| Highlights of Dawn | January 1968 |
An Unmovable Kingdom
“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” —Hebrews 12:18
ANOTHER year is opening before us! What does 1968 hold for the masses of mankind? What does it hold for the people of Russia, of Asia, of Africa, of Australia and New Zealand, the Europeans, the Arabs, the Israelis, the North and South Americans—in a word, all mankind? We are living in a world of rapid change, and it is reasonably certain that the spirit of change will continue to exert a powerful influence in every part of the globe, and in essentially every segment of life, civil and religious.
In many cases the motivation for change will be a sincere desire to better existing conditions; in other instances it will be a determination to enslave other people for the purpose of exploiting them to further the ends of totalitarianism. It is safe to say that during 1968 almost nowhere will the people escape the winds of change and the uncertainty and fear which they create. There is no longer what we could call a status quo, in either the political or the religious world.
The general leveling of human society and the accompanying instability are prophetically described in symbolic language in Isaiah 24:1-4. We quote: “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with the master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.”
All Classes
Thus, in this foretold turning of the earth upside down we see that all classes are affected. We are told especially that “the haughty people of the earth do languish.” Whether it be the haughtiness engendered by riches, by power, or by pride, no one escapes the upsetting experiences of this prophetic day of chaos through which the world is passing. And there is no reason to expect that in 1968 the erosion of what was once a somewhat orderly world society will cease.
It would be unwise to forecast the details of events contributing to world disintegration. Those aspects of chaos which today make front-page news may very well change, either in character or in location. A Viet Nam, or an Arab-Israeli conflict, could erupt into world conflict; but this will be only the continuation of the “melting” process described by the psalmist when he wrote, “The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.”—Ps. 46:6
Another highly symbolic prophecy descriptive of this day of chaos and destruction in which we are living is recorded in Isaiah 13:6-8: “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.” The Apostle Paul, writing of this same “day of the Lord,” also mentions the “travail.” He informs us that “sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child.”—I Thess. 5:1-3
Peace Desired
The desire for peace will continue to be expressed. Basically, all men and women want peace. Efforts will be made to “put out the fire” wherever possible, but these will not lead to the stable and lasting peace for which the people of all nations so earnestly yearn. Whatever apparent successes the well-wishing people of earth may attain will be short-lived and disappointing. It will be as foretold by the Prophet Amos when he wrote, “as if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.” (Amos 5:19) Because of this, Amos inquired, “Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?”—vs. 20
So we may expect that in the months ahead the hearts of the people will continue to be filled with fear. The abject poverty of millions will continue to foment tension and strife. The conflicting ideologies of the nations will add to the chaos, and will lead to wars of words and guns. The population explosion will increase the overcrowding in the world’s larger cities, especially in the backward countries of the earth; and seventy-five percent of the earth’s population will continue to go hungry most of the time, and many will starve to death.
The Kingdom Hope
From the standpoint of human wisdom and ability, the outlook for 1968 is not bright. It is only as we view the situation from the standpoint of the prophecies and promises contained in the Word of God that we can rejoice in a genuine hope for the future. In Hebrews 12:26,27 Paul speaks of the great “shaking” that occurred at the time when the Law was given to Moses at Mount Sinai, and he indicates that it was typical of the symbolic shaking that would take place among the elements of human society when the time came for the establishment of the long-promised messianic kingdom. We quote, “Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
The expression used by Paul, “Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven,” is taken from Haggai 2:6. Haggai 2:7 reads, “I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.” All nations desire peace. They desire freedom from fear. They desire economic security. They would like to see poverty abolished. But first they must go through the “shaking” period now upon all mankind. The people must learn that they do not possess the capability, by their own wisdom and strength, of attaining what they desire. They must learn that military might will not guarantee peace and the many other blessings for which the whole world continues to long.
Both Haggai and Paul assert that the “shaking” of this day of the Lord would affect the “heaven” also. This is a reference, symbolically, to the religious elements of the world. The various religions of earth are indeed being shaken. And this also is in preparation for Messiah’s kingdom. The false doctrines of eternal torture, the trinity, as well as the superstitions of non-Christian religions, will have no place in the Lord’s kingdom; for then all will learn the truth about God.—Isa. 11:9; Zeph. 3:9
Everything Evil
In the great “shaking” time through which we are passing, everything that is “made” will be removed, as Paul wrote in Hebrews 12:27. Obviously, the reference is to man-made ideas and institutions. These are all tainted with sin and selfishness, and will be of no use in Christ’s kingdom.
The only things which will remain will be those that are fully in harmony with the Word of God. The only hope that will endure through the chaos of a disintegrating world society will be that hope which is based upon the promises of God, promises, that is, of his kingdom. There are not many throughout the earth today who are rejoicing in this hope. But some are; it is these to whom Paul refers in our text as “we” who are “receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved.”
