| Highlights of Dawn | October 1969 |
Peace Through the New “Establishment”
A resume of a public address given at the General Convention of Bible Students, at Indiana University, August 10, 1969.
“In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the for 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
TO SAY that we are living in a changing world would be the understatement of the year. Some of the changes taking place are the result of science and invention. There is an unprecedented increase in knowledge taking place. It is said that the total knowledge of the world is today doubling every ten years. This increase of knowledge inevitably leads to change and to an ever-increasing demand for more change.
Two world wars in a little over thirty years have led to revolutionary changes in most of the governments of the world. But still the enlightened people of this generation are not satisfied, and are clamoring for even more drastic changes. Dissident groups of students are demanding that changes be made in operating policies of the higher institutions of learning. Labor wants to have more voice in the management of industry. There is a general insistence upon change in almost all segments of the present social order, including the religious.
In this great “push” for change, the word “establishment” has come into general use as describing the present status quo of institutions—governmental and otherwise—which the dissidents would like to see changed. An establishment is that which has been established, whether it be a government, a church, a college, or a business. It is the sum total of all these various “establishments” which constitutes our social order, and the clamoring for change in the “establishment” is an outcry against the social order.
This present-day use of the word “establishment” carries with it a connotation of unsatisfactory conditions, if not outright evil. The implication often is that because a college, or a business, or a government is firmly established, it cannot be serving the best interests of those concerned. In the present world-wide clamor for change little consideration is given to the possibility that there could be a truly good and just “establishment.”
Little would be accomplished to argue this point. It is well to note, however, that no institution can be all bad, and that all of them are as good or as bad as the people who control them. While we are living in a time of increasing crime, we believe that even now the majority of humans would rather do good than harm, and in most cases the “establishments” which many would like to see destroyed are controlled by people who make up this majority.
However, there is a common defect in most humans on the earth today, which is that selfishness is the motivating principle that largely controls their thoughts and actions. It has been thus since our first parents transgressed God’s law back in the Garden of Eden, and the marvelous increase of knowledge has done nothing to eradicate selfishness from the human heart. Only the Lord is able to do this, and he will do it in his own due time. He will do it through the establishing and functioning of his long-promised messianic kingdom.
The Last Days
In the passage of Scripture heading this article we are informed of what the Lord promises to do for the people in “the last days” and of the blessings to which this will lead. However, these are not the “last days” of the existence of the planet Earth on which we live. It is an expression which describes a period of human experience when manmade governments and institutions are set aside and Christ becomes Ruler over the people. These “last days” are depicted in prophecy as a time of distress upon the nations, and upon human institutions in general. It seems evident that we are even now in this period of distress, which is described in another prophecy as “a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.”—Dan. 12:1
The Prophet Micah assures us that “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.” (Micah 4:1) Here we have the use of very meaningful symbolic language in which the Lord likens his kingdom, or rulership over the people, to a “mountain.” Any devout Israelite in the ancient time when this prophecy was first recorded would understand this language. He would know that the “mountain” of the Lord was the government of the Lord, because God ruled his people Israel from a mountain—Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. This typical “mountain” of the Lord was overthrown in 606 B.C. when Israel’s last king, Zedekiah, was overthrown, and the Israelites taken captive to Babylon.
Thus, when the Lord said that he would, in due time, establish his “mountain” it clearly was a promise of his coming kingdom, or government, which, according to Isaiah 9:6 would be on the “shoulder” of the promised Prince of Peace. And note the language used—this mountain was to be “established.” That which is established is an establishment, and here the Lord is telling us he proposed an “establishment” which would in due time take the place of all human institutions, and certainly this will be an establishment which will be good and righteous and perfect in every respect.
The “House” of the Lord
The Prophet Micah declares that the mountain of the “house” of the Lord shall be established. Here again we have language that was familiar to the people of the prophet’s day, and should still be familiar. Israel was governed by the Lord’s ruling house, which was the family of David. Throughout many centuries Europe was governed by ruling houses, or families. So the Lord is informing us that his government in the earth, his “establishment,” or kingdom, will consist of a ruling house, a ruling family—the house, or family of the Lord.
The Chief One in the Lord’s ruling family is his own beloved Son, Christ Jesus. In Psalm 2:6 Jehovah declares, “I have set my King upon my holy hill [or mountain] of Zion.” When Pilate asked Jesus if he were a king, the Master replied, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world.” (John 18:37) Jesus’ disciples believed that he had come to be the great King in the promised messianic kingdom, and were very much perplexed when he was crucified. To them it seemed impossible that a dead king could be a ruler in a world-wide government.
