| Highlights of DAWN | January 1976 |
The Approaching World Dictatorship
“The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. … Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” —II Peter 3:10-13
“PESSIMISM. Despair. Gloom and doom. They have become contagious, spreading across the land like a virus, penetrating all social strata, every geographic backwater. Whether you are an international affairs professor at Columbia, a wheat farmer in Nebraska, a ‘futurist’ at some think tank, or a drop-forge operator down on the water front, you must feel it: a premonition of change, a sense of things coming unstuck, an ache of social and political malaise. It’s the Age of Foreboding.”
These are the opening words of an article in The National Observer written by Robert W. Merry at the beginning of 1975. And they reflect rather accurately the sentiments of many people at the end of the year just past; for many Americans seem to be losing faith in the ability of their government to continue to promote the kind of prosperity which the people generally have come to enjoy these many decades. Fear of another Mideast war, concern about pollution of the planet, doubts about the long-range effect on America of detente, worries over diminishing natural resources, the population growth and its effect on the world food supply—all these and other knotty problems have stirred an unaccustomed and discomforting sense of anxiety. A feeling of apprehension is spreading that the “good life” is coming to an end.
British historian Arnold Toynbee echoes somewhat the same sentiments. He suggests that we have come to the end of an era—an era, he says, that bought progress at the expense of the laborer and the despoiling of our natural resources. This, he believes, will effect profound changes in the lifestyles of many, and require a remaking of the social structure. Toynbee further foresees a bitter struggle for control of the world’s diminishing resources. This struggle, he suggests, will result in disorder that will be restored only through the establishment of authoritarian governments which will regiment the lives and activities of the people.
The End of an Era
These gentlemen are far from being alone in their dire forecasts of the future. A group of scholars who call themselves the “Club of Rome” has published a study in which it is held that present world problems will reach a crisis point in a few generations unless drastic action is taken immediately to correct the world’s ills, which they believe flow largely from the expanding world population.
A professor of government at Columbia University, Zbigniew Brzezinski, recently wrote, “The existing international system … is disintegrating.” This will result, he believes, in increased confrontations between the advanced and the developing nations, inducing “increasing internal strains within the advanced countries, in some cases even threatening their democratic institutions.”
And we hear the following from our friends across the sea. Henry Brandon, chief American correspondent of The Sunday Times of London, has stated that it is his belief that “the era of American omnipresence, the willingness to exercise power alone and the idea that the United States can control events are passing into history.”
Need for Worldwide Remedies
Writer Robert L. Heilbroner suggests that if man is to avoid the fast approaching world catastrophe, he will have to adopt self-denial of a heroic size—self-denial, he fears, of a character and magnitude beyond man’s willingness to make.
And so it goes. Growing numbers of thoughtful people are expressing doubt that man is either able or willing to come to grips with the overspreading problems that are bedeviling the world.
The dire need for peaceful and equitable dealings between nations is becoming daily more fully recognized, and more widely proclaimed. On the occasion of the 30th birthday of the United Nations organization, President Ford listed some of the more troublesome of the world’s problems, and pointed out what he believed to be the only way in which these can be solved. He said, “Worldwide organization is necessary to deal with worldwide problems.” And he added that “the list of such problems grows daily.”
Significantly, he stated that “most of these are new problems. Only in recent years have they acquired global significance and generated worldwide concern.” In short, these are problems which are unique to the day in which we are living, and thus they tell us where we are on the stream of time. Jesus stated that the end of the age would be marked by great tribulation in the world “the like of which has not occurred from the beginning of the world down to the present time—no, nor ever will again.” (Matt. 24:21, Twentieth Century N.T.) It is agreed by all that the problems confronting the world today have indeed largely come about during this 20th century in which we are living.
On the same occasion Kurt Waldheim, Secretary General of the United Nations, voiced his opinion that united action by all nations is urgently needed if world problems are to be solved before it is too late. He listed virtually the same problems that Mr. Ford calls to our attention, and adds that “the changed conditions of our time are at once evident.” These are troubles, he is saying as did Mr. Ford, that are singular to our day.
Then he, too, points out the need for joint action by the community of nations. “The problems which face mankind are now, in the main, common to all nations and all areas, and it is not possible to resolve them any more by purely national, or even regional, responses. … There has been in recent years a growing realization that in order to be successful, there must be global strategies. … Slowly we have realized that we are physically and economically interdependent on this planet; … We have learned that we must cooperate not because we particularly wish to but because we know the alternative.” The alternative, we are left to infer, is a very gloomy one, indeed.