In Psalm 46:2,3 we are given another prophetic picture of the shaking and removal of man-made institutions during this “day of the Lord.” The symbolic earth is removed, and the “mountains” are carried into the midst of the sea of human passions. The “waters” “roar” and are “troubled,” and “the mountains. shake with the swelling thereof.” In other words, this is a picture of the removal, the shaking, of all selfish human institutions.
In this prophecy the Lord’s people who are “receiving” the Lord’s kingdom are spoken of as “the city of God,” that kingdom in the making, as pictured in “the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.” “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God shall help her, when the morning appeareth.” (Ps. 46:4,5, margin) Here again we have the assurance that while all things out of harmony with the divine will are destined for removal, yet, as this prophecy shows, “she [the church] shall not be moved.”
Thus is confirmed Paul’s promise that we are receiving a kingdom which “cannot be moved.” We do not yet possess this kingdom, but we are in the process of receiving it. This, of course, is the rulership phase of the messianic kingdom, that aspect of the kingdom mentioned by Jesus when he said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) Our share in the kingdom, to live and reign with Christ a thousand years, is a gift, but we must prove worthy of receiving it.
The Apostle refers to some of the conditions which must be met if we are to receive this gift. We are to “add” to our faith “virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly-kindness; and to brotherly-kindness love.” Continuing, Peter wrote, “If these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”—II Pet. 1:5-11
The unmovable kingdom referred to in our text is a certainty. It is part of God’s great plan for the blessing of all the families of the earth. Whether we as individuals will participate with Christ in the ruling phase of that kingdom depends upon our faithfulness—a faithfulness that involves the laying down of life itself, suffering and dying with Jesus. If we want to wear a “crown” in that kingdom we must bear the “cross” now. The crown succeeds the cross. We cannot wear them both at the same time.
If we are to have a share in the rulership phase of Christ’s kingdom we must, as our text declares, “hold fast [margin] the grace whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.” Paul described acceptable service to the Lord when he wrote: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”—Rom. 12:1
Human Representatives
Jesus and his faithful followers who will live and reign with him a thousand years will possess the divine nature, and therefore will be invisible to human eyes; so the Lord has arranged that they will have visible human representatives. Many of these are referred to in Hebrews, chapter 11—those men and women of faith and valor who laid down their lives in the service of God during the ages in the divine plan preceding the Gospel Age. These will be brought forth from the dead in what Paul describes as “a better resurrection.” They will be given life and “made perfect” by divine power, and as perfect humans will be in the visible ruling phase of the kingdom.—Heb. 11:35,40; Ps 45:16; Isa. 32:1; Luke 13:28,29; Matt. 8:11
The Subjects Blessed
With the rulers in the kingdom established in power and authorized to function, the promised blessings of the kingdom will quickly begin to flow out to all the peoples of the earth, beginning with the restored Israelites in the Holy Land. In the final phase of world tribulation through which we are now passing, referred to in the prophecies as “Jacob’s trouble,” these will have their “eyes” opened to recognize the workings of God in their midst. This will also be true of Gentile nations.—Jer. 30:7; Ezek. 38:23; 39:7
The enlightenment of all mankind will be one of the important functions of the kingdom agencies. The knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. (Isa. 11:9) The present “shaking” of Satan’s world is described in Zephaniah 3:8 as the “devouring” of the “earth” by the fire of God’s zeal. And when this is accomplished, then the Lord will turn to the people a pure language, or message, and unitedly they will call upon the Lord and serve him.—Zeph. 3:9
The enlightenment of the people concerning the true God and their desire to serve and obey him will prepare the way for them to receive other blessings of the kingdom. Through the atoning blood of Christ the penalty of death will be lifted, and this will lead to restoration of health and life for all who pass through the present time of great tribulation into the kingdom age. And all those who have died will be awakened from the sleep of death; these also will be given an opportunity to believe and obey and be restored to perfection of human life and live forever.
The signs of the times indicate beyond any question of a doubt that we are now living in the end of the present age of sin and selfishness, when the work of selecting those who will live and reign with Christ in his unmovable kingdom will soon be complete. This means that the “sweet by and by” of the world’s golden age of blessing is now near, that soon the world’s dark night of weeping will give way to the divinely promised morning of joy, when God “turneth the shadow of death into the morning.”—Amos 5:8
Let us, then, in the short time we have for “receiving” joint-heirship with Jesus in his kingdom, give all diligence to make our calling and election sure. The time is indeed short, and in this “short time” may we zealously continue to serve the Lord with reverence and godly fear.