| Highlights of Dawn | April 1968 |
The Time of the End
WE ARE living in a wonderful time, and yet a fearful time. It is a time of extreme contradictions such as have never before simultaneously existed in all human history. After thousands of years of man’s existence on the earth, we find a most unusual phenomenon which cannot be ignored. It is the unprecedented increase of knowledge in recent years. Do you realize that practically all modern conveniences and scientific achievements we today take so much for granted were developed within the past one hundred and fifty years?
Within this comparatively short period of time there has been a sudden awakening, and a tremendous upsurge in knowledge. It is as though a sleeping giant has awakened and is rubbing his eyes and stretching his limbs. One scientist has estimated that man’s total body of knowledge doubled between 1775 and 1900; doubled again between 1900 and 1950; again between 1950 and 1958; and it is now thought to be doubling every five years! It is hard to grasp such a rapid rate of acceleration.
But consider this: people who died as recently as 1929 never heard of jet airplanes, the sound barrier, man-made satellites, rockets to the moon and planets and sun, interplanetary photography, Polaroid cameras, food freezers, intercontinental missiles, radar, dacron, mammoth bulldozers, V-8 engines, electric typewriters, F.M. radio, color television, foam rubber, drive-in movies, fiberglass, automatic transmissions, electric razors, frozen vegetables, atom and hydrogen bombs, and many other things we have today.
Yet, in contrast and in contradiction to these attainments, we have an extremely low ebb in moral, ethical, and spiritual values, and in a knowledge of the Word of God. Along this line, General of the Armies Omar Bradley has appropriately said: “Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace; more about killing than we know about living. We have grasped the mystery of the atom, and have rejected the Sermon on the Mount.”
There are other contradictions we could name. For example, in recent years we have witnessed an enormous advance in medical science, with new drugs and surgical techniques which are truly wonderful in saving human lives. Even hearts have been transplanted. But we have the contradiction of fifty thousand persons killed each year in highway accidents, and many thousands by war. Another incongruity is that, although we are today able to pierce the atmosphere of the earth with space ships, and are spending billions of dollars in a plan to land men upon the moon, the war on poverty makes no appreciable headway.
Then we have the greatest contradiction of all. Puny man has at last been able to harness the atom, extracting and holding in his hand the ultimate and fearsome power of the universe—but with what result? Is it used for the benefit of mankind, to eliminate burdensome labor by the sweat of the face? No, not to any great extent, but for the first time in human history, man has in his grasp the ability to kill every living thing on the face of the earth.
A Time of Fear
That is why it is such a fearful time. Now, at this moment, the prophecy of Jesus given in Luke 21:25,26 is being fulfilled: “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” Also Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24:21,22: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.”
Has there ever been a time since the Flood when it was possible for all flesh to be destroyed? Plagues have swept the earth, destroying millions, but the human race survived and increased. World wars, fought in the “conventional” manner, killed millions, but humanity lived on. But with total nuclear warfare, with its poisoning of the air which we and all animals must breathe—now, for the first time in history, complete and absolute destruction of the human race is threatened. For the first time we realize the import of this prophecy, written two thousand years ago: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” But the Bible assures us that these days shall be shortened.
The Bible Answers
What is the significance of this recent spectacular increase of knowledge? Only in the Bible do we find any explanation of it. In the Bible this increase of knowledge is prophetically recorded to identify the time in which we are now living: “the time of the end.” Daniel was entrusted with many prophecies pertaining to the future, but he could not understand them. He wanted so much to understand, but it was not yet due time to do so. We read of this in Daniel 12:8,9: “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”
In the 4th verse of this chapter we are told how to identify “the time of the end” when it has come: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Do you recognize the signs? It is almost impossible not to recognize them, for they are before us whichever way we turn. Coupled with the increase of knowledge, has there ever been a time when there was so much rapid and world-wide travel? We not only have supersonic travel within the earth’s atmosphere, but also travel in outer space at fantastically higher speeds.
In verses 1 and 2 we have the important and wonderful part of the prophecy: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered. … And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.” This is a prophecy of Christ’s messianic kingdom, the kingdom of God on earth; and, from the signs given, it is almost here. The great Prince, Christ Jesus, is already present. And when the current time of trouble is finished, the kingdom of God will take control of earth’s affairs, and there will be a resurrection of the dead.
The prophecy of Haggai 2:7 states: “I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.” What is the desire of all nations, or families, of the earth? It may be summed up in the one word—life. Adam was created perfect, and was designed to live forever on this earth. He once had a kingdom, or dominion, on this earth. It is written of the first pair, in Genesis 1:28, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [fill] the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
A Ransom Provided
But Adam disobeyed God and lost his life and his kingdom. As a result of his fall, all his children were born imperfect, and in a dying condition. Then, in due time, Jesus came, and gave himself a ransom for Adam and his race. He died in order that Adam and his children might live. This doctrine of the ransom is the most important doctrine of the Bible. The word “ransom” means “corresponding price,” or “equivalent price”—a price corresponding to the value of person held for ransom which, when paid, releases the captive. Let us illustrate Christ’s redemption of Adam and his race by an allegorical story:
A nobleman is convicted of an offense against his king. He is stripped of his estate and is condemned for life to a penal colony at hard labor. While he is a convict, he rears a family of children who share his sentence, not being permitted to leave the penal colony so long as their father is confined there. Many years pass, and hope grows dim. But one day another nobleman, of equal dignity and rank, presents himself to the king, and offers himself and all his earthly goods as a substitute for the first nobleman, volunteering to serve his sentence in his stead, thus to ransom him.
