| HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN | July 1991 |
In the Day Appointed
“God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he bath raised him from the dead.” —Acts 17:31
LATE INTO THE night a schoolboy struggled over a mathematical problem given to him by his teacher. He checked and rechecked his figures. He could find nothing wrong, yet the proper answer to the problem was not forthcoming. At last, his brain weary with the effort, he decided to retire for the night. The next morning, rested, and ready to try again, the schoolboy took another look at his figures, and to his surprise discovered that he had completely overlooked a very vital factor, not taking it into consideration at all. When this factor was restored to its proper place in the solving of the problem the correct answer at once appeared. Naturally the boy wondered why he had been so dull as not to make this discovery the night before.
This is a simple story, but it illustrates why the Athenians of old had their “unknown God,” and why in all ages there has been so much religious confusion and controversy, the reason being that an important feature in the plan of God has been overlooked; and without this all the efforts of man to discover the true God and know his designs toward his human creatures have failed.
The problems which have arisen and begged for a solution have been myriad. This is reflected in the hundreds of different interpretations of the Christian religion alone, to say nothing of the equally confusing theories held by believers in the many non-Christian gods. There have been many sincere efforts to discover the ‘unknown God’, and to understand the meaning of life in the light of his plans and purposes, but without satisfying success; without success, that is, to those who have examined their findings in the light of unbiased reason, and are not willing to say that black is white, and white is black.
Some of the Problems
For the moment let us confine our investigation to the professed Christian religion as its teachings have come down to us from the Dark Ages. The general idea is that those who accept Christ in this life, and obey his teachings, are ‘saved’, and at death will be taken to heaven. This seems good until we examine it.
Let us think of a child born into a Christian family, his father, perhaps, a clergyman. This boy gets a good start. As he matures in age and experience in his godly home, it is quite likely that he follows in the steps of his father and decides to live a Christian life. According to this view it would seem likely that he would qualify for salvation and for heaven.
Naturally, we should be, and are glad that this boy had such a favorable opportunity in life. But this is not wholly satisfactory. We think of another boy born in the slums of one of our great cities. His parents are intoxicated at the time of his begettal, and the mother perhaps even drunk when the baby is born. The child matures in surroundings of filth, debauchery, godlessness and crime. He never hears the name of God or of Jesus except as profanity.
In due course this human also dies, but according to the generally accepted theory he cannot go to heaven. Instead, he must go to hell, which, according to the teachings of the Dark Ages, is a place of eternal torture. Reason tells us that this is not right, that this is not the correct answer to the problem of those who, through no fault of their own, are not born into an environment conducive to Christian living.
And then we think if only something had been done about this situation long ago, so that today there would be no slums, no seedbeds of debauchery and crime into which an innocent child could be born, how wonderful it would have been. But, as we think of this, we realize that it would not have changed the situation too much, even if it had been possible to reform the whole world by human efforts. We would still be concerned about the countless millions who had died before man got around to this laudable enterprise. Indeed, we have our doubts if such sweeping reforms can be accomplished by man. We know that efforts along these lines are, and have been almost constantly made, but without success.
As we examine this problem further, we discover that it is larger than at first it appeared, for it includes the non-Christian world, and the fact that here other billions have been born and have died without as much as having heard the name of Jesus—the only name, according to the Bible, given under heaven or among men whereby salvation is obtainable. (Acts 4:12) There is no use saying that these poor creatures will be saved in their ignorance, for immediately we sense that if this be so, it is a disservice to preach Christ anywhere in the world, for it would be better to leave everyone in ignorance of him, and thus all would be saved.
And then there is the problem of human suffering in this life. Why does God permit infants to suffer and die? Why is it that frequently the unrighteous seem to prosper more than the righteous? There is the person who tried hard to live a godly life, but contracts some malignant disease, and after a spell of intense suffering, dies at an early age; while a sinful person enjoys good health, and passes away quietly in death, and without suffering, at a ripe old age. If God is in his heaven, why does he permit these inequalities? And so we have another problem.
Next we mention two cases—one where the parents in a mixed-religion marriage had failed to have their child baptized before it was killed; and another case where the mother prayed for the safety of her boy on the battlefield, yet he was killed. It does not matter where we look, we find problems for which human wisdom is unable to find the answer. Man has tried to figure it all out, but when reason is allowed to prevail, failure is quite generally acknowledged.
One ‘answer’ to it all is simply the fact that there is no such thing as suffering and death, either here or hereafter; that all this is ‘mortal error’, thus closing one’s eyes to reality. But reason tells us that when we have a toothache there is something wrong. We just cannot solve problems by burying them with unreason.
