| HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN | April 1996 |
Rapid Travel
THE PROPHECY OF Daniel 12:4, which mentions the “time of the end,” says, “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Bible students have long believed that the running ‘to and fro’ is a sign of our day pertaining to rapid travel. Recently all the world was reminded that twenty years ago rapid travel reached a peak on January 21, 1976, when the Concorde made its first commercial run from Paris to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar, Senegal. The new supersonic jet plane operated by Air France and British Airways travels at more than 1350 miles per hour—a speed known as Mach-2, or twice the speed that sound travels. It can carry 128 passengers across the Atlantic Ocean in just three hours.
This plane has been the pride of France, being developed in the 1960’s, and remaining as a sleek symbol of technological know-how. But financially the Concorde is having a bumpy ride. Largely due to its huge overhead and fuel costs, its flights are not cheap. A round-trip ticket from New York to Paris now runs about $6,400. The plane guzzles 22 tons of fuel an hour, twice the fuel consumption of a Boeing 747 carrying four times as many passengers and luggage. It also requires fourteen hours of maintenance for every hour it is in the air.
This extremely rapid travel, although maintained for twenty years, may eventually cease because of economics. Only rich corporations and dignitaries can afford it. Most people in today’s society are content to travel at 500 to 600 miles per hour in the modern, more economical jets that have been developed over the last fifty years of aviation history. Yet, what a remarkable rate of speed is this, compared to that of a relatively few years ago when men were not able to travel faster than our ancestors of 4,000 years before. This has been true for many centuries, and rapid travel is an important sign of the end of this age and the nearness of God’s kingdom.
The Daniel prophecy which is specifically associated with the ‘time of the end’ is not the only one in the Scriptures which refers to this phenomenon. In the prophecy of Nahum 2:3,4, reference is made to the day of God’s “preparation,” and of that time it is said that “chariots shall be with flaming torches,” and shall “rage in the streets,” and shall [jostle] “one against another in the broad ways.” Of these chariots the prophet declares that they shall “run like the lightnings.” The prophecy of Isaiah 66:20, after mentioning the limited ways of travel with which men were acquainted in the prophets’ time, speaks of “swift beasts” which will be used in the day when Israel and all the nations are gathered to behold the glory of the Lord.
While we may not be able definitely to identify these ‘chariots’ with flaming torches and the ‘swift beasts’, in the sense that one represents automobiles, and the other trains or other specific means of rapid travel, it is evident that in these visions of the prophets they saw strange fast-moving vehicles, emitting streams of light by night, and vastly different from anything with which they were acquainted. They had wheels, so they called them ‘chariots’, but what curious chariots—their speed was so great it reminded the prophets of lightning; and when in vision they saw a sample of our modern ways of going places, it seemed to them that all and sundry were doing nothing but to jostle ‘one against another in the broad ways’.
In this we have another example of the manner in which the prophetic increase of knowledge which was to characterize the ‘time of the end’ has brought about revolutionary changes in the outlook and customs of the human race. And, dovetailing with all the other evidences that we are now living in the time of the end of Satan’s world, the fact is that the circumstances which gave rise to the present phenomenal running ‘to and fro’ manifested themselves at approximately the same time and stemmed from the same source as did all the other scientific achievements of these last days—achievements which are proving to be both a blessing and a curse to mankind. That ‘source’, to the extent that we can think of it as from some one thing, was the invention of the printing press.
Before the printing press was invented, the wisest men of Europe knew less about the geography of the earth than is now known by the schoolboy. The Mediterranean Sea was still the center of the world’s business and interest, even as it had been fifteen hundred years earlier. As a matter of fact, the name Mediterranean means ‘the middle of the earth’. The outline of Europe was fairly well understood, but little was known of Africa except the northern coast. Australia and America were unknown, and Asia was still a land of myth and fancy, with an outline on the maps that we could hardly recognize today. Europe, and what was known of Africa and Asia, were thought to be encircled by a vast, mysterious sea—“the Sea of Darkness,” as men called it as late as five hundred years ago.
Then came the art of printing, making possible a more general circulation of books containing information concerning a world that was gradually enlarging. In the Dark Ages the common man had tilled the soil in ignorance; the nobleman, or knight, amused himself in his castle or led his followers to battle. Book learning was largely confined to a few men.
