| Highlights of DAWN | June 1976 |
Détente Indeed—How, and When?
THE world today is virtually an armed camp. While millions of our fellowmen go hungry, arms costs are soaring in every nation. Some 250 billion dollars are spent annually on global “defense,” of which some 50 billions are allocated to building up nuclear arsenals.
Thirty million people are in uniform. Forty percent of all money spent on research is devoted to the development of more efficient and more deadly military devices. Military research swallows up some twenty-five percent of the time and talents of all the world’s scientists. And though most nations face growing economic crises, the outpouring of money and effort and resources for war preparations keeps right on flowing.
Every country wants to disarm, they say—but nobody wants to be first. No nation deems itself too poor to maintain expensive armed forces. At this very moment there are troops from no less than 69 nations in the United States receiving military training, including such mini-nations as Fiji, Singapore, Haiti, Yemen, and Kuwait. Many poor nations are spending four times as much on arms as on public health.
When the Shah of oil-rich Iran was asked recently why his nation was spending many billions of dollars each year for powerful modern weapons, he matter-of-factly replied, “Because of what is going on around us, and the amount and type of weapons that we see around us.” The United States is the principal supplier to Iran of these weapons. The United States is also supplying weapons to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel in the Mid-east, and to many other nations around the world. The manufacture and sale of arms and war materiel is big business in this country.
But while the entire world is today, as we have said, virtually an armed camp, it is the fear of conflict between the two great superpowers that causes deep anxiety in the minds of high and low the world over. So pervasive is this fear that one continually sees published comparisons of the military and industrial might of these two giants, often purporting to prove that the United States is falling behind Russia in the grim and grisly race. Prompted by whatever motive, each increases its expenditures for arms year after year. Year after year the danger of disaster seems to grow. And, indeed, the possibility of such a conflict is not altogether remote.
Spread of Nuclear Weapons
Perhaps the most disquieting aspect of this situation is that such a conflict could end up in nuclear warfare that would destroy civilization. Until recently, only the two great powers possessed nuclear technology and nuclear weapons. But this is rapidly changing. A writer in The Forum recently said, “A few years from now, nuclear arms may be in the hands of about 25 countries, some of them smaller or poorer than Greece or Turkey, some of them ruled by impetuous demagogues, some by weak governments that could not stop military or other bellicose factions from gaining control of these arms.”
It was against this disturbing background that Secretary of State Kissinger some years ago initiated talks with the Soviet Union looking to a reduction of the explosive tensions between the two nations, which gave rise to the arrangement later known as détente. As all now know, the results of these talks, as far as the United States is concerned, have been negligible and disappointing, if not altogether misleading.
Indeed, so disenchanted has the United States lately become with the results of this laudable effort that President Ford recently announced he was dropping the word détente from his vocabulary. And, seemingly, the arms race, the nuclear build-up, and the international maneuvering will continue in earnest.
The Mid-east Powder Keg
Oddly enough, however, while the possibility of direct conflict between the two great powers causes deep concern, it is the volatile situation in the Mid-east that most immediately troubles serious observers of world events. For it is the state of affairs in the Mid-east, these observers believe, that could eventually give rise to an appalling world conflict to which some apply the Bible term of Armageddon. And, significantly, it is in that very part of the world that the Bible itself places the climax of the great time of trouble with which this age will end.
Over the recent decades, the two great powers have gingerly avoided direct confrontation. They have generally sought, rather, to pursue their separate goals by their support of allies. This pattern has been followed in Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and lately in Angola. We have also seen it in the Mid-east, where the Soviets have, in general, supported the Arab nations, while the United States has given her support to Israel.
The Bible indicates that the little land of Palestine, the land that God long ago gave to his people Israel, will witness the final great conflict in which the nations of the earth will engage just prior to the establishment of Christ’s glorious kingdom. It reveals that the regathered people of Israel, so few in number, will be the focal point of the strife.
A Mighty Army from the North
Under the leadings of the Holy Spirit, the Prophet Ezekiel tells in some detail of an attack by a seemingly invincible army upon regathered Israel, dwelling in the land in a relatively defenseless condition. He describes it as a “land of unwalled villages … and having neither bars nor gates.” (38:11) This great army comes upon Israel “in the latter days” from “the uttermost parts of the north with his hordes.”—Ezek. 38:6,16, RSV
In the prophecy the Lord makes it clear that it is he, and he alone, who has arranged the circumstances; it is he who will control the outcome of the battle; and that he does. it for a specific purpose—that his name shall be glorified, and his power and dominion shall be seen and acknowledged in the whole earth. He says to the attacking force, “Thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: and thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified [vindicated, RSV] in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.”—Ezek. 38:15,16
In view of Russia’s undisguised animosity toward Israel and Jews in general; in view of Russia’s military might and her ability to coerce other nations to do her bidding; and in view of Russia’s geographical location in relation to Israel, it is interesting to note that the Lord on three separate occasions identifies the powerful attacking armies as coming down upon Israel from “the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes.”—30:6,15; 39:2, RSV, NEB, Rotherham, Septuagint
God’s Destruction of Gog
And then the Lord acts! “And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face!” (38:18) Then the prophet describes the terrible and utter destruction that the Lord brings down upon these attacking hordes.