Ignorance
In Paul’s sermon on Mars’ hill he spoke of the ‘ignorance’ reflected in the worship of idols, and tells us that God had ‘winked’ at this, denoting that he had not taken it seriously into account in connection with his own great plan of salvation for his human creatures. (Acts 17:30) To this Paul adds, “But now commands all men everywhere to repent.”
This does not mean that all men in Paul’s day heard and understood this command to repent. It is simply Paul’s way of explaining that with the coming of Jesus a new phase of the divine plan was initiated. Jesus came to be the Light of the world, the one who was destined by the Creator to enlighten all mankind—“every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9; 8:12) Ignorance was no longer to be ‘winked’ at in the sense that nothing would be done about it. A turning point had come.
Jesus was put to death at an early age, and few of the millions of humanity were enlightened by his personal ministry during the time of his presence. Jesus commissioned his disciples to be the light of the world, but likened them to candles. (Matt. 5:14,15) Although Jesus warned against putting these candles under a bushel and hiding them, we realize that the enlightenment produced by candles is not great, not far-reaching; and it has turned out this way.
Despite the earnest efforts of the faithful followers of the Master throughout the centuries, millions upon millions have continued to go down into death without hearing the call to repentance in an understandable manner even though God placed no restrictions upon its proclamation. The command to repentance in this age was not designed to convert the world. God has not as yet been trying to convert the world. God’s work in the earth thus far has been the finding and selection of a people to be associated with Jesus in his kingdom.
Repentance has been the first step necessary for these to take. These repentant ones, trusting in the name of Jesus, and consecrated to do God’s will, have been invited to suffer and to die with Jesus, and are promised that if faithful they will live and reign with him.—II Tim. 2:11,12; Rev. 2:10; 20:6
The Missing Factor
Paul explained that God had ‘winked’ at the ignorance of the past, and obviously has continued largely to do so since, “because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.” (Acts 17:31) Here is the factor in the divine plan which so many searchers after truth have overlooked. It is the future Day of Judgment. Peter and our Lord indicate that this Day of Judgment will be a thousand years in length. (II Pet. 3:8-10; Rev. 20:4,6) So an entire thousand years have been left out of God’s great plan of salvation. No wonder students of the Bible have been confronted with so many unsolved problems!
True, in the creeds which have come down to us from the Dark Ages, mention is made of a future Judgment Day, but the concept of this is quite different from the teachings of the Bible pertaining to the Day of Judgment. According to these creeds of a darker past, the eternal destiny of each individual, saint and sinner, is fixed at death. The saints are immediately taken to heaven, and the sinners to a hell of torment.
The Roman Catholic Church, of course, has an intermediate place called Purgatory. It is the expectation that those who go to Purgatory will eventually become purified and fit for heaven. But whether we consider the Protestant or the Roman Catholic view, there seems no logical need for a future Day of Judgment. However, the general idea is that at some far-distant time a twenty-four hour day will be set aside in which the good and the bad will all be brought out of Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory—according to where they have been consigned when they died—and caused to pass before the judgment seat of God where they will be re-judged and sent back to their respective places of abode. Obviously nothing at all is accomplished by this. The view is unreasonable, and confusing. Only another problem.
But the Day of Judgment portrayed in the Bible is quite different. Actually, it is a thousand-year period of probation for the sin-cursed, dying, and dead world of mankind. In order to appreciate fully the extent to which the restoration of this great truth to its proper position in the divine plan helps to solve the many problems with which we are confronted, it is essential first to note briefly the true teachings of the Bible with respect to death.
The generally accepted theory that there is no death is not supported by the Word of God. Death is not a gateway into another life, either happier or more miserable than the present life. Death is “the wages of sin,” the penalty for disobedience to divine law. (Rom. 6:23; Gen. 2:17) Death is a reality. “The dead know not anything.” (Eccles. 9:5) However, this otherwise cold and forbidding reality is made brighter by the Bible’s many references to death as being a “sleep.” (Ps. 13:3; John 11:14) In the ordinary course of events, those who sleep will awaken. So it is with those who are asleep in death. They will be awakened by divine power, even as Jesus awakened Lazarus nearly two thousand years ago.—John 11:43,44
Since God looks upon the dead as merely being asleep, and since it is his plan to awaken all from the sleep of death, it is important for us to take his viewpoint in his dealings with his human creatures. If a friend of ours was in distress and asked for help we would do something about it. However, our assistance might not become effective until the day after the request was made. Meanwhile our friend would spend a night in sleep. The remedy for the situation might be spread out over a number of days, and our friend would become unconscious in sleep several nights. But the friend would not charge us with neglect or lack of interest simply because he slept one or more nights before our help remedied the situation which was troubling him. So with God’s plan to help his human creatures. The fact that he is allowing one generation after another to fall asleep in death does not mean that he lacks interest. Neither does it imply that he lacks the necessary power to deal with the malady of sin and death. It is simply that his time for doing away with all evil is his future thousand-year Day of Judgment.