But what a change came! While nearly everybody at the time believed the earth to be flat, a few did not. One man, Copernicus, began studies which led him to discover that the earth on which he stood was a vast planet whirling in space along with other planets, around the sun. The art of printing made it possible for knowledge of this sort to be shared by others. Columbus was influenced by it, and discovered America. History records that when Columbus returned from discovering America, the tale of his finding was heralded far and wide. One of his letters telling the story was printed in different countries, and circulated throughout Europe within a year—for, as the historian notes—“With the aid of printing a great achievement could easily be made known.”
NEEDS OF AN ENLARGING WORLD
But this was only the beginning of wider travel. The enlarging world called for faster and better means of travel. There had been no fundamental changes in modes of travel from the early days of the Egyptian dynasties. Aside from the ark, which was built according to specifications given to Noah by God, the Egyptians seem to have been the first to discover a way of travel by water. The same may be said concerning vehicles which move on wheels. The first mention of “wagons” and “chariots” we find in the Bible shows them in use in Egypt.—Gen. 45:19-21; 50:9
There is apparently no historical record of the inventor of the wheel which made possible the first wagons and chariots, but it was a discovery of fundamental importance. Without it practically none of our modern means of travel would be possible. However, the ancients did not apply the principle of the wheel to anything that was swifter than wagons and chariots; and the speed of these was limited to the beasts of burden which hauled them.
So, while a Pharaoh could ride in a chariot with a little more pomp and glory than was enjoyed by Abraham on the back of a donkey, neither kings nor peasants, rulers nor slaves, traveled any faster or with appreciably greater comfort up to two centuries ago, than did the ancients. Chariots were used in war and in racing. Probably the greatest speed attained by man prior to the ‘time of the end’ was in the ancient chariot races. No wonder the Prophet Isaiah described our modern conveyances as ‘swift beasts’, and the Prophet Nahum said of them that they run ‘like the lightnings’.
But, following the invention of the printing press, and aided by the increasing knowledge made possible thereby, men began to experiment with sources of power other than beasts of burden and galley slaves. James Watt discovered the pent-up power of steam, and from the discovery built the first steam engine. Later, the power of steam was applied to travel. In 1814, George Stephenson, of England, built the first locomotive, which was called, “Puffing Billy.” It did not function too satisfactorily, and it was not until 1825 that he succeeded in perfecting an engine that would really travel and haul ‘wagons’.
In America, the development of railroads went on simultaneously with the achievements being accomplished in England. In 1827 the State of Massachusetts built a railroad from Boston to Albany. However, the ‘wagons’ used on this road were not driven by steam engines, but were drawn by horses and mules. Everyone who had a wagon with flanged wheels was privileged to make use of this ‘rail road’. In 1828 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was begun, but the cars or wagons were not hauled by steam. Charles Carroll, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence, opened the work of building the B. & O. When he drove the first spade into the ground, he said, “I consider this among the most important acts of my life.” He was right!
In the United States, steam locomotives were first successfully used in 1831. This was in South Carolina. Even then there was much doubt about the practicality of these mechanical horses. To start with, they could travel only on the level, and many improvements were needed to make the roads safe. However, year after year trains went a little faster, and travel became easier and safer. At first the top speed of travel by ‘rail road’ was fifteen miles an hour.
When a line was opened from Albany to Schenectady, there was a celebration with dinner and speeches. Among the sentiments especially applauded was the statement: “The Buffalo Railroad—may we soon breakfast in Utica, dine in Rochester, and sup with our friends on Lake Erie.” Marvelous, but not yet reaching the speed of fifty miles an hour predicted by Sir Isaac Newton—a prediction made in the 18th century—which he based upon Daniel’s prophecy that in the ‘time of the end’ knowledge would be increased, and that there would be much ‘running to and fro’.
TRAVEL BY OTHER MEANS
Travel by means of power other than that of flesh and muscles had come to stay. We need not trace the rapid development of railroads from that beginning almost two centuries ago to the current day luxurious, one hundred mile per hour trains—or the newest Japanese and European trains that reach two hundred miles per hour—for such knowledge is common to all. Railroads which were developed in the Western world became one of the principal modes of travel. They were equipped with dining cars, bedrooms, and all the conveniences of the modern home. Such benefits for mankind have become available because we are living in the ‘time of the end’, when the human race is soon to witness the inauguration of the kingdom of Christ.