“For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; … and I will call for a sword against him [Gog] throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him [punish him, Moff.] with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself [show my holiness, RSV]; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.—Ezek. 38:19-23
“Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: and I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.—Ezek. 39:1-4
“Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly [confidently, margin] in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.—Ezek. 39:5-7
“Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.—Ezek. 39:8-10
Jehovah God Glorified
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers … and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God.—Ezek. 39:11-13
“And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.—Ezek. 39:14-16
“And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice [slaughter, margin] that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.—Ezek. 39:17
“Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.—Ezek. 39:18-22
“Israel and the Heathen Shall Know”
“So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.—Ezek. 39:23,24
“Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; after that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.”—Ezek. 39:25-29
By this final and awesome display of his unlimited power and might the Lord God makes known to Israel and to the world that he is indeed, and forever will be, the righteousness Ruler of the universe.
Time of Jacob’s Trouble
The Prophet Jeremiah also speaks of this final terrible trouble to come upon Israel, at which time the Lord God displays his power on their behalf. Jeremiah places it, chronologically, as following their regathering to the land (Jer. 30:3), and in the Day of Jehovah. He calls it the time of Jacob’s trouble.—Jer. 30:6; Isa. 13:6-9
He writes, “For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?”—Jer. 30:3-6
As does Ezekiel, Jeremiah also states that God will intervene, and save Israel. “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. … Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar. … For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee.”—Jer. 30:7,10,11
God Alone Saves Israel
Then the Prophet Jeremiah adds a statement which appears significant. He suggests that at the time of this great trouble upon regathered Israel, she will be standing alone. He says, “There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. All thy lovers [allies, Moff., Amp.] have forgotten thee; they seek thee not.”—Jer. 30:13,14
At the present time, Israel has a strong ally in the United States. The United States continually pleads the cause of Israel in the United Nations and elsewhere, often to its own injury. It also supplies Israel with financial and military aid in substantial amounts. And many highly placed American officials have stated it as their opinion that the United States will never abandon Israel to her enemies. But is not the prophet suggesting, perhaps, that this situation would sometime change? One wonders just what circumstances could bring this about.
One factor, perhaps, that could effect such a change is the continuing stalemate between Israel and her Arab neighbors in the Mid-east. The Arab nations are making it clear that their patience is running low; progress toward a satisfactory settlement of the issues is altogether too slow, they believe. They also believe, and are saying, that the United States should force their ally, Israel, to make additional concessions toward arriving at a peaceful solution of these territorial and religious problems. And there is no lack of open hints from the Arab nations that a repetition of the oil embargo toward the United States is not to be ruled out. In the face of such an embargo, would the United States continue to support Israel, and be her ally?
To show that this threat is not an idle one, the Arab nations are already blacklisting companies all over the world which do business with Israel. Already some 1,800 firms and individuals in the United States are barred from doing business with Arab nations. Thus, while the active war between Israel and her enemies is presently held in check by a cease-fire arrangement, a very real and bitter economic war is actually now in progress.
Another factor that could bring about Israel’s isolation could be the elimination of the United States itself from its present position of strength. There are many who believe that Russia’s military might already exceeds that of the United States. Under such a condition, NATO Commander-in-Chief General Alexander Haig has warned that “Moscow might then risk making tough demands, on the theory that it no longer needs to fear humiliation—or defeat.” The United States might then again conclude, as it did with Angola, that it would be wisest to avoid confrontation. If these demands related to Israel, it is not inconceivable that that nation could then find itself alone.
“Thus Will I Magnify Myself”
Indeed, the Lord himself seems to be saying something along this same line. It is the Lord God, alone, who shall save Israel. It is the Lord God whose name is to be vindicated. And to accomplish this end, the Lord God needs no help from any earthly source in delivering Israel from attack. “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself [show my holiness, RSV]; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”
The Prophet Zechariah also speaks of this great event in the life of Israel. He, too, places it in the Day of Jehovah; and he shows that, although the Lord God does not let Israel go down to complete defeat, yet Israel does not come off unscathed. He sums up the entire episode in three brief verses: “Behold, the day of the Lord [Jehovah] cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord [Jehovah] go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.”—Zech. 14:1-3
“Israel Shall Dwell Safely”
This great event prepares the world for the establishment in the earth of God’s long-promised kingdom of righteousness and peace under Christ and his church. Then it will be that Israel shall truly dwell safely in the land that was promised to their fathers.
