| HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN | January 1996 |
Deliverance Draws Near!
“When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption [deliverance] draweth nigh.” —Luke 21:28
THE ENTERING OF a new year is always a reminder that time marches on, and time is an important consideration in our outlook as Christians and students of prophecy. The servants of God in every age have been out of harmony with the world around them. They have been pained by the sinful and unjust practices of the ungodly, and because of their own imperfections have groaned within themselves, longing for the time to come when the downward course of sin would be arrested, and deliverance from its corrupting influences would come to them and to all mankind.
The questions, “How long?” and “When?” and their equivalents, appear many times in the writings of the prophets and apostles, and God’s reply is always that the reign of sin and death will not continue forever. The expressions, ‘last days’, ‘the time of the end’, the ‘latter days’, and others, gave assurance that in the divine plan a new dispensation was coming, in which righteousness would be enthroned and sin and death destroyed.
God’s assurances of this final triumph of right over wrong are recorded throughout the Bible, beginning with Genesis 3:15, where the statement is made that the “seed” of the ‘woman’ would bruise the ‘serpent’s’ “head.” This hope is amplified by God’s promises to Abraham that through his “seed” all the families of the earth would be blessed.—Gen. 18:18; 22:18
Through Moses, God promised to send a great “Prophet,” and Isaiah prophesied, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder.” (Deut. 18:18; Isa. 9:6) Daniel prophesied, “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom.”—Dan. 2:44
When Jesus came, he was accepted by his disciples as the one of promise. To them it seemed that the long-awaited time for the divinely promised deliverance had come. John the Baptist announced the presence of Jesus with the statement, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2) A better translation of the original Greek in his statement would be, “The Royal Majesty of the heavens has approached.”—Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott
To the disciples it seemed certain that there was to be no further delay. They believed that the “kingdom of God should immediately appear.” (Luke 19:11) Jesus understood this situation, and to prevent them from being too greatly disappointed, he related the parable of the pounds, in which a “certain nobleman” went into a “far country” to receive a kingdom, and later to return.—Luke 19:12
Evidently the disciples recognized that Jesus, their Messiah, was the ‘certain nobleman’ of this parable, and that he was telling them in this parable that he was going away, and that the kingdom which they believed ‘should immediately appear’ would not be established until he returned. They did not understand, of course, that his going away involved his death, so they were quite unprepared for the sudden termination of his ministry.
Nevertheless, on the supposition that Jesus was leaving them and would return later to establish his kingdom they went to him on the Mount of Olives, and inquired, “When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming [Greek, ‘presence’], and of the end of the world [age]?” (Matt. 24:3) Here we have the question again, “When?” and how will we know—what evidences shall we look for that the age of waiting has ended, and that you have returned to set up the long-promised kingdom?
Chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew contain Jesus’ reply to these questions, and Luke’s report of the Lord’s great prophecy of his return and the end of the age is found in the 21st chapter of his Gospel, of which our text is a part. “When” you see the signs I have outlined “begin to come to pass,” Luke reports Jesus as saying, “then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption [deliverance] draweth nigh.”
Here we have one of the most definite assertions found in the Bible concerning the preparation for Christ’s kingdom. It is ‘when these things begin to come to pass’. It is very important, therefore, that we ascertain what ‘these things’ are which so definitely identify this time for which the saints of God in every age have so hopefully waited and longingly prayed.
Let us examine briefly some of ‘these things’—the signs referred to in verses 24 through 27 of Luke’s Gospel, chapter 21. Verse 24 reads, “They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” The first part of this text is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Israelites among the various Gentile nations.
While the literal city of Jerusalem was then destroyed, its destruction signified the overthrow of the whole Jewish polity and the complete subjection of the people to Gentile domination. Actually, the nation had lost its independence more than six centuries before this—in 606 B.C.—when their last king, Zedekiah, was overthrown, and the people taken captive to Babylon.
When Jesus said, ‘Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’, he was merely saying that the nation which had lost its independence in the days of Babylon would remain dispersed, and continue to be persecuted until the ‘times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’. This is one of the things which we should see ‘begin to come to pass’ if we are to be assured that our deliverance is near.
Has this prophecy begun to be fulfilled? We believe so. But let us not read more into the prophecy than it says. We know from other promises of God that wonderful blessings of health and peace and life and joy are in store for Israel. We know that the time will come when he will “make a New Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” (Jer. 31:31-34) We know, too, that the Gentiles will share in these blessings in God’s due time.
