| Highlights of Dawn | December 1969 |
The Decade That Is Ending
DECEMBER is the last month, not only of another year, but of another decade as well. A decade is approximately one-seventh of an average human life today, so to us it seems like a long time. But with the great Creator it is a very short period of time. In a prayer, Moses said to the Creator, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.—Ps. 90:2-4
How wonderful are the illustrations used in the Bible! In human experience a day or a night often seems like a very long time. To one who has to keep awake as a watchman the night seems interminable; and to one who is burdened with fatiguing labor, it seems as though the end of the day will never come. But in both these situations when these individuals look back upon their experience they seem very short indeed.
This is true of the 1960 decade. At the beginning of this decade we who are interested in the prophecies of the Bible pertaining to the establishment of the long-promised kingdom of Christ looked ahead with a wish that this might be fully realized during the coming ten years. Now we know that it was not, but we do not despair, because as we look back, upon these ten years which are ending it seems to be such a short period of time, and we might easily wonder why we should have expected so much.
However, the evidences that the kingdom in power and great glory is much nearer are clearly seen as we look back upon the events of the last ten years. As all Bible Students know, two of the important signs that we are in the end of the age, and the time of our Lord’s second presence which will lead to the establishment of his kingdom, are given to us by Daniel in chapter 12:1,4. These signs are a “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation,” and a foretold running “to and fro” and “increase of knowledge.” We have had these signs with us dating back into the nineteenth century, but every year they become evident on an ever larger scale, and more and more convincing concerning the time of God’s plan in which we are living:
Actually, the phenomenal increase of knowledge throughout the years has been responsible in no small way for the development of the foretold “time of trouble,” or as Jesus stated it, “distress of nations, with perplexity.” One of the results of the foretold increase of knowledge has been the rapid means of travel now being utilized by men and nations. This, figuratively speaking, has reduced the size of the world, bringing men and nations closer together; and because of the continued reign of selfishness in the human heart, this increasing proximity of man to man has produced a sorry state of affairs both within nations and among nations.
Almost Unbelievable
The rate at which knowledge has increased during the last ten years is almost unbelievable. Now we are told that the sum total of knowledge acquired and utilized by mankind is doubling every few years, and that there is more than twice as much knowledge in the world today as there was at the beginning of the decade. Textbooks dealing with the various categories of knowledge may become outdated overnight.
The 1960’s have been the decade of the computer. While the computer was used to a limited degree prior to 1960, there is today scarcely a business organization or institution, and we might even say an individual, that is not touched by the uncanny skill of the electronic computer. From accounting in banks and scores of other businesses to guiding space ships to the moon, the computer is now working its near-miracles, and to an extent that the man in the street never dreamed of at the beginning of the decade.
Travel Also
Since the time when the railway train replaced the stagecoach, and the automobile ended the days of the horse and buggy, there has been continual progress in the field of travel, and this progress was most pronounced in the 1960 decade. It was during these last ten years that the jet planes to a large extent replaced the propeller-driven flying machine, increasing the speed of commercial air travel to six hundred miles an hour. So quickly does the general public become accustomed to increasing speeds of travel that already it would seem a hardship to return to the old propeller-driven planes which could fly only (?) three hundred miles an hour.
The 1960’s saw space travel mature to the point that men reached and walked on the moon. It is difficult for the layman to understand just what advantage this is destined to bring to the human race, but all admit that it was a great accomplishment. Through the study of rocks brought back from the moon the scientists have concluded that the moon is much older than they had supposed it to be—probably four and one-half billion years, according to their estimates.
Communications
Weather and television satellites were placed in orbit around the earth during the 1960 decade, and it is now possible to see instantly on television, occurrences of interest almost anywhere on earth. We see the horrors of war in Vietnam, and the investiture of a British prince in Wales, as these events occur. We can travel around the world with the President of the United States, or take a trip with a Congressional committee, if we wish, and be in on the action as it occurs.