What the disciples at that time did not understand was that it was first of all necessary for the dead world of mankind to be redeemed from death, for the divine plan was that this great King should rule over living subjects, not those who were dying. Jesus’ death provided a “ransom” which makes possible, in God’s due time, the release of all Adam’s children from the penalty of death that fell upon him and his descendants when he transgressed divine law.
When Jesus was raised from the dead, he explained to his disciples that it was necessary for him to suffer and die before he could enter into the glory of his kingdom. (Luke 4:26) Yes, Jesus was raised from the dead. If Satan thought that he had scored a victory over the Creator, and thus had interfered with the divine kingdom plan by causing Jesus to be put to death, he was mistaken, for nothing can hold back the progress of the divine plan. The King was restored to life, and highly exalted to heavenly glory to be the invisible Ruler in the Father’s ruling house.
Other Sons
In God’s ruling house there will not only be Jesus, but also his faithful footstep followers. These too will be of the family of God. There will be 144,000 of these, and they are also spoken of as being with him on Mt. Zion, or Sion, as it is in the New Testament. Jesus, because of his sacrifice on behalf of fallen mankind, is likened to a “Lamb,” and in Revelation 14:1 he is shown on Mt. Sion—the “mountain” of the Lord—and with him “an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.” Thus they also are the sons of God, members of his ruling house.
This little company is made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Jesus was an Israelite, and when he came at his first advent he presented himself to that little nation, but was rejected by them generally; but some did believe and accept him, and to these he gave authority to become “the sons of God.” (John 1:11,12) But there were not enough Jewish believers to make up the predestined number of 144,000, so later the Gospel went to the Gentiles, and we are told in Acts 15:14 that God visited the Gentiles “to take out of them a people for his name.” Jesus addressed his disciples, saying, “Fear not little flock, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”—Luke 12:32
The condition upon which these qualify to reign with Jesus in his messianic kingdom is that they suffer and die with him. Even as Jesus proved his worthiness of high exaltation and rulership by his willingness to suffer and die for his future subjects, so his footstep followers have the privilege of laying down their lives in the divine cause, thus proving their fidelity to righteousness at the cost of sacrifice and death. Paul wrote, “If we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with him.” (II Tim. 2:11,12) The sacrificial death of this class is symbolically described as a beheading, and in Revelation 20:4 we read, “I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, … and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
Human Representatives
The Scriptures reveal that the spiritual, or invisible rulership of the messianic kingdom centers in Jesus, and associated with him will be his true church. This invisible government will have human representatives. These will not be elected by the people, but chosen of God. They will be those of preceding ages who, through faithfulness even unto death, proved their worthiness of such a high position. “These intermediaries, while not the kingdom in the proper sense of the word, will be so fully the representatives of it amongst men that they will be recognized as the kingdom by men: they will represent the kingdom before men and be the only visible representatives of it. Hence we have termed these ‘the earthly phase of the kingdom,’ visible among men.—Luke 13:28”—Vol. 4, p. 619
“These, ‘Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets’ and Ancient Worthies referred to by our Lord and by the apostles (Matt. 8:11; Heb. 11:4-40), having passed their trial, will be awakened from death perfect—fully restored to human perfection. … And this perfection will enable them to communicate with the spiritual kings and priests direct, without need that the spirit beings assume fleshly bodies for the purpose of communicating the laws, etc., for the world. Just as Adam, while perfect, before his transgression, could commune direct with the heavenly powers, so will these Worthies commune, when restored to the same state of perfection.”—Vol. 4, p. 619
The Scriptures identify these Ancient Worthies as “fathers in Israel,” and inform us that they will become “children,” given life, that is, by the divine Christ, and that they will be made “princes in all the earth.” (Ps. 45:16) Again, Isaiah 32:1 reads, “Behold, a king [Jesus] shall reign in righteousness, and princes [the Ancient Worthies] shall rule in judgment.” The next verse in this prophecy reads, “A man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Thus are symbolically described some of the rich blessings which will reach the people through the spiritual and human phases of that long-promised kingdom of the Messiah.
The Resurrection
It is obvious that this kingdom cannot be established apart from a resurrection of the dead. Jesus could not have ruled as the Chief One in this kingdom had the Heavenly Father allowed him to remain in the grave. And this is also true of those, his faithful followers, who will live and reign with him. In this connection it is interesting to note that several translations refer to these as “coming to life.” The New English Bible reads, “These came to life again, and reign with Christ for a thousand years.”—Rev. 20:4
The Scriptures inform us that the coming to life of these true followers of Jesus takes place in “the last days,” following our Lord’s return, and during the early years of his second presence. This is part of the setting up, or establishing process of the new, the messianic kingdom.
