| Highlights of DAWN | July 1981 |
The Supply Side
“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” —Ecclesiastes 5:10
THE last presidential election in the United States witnessed one of the greatest mandates for change that has been registered by the electorate in many years. The voters were expressing their dissatisfaction with the policies of government they believed were responsible for double digit inflation and the generally staggering economy. Since World War II the policies of the government have been dominated by an economic philosophy propounded by John Keynes. In general it advocates deficit financing and credit expansion in order to boost public demand for goods and services. It holds that the increased production of goods is not a cure for inflation but that the prosperity of the nation and the amount of inflation can be controlled by “fine tuning” the money supply.
The new president and his supporters are proponents of a philosophy of economics known as “The Supply Side.” As a philosophy, it has its roots in the original doctrine expressed by Adam Smith. The term “laissez-faire” was attributed to him and by this he meant that private enterprise should be free from unwarranted governmental competition and interference. These concepts are reflected in the new administration’s policies which are slated to control inflation by cutting government spending, reducing taxes (which will create capital for industrial expansion), increasing industrial productivity and utilizing our rich natural resource base.
It would be naive to believe the voters in general understood the basic principles behind the two philosophies. It is more realistic to conclude they voted simply for a change of administration in the almost desperate hope of receiving relief from ever-rising prices which are destroying a way of life, and along with this, relief from oppressive tax burdens. There were, of course, other influences at work, such as the decline of this country as a world power industrially and militarily. The new president, in his campaign promises, pledged he would correct these imbalances.
Aside from the economic problems that weigh so heavily on the people, there has been an increasing evidence of moral decay in almost every facet of life. Because of this, government itself has, in a large measure, lost the confidence of the people. In an article on the editorial page of a March 1981 issue of U.S. News & World Report, Marvin Stone lists some ways in which government sets the pattern for our general decline in morality. He states that the government practices bribery on an enormous scale to accomplish its political purposes. For example, it gives federal grants that require the recipients to follow the government’s directives if they want the money. The government promotes some welfare programs that take tax money from people who work and give it to people who won’t work—but can vote. The mayors of cities trade political support for taxpayer dollars, and states cheat on population counts to obtain taxpayer handouts not deserved. Industry is not free from this blight. The record is replete with instances of companies being convicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and of paying kickbacks. When they are fined, they simply count the fines as part of the cost of doing business. The consumer eventually pays the cost of the bribe and the fine.
The ABSCAM scandal has further eroded the confidence of the people in their government. While the legality of the investigation is coming into question in the courts, the ugly reality of widespread graft and corruption among the members of the congress has been exposed.
If we review the proposals of the new administration to correct these conditions, we soon discover that the label “The Supply Side” is totally inadequate to describe what the new president proposes to do. What is involved is a complete change in the role of government in the lives of the people. There will be sharp reductions in taxes; government spending will be reduced; the regulatory maze that affects everything from job safety to air pollution will be reduced; there will be an attempt to reduce waste and fraud; the ailing Social Security System will be bolstered; there are proposed changes in welfare, health care, education, improvement in scientific research, and a new emphasis on law and order. Along with all of these things is the primary objective to propel industry into producing goods and services at a new and unprecedented rate which, they hope, will improve the standard of living, reduce inflation, and provide an abundance of jobs.
The latent dissatisfaction with the system as it has operated in the past was expressed by the landslide vote for change, even with the realization that difficult adjustments would have to be made. We wish the new administration well, but we do so with the full realization that according to God’s arrangement the only government that will bring about lasting and fully satisfying reforms will be his kingdom. “The supply side” theory of economics relies on the profit motive. It holds that private gain is public benefit and that the successful self-seeker becomes the social benefactor—wealth is its own justification. This is an expansion of Satan’s guiding rule of this present evil system—selfishness. The Lord’s arrangement, on the other hand, is based on the principle of selflessness.
When two of the disciples of Jesus, James and John, approached him requesting a position of honor and authority in the kingdom, Jesus first indicated to them that such a position had to be earned. He said in effect that to be a part of that future government it was necessary for them to demonstrate their loyalty and faithfulness to the Heavenly Father and his principles by laying their lives down in sacrifice in serving the interests of the kingdom as he was doing.—Mark 10:35-40
Then Jesus pointed out to them the difference between the way earthly governments are run and the principle that will govern the kingdom and which now controls those individuals who aspire to be a part of the kingdom government: “Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles [nations of this world] exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be chiefest shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”—Mark 10:42-45
The purpose of the kingdom arrangement is to enable the Heavenly Father to shower a loving and obedient people with bounteous blessings. All of the things the people now desire, they will have in abundance in the kingdom, and their governors will not be self-seeking power brokers but real servants of the people. The Heavenly Father, through his prophets, gave us some general information as to how this wonderful government designed by him and operated by his agents, Christ and his church, will perform. One of these prophecies is found in Isaiah 25:6-9: “And in this mountain [government] shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” The meaning of the word lees is sediment or residue. The expression “wine on the lees” meant generous and full-bodied. Before wine was consumed it was necessary to strain off the lees; such wine was then termed “well refined.” The thought is that in the kingdom the Lord will provide the best of everything. There will be no dregs.