One of the evils to be overcome at that time will be the ignorance of the people concerning God and his loving provisions of life which he has made for them through Christ. In his sermon on Mars’ hill, the Apostle Paul contrasted the ignorance of the past with the future Judgment Day God has appointed, and in which Jesus will be the great and loving Judge.
Paul knew that this was God’s plan. One of the prophecies of the Judgment Day calls attention to this: “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world in righteousness, and the people with his truth.”—Ps.96:11-13
The Prophet Isaiah wrote that when the Lord’s “judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isa. 26:9) Isaiah also foretold that then “the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9) Contrary to the teachings of the Dark Ages, the Lord’s work of judgment will be more than simply pronouncing sentence upon the wicked and rewarding the righteous. It will be a judging of them based upon enlightenment by the truth, and giving them an opportunity to turn to him in obedience and thus receive his gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.—Rom. 6:23
Belief Based on Knowledge
John 3:16 reads, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is a wonderfully revealing text of Scripture. But the puny mind of man has endeavored, by vain and misleading philosophies, to limit the opportunity of believing in Christ to the present short span of life. This limitation resulted from overlooking the promised future thousand years of probation and judgment. But the Bible places no such limitation upon this promise.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Rom. 10:14,15) No one will be saved because of ignorance; but, thank God, the time for the enlightenment of the people concerning salvation through Christ is not limited to the present life, nor to the present age. There is another “day” in the divine plan, and those who are now sleeping in death will be awakened and enlightened in that glorious new day, the Day of Judgment.
The Bible, of course, speaks of people and situations which pertained to the period in which it was written. But what the Bible says concerning these should be taken as a guide in our understanding of the basic principles of the divine plan. In connection with the future Judgment Day, Jesus said concerning the people of Jewish cities who rejected his teachings that it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for them.—Matt. 11:20-24; Mark 6:11
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were notoriously wicked. In fact God destroyed them because of their sin, and no attempt was made at that time to enlighten and convert these wicked people. Yet Jesus tells us that it will be ‘tolerable’, or favorable, for them in the Judgment Day—more ‘favorable’ than for those who rejected his teachings at the time of his First Advent.
This means that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and those of Jesus’ day, are to be awakened from the sleep of death in the Judgment Day. Jesus had good authority for saying that it would then be more favorable for the Sodomites than for the Israelites; for thus had the Prophet Ezekiel foretold.
In Ezekiel’s prophecy he describes the awakening of the dead as a release from captivity, and a returning to their ‘former estate’. He wrote: “As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. … Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.”—Ezek.16:48-54
There can be no doubt about the unrighteousness of those described in this passage of Scripture. The Samaritans, noting the sin of the Israelites who professed to serve God, felt justified in their own corrupt course, and thus were comforted in their sins. But they are all to be brought back from their captivity in death, for Ezekiel continues: “When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.”—vs. 55
But the purpose of restoring these sinful ones to life is not to tell them that they are unworthy of God’s blessings and then destroy them, or worse still, consign them to a place of eternal torture. No, as we continue on in this wonderful prophecy, we find that the Israelites and the Sodomites and Samaritans are brought into harmony with God; into covenant relationship with him. (vss. 60-63) Continuing in this state of reconciliation to God, they will live forever—their experience with sin and its results having proved of value to them by way of contrast with righteousness and the favor of God.
Jesus’ observation that it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than it would be for unrighteous Israelites who had been favored with more light, clearly places their awakening from the sleep of death as being accomplished during the world’s coming Judgment Day.
We can see, then, that the purpose of the Judgment Day is to enlighten and reform sinners—giving them an opportunity to obey the light which will then be worldwide, and upon the basis of their obedience, restoring them to the full favor of God to live forever.
Problems Solved
Now we can see why the thousand-year Judgment Day is such an important factor in solving the many problems which confront us in connection with the character of God and his designs for his human creatures. Take the child in the mixed-religion marriage dilemma who died before being baptized. That child is merely asleep in death and will be awakened in the morning of God’s tomorrow.
