| HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN | February 1990 |
“Will There Ever Be Peace?”
TODAY WE ARE WITNESSING a change in world politics, which in many respects is unprecedented in human history. In the past such sudden changes in government generally came about as a result of long and destructive wars, or violent revolutions. Today’s changes are not only sought by the people in a relatively peaceful manner, but acquiesced to, for the most part, by the present leaders of the countries involved.
The communist world is in revolt because their practice of socialism has failed to produce either economic stability at home, or power status abroad. Smaller and weaker nations over the years, having become somewhat calloused to the existing nuclear power threats of superpowers, have forged for themselves even greater world influence and dominance through trade and finance. Many of these are the newly-emerging major world powers of today. Insignificant, Pacific islands of forty years ago, through the aid and tutorship of the United States and the western world, now form a wall of economic giants at the back door of the communist world.
“Europe ‘92” has inexorably developed through the financial and political stimulus supplied by the United States, into an economic giant in its own right, and now sits at the front door of the communist world! Meanwhile the billions living in Europe and Asia between these global bastions of economic activity suffer in daily queue-ups to spend their meager earnings on a scant supply of the staple items of life. And on the world market scene there is a great dearth of product labels which read, “Made in Russia.”
The new, more progressive leaders of Russia are able to read the trend of decline, and realizing the dire necessity of change, opened a small crack in the Iron Curtain with perestroika and glasnost. The rest is history in the making. The people want more than just a crack, and their united demands are pulling down the Iron Curtain!
These events have given rise to a fresh hope for eventual world peace. Certainly the immediate effect has been a renewed urgency for increased, although still partial, disarmament on the part of both the West and the East. Western European powers are pressuring the United States to withdraw conventional weapons from their soil to a drastic degree, as a follow-up to the current removal of atomic missiles. It is hoped that this will set the stage for an era of expanding cooperation between Western and Eastern Europe.
The world longs for peace, and will, perhaps, hope for more than these changes can achieve. The communist world has been forced to consent to these changes for the survival of the Soviet system and not because they want to change. A recent extract from the Kiplinger “Washington Letter” states this fact quite succinctly. It reads: “Gorbochev is firmly committed to Marxism, but realizes it must be altered because Russia is falling behind the other industrialized nations … a military giant, an economic midget.” Another recent statement read, in effect, that the Russian bear is not becoming tame, it is simply hibernating.
For many years, students of Bible prophecy have interpreted “Gog” (Ezek. chapters 38,39), the final invader of Israel, as probably representing Russia and Arabic allies associated with her. The now new complexion on Russian interests could well lend itself to this eventual predicted action on their part.
The scenario might go something like this: The Soviets’ rapidly expanding industrial complex will need much fuel. The elimination of Israel, a matter of great interest to the Arab world, might well hold the key for Russia to accessing and controlling the greatest deposits of oil on the globe. The obvious risks to aggression of this sort in the future may well seem diminished by the lack of proximity of those who would normally come to Israel’s defense if she were attacked, but now are unable to do so with enough dispatch. The current shifting of military parity could result in just such a situation.
How the prophecy of Ezekiel will happen we can only speculate, but the Scriptures are abundantly clear that, as this age ends, every effort of the nations to establish peace only leads them closer to the time of Armageddon. Our day is described as a time when the world cries out, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.
The Apostle Paul, in his description of the Day of the Lord, says that “sudden destruction” shall come “as travail upon a woman with child.” (I Thess. 5:1-3) Travail, as we know, comes in spasms with periods of comparative easement between the pains. This has been the pattern of events since the end of the Times of the Gentiles in 1914. Paul foretold that these spasms would be associated with cries of “peace and safety,” and this prophecy, also, has proven to be very accurate.
Prior to the First World War, tremendous efforts were made to establish lasting world peace. 1913 was declared an international peace year. Then came the first spasm of destructive trouble. Following the war there were further outcries for, and hope of, peace and safety. Then came the second global struggle, followed by additional cries for “Peace peace!” But the disintegration continues, and will continue, until divine intervention manifests itself and brings genuine peace to a trouble-weary and dying world.