In the Bible a mountain is used as a symbol of a government, much as in the expressions of our day when we refer to our government as “Capitol Hill.” The prophet states in highly symbolic language that the people under that government will enjoy an abundance of material things. The entire duration of the kingdom is pictured as a feast and all of these symbolic terms are heaped upon one another to picture the greatness of that feast. There will be no deprivation or want in the kingdom. Moreover, other prophecies tell us sickness and death shall cease and God shall wipe away tears from all faces.—Isa. 33:24; Rev. 21:3-5
In other prophecies the conditions that will prevail in the kingdom are foretold by using different symbols. For example, in Micah 4:3, 4 the prophet states: “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.” The word judge is from a Hebrew word meaning to govern. The thought is that under the righteous rule of the kingdom, Christ and his church will write God’s laws in the hearts of the people. (Jer. 31:33) Because of this, they will be in harmony with God’s laws and no longer make war, but will turn the destructive implements of war to useful peaceful purposes.
It is interesting to note that chiseled into a stone wall within the United Nations compound, are the very words of verse 3 of the prophecy of Micah, as quoted above. The idea of placing the scripture there expresses their good intentions, but their weakness and inability to accomplish this grand objective is borne out by the history of their efforts. They have failed to put their trust in the only power able to bring this prophecy to fulfillment, “for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.”—vs. 4
When wars are made to cease, the people will enjoy peace and safety. This is pictured by every man living under his own vine and fig tree. Mankind will no longer look to the walled cities for protection, but will live in the land unafraid, enjoying the fruit of their labors. The expression also brings to mind the ancient custom of the Jews who, during a period of activity, or cooperative labor, would assemble friends and neighbors and feast together under their vines and fig trees.
In continuing our examination of the prophecy in Isaiah 25, we note in verse 7 that the Lord, through the prophet, states that in this great mountain, or kingdom, he is going to destroy the veil of covering that has been cast over all nations. This again is highly pictorial language and refers to the ignorance of the people with respect to God and his beneficent purposes. The Apostle Paul tells us in II Corinthians 4:4 that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the people. The Heavenly Father has permitted this because the time for the full revealment of himself and his plans will be in the kingdom. In another prophecy the Prophet Jeremiah foretold: “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.”—Jer. 31:33,34
When the veil of ignorance, superstition, and doubt is removed, the world will know God and be able to conform their lives to his arrangements under the favorable conditions of the kingdom. The promise is, if they are faithful in this, they will receive everlasting life. For the first time there will be only one voice declaring the truth of God’s Word rather than the 200 or so religious denominations who all contribute to the great din of error and confusion that marks the Babylon of our day.
In the 8th and 9th verses of our prophecy in Isaiah 25, we are told that God will abolish death and its associated miseries. The realization of this and all the correlated benefits will bring the people of earth to say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, … this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”—Isa. 25:9
The Scriptures indicate, however, that before this government can come into being, the system now in control must pass away, and it is apparently the Lord’s arrangement that man be permitted to exercise his best efforts and ideas to salvage the system. But the Apostle Peter, speaking of our day, describes it as a great time of trouble in which the old order will be destroyed and the new order, Christ’s kingdom, will be established on the ruins of the old.
In II Peter, the 3rd chapter, the apostle tells us that the time from the creation of Adam until the establishment of the kingdom is divided into three great periods called worlds. The Greek word for world is kosmos, which means arrangement or system of things. The first world came to an end with the Flood. (vs. 6) The earth itself was not destroyed, but rather the arrangement and system of things.
The second world or kosmos is the arrangement or system of things under which we now live. “The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word [God’s word] are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (II Pet. 3:7) The heavens to be destroyed are the ecclesiastical arrangement in existence now, and the earth refers to the systems, organizations, and governments in operation today. The apostle, writing in his day, knew that the systems would not be destroyed then but that they would be kept in store, waiting for the Lord’s proper time. In verse 10 the apostle continues: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which 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.”
The Day of the Lord marks a special time feature of God’s plan during which the tearing down and destruction of the present world order is taking place. The Scriptures indicate this time feature started with World War I and will continue until the preparation for the establishment of the kingdom is complete.
Though “the supply side” philosophy may have success in restoring some semblance of normalcy to the government it will be temporary, for all governments and religious systems must eventually bow to Christ’s kingdom. For the apostle continues in verse 13, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”