| Highlights of Dawn | February 1969 |
The New Administration
ON JANUARY 20, Mr. Richard M. Nixon was sworn in as the new President of the United States. Since the time of his election last November President Nixon had carefully selected his various aides, including his cabinet members, so that the administrative branch of the government is now in the hands of virtually a new group of men. It is hoped by millions that this new administration will solve many of the problems of the nation, and of the world. Certainly new approaches to old problems will be undertaken, but it remains to be seen whether or not these new approaches will be more successful than the old ones.
The campaign which resulted in the election of Mr. Nixon to the presidency pointed up many of the problems which confront this nation and the world. One of the expressions most frequently heard in that campaign was “law and order,” and all the candidates seemed keenly aware of the need of law and order. Sometimes this expression was enlarged upon with the word “justice”—law and order with justice. One does not need to be a politician to realize what a far-reaching breakdown of law and order there has been in recent years, and certainly all persons of good will cannot help but wish that the Nixon administration can do something constructive about it.
The malady of lawlessness and disorder is by no means confined to the United States, for it is affecting with a greater or lesser degree essentially every country on earth. Its manifestations are various. Lawlessness throughout the world is spearheaded in many instances by the youth; youth who are in rebellion against their elders, and against what has come to be known as “the establishment.” These youth are against, for the most part, the traditional way of life which by and large satisfied former generations, and they want things changed.
So we have noisy and lawless demonstrations on college campuses. When the police endeavor to restore order, the charge of “brutality” is leveled against them. Sometimes one group of students will demonstrate against another group of students. It is truly a day of demonstrations and protest marches. Many of the meetings which were held during the election campaign were disrupted by noisy protests designed to hinder the candidates from saying what they wanted to say. Will this aspect of lawlessness and disorder now suddenly cease just because there is a new administration in Washington?
Nor is lawlessness and disorder confined to demonstrations by youth. For years now the crime rate has steadily increased, the general average of increase in 1968 being nineteen per cent. Much of the crime throughout the world is highly organized, and touches many fields of human endeavor. In New York City alone millions of dollars’ worth of automobiles were stolen and resold during 1968. Will the stealing of automobiles suddenly cease now that Mr. Nixon is President?
The sale and use of all kinds of narcotics—“dope”—is also on the increase. The youth of the nation are among the largest users of narcotics. This is a crime which leads to the deterioration of men and women, both mentally and physically. Law enforcement agencies are hard at work endeavoring to check the widespread traffic in narcotics, but seemingly are only scratching the surface so far as stamping it out is concerned.
Civil Rights and Poverty
The problems of civil rights and poverty remain largely unsolved. It is true that some progress has been made in the field of civil rights. There is token integration in schools and churches throughout the South. But progress is slow. Now there are those who are urging that “black power” is the only solution to this problem. Just what this expression implies is not clear, but in a general way the thought is that black people should remain by themselves and not permit the whites to mingle with them, or have any part in running their affairs. It is a sort of civil rights movement in reverse.
The blight of poverty is another menacing problem which confronts the new administration. A report released during 1968 revealed that in the prosperous country of the United States ten million people do not have sufficient food to keep them from being hungry essentially all the time. Billions of dollars are spent for war and for space travel while these millions of people continue to go hungry. Millions of dollars are being spent to feed the poor, but this is not enough. Will the new administration be able to solve this problem?
International Problems
We have mentioned but a few of the internal problems that plague the United States and other nations. In the field of international relationships the problems are also many and great. This is pointed up realistically by the fact that many weeks are spent in Paris by “peace negotiators,” endeavoring to decide what shape of table they will sit around while debating the issues of peace. The fact that thousands die in war while they try to decide what shape of table to use seems to matter little to the negotiators.
Then there are the problems of the Middle East. And these problems are serious, especially to those involved. For a little while after Israel’s victorious six-day war against her Arab neighbors there was at least a semblance of surface peace in that area. But now the guerrilla warfare has resumed. There is shooting back and forth across the borders between Arab nations and Israel, and no one can be sure that total warfare will not one day again break out. Will President Nixon find a solution for this situation which President Johnson could not find?
Selfishness
Human selfishness and sin are, basically, responsible for all the problems of the world, and fallen human lawmakers and administrators are unable to do anything about these, for they have afflicted the human race since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. A new foreign policy will not change the hearts of the world’s rulers and diplomats. The phenomenal increase of knowledge of our day is not changing the hearts of the people. It is simply showing them more efficient ways to further their own individual ends.
Only the Lord can change the hearts of the people, and this he has promised to do through the agencies of the long-promised messianic kingdom. Those who believe in the promises of the Bible, and realize that world conditions today are “signs” that the kingdom of Christ is about to be fully established in the earth, are looking for a new administration of government which will truly solve the problems not only of the United States but also of the whole world. This is the new government promised in Isaiah 9:6,7: “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.”
All students of the Bible recognize this to be a prophecy of the birth of Christ. The next verse reads, “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. … The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Jesus is the Creator’s choice to be the new King of earth; a King who also will be The Prince of Peace. Not until this Ruler actually takes control of the people of earth; not until his administration begins to function for the blessing of the people, will the problems arising out of human selfishness be solved.
An Elected Ruler
Jesus will be an elected Ruler—elected not by the votes of humans, but by his Heavenly Father, who, through the Prophet Isaiah, said of his beloved Son, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.” (Isa. 42:1) Jesus was elected, or chosen, by the Creator to rule the world in righteousness because of his faithfulness to divine law. Indeed, his faithfulness went beyond the demands of justice, in that he voluntarily laid down his life as man’s Redeemer in order that the subjects in his government might have the privilege of living forever.
