| HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN | January 1993 |
Our Day Star of Hope
“We have the word of prophecy made more sure: whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day Star arise in your hearts.” —II Peter 1:19, Revised Standard Version
IT IS AGAIN with a fear of the unknown future that the world enters another year, 1993. The glimmer of light and hope which always accompanies the inauguration of a new President of the United States will undoubtedly soon be snuffed out, as his policies and promises fail. Although the ending of the cold war has lessened the likelihood of worldwide destruction through nuclear confrontation, nevertheless wars continue to erupt and blaze in every corner of the world, and will continue to do so as long as we live in this present evil world.
How accurately Jesus foretold this time when he said that there would be upon the earth “distress of nations, with perplexity,” and that the hearts of the people would fail them for fear, in expectation of the things they saw coming upon the earth. (Luke 21:7-26) The fear in the hearts of the people arises from their failure to find solutions for the increasing multitude of problems which vex the distraught world.
From the standpoint of worldly wisdom, the irony of it is that this situation has developed at a time when the world has supposedly reached the pinnacle of civilization, and when it is believed by many that war as a method of settling international disputes should be a thing of the past. So far as the world is concerned, this ‘distress of nations with perplexity’ has come as “a thief in the night”; that is, unexpectedly.—I Thess. 5:2; II Pet. 3:10
However, as the Apostle Paul explained, “Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” (I Thess. 5:4,5) The present time of ‘great tribulation’ upon the world is prophetically associated with the Day of the Lord, and since the Lord’s dedicated people are the children of the day, they know the meaning of what is transpiring. The Day of the Lord has not come upon them “as a thief in the night.”—Matt. 24:21,22
Faith Is Necessary
‘The children of light’ are guided by the prophecies of God’s Word, to which they take heed. But faith must lay hold firmly upon the inspired prophecies if they are to be a real guide in our lives. This has been true of God’s people in every age. Even the disciples who walked personally with Jesus during his earthly ministry, at times had their faith severely tested—especially as to whether or not he was truly the foretold Messiah of Israel and of the world. Jesus said to Peter, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.”—Luke 22:32
It was no doubt to strengthen the faith of Peter and others that the transfiguration vision was given. (Matt. 17:19) Peter referred to this vision in the verses just preceding our text, and indicated what a blessing it had been to him. He wrote, “We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming [Greek, “presence”] of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty; for he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.”—II Pet. 1:16-18
This was a vision of the kingdom, and it came in fulfillment of Jesus’ statement, “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Matt. 16:28) It was only six days after his statement that Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into a high mountain, where they saw him transfigured before them, and in vision Moses and Elijah appeared with him.
According to the Revised Standard Version and Wilson’s Diaglott Translations, this vision made the word of prophecy “more sure,” or “more confirmed.” (II Pet. 1:19) It gave Peter the assurance that the declarations of all God’s holy prophets concerning the Messiah, and the kingdom of power and glory which he was to establish, would indeed be fulfilled.
Prior to Pentecost, Peter did not understand clearly just how and when the Messianic prophecies were to be fulfilled. But now it was different. He had received the Holy Spirit, which, as Jesus had promised, had shown him “things to come.” (John 14:26; 16:13) Peter now knew that the establishment of the kingdom in power and great glory for the enlightenment and blessing of all mankind must wait until the return of Christ, and that meanwhile the world would continue to be enshrouded in darkness, making it a “dark place, until the day dawn.”
As Peter explained, the confirmed word of prophecy has been a light that shineth in the darkness of the world for the comfort and guidance of the children of light. The prophecies of God’s Word have not enlightened the world, they were not intended to. But they have served to guide the Lord’s own people, revealing to them all that they need to know respecting the outworkings of the divine plan.