All of this has come about in fulfillment of prophecy concerning the end of the age, and the time when the Lord would be preparing to establish his kingdom in the earth. A hundred years ago the people of earth, even the wisest among them, would not have believed that such things could ever be possible; but it has been given to our generation to see them unfold, yet only those who watch the “sure Word of prophecy”—the Bible—know the real meaning of what is taking place.
The Trouble
Certainly the prophetic “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation” has continued and increased throughout the 1960 decade. The threatening problems of the Middle East; of Africa; of a divided Germany; of Cuba and South America have continued unabated throughout the last ten years.
The United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War came about in the 1960 decade. While American troops are now being withdrawn from Vietnam, the rate of withdrawal does not seem to indicate that America’s participation in that bloody struggle will end any time soon. Before it ends as many as 40,000 American soldiers will have died, and there are millions of Americans who are asking what has been accomplished by this.
The Riot Decade
We could almost speak of the 1960’s as the riot decade, for these outbursts of anarchy have become more and more prevalent, especially during the late sixties. Much of the rioting has been associated with the struggle between the blacks and the whites, resulting in the burning of large areas in many American cities, and much bloodshed. Poverty has been one of the principal causes for this rioting, and while the Federal Government declared war on poverty, and millions of dollars have been spent to implement this “war,” the results have been meager—not sufficient to prevent the people in poverty-stricken areas from continuing to be restive and threatening.
A milder form of rioting has developed at the nation’s colleges and universities, and in fact in some instances at the public schools. These are called protest rallies, but they often end in confusion and bloodshed. There is a general revolt against the way universities are operated. But this is not universal on the part of the students. In fact, it is usually a small minority which starts the agitation, and some of the leaders of this minority have frankly declared themselves to be communists with the openly expressed aim of overthrowing the “establishment,” or the governments of the colleges, and some have gone so far as to include the Federal Government in their declaration of war.
Law and Order
What with the rioting and the increasing rate of other crimes, one of the election campaign issues in the 1968 general election was “law and order.” All the candidates promised, if elected, to establish “law and order,” and thus make it safer to walk on our city streets. But it has been difficult to fulfill these promises. In Washington, D.C., for example, the situation is much worse than when the new President took over the reins of government.
Other Events
It was in the 1960’s that John F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, was elected to be President of the United States, and he was the first Catholic to have this honor conferred upon him. President Kennedy did not have the opportunity to serve out his full term of office because he was assassinated—apparently not, however, for religious reasons.
Before his assassination President Kennedy was involved in what was one of the tensest situations of the decade; that is, his demand that Russia withdraw her missiles from Cuba, and destroy her missile bases in that small communist country. It was a war of nerves, and the President won, Russia acceding to his demands.
It was during the 1960’s that Medicare came into being, benefiting millions of the aged ill.
It was also during the 1960’s that certain skilled surgeons accomplished the unbelievable feat of transplanting human hearts. This was at first hailed as a promise of great hope to those who suffered from heart ailments. The enthusiasm has since died down considerably because of the inability to cope with the “rejection” problem; that is, the fact that the human body refuses to accept a heart transplanted from another individual. Anyway, we know from the promises of God that this is not his way of giving everlasting human life to the people; that his way is through the redemptive blood of Christ and “restitution,” or resurrection.
It was during the 1960’s that the first “Civil Rights” bills ever to get through the legislative halls of Washington became a law designed to lift negroes from the status of second-class citizens, and to assure them equal rights of education, work, and housing. It was because of his zealous activity in the civil rights cause that Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated.
The Six-Day War
It was after years of guerilla attacks upon each other by Israel and her Arab neighbors, that the Six-Day War was launched against the Arabs by Israel in 1967. Israel gained a quick and signal victory against the Arabs, capturing much territory, including the “old” city of Jerusalem. But this didn’t settle the controversy, for now raids have been resumed by both sides; and only time will tell what the next development will be.
We know from the prophecies that ultimately God will deliver Israel from her enemies, and upon the acceptance of Jesus as their Redeemer and obedience to the laws of the messianic kingdom, they will be the first to receive the promised blessings of that kingdom. But so far as we know, the details of what will take place in the experiences of these ancient people of God between now and then are not fully revealed by the prophecies of the Bible. However, every eager student of the prophecies will continue to watch what takes place in the Middle East, and especially in Israel.