While Jesus will be at the head of his government, placed there as the choice of his Heavenly Father, he will have associate rulers working with him. These also are elected, not by the people, but, as in the case of Jesus, by the God of heaven, the great Creator. This election is also, as with Jesus, on the basis of faithfulness to divine law, and a willingness to lay down life itself in the service of the Lord and the service of their fellows.
The Apostle Paul, writing to a little group of these elect ones, said, “We give thanks to God … remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. (I Thess. 1:2-4) These were of God’s elect class because of their faithfulness in the work of faith and labor of love.
And it is through this work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope that each one who is called by God to this high position makes his “calling and election sure.” Peter confirms that all who do thus, through faithfulness, make their election sure, will have an abundant entrance given to them “into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (II Pet. 1:10,11) Here the entrance referred to is into the ruling phase of the millennial kingdom. Jesus said concerning this position of rulership, “Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”—Luke 12:32
The Work of an Age
The calling and election of God’s elect class, who will live and reign with Christ a thousand years, has been the work of an entire age in the divine plan. It began with Jesus, and continued with respect to his followers at Pentecost. It still continues, although there are evidences in the signs of the times that it is rapidly drawing to a close. Already Jesus, the great King, is present, conducting the harvest, or gathering, of the final ones who will, in the first resurrection, be exalted to kingship with him in his kingdom.—Rev. 20:6
No one word adequately describes the work of that divine government in which the elect Jesus and his associates will participate. It is called a kingdom because in a kingdom there are subjects; and the word “subject” denotes having been made subject, or obedient, to authority—in this case divine authority, exercised through Jesus and his exalted church. The enemies of this righteous kingdom will be subdued. Death, man’s greatest enemy, will ultimately be destroyed.
This same period of time is spoken of in the Bible as a day of judgment, or probation, during which all mankind will have an opportunity to learn the Lord’s ways and be obedient to them. Those who do will thereby prove worthy of a restoration to perfection of human life and of living forever on a perfect earth. This will be paradise restored. Concerning that blessed time of judgment the psalmist wrote, “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall the trees of the woods rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.”—Ps. 96:11-13
Selfishness Destroyed
The millennial kingdom period will also be a time when the Lord will enter into a covenant with the people. Entering into a covenant suggests a reconciling of the people to God. Since man’s fall in the Garden of Eden, the human race as a whole has been estranged from God, but by the close of the messianic kingdom, all the willing and obedient will have been made “at one” with him, or in covenant relationship with him.
A promise of this is given by the Lord in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Here this “New Covenant” is said to be made “with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah,” but the Scriptures elsewhere indicate that the Gentiles will also be included in this New Covenant arrangement. We quote,
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Adam was created in the image of God, and by nature was in covenant relationship with God. But he broke this covenant by his disobedience. Hosea 6:7, marginal translation, reads, “They like Adam have transgressed the covenant.” The entire human race since then has been drifting farther and farther away from God, and the divine image in their hearts has become dulled. Selfishness has replaced the spirit of love, and now the world is reaping the terrible harvest of rebellion against the Creator.
But in due time Christ, the great Mediator between God and men, will begin to change this condition by bringing the people into covenant relationship with the Creator. The laws of that covenant will be written in the hearts of the people. This, obviously, will not be an instantaneous work, for it implies the restoration of the people to that original godlikeness possessed by Adam. The work of making this covenant complete will require the entire messianic age.
But when the Spirit and law of God are implanted in the hearts of the people, it will mean that selfishness and sin have been eradicated. This having been accomplished, and with divine authority and power working through God’s elected rulers, all the problems of the world will be solved. At present, human selfishness is threatening the destruction of all mankind in a time of tribulation such as the world has never known. Jesus said that this tribulation would be shortened by God’s elect in time to prevent this total destruction.—Matt. 24:21,22
We know that even now we are living in the time of this threatened destruction, and we are thankful for the assurance that these days shall be shortened. But we are even more thankful for the promised divine intervention in the affairs of men through God’s elect, for we have the assurance of his Word that this in reality means the full setting up of the long-promised messianic kingdom; and this, in turn, will mean universal and lasting peace on earth.
Not only will there be freedom from war, but that blessed rulership will solve all the other perplexing problems of earth. With human hearts purged of selfishness, and the spirit of love and good will motivating human behavior, most problems of humanity will automatically be solved.
However, there would still be the plague of sickness and death, but these the Bible assures us will be destroyed. Man is dying because of adamic sin, but Jesus provided redemption from original sin. Paul wrote that Jesus gave himself a ransom for all. (I Tim. 2:3-5) “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (I Cor. 15:21,22) This will mean, as foretold by the Prophet Isaiah, that death will be swallowed up in victory, and that tears will be wiped from off all faces. It means also that there shall be no more sorrow or pain.—Isa. 25:8; Rev. 21:4
The destruction of adamic death will mean the release of all the prisoners of death in what the Bible describes as the resurrection of the dead. (Acts 24:15; John 5:28,29, Revised Version) Thus will the administration of Christ’s kingdom assure all mankind of those blessings of health, life, peace, and economic security for which the whole world has longed and struggled, but failed to attain. Hunger will disappear. All races will happily live together for the mutual blessing of one another. Crime will be eradicated, and at long last law and order, based on the righteous requirements of a just and loving God, will be established everywhere, and forever.
The Nixon administration will doubtless do the best it can to serve the people and to establish peace throughout the world, but we are placing our faith in the, promises of God, which assure us of the near establishment of that long-promised government of peace over which Christ will reign in righteousness, to the glory of God and the promised blessing of all the families of the earth.