While God fought for his people on the ancient battlefield of Megiddo, giving them the victory when their obedience deserved it, his strategy was not always the same. In the case of Gideon’s victory over the Midianites, the Lord’s strategy resulted in Israel’s enemies destroying one another. On other occasions, miracle-working power was used. So it is in the great battle by which the kingdoms of this world are set aside preparatory to the establishment of Christ’s kingdom. One prophecy declares that “every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” (Ezek. 38:21) The kingdoms of this world, in their fighting against one another, have already wrought terrible destruction against the strongholds of civilization, and the end is not yet.
Twice the nations have united in an effort to save the world from further destruction; but, as the prophecies foretold, these associations have not accomplished their purpose. Isaiah wrote, “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken.” (Isa. 8:9,10) Another prophecy about this gathering of the nations is Joel 3:1,2, and here this uniting of the nations is associated in point of time with the regathering of Israel to the Promised Land. It indicates that there would be a controversy over the land and that the Lord would then plead for his people and would be in opposition to those who endeavored to rob them of their rightful inheritance.
It is at this point that the Lord outwardly demonstrates his intervention. The prophecy in Ezekiel states that then the Lord will plead against Israel’s enemies “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.” (Ezek. 38:22,23) We may not know how literally this will be fulfilled, but it is certain that in this prophecy is described the great climax of Armageddon—that great struggle in which God will use his power to defeat the enemies of righteousness and cause the divine kingdom to become operative for the blessing of all the families of the earth.
We know this is true, for the prophecy reveals that as a result of divine intervention, all the nations—including Israel, whom the Lord then delivers,—will, by his miraculous intervention, have their eyes opened to behold his glory. Then all nations will know that there is a God in heaven, who, through his divine Christ, is ruling among the children of men.
The Apostle Peter knew of this time and wrote concerning it, “Nevertheless, we, according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (II Pet. 3:13) There is a depth of meaning in Peter’s use of the word “nevertheless” in this verse, and in his blessed assurance that there is to be a “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Throughout the chapter, preceding this verse, the apostle has been both positive and graphic in his description of the dissolution of the old order, symbolically described as “the heavens and earth, which are now.” (vs. 7) These, he asserts, “shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.”—II Pet. 3:10
It is a dark picture of trouble and distress through which the nations are to pass, and little wonder that some might be inclined to doubt that such events could in any manner be evidences of the presence of a righteous king. Peter anticipates this objection, and tells us that in the “last days” some would ask, “Where is the promise of his coming, for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation?”—vs. 4
Since the world began, or “the beginning of the creation” (II Pet. 3:4), the ‘fathers’—the Ancient Worthies—had been given to understand that the coming of the Messiah to establish a kingdom would mean joy and health and everlasting life. “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,” the Prophet Isaiah had written. (Isa. 9:6-8) And again, “He shall swallow up death in victory; and wipe away tears from off all faces.”—Isa. 25:8
From one standpoint or another, each of the prophets of old had described the life-giving blessings which would be showered upon the people when Christ, the righteous king of earth, returned to “have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” (Ps. 72:8) But Peter, who had the privilege of sitting at Jesus’ feet and learning from him, and who in addition was inspired by the Holy Spirit as a prophet and thus was able to set these great truths forth in their proper sequence, recognized that before the blessings of the new kingdom could flow out to the people, the “kingdoms of this world” must be destroyed.—Rev. 11:15
With this thought in mind, and in answering the question, “Where is the evidence of his presence, since restitution blessings are not yet apparent?” the apostle first of all reminds us of an illustration which he heard Jesus use when he answered the disciples’ question, “What shall be the sign of thy presence and of the end of the age?” In answering this question, Jesus compared his day at the end of the Jewish Age with the “days of Noah.” (Matt. 24:37-39) In the days of Noah the people were not aware of the impending catastrophe of the Flood; but it came and wrought destruction upon the symbolic heavens and earth which existed at that time. Thus that world, or kosmos, was brought to an end.