“God Is Dead”
It was in the 1960’s that certain atheistic theologians announced their unbelief by asserting that “God is dead.” Much was made of this by the various news media of the world, and particularly by that of the United States. Of course these gentlemen, in making the announcement that God is dead, were speaking of the only god they knew, which was the god of the creeds—that concept of God that was handed down from the Dark Ages. What they did not know, and what they still do not know, is that the god whom they pronounced dead had really never been alive, except in the minds of those who believed in such a god. So actually, it would seem the true God of the Bible was not involved in this controversy at all. He is the ever-living and ever-loving God, the Creator of heaven and earth. He is the One who sent his beloved Son into the world to be the Redeemer of mankind from sin and death, and who, in his own due time, and upon the basis of the redemption provided through Christ, will restore the dying race to health and life.
The Vatican Council
It was in 1962 that the late Pope John called that memorable Vatican Council, and after Pope John’s death in 1963, the new pope, Paul, reconvened the council. The declared purpose of these two sessions of the Vatican Council was to bring the church up-to-date and thus enable it the more successfully to influence the modern world. There was much speech making, and passing or rejecting of resolutions, but when the last session of the council was brought to a close the pope still insisted on his infallibility, and as being the only one who had the right to say just how the Catholic Church should be managed.
However, as indicated by the late Pope John, “a breath of air” had entered the halls of church dogma, and this gave many bishops, cardinals, and priests courage to speak out against the dogmatic and claimed infallible authority of the pope, and as a result of this Paul has been in deep trouble ever since. Priests and nuns by the thousand are now leaving the Catholic Church every year. Many of these renounce the Catholic Church altogether and join other churches, and some even give up religion. Others profess to remain Catholics, but hold their meetings—including their masses—in private homes, much after the custom of the Early Church. Then many of the congregations of the Master’s followers held their meetings in the homes of the membership, including the congregation at Rome.
Meanwhile there has been a continuing and increasing lack of faith and interest in religion. In the previous decade a widespread religious fervor had developed among the general public. Church attendance and even membership temporarily increased. But that is gone now, and recent polls indicate that there is an increasing lack of religious interest. General church attendance is down, except in an occasional fashionable church in which its members can afford to pay the high salary of a “silver-tongued orator.” This is so in America, and even more so in many countries overseas.
Population Explosion
The rapid increase of population the world over became a matter of increasing concern during the 1960’s. During this period, for example, the population of the United States passed the 200,000,000 mark, and the prediction now is that this will be doubled, or nearly so, by the beginning of the twenty-first century. In other countries the population is increasing even more rapidly than here in America.
This poses the question of where the food will come from to supply the needs of these increasing numbers of humans—and not only food, but clothing and housing as well. Many are concerned about the necessary water supply. These concerns enter into much of the discussion concerning birth control, and this, in turn, has raised one of the very disturbing controversies now confronting the Catholic Church.
When God created our first parents he commanded them to multiply, and fill the earth. (Gen. 1:26-28) The fact that world economists are now becoming concerned over the population explosion, fearing that all too soon the earth will be overcrowded if something is not done about it, would indicate that the commission to fill the earth will not long hence be accomplished. The commission to fill the earth implies that when this has been accomplished the procreation of the human race will, under the Lord’s direction, cease.
Since the Lord has promised to restore the dead to life during the messianic kingdom period, the present population explosion would be one of the strong evidences of the nearness of that kingdom: for certainly the present population, plus those who have fallen asleep in death throughout the ages, is approaching the number required to properly fill the earth.
So, while world economists become increasingly concerned with rapidly expanding populations, we see it as another evidence that we are very near to the full break of that glorious new day of promise when sin, sorrow, and death will be destroyed. How wonderful it is, then, to realize that God, in his love, made a wonderful provision of redemption through Christ whereby all can and will be released from death and given an opportunity to believe, obey, and live forever. How reassuring the promise that “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”—I Cor. 15:21-22