The king graciously accepts the offer, and the first nobleman is released and restored to his estate. And because he is now free, the family he reared in captivity is also free. These children who have never known real liberty, having been born prisoners under their father’s sentence, are now redeemed and may leave their prison-house and inherit the restored estate of their father, together with him.
The Second Nobleman
Now let us apply this allegorical illustration to the case of Adam, the first nobleman, and his posterity. Jesus was the second nobleman. He came to earth as a man. He was the exact equivalent of Adam, before Adam sinned. He died without deserving to die, in the place of Adam, who deserved to die. Since Jesus was a perfect man, God could and did accept his life as a corresponding price, or ransom, for Adam’s life. This is the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice. This is how he became the Redeemer and the Savior of all of Adam’s race. All will be released from the prison-house of death.
That is why, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angel announced, “Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10,11) Christ the Lord! The second nobleman had at last made his appearance. And with this understanding of the plan of God, we find a new and wonderful significance in that beloved old text, John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
And what is to be the grand result? What will be the culmination of the great, loving, divine plan of redemption? It is concisely stated by the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15:21-23: “For 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. But every man in his own order; Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” Jesus Christ was the first to be resurrected and ascend to heaven. His footstep followers, his church, the members of his body, also gain a heavenly reward.
Then Christ establishes his kingdom on earth. Referring to the completed work of that glorious kingdom, Paul says, in I Corinthians 15:24-26, “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
No More Death
Just think of a world in which man will no longer die! This is the kingdom for which Jesus taught his followers to pray two thousand years ago. Since then millions of people have prayed for that kingdom to come, when God’s will is to be done on earth as it is in heaven. As men groan under the weight of their sorrows and stresses and calamities, as they travail under their national and international crises, they long for and hope for better times, when all human problems will be solved. And, in so doing, they unwittingly wait for and earnestly desire God’s kingdom; not knowing what it is and how it will come, but only knowing that they yearn for it and all the blessings it will bring.
We are now living at the time of the end, on the very threshold of this kingdom of God on earth, when Michael shall stand up, when the many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. During that thousand-year kingdom, all the dead will be resurrected and come back to live on the earth. Death is a great enemy, and it is ultimately to be destroyed.
Think of the joyful reunions that will take place! What a happy time it will be! Mothers who have lost children in death will have them in their arms again. Do you remember, at the time of Jesus’ birth, when Herod killed all the young children in and around Bethlehem? For every slain child there was a brokenhearted mother left behind—thousands of them, mourning for the tender lives cut short; for the tragic waste. A great voice of weeping was heard throughout all that land. Jeremiah prophetically refers to this incident, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.”—Jer. 31:15-17
And then comes that part of the prophecy referring to God’s kingdom on earth now so near: “Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.” Notice that the phrase, “saith the Lord,” is repeated three times in these verses. How sure these words are! How sure is this promise!
No More Weeping
Have you ever driven past a national cemetery, where the war dead are buried? Have you seen the miles and miles of white grave markers? Every one of those monuments represents a young man who died in the prime of vigorous manhood. And each one has left behind a broken-hearted mother. Now visualize, standing there beside each white marker, a mother weeping; miles and miles of bitterly weeping mothers. What a sound of lamentation that would make! And the words of Jeremiah are addressed, not only to the sorrowing mothers of Herod’s time, but to these mothers also.
And also to fathers and brothers and sisters and grandparents and wives and husbands—to all who have felt the sting of death: “Refrain thy voice from weeping, … they shall come again from the land of the enemy. … thy children shall come again to their own border!” Now, in contrast, visualize the great, overwhelming joy of a mother whose child has actually returned from the dead! The grief and aching loneliness are all forgotten. And now, instead of the voice of weeping, think of the united voice of joy which will ascend unto heaven when, in proper order, all the beloved dead will return!
Thy Kingdom Come
So, knowing that God’s kingdom on earth, which is now so close at hand, will solve all human problems, we find new significance in the age-old prayer, “Thy kingdom come.” When we hear of sorrow and mourning we remember that the psalmist has said: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Ps. 30:5) To this the Revelator adds: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” (Rev. 21:4) When we hear of illnesses we pray for the kingdom, because Isaiah says of that day, “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick.”—Isa. 33:24
When we hear of homeless and starving people we long for the kingdom, remembering that it is written, “They shall build houses, and inhabit them” (Isa. 65:21), and “the earth shall yield her increase.” (Ps. 67:6) When we see the physically handicapped we pray for the kingdom, because “then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.”—Isa. 35:5,6
When we hear of wars and rumors of wars, we thank God that the kingdom is near when “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isa. 2:4) When we hear of entire nations denying the very existence of God, we remember that the time is near when, God says: “They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them” (Jer. 31:34); and “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh” (Joel 2:28); and, “The earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.—Num. 14:21
With Eden restored and made world-wide—with the curse upon the earth and upon mankind lifted, and with perfect food again made available—all obedient persons will live forever on the earth. And because of the bitter experience they have had with sin and its results, men will want no more of it. Then, with Satan the Devil and his incorrigible followers destroyed, there will be a pure universe; and mankind will love and obey and praise God throughout the ages of eternity.