| HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN | February 1991 |
When Will God Speak?
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen [nations], I will be exalted in the earth.” —Psalm 46:10
PEOPLE WORLDWIDE WAIT with bated breath in fear of what might occur when the United Nations’ date for discussion and peaceful negotiations has reached its extremity in the Kuwait situation, and the use of arms begins. It has been predicted that many, many thousands will be killed and wounded before it is ended, if it is ended. At the present time our country and even our government, as well as other governments, are very much divided as to what should be the proper course of action. Nobody wants war. Not anyone wants this kind of carnage to erupt, neither for our own people, nor for the people of the Arab countries. But if peaceful solutions are rejected by the leaders involved, the use of force seems to be the only alternative. The world community cannot allow one country to prey upon another.
This dilemma is not a new experience for the world. For many thousands of years armed conflict has been the ultimate answer in settling disputes. Looking back over history’s savage scene of man’s inhumanity to man, we find little outcry against this insane course of human affairs until very recent times. And even within our generation, the various efforts to outlaw war, to limit armaments, to settle international differences at the conference table, and of hearkening to a growing worldwide cry for peace, have proven ineffective against man’s great propensity for waging war.
Early in 1990 it seemed the great powers of the world had taken some important steps in the direction toward world peace. After nearly half a century of ‘cold war’ sprinkled with some very hot spots in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, the Near East, and Central America, the new prospects for a more peaceful globe seemed almost too good to be true. And they were! Now the world is again poised for conflict.
Is there No Hope?
But nothing is gained by dwelling too long on the troubles of the world. It is sufficient if we realize that both from the standpoint of reality, and the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies, man has reached his extremity. And this means, also, that the time has come in human experience when divine authority and power will soon manifest itself in the affairs of men. It is this that the Lord refers to in our text, saying, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen [nations], I will be exalted in the earth.”
This, then, is the hope of those who put their trust in God! As these look ahead into this new year of 1991, it is with confidence that nothing will happen that will interfere with the ultimate and glorious outcome of the divine purpose. To know this, and to be assured of it, is a great source of courage and strength, and a safeguard against becoming entangled in the countless and meaningless controversies which make up the confusion of this chaotic and dying world.
That the prophecies of the Bible which describe the ending of Satan’s world and the time when the kingdom of Christ will be manifested for the blessing of the people are now being fulfilled, there can be no doubt. And happy are those who are able to discern the meaning of the many signs of this momentous era in which we are living. However, to enjoy this knowledge does not mean that we can look ahead into 1991 and foresee in detail just what will happen. We do not know who will be the world’s leaders, thrust into the limelight of history. We do not know whether or not war will break out in the Middle East, or somewhere else, or at all. What we do know is, that regardless of what happens, God’s kingdom plans will neither be thwarted nor delayed.
In the opening verse of the psalm from which our text is taken David wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” God has always helped his people in their every trouble; and this text has been a great comfort to all in every part of the age who have put their trust in him. But it comes to us at the present time with even greater meaning, for the verses which follow indicate that the psalmist’s use of the term “trouble” is an evident reference to what Daniel described as “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.”—Dan. 12:1
Jesus quoted Daniel’s prophecy, and indicated that its fulfillment would be at the end of the age, and the time of his second presence. (Matt. 24:21,22) It is descriptive of the very time in which we are living, this time when, as Jesus foretold, the hearts of the people would be filled with fear. (Luke 21:25,26) And as the world now looks ahead into the infant year of 1991, there is nothing in sight to allay their fears, nothing to give assurance that the calamity of war which threatens so ominously, will not come upon them.
But for those who put their trust In the Lord it is different. These find shelter behind the fortress of God’s promises, and can say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” (Ps. 46:1,2) The ‘earth’, as used here, is a symbol of the present humanly constituted social order which the Apostle Paul described as “this present evil world.” (Gal. 1:4) It is the removal of this ‘earth’, with all the calamitous events associated therewith, that is causing the hearts of the people to be filled with fear. But “we will not fear,” said David, and the reason we do not fear is that “God is our refuge and strength.”
The psalmist spoke of the “mountains” being “carried into the midst of the sea,” and then added, “though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” (vs. 3) Jesus used the roaring of the sea and waves to illustrate the restless, discontented attitude of the people in this time of worldwide distress. (Luke 21:25) The Prophet Isaiah also referred to it, saying, “Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty [‘many,’ Margin] waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.”—Isa. 17:12,13
It would be difficult to imagine a more vivid picture than this of the chaotic state of the nations today. There is unrest everywhere, which is apparent here in the United States, for the bloody business of war keeps this country off-balance politically, economically, socially, militarily, and quite divided as to which is the right way. But in other countries it is even worse, particularly in the Middle and Far East, where the masses, seething with unrest, have “crested,” as one observer puts it—they are “a war waiting to happen.”