Through the aid of the Holy Spirit the apostles not only learned that the kingdom would not be established until after Christ’s return, but also, that in the meantime there would be a great apostasy from the faith once delivered to the saints, and that a powerful Antichrist system of iniquity would be set up in the earth. We can now look back over the history of the Gospel Age and see how accurately the prophecies pertaining to this “falling away” have been fulfilled.—II Thess. 2:1-13
Even more important, we can see the fulfillment of the prophecies pertaining to the end of the age, the time in which we are now living. This, in turn, enables us to understand the significance of the events taking place throughout the world, so that our hearts are not filled with fear. Instead, we rejoice, for we know that the long night of sin and death will soon give place to the morning of joy for all mankind—a morning that will break upon the whole world as a result of the rising of the prophetic “Sun of Righteousness.”—Mal. 4:2
The morning star is one which makes its appearance just before the rising of the sun. In keeping with this illustration, the prophecies indicate that before the establishment of Christ’s kingdom—before the world will enjoy the warming and healing rays of the Sun of Righteousness—the Lord’s own people will recognize the presence of Jesus through the pages of prophecy and the signs of the times. They were to see him, in other words, as the Morning Star, the Day Star, while the world is still asleep and unaware of the significance of events occurring around them.—II Pet. 1:19, Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott
We believe that the Day Star is already visible by the eye of faith, and that soon the darkness and chaos of the world will give place to the stabilizing authority of Jesus, the new king of earth. The prospect is glorious, and we bid all to examine more diligently the prophetic testimony of the Word and be assured from its sacred pages that Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem nearly two thousand years ago, who died on the cross as man’s Redeemer, who was raised from the dead as a divine being, is now present and about to manifest himself to the world through the fulfillment of all those glorious promises of God which describe the richness and universality of the blessings of health and life which all mankind will soon be privileged to enjoy.
Scoffers
In II Peter the second chapter, Peter mentions false teachers who arise in the church; but in the third chapter he comes back to the subject of Christ’s presence and the establishment of the kingdom, which he locates in ‘the last days’. We quote: “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior: knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming [parousia, ‘presence’]? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”—vss. 1-4
Here Peter continued to stress the importance of ‘the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets’, and by Jesus and all the apostles. But he declared that there would be some who, catering to their own desires, or wishes, would scoff at the conclusions reached by ‘the children of light’ as to the meaning of the prophetic testimony.
The real objection raised by the scoffers, however, is obscured by faulty translations of two of the Greek words used in this text. One of these words is parousia, which means ‘presence’, not ‘coming’, and the other word is epaggelia, which Professor Strong defines as ‘especially a divine assurance of good’. While this word is often translated promise, it also contains the idea of assurance, and therefore is a stronger word than epaggello, which denotes merely a promise.
A revealing example of the difference in meaning of these two Greek words is found in Hebrews 6:13-15. We quote: “When God made promise [epaggello] to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise [epaggelia]. “ Abraham did receive at that time, the assurance, or evidence, that the original promise would be fulfilled. It is the Greek word epaggelia, that Peter used when he said the scoffers would ask, “Where is the promise [the assurance, or evidence] of his presence?”
No one who pretends to know anything about the Bible has ever questioned the fact that there are many promises that Christ would return. What some do question, however, is that there is now any assurance, or evidence, that he has returned and is now invisibly present, like ‘a thief in the night’.
The scoffers raise this question on the premise that ‘since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of Creation’. This is often construed to mean simply that, as the scoffers understand it, there has not been any evidence that what is happening now in world affairs is any different than what has occurred throughout history—it is simply a matter of history repeating itself.
But we think the scoffers may have even more than this in mind. Peter had just mentioned the testimony of the holy prophets, who addressed their messages to the ‘fathers’, even as Paul reminded us in Hebrews 1:1. In one of his sermons Peter spoke of the return of Christ, “whom the heaven must receive, [or retain],” he said, “until the times of restitution of all things.” (Acts 3:19-21) He explained that the glorious work of restitution, which was to follow the return of Christ, had been the theme of all God’s holy prophets.
But, the scoffers say, where is there any evidence that the testimony of the prophets concerning the ‘times of restitution’ is being fulfilled? People continue to die now as they have done since the disobedience in Eden, despite the messages of the prophets to the fathers, so we have no evidence of the Master’s presence.
Having foretold what the scoffers would say, Peter then proceeded to answer them. He declared that they would willingly be ignorant of a very important truth of the prophecies. He referred to the time of the Flood, and of the fact that at that time a world came to an end. The reason Peter could say with such definiteness that the scoffers would be willingly ignorant of this, is that Jesus used the experiences of Noah and the Flood as an illustration of the time of his second presence, when this present evil world would come to an end.
Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noe [Noah], so shall it also be in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the Flood came, and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26,27) Just as Noah was present during ‘the days of Noah’, so Jesus is present during ‘the days of the Son of Man’.
No student of prophecy needs to be ignorant of this plainly stated truth, as Peter said the scoffers would be. But being willingly ignorant of it, they refuse to believe that Christ is present until they see the work of restoring the dead world to life has actually begun, for they do not discern that prior to this, and as a necessary preparation for it, Satan’s world must first be destroyed,
It was foretold, that “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 make them continue long to enjoy the work of their hands.”—Isa. 65:21,22, Margin
The Apostle John was given a vision of the “new heaven and a new earth,” and he tells us that when this new government is functioning “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:14) By then the Sun of Righteousness will be fully risen, and the darkness of earth’s long night of sin and death will be dispelled.
