with him, inspired by the hope of living and reigning with him in his long-promised kingdom.
In addition to the promise of reigning with Christ, these believers of the present time are promised glory, honor, and immortality. They are promised that they will be exalted to heavenly glory with Jesus, and be made like him. The condition upon which they can attain to this high position of glory with Jesus is by suffering and dying with him. The Bible speaks of it as being “planted together in the likeness of his death.” (Rom. 6:5) They are spoken of as being “baptized into Christ,” and Paul explains that as many as are baptized into Christ have put on Christ, and are “Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”—Gal. 3:8,16,27-29
What does this mean? The “promise” referred to by Paul is one that God made to Abraham. The promise was that through Abraham’s “seed” all the families of the earth would be blessed. Paul explained that Jesus was this promised Seed, and that his faithful co-sacrificers were included. The work of the Lord during the Gospel Age, beginning with Jesus, has been the calling out from the world, upon the basis of faith, of those willing to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, that they might qualify to be associated with him during the thousand years of his kingdom to dispense to the world of mankind the promised blessings of life provided by the redeeming work of Jesus.
Restitution
One of the words used in the King James version of the Bible to describe the future kingdom work of blessing is “restitution.” In a sermon prompted by the miracle of healing a man who had been lame from his youth, Peter spoke of “the times of restitution of all things,” which, he declared, had been spoken by the mouth of all God’s holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:19-21) That future work of restitution, or restoration, will result in lasting life on earth to those of the living generation who believe and obey the laws of the messianic kingdom, and it will include the awakening from the sleep of death of all who have died in Adam throughout the ages, and giving them the opportunity to believe, obey, and live forever.
In a promise to Christ and his faithful followers, who will be the spiritual rulers in his kingdom, the Lord said, “I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners [of death], Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves.”—Isa. 49:8,9
Man’s divinely provided heritage was the earth. The earth was created as man’s home, and the Creator made every necessary provision for him to live here forever. But this heritage was lost through transgression of the Creator’s laws. However, it was redeemed by Christ, and through Christ and his faithful church it will be restored. This is why the Lord could say that he had not created the earth in vain, but had formed it to be inhabited.—Isa. 4:18
Room for All
It is presumed by many that it is necessary for all humans eventually to die, else the earth would become overpopulated. This view fails to take into consideration the Creator’s decree to our first parents to multiply and fill the earth. (Gen. 1:27,28) There was an implied limitation in this decree—it was to fill the earth, not overfill it. If we have faith in God’s Word, and in the divine plan revealed therein, we can believe that when a sufficient number of people have been born to fill the earth adequately, the procreative powers of humans will cease.
As of now, and for a short while yet to come, all who have been born throughout the ages will find ample room on the earth. The prophecies of the Bible reveal that the messianic kingdom and its blessings are near at hand. This means that we are living at a time when the plan of God for the blessing of all mankind with life and peace is rapidly approaching its consummation, when the aging process will be reversed. That is why the Lord said, “There shall be no more death.”
Our text speaks of the “bride” inviting the people to partake of the water of life. The “bride” here referred to is the true church united with her Lord. This class, selected from among mankind, will soon be completed, and will, when united with her heavenly Bridegroom, join with him in the invitation to all mankind to partake of the water of life provided through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Then death will be destroyed, and tears will be wiped away. Then there will be unending life for all the willing and obedient.