But Jesus said nothing about these kingdom blessings in this prophecy. All he said was that ‘Jerusalem’, emblematic of the nation as a whole, would no longer be trodden down of the Gentiles. Since the treading down of the nation began with the loss of its sovereign independence, its restoration to independence would fulfill Jesus’ prophecy. And Israel, since 1948, is now a free nation—a nation among nations, and has been given this status in the world by the United Nations.
The free Israel of today is not a large nation. Jesus did not say it would be. She does not possess all the Promised Land—but this is not implied by Jesus. The liberated Israel is not free from problems—serious problems—but Jesus did not say she would be. Just like every other nation on earth today, Israel is perplexed and fearful. Like every other nation, she has acute economic problems. And like every other nation, she is burdened with debt, and is further draining her resources in stockpiling armament.
But Jesus did not say that Israel would escape these problems that plague the other nations when she first became free. He indicated only that Israel would no longer be trodden down—that her status of bondage as a nation which began in 606 B.C. would be changed; that she would again be free to conduct her own affairs and make her own laws; that’s all, and certainly we have seen this ‘begin to come to pass’; yes, actually come to pass, at least on a small scale.
POWERS OF THE HEAVENS SHAKEN
Luke 21, verses 25 and 26, describe two signs which are closely related. Jesus said there would be “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.” And on the earth, he said there would be “distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring.” Because of these things Jesus said that men’s hearts would fail them for fear; “for,” he added, “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”—Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott
It seems evident from these two verses that the signs in the sun and moon and stars are what Jesus refers to as ‘the powers of the heavens’ being shaken. This, it appears, is one of the contributing causes of men’s hearts failing them for fear. It is not the literal heavens that are ‘shaken’, any more than it is the roaring of the literal sea and waves to which Jesus refers in this prophecy.
It is the symbolic ‘heavens’ and ‘earth’ that are involved here, the same ‘heavens’ and ‘earth’ mentioned by the Apostle Peter when he wrote, “The Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”—II Pet. 3:10
The figurative heavens and earth which pass away with a great noise in the Day of the Lord are the spiritual and material aspects of the social order which must give place to the kingdom of Christ, the “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (II Pet. 3:13) Just as the literal heavens exercise a powerful influence over all life on the earth, so the symbolic heavens through the centuries of this present evil world have exercised a large measure of control over the people.
This has been done through religion, which has been recognized as a spiritual influence; spiritual, that is, in the sense of claiming a higher authority than the dictates of human laws. The church/state governments of Europe are a good example of this arrangement; but even where these have not functioned, the non-heathen peoples of the earth have been subject to the restraints of religious view-points and influences. This, indeed, has been true also in heathen nations, although their concepts of right and wrong have varied somewhat from those of Christendom.
But one of ‘these things’ which Jesus foretold would take place at the end of the age, and the time of his presence, was, “The powers of the heavens will be shaken.” That is, religious institutions and concepts would lose their control over the people. Have we seen this ‘begin to come to pass’? In many countries throughout the world, religion still exercises much influence in the affairs of the people. Nevertheless, we would be blinding ourselves to reality if we did not recognize that the ‘powers of the heavens’ are beginning to be ‘shaken’, and that this disturbing development is contributing to the fear that fills the hearts of man today.
The situation in what was once Yugoslavia is a good example of the powers of heaven being shaken. The strong nationalistic feelings of the people were bound by the iron chains of communism. When those chains were broken with the demise of communism, fires of war erupted everywhere causing disaster, disarray, and destruction of that nation.
The three religious powers, the Eastern Orthodix Church in Serbia, the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia, and the Moslem faith in Bosnia-Herzegovina, have failed to bring peace to the region. Instead, a form of anarchy prevails, and the threat continues in spite of the recent ceasefire and peace negotiations sponsored by the United Nations—the Western world, headed by the United States of America; and the Eastern World, headed by Russia
Northern Ireland has long been torn apart by terrorism, as Catholics and Protestants fail to live peacefully side by side. Again, where one would expect the respective churches to make peace, bombings and bloodshed erupt, and the light that should lead to peace has failed.
For a period of forty to seventy years, many European countries that were behind the ‘iron curtain’ of communism, had religious restraints. The communist leadership looked upon religion as the ‘opiate’ of the people. While religion in these countries continued to be practiced by many under these restraints, the younger generation became atheistic and continues to be so.