In the early days of railroading the general public did not take so kindly and enthusiastically to the new contraptions. A story is told of a small group of enterprising citizens of Lancaster, Ohio, who were more alert to the advancing times than their fellows. Learning that a ‘rail road’ was being built across the state, they petitioned the school board for the use of the schoolhouse in which to hold a promotion meeting to influence the builders of the new road to veer it in the direction of Lancaster. The school board refused the use of the schoolhouse for a purpose of this kind, stating as their excuse that ‘rail roads’ were an invention of the devil to ‘carry immortal souls down to hell’. This was a little more than a century ago, and only the Word of God shows the reason for the change which has come within that century. The rapid change has come despite the fact that practically no progress in travel was made in the nearly six thousand years of human experience which preceded this day of “his [God’s] preparation.”—Nahum 2:3
On the whole, what has been true throughout the ages concerning travel on the land has also been true of travel on the seas. Following the Flood, Egyptians had boats propelled by galley slaves. Boats thus propelled, and those later powered by sails, were first used effectively for commerce in the ‘small’ world known to the ancients. However, through the centuries, travel by ship became more customary, although hazardous. Even on the little Sea of Galilee the lives of Jesus’ disciples became imperiled when a storm arose; and the Apostle Paul nearly lost his life when traveling by ship to Italy.
Even as late as the time of the discovery of America by Columbus, ships were not really safe for sea travel, and they could move over the water no faster than the wind would drive them. The application of steam power to ships began to speed up this method of travel also. In 1790, John Fitch experimented with steam as a means of driving boats; but not until 1807—again within the prophetic ‘time of the end’—was the first successful steamboat built. This was by Robert Fulton, and the boat was named the “Clermont.” This wonder of the modern world made its way at the unheard-of speed of four miles an hour, and this against the current of the Hudson River!
On the day the Clermont was to be tested, crowds came to the river’s edge, ready—and almost anxious—to jeer. When a defect stopped the boat for a moment, they cried, “Failure!” To their surprise and probably chagrin, however, it soon started again, steaming away toward Albany. Within four years there was a similar boat on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and in 1818 the “Walk-in-the-Water” plied its way from Buffalo to Detroit, on Lake Erie. Again, this was but the beginning! Compare travel by ships of that time with the luxury liners that followed, and you get a striking example of the foretold ‘running to and fro’ and the ‘increase of knowledge’ that was due to come to mankind within this ‘time of the end’. The progress has been equally as great as with the ‘iron horse’.
Automobiles came on the scene almost a century after the railroad and steamship. Yet how widely the automobile is used today and how seemingly necessary. The motor bus has become a principal mass transit vehicle for cities around the world, competing with trains and subways. Trucks carry manufactured goods and foodstuffs from one side of the country to the other, east and west, north and south. All these are marks of the fast-moving world in which we live.
And now we have the newest means of travel, which at one time no one even dreamed to be possible: travel by air! The airplane has developed rapidly from the flimsy craft piloted by the Wright brothers—at the beginning of the twentieth century—to propeller-driven aircraft, and finally large wide-body jet engine modern planes which are to be found in every country in the world. From the standpoint of speed, these make travel by modern train and ship seem like a snail’s pace. Regularly scheduled travel by air to all parts of the world has now reached the speed of 500 to 600 miles per hour, and the Concorde travels at over twice this speed! Men of vision who, in 1831, could believe that a time would come when one could eat breakfast in Utica, dinner in Rochester, and supper in Buffalo—a total distance of about two hundred miles would certainly thrill at the thought of eating breakfast in New York City, and supper in London, England, or lunch in Los Angeles, California—three thousand miles distant! And, if wealthy enough, they could—by taking the Concorde have breakfast in New York City, and lunch in London!
Voltaire, a contemporary of Newton, said that the noted mathematician was very rash in his prediction that man would ever travel as fast as fifty miles per hour. But Newton had faith in the Bible. The outstanding manner in which its prophecies have been fulfilled has fully justified his faith; for today people of all positions in life are traveling hither and yon, all over the earth, ten to twelve times faster than Newton prophesied—and some, twenty-three times faster! Truly this is a day of destiny, and blessed are they who comprehend the divine purpose in the fast-moving events with which we are surrounded.