Growth of “One World” Concept
Lincoln P. Bloomfield is professor of political science at MIT and Director of the State Department-sponsored Global Interdependence Project of the MIT Center for International Studies. He, too, speaks of the growth of the “one world” concept. He says, “The level of awareness of global interdependence … rises with each new crisis, whether over oil, food, finances or the spread of nuclear weapons,” and suggests that as a consequence the need to maintain world peace must be given serious consideration by the world’s statesmen on a worldwide basis.
Truly, the problems confronting mankind are awesome and even frightening, and one would suppose that their gravity would direct man’s thoughts heavenward for help. But not so. In all the gatherings arranged for discussing these tragic problems almost no voice is raised seeking divine guidance beyond, perhaps, the formality of an opening prayer. Indeed, there are those who feel that reliance on divine help would be vain.
One group of scientific, educational, and religious leaders not too long ago expressed their deep concern with world conditions and proposed, as many others are coming to propose, that progress toward human happiness can only come through the elimination of national boundaries and the establishment of a world community.
But can we look to Almighty God for help in bringing about this utopia? Not at all, say the one hundred and twenty philosophers, writers, and social scientists who signed this document. They hold that it is man, and man alone, who must solve these problems that threaten his existence. “No deity will save us; we must save ourselves,” is their conclusion. Curiously enough, a goodly number of religious leaders were included among the signers.
Thus we find that many thinkers, in the search for a solution to world problems, are leaning toward the concept of a world government that would transcend national boundaries. But then there are others who would find the solution in the establishment of autocratic governments within their own presently constituted nations.
“Democracy in Difficulty”
Writing in the Temple University Alumni Review, Dr. Murray S. Stedman, Jr., professor and chairman of the department of political science at that school, says that “liberal democracy, as it is practiced in the United States, is in difficulty.” He also says, “government in the future will have to be more ‘authoritative’ than it has been in the past.”
Wayne Boucher, staff member of an association named Futures Group, is more precise. He says, “If we don’t improve [the quality of] decision-making very quickly the result could very well be a dictatorship.”
And James Reston is even more explicit. He writes, “It is hard to travel in Europe these days, or even to live in Washington, without recognizing that liberal democracy is now in serious trouble in the world. We are living in a time of widespread doubt about the capacity of free societies to deal with the economic, political, and philosophical problems of the age.
“Wherever you look, the leaders of the Free World seem to be overwhelmed by the complexities of modern life, baffled by the demands of special-interest groups, and inclined toward autocratic methods in handling their dilemmas.”
And when deep difficulties assail even the most dedicated leaders of liberal societies, the transformation from an open democracy to an autocratic government can be very swift and complete indeed. Commenting on the situation that has but lately developed in India, Tom Wicker recently wrote in the New York Times:
“The most remarkable thing about Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s swift seizure of power and effective suspension of democracy in India is how easily it was accomplished. It also seems to have been widely accepted, if first reports are borne out, although it had generally been assumed that Indian democratic traditions were strong and deep.”
And be it noted that, in spite of Mrs. Gandhi’s protestations that the situation demanded highhanded action (which many would deny), the fact remains that she exercised autocratic powers to “save democracy.” To thus “save” democracy, she followed the ages-long pattern of throwing her opponents into jail, curtailing the liberties of the people, and imposing censorship on the press.
Failure of Earthly Governments
Thus we find that there are those now living under democratic forms of government who, seeing their obvious faults, would turn to a more “authoritarian” form of government in the hope of gaining, or preserving, the fuller, more abundant life. Even Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, famous Russian author who recently felt obliged to exile himself from his own homeland, is still in favor of autocratic rule for Russia—but of a beneficent type. It must be an authoritarian system “based on genuine concern and love on the part of the rulers,” he says. Certainly, no right-minded person would quarrel with Mr. Solzhenitsyn about the desirability of a government so oriented; but one would turn the pages of human history in vain in search of an autocratic system of the kind described by our Russian friend.
Solzhenitsyn is at odds with that other famous Russian, physicist Andrei D. Sakharov, who has had quite enough of the Russian type of authoritarianism, and does not mince his words in so stating. What the learned Mr. Solzhenitsyn seems not to have discovered, in spite of his own much publicized sufferings under the Russian system of government, is that absolute power in the hands of imperfect men tends to corrupt and debase. And of all forms of government devised by imperfect man, perhaps the most inefficient, the most cruel, the most destructive of the human spirit, has been the dictatorship.
So, as we look back over history, we find that ho form of government that has ever existed on this earth has produced complete happiness for man. Imperialism, church-state governments, various forms of democracy, dictatorships, Communism—all have failed to produce a world of happy people. And to this day vast numbers of the world’s population are ill-fed, ill-clothed, and ill-housed. They are still exploited and overworked. They still shoot and torture one another. And they still get sick—and die.