What a dark place the world has been—a cheerless, dismal night indeed! It has been characterized by the chill of human sin and selfishness, and made gloomy by the wail of the suffering and dying. The brief span of a dying existence experienced by each individual has often been plagued by frightful nightmares of fear lest the uneasy lot of today be engulfed in the calamities of tomorrow. But before the Day of the Lord has ended, the Sun of Righteousness will have dispelled the darkness, healed the sick and dying, and restored the dead to life.
This is the bright hope for the future of the world which the ‘day star’ told about in prophecy has implanted in our hearts. We are given the assurance that we are at the very threshold of this wonderful new day of human experience. The Apostle John was told that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit [or life] of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10) It is the great prophecy of Jesus, outlining the manner and signs of his presence, that enables us to discern that he has returned, and that his presence explains why the world is crumbling.
Thus the day star mentioned in our theme text, and given such vital meaning by the testimony of Jesus, has enabled us to hear him knock as he stands at the door of our hearts announcing his presence. We have invited him to enter, and he is feasting with us. What a privilege it is thus to have the bright and morning star as guest in our hearts! How bright is the hope which the knowledge of his presence has engendered!
This hope has sustained us in the past, and it will continue to do so through 1993, and whatever additional time we may have in which to make our calling and election sure. We know that Satan’s world will continue to disintegrate as the elements melt with fervent heat, even as the antediluvian world was destroyed by the Flood in the days of Noah.
Peter made the comparison, saying, “The Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in 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.” (II Pet. 3:10) Note how clearly Peter states that it is in the Day of the Lord that the present symbolic heavens and earth are destroyed.
No wonder Jesus gave as one of the signs of his presence the fact that there would be a great tribulation upon the nations, causing all the tribes of the earth to mourn because of him! But how comforting are the prophecies which assure us that this period of distress upon the world is only temporary, and that soon, when the way is cleared, the kingdom work of blessing the people will begin.—Matt. 24:21; Rev. 1:7
New Heavens and New Earth
Peter added, “Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (vs. 13) This might well be an acknowledgment of the viewpoint expressed by the scoffers. They look for a new world, with its blessings of peace and health and life, and will not believe that Christ is present until they see these things. We also look for these restitution blessings, Peter explained, but the Word of prophecy which is heeded by the children of light makes it clear that first, when Michael stands up, there must be “a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.”—Dan. 12:1
The world is already in the throes of this time of trouble, with its climax of threatened global destruction. Will that climax come in 1993? We do not know. We do know from the Word of prophecy that the Lord will shorten the time of tribulation so that all flesh will not be destroyed. We have Jesus’ own assurance of this.—Matt. 24:22; Mark 13:20
Yes, in due time there will be divine intervention in the affairs of men by our present Lord and his glorified followers. These will be the new spiritual rulers, elected by God. They will be represented on earth by the resurrected Ancient Worthies—those whom the psalmist calls “princes in all the earth.” (Ps. 45:16) Together these will constitute the promised ‘new heavens’ and ‘new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness’.
With this new government functioning throughout the earth, the blessings of restitution will flow out freely to all who obey its laws. These events will encourage mankind to diligence in serving the Lord.
But for us, now, Peter wrote, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” (II Pet. 3:11) If Peter were writing this verse today he could well say, “Seeing that all these things are being dissolved,” for man in his selfishness and lack of wisdom is rapidly destroying his own world. We know that the ‘dissolving’ will continue and that it is more true now than ever that ‘the world and its pursuits will perish’.
“Wherefore, beloved,” Peter wrote, “seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless.” (II Pet. 3:14) Yes, with enlightened hearts, we are to be diligent in serving the Lord, not slothful about his business. We do not need to fret over world conditions but can put our trust in the Lord and in his promises—we can have peace.
Besides this, with fear removed from our hearts, we can give a message to the world. We can say to the fear-filled people all around us, “Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance [for this is the Day of Vengeance against the slavery of sin and Satan], even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.” (Isa. 35:4) How blessed to know that there will be divine intervention in human affairs to save the people from the ultimate result of sin and selfishness! May the year 1993 be a blessed one as we proclaim this Gospel of the kingdom far and wide!