Now in a very similar manner, as explained by both Jesus and Peter, the present evil world comes to an end in the “Day of the Lord.” Just as the days of Noah began prior to the Flood, and he was present, preparing for the impending catastrophe, so the first years of Christ’s presence precedes the destruction of the “heavens and the earth, which are now.” (II Pet. 3:7) It is within the Day of the Lord—not prior thereto—that the foretold distress upon the nations, leading to their complete and final overthrow, comes upon them. They “pass away with a great noise,” the “elements melt with fervent heat,” and the “works that are therein” are burned up, in the Day of the Lord. (vs. 10) With the selfish institutions of this present evil world put down and their power destroyed, will come the manifestation of the new kingdom by the blessings which will flow out from it for the enlightenment and healing of the people.
And it is in keeping with the purpose of Christ’s kingdom that first of all its power be used for the phasing out of this present evil world, for while that kingdom will be an instrument of blessing to mankind, it will also be a destroyer of “enemies.” The last enemy to be destroyed by Christ’s reign is death, writes the apostle; and evidently among the first are the kingdoms of this world. (I Cor. 15:25,26; Ps. 2:8,9) Because of this, the first signs of his presence cause all the tribes of the earth to mourn rather than to rejoice. (Matt. 24:30) Thus Peter confirms the correct sequence of events associated with Christ’s presence in his explanation that first it causes the passing away of the heavens and earth which are now.
Having explained this point, making it as definite as possible, Peter then seems to revert in his thoughts to the question, “Where is the evidence of his presence?” and, as though to agree that those who ask this question are expecting the right thing at the wrong time, he says, “Nevertheless we [even as they], according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” We look for this because it is one of the things which God promised to the fathers through the prophets, but while we look for the new heavens and new earth, we realize that the first work of the new king is to set aside the wicked heavens and earth which compose this “present evil world.”—Gal. 1:4
The symbolic heavens and earth over which Satan is the supreme ruler at this time, are rapidly passing away; and to the thoughtful mind this focuses interest more than ever on the hope centered in God’s promise to “create new heavens and a new earth.” When the apostle referred to this promise of God he evidently had in mind the one which is recorded in Isaiah 65:17-25. Turning to this wonderful chapter we read:
“Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain [kingdom], saith the Lord.”
No amount of explaining could make this wonderful promise of God concerning blessings which will come to the people under the rulership of the “new heavens and new earth” more complete or realistic. In keeping with the picturesque language of the East, the hope of blessings to come is set forth in word pictures, but there is no escaping the glorious meaning of the symbols used. In plain phrase, the prophet is telling us that when Christ is king there will be health and everlasting life for all the obedient. There is to be building and planting, and an economic security attached to the labor of the people that is dreamed of today, but seldom, if ever, experienced. There will be peace and tranquility among all.
These are the evidences which, just beyond the present time of distress, will convince the whole world that Christ is indeed reigning. They will joyfully acclaim him as the mighty ruler of that time, saying, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, … we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” It will be then that Christ, as the “Arm of the Lord,” will be revealed “in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” (Isa. 25:6-9; 52:10) What a prospect!
And what are the new heavens and new earth which the Lord has promised to create? They are the governmental arrangements of Christ’s kingdom. In the prophecy regarding their creation another name is given, namely, ‘Jerusalem’. “Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” (Isa. 65:17,18) The Apostle John, on the Isle of Patmos, was given various visions of the new kingdom arrangement, and says, “I saw a new heavens and a new earth,” and he also says that he “saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.”—Rev. 21:1,2
In verses 9 and 10 of this chapter, John identifies the New Jerusalem as the “bride, the Lamb’s wife.” This is the key to understanding the symbol. Jesus is to be the great king in the divine kingdom soon to bless all the families of the earth, and he is to reign with and through his church, who in the “first resurrection” becomes his bride. Jerusalem of old was the capital city in Israel, where the kings had their headquarters, their “throne.” So the Lord uses these circumstances as a picture of the kingdom of Christ, and calls it the New Jerusalem. And this New Jerusalem is also, as we have seen, the new heavens and new earth which God has promised—in other words, the kingdom of the Lord in which Jesus reigns supreme as king.