Observers who study this situation speak a unanimous warning of the danger this unrest is posing for the western world. Yes, all the great ‘mountain’ kingdoms and governments are being lashed by the raging seas of human passion. Beginning with 1914, many of them have already toppled over into the ‘sea’, and the remaining ones are gradually giving way to the strain placed upon them by the demanding ‘waves’ of the downtrodden masses.
Viewed from the standpoint of human wisdom, this chaotic world situation is a frightening one; but we will not fear because we know that in it all, a divine purpose is being worked out, even that purpose described by the Prophet Haggai when he wrote that Jehovah would “shake all nations,” and that then “the desire of all nations shall come.” (Hag. 2:7) Certainly we are now in that shaking period, and we can rejoice that in the Lord’s own due time he will say to the turbulent masses, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
“The Earth Melted”
But the time has not yet come for the Lord to speak peace to the nations. A further ‘shaking’ is needed in order for the people to be convinced that they cannot, by their own wisdom and power, establish peace and security in the earth. For this reason the Lord’s voice is now being heard in another way. Verse 6 of the prophecy reads, “The heathen [Hebrew, ‘nations’] raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.” The ‘voice’ of the Lord is a symbol of his authority and power; and just as the Prophet Haggai indicates that it is the Lord who is now ‘shaking’ the nations, so David is telling us the same thing, describing the breaking down of a social order as the ‘melting’ of the earth. So, whether we think of the earth as being ‘removed’, or ‘melted’, or as being ‘shaken’, the idea is that man’s world is coming to an end.
But this does not alarm the people of God. They agree with the Apostle Paul that it is an “evil world.” (Gal. 1:4) Taking heed to the Master’s assertion that he had called his disciples out of this ‘world’, they endeavor to follow the instructions of the Apostle John not to love it. Indeed, this ‘present evil world’ is characterized by sin, by selfishness, by greed, by graft, by oppression, and by war; so the righteous rejoice in their knowledge that such a world is coming to an end, for they know that in its place will be established a new world, even the kingdom of Christ.
It is true, of course, that the Lord’s people are in the midst of the ‘time of trouble’ which is causing the removal of the symbolic earth—‘this present evil world’—and are subject to the difficulties confronting the people incidental to the shaking and melting processes all around them. But they do not fear, for as David declares, “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” (vs. 7) While the Lord is abundantly able to give physical protection to his people when it is his will to do so, our greatest source of comfort and strength is in the understanding he gives us of the meaning of world distress—that it is working out for the people that great destiny of peace and blessing which he has promised so many times throughout his Word.
To God’s people, the invitation is extended, “Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.” (vss. 8,9) Great and widespread are the desolations which already have been made in the earth. David asserts that these have been made by the Lord. It would be difficult to harmonize this with the fact that God is merciful and kind and loving, were it not for the further explanation of the divine purpose in what is being done; for it is by this means, the psalmist explains, that the Lord makes wars to cease unto the ends of the earth.
No one should have difficulty in understanding this, for all know that one of the chief characteristics of this present evil world has been war; that the final arbiter of all its disputes has been war. It is clear, we think, that the only way to “make wars to cease” is to destroy the system that has legalized, and oftentimes glorified war. So it is that when those who are enlightened by the Word of God accept the invitation to “behold the works of the Lord,” and they see “what desolations he hath made in the earth,” they also discern the necessity and the glorious objective to which it is leading. Because of this, they do not fear, for they know that the infinite wisdom and almighty power which control the universe are working out a glorious purpose which, when fully consummated will reveal his mercy and love in the promised blessing of all the families of the earth.
“Wait Ye upon Me”
Throughout all the centuries, those who have loved righteousness have often been perplexed as to why the Lord continued to permit iniquitous conditions to flourish in the earth. The proud, the arrogant, and the vile have often been the ones who have flourished, while the meek and the pure have suffered. In every generation, man’s inhumanity to man has made countless thousands mourn.
It is, seemingly, in answer to this quandary of his people that Jehovah said, “Wait ye upon me, … until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured by the fire of my jealousy.” (Zeph. 3:8) This indicates that at no time has the Lord been unmindful of conditions in the earth which have been so contrary to his will, and that in his own due time and way he purposed to make a ‘desolation’ of the selfish institutions of man which have been largely responsible for them.
The Lord expressed a similar thought through the Prophet Isaiah, saying “I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.” (Isa. 42:14) It was only because God, in his wisdom, knew that greater good would be accomplished by refraining from interference in the downward course of man into sin by waiting for his own due time to intervene, that this present evil world was not destroyed long ago. Satan, the archenemy of God and of man, has been allowed to be its ‘god’ from the first.—II Cor. 4:4
In Isaiah 42:13, the prophet gave us a partial explanation of the manner in which the Lord would bring about the destruction of Satan’s world. He said, “The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.” The ‘cry’ and the ‘roar’ here mentioned would seem to have about the same significance as the ‘voice’ of God which David declared would cause the ‘earth’ to ‘melt’. It is the exercise of divine authority and power in whatever ways and by any agencies the Lord might use.