‘WIDOWHOOD’
We are reminded of the judgments at the end of the age that come upon all false religions, typified by Babylon as outlined in Revelation 18 and Isaiah 47. We note the attitude expressed in Revelation 18:7, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow,” and in Isaiah 47:8, “I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children.” This is the attitude just prior to the severe judgments pronounced upon her by God. Isaiah says, “These two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood.” (vs. 9) ‘Widowhood’ came in 1914, when the kings of Europe lost their crowns and church/state systems came to an end. Afterward, communism caused a ‘loss of children’. In other places in the world, the Vatican’s authority is diminishing. Half a century ago there was hardly anyone in Italy, for example, who would venture to vote contrary to the wishes of the Vatican. Now millions of Italians do.
This authority of the Vatican, as it extends all over the world, has clashed with other movements. There has been a head-on collision with the women’s rights movement. Just prior to the Fourth World Conference on Women, held several months ago in Beijing, China, a spokesman for the Vatican said that the conference would be a “step backward in the field of human rights for women.” In particular, the positions endorsed for that meeting by the United States and other participants came under severe criticism by the Vatican because they promoted abortion and undermined the central place of the family. To make their influence felt, the Vatican proposed to send a delegation to the conference headed by a woman. Several women’s organizations unsuccessfully challenged the Vatican’s right to attend the Beijing Conference.
Another tenet of the Vatican that continues to be attacked is the vow of celibacy of its priests and nuns. There is also constant pressure to ordain women as priests, as is practiced by other religions. In 1991 when the Episcopalian Church consecrated a female bishop, it angered an Episcopalian congregation and its priest in Fort Worth, Texas, so much so that the priest and the congregation of 200 members voted to secede from the Episcopalian Church.
Over a period of three years, those former Episcopalian Church members became confirmed as Roman Catholics, and the priest was re-ordained as their Roman Catholic priest, even though he was married and had two adult children. This could not have happened fifteen years ago.
Two years later, the bishop of the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of that area resigned, and converted to Roman Catholicism. The bishop, who was married, was seeking to be ordained as a priest in the Catholic Church, also. However, ten months later he changed his mind and went back to the Episcopal Church, being welcomed back by its hierarchy. As a leader of Episcopal traditionalists who oppose the ordination of women as priests, he had hopes of a reunion of the Episcopal and Roman Catholic Churches.
Apart from specific developments along this line in various parts of the world, there is in every country a general breakdown of religious and moral standards. Evidences of this are the increase of crime, including growing juvenile delinquency, as well as corruption and dishonesty in business and government.
SIGNS ‘BEGIN’ TO COME TO PASS
We see this sign ‘begin to come to pass’. Only those who are watching the “more sure word of prophecy” (II Pet. 1:19), can see this beginning with an understanding of what it means. And how heartening is that understanding! It means that our deliverance ‘draweth nigh’. That deliverance from the bondage of sin and death for which God’s people throughout the Gospel Age have waited and prayed is at hand. And this means, also, that the deliverance of the whole world from the rulership of Satan is near. For this, too, we thank God.
Meanwhile, the world also sees. But, unlike the watchers who ‘look up’ and ‘lift up’ their heads, their hearts are filled with fear as they contemplate what they feel will be the inevitable result of the complete breaking down of all religious and moral restraints. As we see the beginning of this sign, we rejoice in the evidence it gives that our deliverance is near, and as it draws near the world will ultimately recognize the significance of what is taking place. Jesus said, “Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”—vs. 27
With the symbolic sun, moon, and stars in the ecclesiastical heavens completely obscured so far as their power to control is concerned, the world will see only a ‘cloud’ of trouble. It will be in that symbolic cloud—and by means which divine providence will direct—that the presence of earth’s new king will be recognized. At this juncture in the divine plan, the ‘new heavens’ will take control, and through the administrative agencies of the new symbolic earth—to begin with the resurrected ancient prophets and faithful ones of old, acting as princes in all the earth (Ps. 45:16)—God’s promised blessings of peace and joy and life will begin to flow to the people as a mighty “river of water of life.”—Rev. 22:1-3
So, as we enter the new year it is with hope and confidence and joy, for we know that deliverance is near. Just how near, the Lord has not revealed. For some of us it may be within the year. It does not really matter too much, for we know that, in any event, we do not have much longer to wait!