Then, growing to maturity, that person can make his own decision with respect to serving God. The decision will not be based on the confusing and conflicting dogmas of men, but upon the true knowledge of God which will then fill the earth. The parents also will have the same opportunity; and what joy there will be for all concerned! Concerning God’s loving provision for children who are snatched away from their parents in death, and as a comfort to parents, the Prophet Jeremiah wrote:
“Thus saith the Lord: A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord: and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.”—Jer. 31:15-17
Then there are the many cases of those born in debauchery, and reared in ignorance and without benefit of wholesome, godly surroundings. Thank God the destiny of these is not fixed at death! If God can, in his great love, mercy, and power, raise the Sodomites from death, enlighten and bless them, he will surely do the same for all who similarly have been more the victims of unrighteous circumstances than willful opposers of his just and righteous laws.
Perhaps some of those born and reared under more advantageous circumstances, but who have not fully lived up to their responsibilities, will find it more difficult in the Judgment Day than those who have lived and died in ignorance, and in the squalor of sin. But judging from the lesson taught by Jesus with respect to the Sodomites and the Israelites, every individual will, in the Judgment Day, be dealt with from the standpoint of the light enjoyed in the present life, and the degree to which the light influenced his life.
On this point Jesus said: “That servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”—Luke 12:47,48
The lesson here is that God’s dealings with all his human creatures will be just and merciful. We could not ask for more! In keeping with this, we need have no fears, as to the future status of the heathen, for these also will be enlightened and blessed. The same divine principles of mercy and justice will apply to them as to all who have lived and died without a knowledge of the true and living God of the Bible.
This means that all of Adam’s children in the antediluvian world will be given their opportunity in the future Judgment Day, including Adam and Eve. It means that all since that time, right down to the present, including the countless millions of atheists in the world today, will be awakened from the sleep of death, enlightened, and given an opportunity to believe, obey, and live.
It even includes those who have been taught such grotesque conceptions of God that they have believed him to be a tyrant who planned from the beginning to eternally torture countless of his human creatures. How thankful we are that this hideous teaching is to be dispelled by the light of the new day, the Judgment Day, so that the unknown God of love and mercy will be seen and appreciated for what he is, not dreaded for what the creeds of the Dark Ages pictured him to be.
Prayers Answered
Then the sincere and earnest prayers of millions for blessings they were not properly prepared to receive and use will be answered. The mother who prayed for the safety of her boy on the battlefield will find that the Lord’s way of protecting him was better than hers. He was allowed to go to sleep in death, to be awakened in the Judgment Day, when all wars will be ended, having escaped the further horrors of the battlefield, and perhaps years in a veteran’s hospital suffering physically or mentally, or both.
Every mother wants the best for her children. Every normal man and woman in the world, in every generation, has deplored the inequalities with which they have been surrounded. All have been touched with the sufferings of the world, and have wished they could do something about it. But the great and loving God of all creation, the “unknown God” of the Athenians, has been just as mindful of these evils, and more so, than any of his creatures could possibly be. The difference is that he is able to do something about it.
Two thousand years ago God sent his beloved Son to die for the sin-cursed and dying race, thus opening the way for a reconciliation of all mankind to himself. The fact that people have continued to suffer and die, even as they did before Jesus came, does not defeat God’s loving plan for their ultimate blessing. When his due time comes, which is the Day of Judgment, they will be awakened and given an opportunity of accepting the blessings he has provided for them.
How short this little while of suffering for each individual, and for each generation, will then seem to be by comparison with the endless ages of blessing and joy which will stretch out before all who, upon the basis of enlightenment, respond to divine love and turn in obedience to serve the true and living God.
The House of God
Meanwhile a few among earth’s millions, beginning with Pentecost, have been enlightened, and have had pointed out to them the privilege of walking in the footsteps of Jesus and of proving worthy of being associated with him in the great future kingdom work of judging and blessing all mankind. This means that the centuries since Pentecost have actually been a ‘Judgment Day’ for the disciples of Christ, who are referred to by the Apostle Peter as ‘the house of God’. Peter wrote: “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”—I Pet. 4:17,18
Just previous to this, the Apostle Peter explained that the disciples of Christ must expect to suffer, even as Jesus suffered. He wrote, “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”—I Pet. 4:12,13
The fact that the Christian is thus called upon to suffer makes the ‘narrow way’ a difficult one for him in which to walk, and some become discouraged. It is to this that Peter refers in his question, “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” The creeds answer that these will appear in the fires of eternal torture, where they will curse God throughout eternity. Peter also asked, “What shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?” The answer to this last question is that those who do not ultimately obey the Gospel “shall be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:23) But Peter does not so much as hint that the opportunity to obey is limited to the present short span of life.