And how richly will God’s ancient people then be blessed! For lo, these many centuries Jehovah God has been wisely and faithfully overruling their destiny, and longing for the time when his suffering people would finally recognize and worship their loving God and Father, and their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Prophet Jeremiah paints a peaceful picture of that wonderful time for Israel:
“Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, … Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them … and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear [reverence] me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them; and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. For thus saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.”—Jer. 32:36-42
Israel As a Symbol
The Prophet Zechariah, too, tells us of that glorious future day that God has in view for his ancient people. Speaking for Jehovah God of the time when they shall be dwelling safely and peacefully in the kingdom, he says, And I [God] will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. … And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing.”—Zech. 8:8,13
The New English Bible renders this passage, “You, house of Judah and house of Israel, have been the very symbol of a curse to all the nations; and now I will save you, and you shall become the symbol of a blessing.”
In the very beginnings of his dealings with ancient Israel, God offered them rich blessings and high privileges. But these were conditional upon their faithfulness and obedience. After recounting these blessings, God said to them, “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations on earth.” What a marvelous promise from the Lord High God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe! “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.”—Deut. 28:1,2
But these blessings were conditional. “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken, … that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.” (Deut. 28:15) Then follows a long and awesome list of curses to fall upon Israel if she did not hearken to the voice of the Lord. Among these, Israel was told she would be smitten by her enemies, and removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And so great would be the accumulation of sorrows to come upon that nation that the Lord said, “And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.”—Deut. 28:15,25,37
Blessings—Or Sorrows
The promise was blessings, if faithful; curses and sorrows, if unfaithful. That Israel was unfaithful and disobedient is a matter of history. It is also a matter of history that the foretold curses came upon her in full measure. She was scattered into the nations of the earth and became, indeed, “an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord” scattered her. In a word, she became “a very symbol” of a nation that was cursed of the Lord because of unfaithfulness.
But how different it will be in that approaching day following Jacob’s trouble, when Israel’s eyes will have been opened to see that God had always been watching over her, even in her punishments! And how richly shall Israel be blessed in that Millennial Day! Just as she was a symbol to the world of a nation that was cursed of the Lord, then she will be a symbol to the world of a nation that is blessed of the Lord!
The Prophet Jeremiah writes, “And I [God] will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby … they have transgressed against me. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they [the world of mankind] shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.—Jer. 33:7-9
The blessings of the Lord upon Israel in that day shall be so manifold, and so manifest, that all the world shall see, and marvel, and earnestly strive to be similarly blessed of God. Just as Israel was a symbol of sorrows that come from disobedience, so shall she be a symbol of the blessings that come from obedience.
And what a wonderful example shall Israel then be to the resurrected world of mankind! Zechariah explains, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.”—Zech. 8:20-22
Seeing the blessings that shall come upon Israel in that day because of her newly-awakened love for the Lord and her obedience to the laws of the kingdom, the whole world of mankind will seek to gain those same blessings and that same joy by following closely in the example of Israel. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.—Zech. 8:23
Blessings of the Kingdom
The rules of Christ’s kingdom then in operation will be gloriously simple. “These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor.” (Zech. 8:16,17) Thus may the loving and obedient gain everlasting life.
World détente will come through Christ’s glorious kingdom of peace. Confrontations between nations and individuals will be no more. There will be no false pretenses of détente, no false pretenses of a relaxation of tensions between nations. Strife, contention, hunger, selfishness, wars, killings—all will be abolished.
It will be a new world—a world of love for the Heavenly Father, for our Lord Jesus, and for our fellowmen. A world of peace, and joy, and life. A world wherein dwelleth righteousness. It will be the kingdom reign of the glorified Christ and his faithful, overcoming followers.
When will it come? The timing is in our Heavenly Father’s hands. But we believe the Lord is telling us, by what is taking place throughout the world, and especially in the Mid-east, that it is truly drawing nigh. Meantime, while the time permits, it is the glorious privilege of the Lord’s people in these closing days of the Gospel Age to tell the troubled world the glad tidings of God’s wonderful plan of salvation for all men. As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”—Rom. 10:15
In this passage, the word beautiful translates the Greek word horaios, which is from hora, meaning hour, day, or season. Professor Strong explains that horaios means “timely,” or “belonging to the right hour or season.” Dr. Thayer says, similarly, that it means “ripe,” or “mature.” The Apostle Paul seems to be suggesting that the time is ripe to tell the troubled world the blessed tidings of the coming time of peace.