But the kingdom is not fully established until its human representatives—those through whom the law of God will go forth to the people—are also raised from the dead. The “little flock” is exalted to glory, honor, and immortality in “the first resurrection,” while the Ancient Worthy class is restored to human perfection in what the Apostle Paul refers to as a “better resurrection.”—Heb. 11:35,40
Divine power having accomplished the resurrection of those who will participate in the invisible and visible phases of the kingdom, there will doubtless be little or no delay in the beginning of the functioning of that kingdom. It will come at a time when the world of mankind, including the Israelites reassembled in the Holy Land, are in deep distress. Throughout the world generally the efforts of the revolutionaries to disestablish the “establishment” will bring confusion and fear upon the nations, and the forces of greed and prejudice will drive Israel into a dilemma from which only the delivering power of the Lord can rescue them; then the people of all nations will be much more inclined than they are now to seek for a solution to their problems other than those which, throughout the years, have been failures.
It will be then that the authority and power of the new kingdom will begin to manifest itself. The prophet declares that this “mountain” of the Lord will be established “in the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills,” indicating that it will take a dominant and controlling position in the affairs of the world. This will be the messianic “establishment,” and it will brook no interference from any source, but from the beginning will rule the world in righteousness.
It will be then that “many nations [Isaiah 2:2 says ‘all nations’] will 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.” (Micah 4:2) Zion and Jerusalem here mentioned would well represent the spiritual and human phases of the kingdom. The laws of that kingdom will emanate from the spiritual phase, Zion, while the “word of the Lord,” the communication of those laws, will be in the hands of those who will be “princes in all the earth.”
The people of all nations will not at once bow the knee to this new rulership of earth. But those who do not will be “rebuked,” and firmly taught the ways of the Lord. The result of this will be that “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.”—vs. 3
What a change that will bring in world affairs! Learning the ways of war, and the preparation for war through ever-increasing and more deadly instruments of war, will give place to peace and the ways of peace, as symbolized by beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruninghooks. Then the great increase of knowledge will be employed for the good of all mankind, and not for destructive purposes, as is so often the case now.
And with this proper utilization of knowledge, economic security will be realized by all. This is beautifully symbolized by the thought of every man dwelling under his vine and fig tree, and none making afraid. (vs. 4) Today the world is filled with fear—fear of war and the hydrogen bomb; fear of unemployment, and fear of the outcome of racial strife which is now so general. But then, with the messianic kingdom in control, there will be none of these to make afraid.
No More Death
However, even with peace established world-wide, and economic security enjoyed by all, mankind would still be suffering if the joys of peace and plenty were marred by sickness and death. The establishment of world-wide peace and prosperity would not empty our hospitals and our mental institutions, nor would it dry the tears of those whose friends and relatives were cruelly struck down by death. Indeed, the menace of sickness and death is now, and always has been, the world’s most baffling problem; but thank God for the assurance that this plague will also be removed through the agency of Christ’s millennial kingdom!
Turning to Isaiah 25:6-9, we again find the messianic kingdom likened to a “mountain.” Verse 6 reads, “In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the less, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” The illustration here is simple and beautiful, assuring us that through the kingdom agencies the great Creator will satisfy the legitimate cravings of all the people, and give them happiness and peace. What a “feast” this will truly be!
Verse 7 reads, “He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.” Here is a symbol of enlightenment. The foretold increase of knowledge has not as yet enlightened the people concerning the true God of creation, our loving Heavenly Father. The true God is still hidden from the people by a “veil” of ignorance and superstition.
Isaiah 11:9 gives us the proper thought in this connection—“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Much of the destruction now being wrought by man upon his fellow man is due to a lack of knowledge of God and his righteous ways. And how glad we are that a time is near when all will know the Lord—“from the least of them unto the greatest of them.”—Jer. 31:31-34
Isaiah 25:8 assures us that in this “mountain” the Lord “will swallow up death in victory, and [that] the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.” This same assurance is given us in Revelation 21:4, which reads, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” And then we have the assurance given to us by the Apostle Paul that Christ will reign until all enemies are put under his feet, and that even death itself will be destroyed.—I Cor. 15:25,26
The hearty response of the people to the blessings of Christ’s millennial kingdom is indicated in verse 9 of Isaiah 25. We quote: “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.” This “salvation” of the Lord will be a complete release from the condemnation of death which came upon Adam and his race as a result of sin. This release will come because Jesus took the sinner’s place in death, giving himself as a “ransom for all”—I Tim. 2:3-6
What a glorious prospect the Bible thus presents for the suffering world! And what a privilege we have of proclaiming the glad tidings of the kingdom, that the “establishment” of God will solve all the problems of man, and restore the willing and obedient to full perfection, to live on the earth as humans forever.