The Coming Universal Dictatorship
But, happily, there is hope for mankind. There is hope that man will indeed find true and everlasting happiness in a world of peace and plenty—a world without wars, a world without hunger, without sickness, and without suffering; and best of all, a world wherein there will be no death.
Perhaps strangest of all, will be a world that will have a government that will be truly universal, transcending all national boundaries; and it will be controlled and directed by the strictest authoritarian rule ever to have been imposed on this planet. Indeed, it is the very world envisioned by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn—“an authoritarian system based on genuine concern and love on the part of the rulers.” The government of that new world will be both universal and authoritarian, but it will indeed be ruled by love. It will be a world incorporating the better of those features of government toward which men’s minds have lately been turning in the search for solutions to world problems. It will be that wonderful kingdom of Christ for which man has been praying for some nineteen hundred years.
The approach of this glorious new world is signaled by the very troubles that at this moment are so sorely distressing mankind. These troubles are signs of the end of an age, or era, even as so many are coming to see. They are the signs of the end of this present evil world, or social order, which must pass away, and make way for the establishment in the earth of Christ’s kingdom; that new world, that new social order, wherein righteousness will reign.—Matt. 24:3,21; II Pet. 3:10,12,13
But there will be a vast difference between this new authoritarian rulership and the imperfect governments of this present evil world that are soon to be destroyed and replaced. Because Satan is the god of this world, evil is now rewarded, evil is countenanced, evil predominates. But in the coming new world, in the new social arrangement soon to be established on this planet Earth, Satan will be bound and completely shorn of all power to deceive the people.—Rev. 20:1-3
In this new world government, Christ will be King of kings, and Lord of lords. (Rev. 19:16) Associated with Christ in this rulership will be the faithful overcomers of the Gospel Age, the footstep followers of Jesus, who will live and reign with him for a thousand years.—Rev. 20:4,6
Dead to be Raised
One of the first actions to be taken by the newly established kingdom under Christ and his faithful followers will be the resurrection of all of mankind who have gone down into their graves. All who are obedient to the righteous laws of that kingdom will gain life everlasting right here on earth; for God did not make the earth in vain, he formed it to be inhabited forever by his grateful, happy, and worshipful human creatures.—Dan. 12:1,2; John 5:25-29; Acts 3:20-24; Matt. 25:31-34; Isa. 45:18
In that new kingdom judgment and justice will be righteously dispensed. “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.” (Isa. 28:17) All who then willingly and from the heart conform to the just and righteous laws of the kingdom, all who then learn to love their neighbor as themselves, will gain everlasting life.
Few in this present life have truly known their loving and merciful Creator. But in that day all shall come to know him, from the least even to the greatest. (Jer. 31:34) But in order that no slightest stain of sin may mar the peace and joy of that glorious new world, all who are disobedient will be destroyed from among the people.—Acts 3:21-23; II Thess. 1:9
Obedience to Be Enforced
Yes, our risen Lord Jesus will be the King of kings and Lord of lords in that new kingdom. But let there be no mistake. The righteous laws of that kingdom will indeed be enforced, but with love and with equity and with justice toward all. He who gave his life for the world of mankind, he who purchased them by hanging on the cross; whose heart went out to the sick, the blind, the deaf, the halt; he who wept at the death of his dear friend Lazarus, will tenderly lead them up the highway of holiness, to drink of the waters of life freely, even as a loving shepherd gently leads his flock into green pastures flowing with purest life-giving streams of water.
When Christ’s kingdom is established in the earth all men will render grateful praise to their Heavenly Father. Then, again, for the first time since father Adam was given dominion over God’s earthly creation, will this be one world. Then, all will be one in their love for their loving Creator, for their merciful Redeemer, and for their fellow man. Under the wise and tender ministrations of the kingdom, that flickering ember of divine love that still glows, though ever so dimly, in the heart of fallen man will be fanned into lively flame. And how gladly and hungrily will mankind reach out to embrace the righteous conditions then prevailing! Then shall love and joy and kindness be manifested on every hand!
Through the Prophet Micah our loving Heavenly Father gives us an encouraging foregleam of that wonderful kingdom soon to come:
“In the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain [kingdom] of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains [kingdoms], 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 pruning hooks: 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
And now that we are at the start of another year, undoubtedly the same question arises in the minds of the Lord’s followers as did to his disciples at the beginning of the age: When shall these things be? When shall the kingdom be established? From all the signs, we believe it cannot be far off. But we are also mindful of our Lord’s words, “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”—Matt. 24:3,36
Of one thing we can be sure, for we have the inspired word of the Apostle Paul for it: “Now is our salvation nearer than when we [first] believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”—Rom. 13:11,12