So the answer to his question, “Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” is, that they will be awakened from the sleep of death and appear among the millions who will be enlightened and blessed during the world’s future Judgment Day of one thousand years.
In fact, none but sinners will appear for judgment at that time, the righteous of all previous ages having already been judged and found worthy of life. Jesus said, “Indeed, I truly say to you, He who hears my Word, and believes him who sent me, has [Greek: aionian, meaning ‘everlasting’] life, and comes not into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”—John 5:24, Wilson’s Diaglott Translation
This, of course, is upon the basis of faith. The actual receiving of life will be in the resurrection, as shown in verses 28 and 29, where Jesus explains, “Wonder not at this; because an hour comes in which all those in the tombs will hear his voice, and will come forth; those having done good things, to a resurrection of life; and those having done evil things, to a resurrection of judgment.”—Wilson’s Diaglott Translation
The Greek word here translated ‘judgment’ is krises. It corresponds in meaning to our English word crisis. When the unrighteous and the partially unrighteous dead are awakened from the sleep of death and enlightened with a true knowledge of God, they will indeed be faced with a crisis in their experience.
While God ‘winked’ at the ignorance of their past, their ignorance and their distorted conceptions of him will now be swept away. Isaiah wrote of that time that the Lord will remove the ‘veil’ that is spread over the minds of all people. (Isa. 25:7) All the ‘spiritually blind’ eyes will be opened. There will be no excuse for not knowing the divine requirements. The result will be that those who do not believe and obey will be destroyed.—Isa. 35:5; Acts 3:23
On the other hand, those who face this crisis successfully—which undoubtedly will be the vast majority—will be restored to perfection of human life such as Adam enjoyed before he transgressed the divine law. This return to perfection and to life eternal is described by Jesus as a resurrection of judgment, or a full re-standing of life based upon obedience in their time of testing. The Prophet Isaiah described it as a returning to life over a “way of holiness,” a ‘way’, he explains, over which the unclean cannot continue to travel, but which has been provided for them as a way to holiness, or perfection.—Isa.35:8
Isaiah explains that there will be no ‘ravenous beast’ on this way of holiness, nor will there be any ‘lion’. These are symbols of the many evils which now stand in the way of the righteous. (vs. 9) Satan himself is described in the Bible as a “roaring lion,” but of that future time of judgment and blessing, the Scriptures assure us that Satan will be bound.—I Pet. 5:8; Rev. 20:1,2
The Prophet Isaiah also wrote, “The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isa. 35:10) The ‘ransomed of the Lord’ are all mankind, who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Paul wrote that Jesus gave himself a “ransom for all.” (I Tim. 2:3-6) Their return is from the sleep of death, and what a happy time it will be, for they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
This glorious future day of probation and of the giving of life—the world’s Judgment Day—has been assured, said Paul on Mars’ hill, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Because he was raised to life, all for whom he died—which is the entire world of mankind—will likewise be brought back to life. This is the great truth concerning the Athenians’ ‘unknown God’ which Paul presented to those skeptical philosophers on Mars’ hill. How did they receive it? The record states: “When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. … Howbeit certain men slave unto him, and believed.” (Acts 17:32-34) The attitude of the unbelieving world has not changed much during the more than nineteen centuries since that time. The world by its own wisdom still does not know the true and living God of the Bible, the great Creator of heaven and earth. He is still an ‘unknown God’ to the vast majority.
But, as we have seen, it will not always be so. When, through the agencies of Christ’s kingdom—that “mountain,” or kingdom foretold in the prophecies of Daniel (2:44,45; 7:27), and other prophets—tears are wiped away, and death is swallowed up in victory, the people will respond with delight. They will say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, and we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”—Isa. 25:6-9
The people have indeed ‘waited’ for the blessing of joy and life which will be showered upon them by the true and living God. They have had their hideous gods, and their unknown gods, in which they have hoped and trusted. But how they will rejoice when, the eyes of their understanding being opened, they see and decide to obey the only true God. By then all the enemies of God and of righteousness will be destroyed, even death itself. (I Cor. 15:25,26) Let us thank God for the blessings he has provided for the suffering and dying world of mankind.
The New English Translation of Revelation 15:3,4, sums the conclusion of the Judgment Day up very nicely with these words: “Great and marvelous are thy deeds, O Lord God, sovereign over all; just and true are thy ways, thou king of the ages. Who shall not revere thee, Lord, and do homage to thy name? for thou alone art holy. All nations shall come and worship in thy presence, for thy just dealings stand revealed.”