One of these methods is suggested by the statement that the Lord shall stir up jealousy like a man of war. In a description of the final phase of this great time of trouble, we read that the Lord will call for a sword, and that “every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” (Ezek. 38:21) The thought of these various expressions seems to be that the Lord, in his own way, and through agencies unknown to us, brings about the destruction of man’s world by causing its many selfish factions to rise up in jealousy and fear, and to destroy one another.
And what an effective method this will ultimately prove to be in making wars to cease unto the ends of the earth! For this to be accomplished, more is needed than simply the destruction of the implements of war. Before wars will cease, the entire concept of war must be destroyed in the minds of the people. The glory must be stripped away from it. And man must be made to loathe the very thought of war. There is no better way to accomplish this than for the nations to bring to ruin, by means of war, the very civilization under which they live. Surely this will go a long way toward making the people realize the utter folly of war.
And this is fully in keeping with God’s method of dealing with the human race from the very beginning. He has permitted evil so that man might have an opportunity to learn, by experience, its terrible consequences. Moses, in his prayer, wrote concerning God that “thou turnest man to destruction.” (Ps. 90:3) Yes, because the ‘world’ has sinned, God allows it to suffer the natural consequences. And through the desolation which the Lord is now making in the earth, man is having an opportunity to learn just exactly where disobedience to his laws ultimately leads—total destruction. Through this lesson, the people—those who profit by it—will learn that their wholehearted obedience to God and his righteous laws soon to be spread abroad in the earth, will lead to an eternity of joy!
Only a knowledge of the divine plan makes it possible to reconcile the thought of God’s love with what is occurring in the earth today. After saying that God turns man to destruction, Moses added, “and sayest, Return, ye children of men.” (Ps. 90:3) This ‘returning’ will be in the resurrection, when all the condemned race will be awakened from the sleep of death and given an opportunity to profit from their experience with evil in this age. This includes those who are now being destroyed incidental to the ‘melting’ of the symbolic earth.
Speaking Peace to the Nations
At the present time, the ‘voice’ of the Lord—his ‘cry’, his ‘roar’—is stirring up turmoil and confusion among the nations. But how different it will be when he speaks to the raging waves of human passions, saying, as our text declares, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Just as the Lord has the necessary agencies through which his voice of authority accomplishes the destruction of Satan’s world, so when he speaks peace to the nations, it will be with an authority they cannot resist.
“I will be exalted in the earth,” Jehovah declares. He has permitted his authority to be flouted by man from the time that Adam transgressed his law. Throughout all the centuries since that time the human race has been in rebellion against him. However, he does not intend this situation to continue forever. The words of our Lord’s prayer: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,” indicate that it is God’s purpose to reestablish his will in the hearts and lives of men. It is to make way for this kingdom that the present evil world is now being destroyed.
It will require the entire thousand years of Christ’s kingdom to establish divine authority in every respect. Paul wrote that Christ “must reign” until all “enemies” are put under his feet, and that the “last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (I Cor. 15:25,26) Among the first enemies to be destroyed are the selfish and unrighteous institutions of Satan’s already in process of being accomplished, and the subduing and destruction of the enemies of God and of righteousness will continue until death itself, man’s greatest enemy, is destroyed.
It will be then that God’s name will be fully exalted in the earth. The Apostle Paul explained that the task of putting down insubordination to divine rule was to be accomplished by Christ, through the kingdom agencies. He indicated that when this is fully accomplished, Christ himself will become subject to his Father, “that God may be all in all.” (I Cor. 15:25-28) Only then will the prayer, “Thy will be done,” be fully answered. But we thank God that the conditions which are now so distressing to the world, causing fear to fill the hearts of all people, are to those who understand the plan of God a token that the Lord is no longer ‘refraining’ himself from interfering in the affairs of men; that his ‘jealousy’ against sin and a sinful world is already ‘devouring’ the symbolic earth, and that soon, through the messianic kingdom, divine authority and power will be manifested in terms of life-giving blessings.
After assuring us of his intention to ‘devour’ the whole ‘earth’ with the ‘fire’ of his ‘jealousy’, the Lord adds, “then will I turn to the people a pure language [or message of truth], that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.” (Zeph. 3:9) Thus again is indicated the full extent to which God’s name and authority will be exalted in the earth following the full collapse of this present evil world.
As we begin this New Year, it is with increasing evidence that the time when the Lord will speak peace to the nations is near. May this assurance fill our hearts with comfort and keep out the fear which is everywhere so prevalent. Entering 1991 armed with the strength of this comforting hope, may it be with greater determination than ever before to “seek first the kingdom of God,” and to tell the whole world the blessed tidings of that kingdom, that it will soon become apparent in its power and great glory, to the everlasting joy of all who will obey its righteous laws.