The combined symbolism of heavens and earth illustrates what is otherwise plainly taught in the Scriptures, which is that the kingdom of Christ will be of two parts, the spiritual and the human; the invisible and the visible. Jesus, the divine king, and his church together with him, will be the spiritual phase of that kingdom, and the resurrected Old Testament Ancient Worthies will be their human representatives. This, briefly, is the organizational arrangement of the symbolic new heavens and new earth. And it is because God has promised to complete the New Creation—the bringing into being of this effective kingdom arrangement for the blessing of all nations—that we can now rejoice to realize that Satan’s empire is crumbling.
All the promises of God which reflect his goodwill toward the dying race will be fulfilled as a result of his creation of the new heavens and new earth. His promises of a heavenly inheritance for the faithful followers of the Master will have their fruition in the exaltation of the church to “glory, honor, and immortality,” to live and reign with Christ. And how much better is this, the true concept of God’s purpose in the church, than the idea so long entertained by many that God is taking Christians to heaven when they die merely that they might be saved. Now we see that he calls all true Christians for a purpose—the blessed purpose of being associated with Jesus in his kingdom through which the people of the world are to be given life, health, and enduring peace, and happiness.
God’s promises to the ancients will also then be fulfilled. Abraham and his natural descendants will have their portion in the Land of Promise. The worthies of those past ages will be associated with the kingdom as its human representatives. They did not expect more than this. They understood nothing concerning the divine plan for a spiritual phase of the promised kingdom of the Messiah. Even the prophets did not foresee this. Jesus said of the last of the prophets, John the Baptist, that although among those born of women there had not arisen a greater than John, yet he who would be least in the kingdom of heaven—that is, in the spiritual phase of the kingdom—would be greater than he. John will be one of the ‘princes’ in the human phase of the kingdom, but he will not have a heavenly reward, and he will not reign with Jesus as a king.
In the new heavens and new earth, God’s promise to Abraham will have its fulfillment—the promise that all the families of the earth were to be blessed through his seed. As we have seen in an earlier chapter, Jesus and his church constitute the true seed—the faith seed—of Abraham, which will be the channel of blessing to mankind in the kingdom, and how rich and far-reaching those blessings will be! They are beautifully illustrated in Revelation 22:1,2, under the symbol of a “river of water of life” which emanates from “the throne of God and of the Lamb.” On either side of this symbolic river are the trees of life with their abundant supply of life-giving fruit, “and the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations.” How glad we should be that the people of all nations, starving, oppressed, bleeding, and dying, are to be healed. Verily this will be the “blessing of all the families of the earth”!
The promise of God through Jacob that out of Judah would come one called ‘Shiloh’—meaning ‘peacemaker’—and that unto him would the gathering of the people be, will find its glorious fulfillment in the kingdom, for King Jesus will be that Shiloh, and under him and under his banner of love the people will be gathered and blessed. All nations will call him blessed. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish.” “They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.” “Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.” All of these heart-cheering promises will be fulfilled in the new heavens and new earth.—Ps. 72:6,7,9,11
Then, too, will be the time when every man will dwell under his own vine and fig tree; and when swords shall be made into plowshares and spears into pruninghooks. It will be then that the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then also will come the awakening of all the dead by the same infinite power of the Creator who gave them life in the first place. No one, either of the living or the dead will be left out of the worldwide circle of people and nations that will then have an opportunity of being blessed with everlasting life in keeping with the promises God gave through the prophets, made clear through Christ and the apostles, and ratified by the blood of Christ.
But it will still be necessary to obey divine law in order to live forever. The Apostle Peter emphasizes this. After telling us that with the return of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom there will be “times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began,” he adds, “and it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”—Acts 3:19-23
There are assurances that the majority of all nations will probably be glad to accept the provisions of divine love as they will then be proffered, and obey the laws of earth’s new king. Jesus indicated that a time would come when the nation of Israel, although they rejected him at his First Advent, will yet say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” The Prophet Micah wrote that “many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain [kingdom] of the Lord, and … and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.”—Mic. 4:2
Only then, for the first time in history, will there come lasting and universal peace foretold in this prophecy: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”—Isa. 2:4