THE DAY OF HIS PREPARATION
As we have seen, through the Prophet Nahum, the Lord describes the wonderful time in which we are living as ‘the day of his preparation’. Naturally, we inquire: For what is the world being prepared, and what bearing does the increase of knowledge have on what is now being accomplished? Briefly stated, the ultimate purpose of God to which all details of preparation are leading, is the establishment of the worldwide kingdom of Christ, by means of which government will come the blessing of all the nations of the earth with peace, and health, and life—everlasting life.
Throughout the ages of the past, God’s work in the earth has been limited in scope. He made contact with Abraham, and promised that through his ‘seed’ he would bless all nations. But Abraham and his descendants were almost the only ones to whom God extended any measure of favor during the many centuries which intervened from then until the coming of Christ, nearly twenty centuries ago. In the New Testament we learn that the ‘seed’ of Abraham, through which the world is to be blessed, is a faith ‘seed’, made up of both Jews and Gentiles who accept Christ as their Redeemer and Messiah, and who follow in his steps of sacrifice even unto death. The selection and development of this ‘seed’ class has been an important feature of the divine plan, but mankind as a whole has not been particularly involved in it.
But now a change is due. The promised ‘seed’ is nearly complete, and the long-promised blessing of the people of all nations is about to be accomplished. This calls for a worldwide work of God. It is not the blessing of one nation, but of all nations; not of one people, but of all peoples. The plan calls for global action by a world government. This means that the kingdom of Christ will displace and succeed all other governments of earth, not merely one of those governments. It means that the laws of that new kingdom will be binding upon all people, and in every nook and corner of the earth. Recognizing this, we begin to see the meaning of God’s ‘day of preparation’. He is preparing all nations for the global action which soon will become manifest by means of Christ’s kingdom.
Shortly after the Flood, when the inhabitants of the earth were comparatively few in number, they endeavored to work together and to maintain ‘world unity’. They built the Tower of Babel, which was intended as a symbol of unity to help bind them together, and to prevent them from being scattered. But God frustrated that plan by confounding their language. The language barrier then introduced by divine interference in human plans has served effectively to keep the nations more or less isolated from one another. A prophecy of the coming Messiah and the blessings of his kingdom uttered by Jacob tells of the coming of “Shiloh”—‘peacemaker’—and that unto him there would be a gathering of the people.—Gen. 49:10
This prophecy was given not long after the people of Babel had their language confused and had been scattered. Jacob may have known of that incident; but whether or not he did, the prophecy indicates that a gathering of the people could not be expected until Shiloh came. And now Shiloh has come! The ‘increase of knowledge’ due in the prophetic ‘time of the end’ has led up to, and become more effective, in what the prophecies describe as the “brightness,” or “brightshining” (II Thess. 2:8; Heb. 1:3) of Shiloh’s presence. Now that he is here, and in the close of God’s ‘day of preparation’, we can see how marvelously and how rapidly the nations are being prepared for the promised ‘gathering’.
Printing is serving to break down the language barriers which have kept nations isolated. Rapid and global travel, as well as world commerce, are making neighbors of every nation and people on earth. No longer can any nation live independently of other nations, as was possible in the past. Yes, even now the nations are being ‘gathered’; not yet, however, in fulfillment of Jacob’s prophecy. He said the people would be gathered to ‘Shiloh’, the one producing ‘rest’ or ‘tranquility’; but the prophecies tell of another gathering which precedes this, a gathering unto war and strife, to a “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.”—Dan. 12:1
This gathering of the nations for strife instead of peace is in a very special way a preparation for the later peaceful gathering unto Shiloh; for it is leading to the overthrow of all the kingdoms of this world, which is a very necessary preparation for the undisputed sovereignty of Christ in the affairs of men. Concerning the gathering of the nations which has been brought about in these ‘last days’ by the increase of knowledge, we read, “Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, 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 with the fire of my jealousy.”—Zeph. 3:8
Ah, yes, ‘all the earth’ is involved in the day of God’s ‘preparation’, not one or two nations merely—but all nations! This is why it became necessary for overnight global travel to come into vogue. Whether it be the rulers of nations, their ambassadors, or their armies, they can now travel to the ends of the earth in a few hours. Consequently, now the selfishness of man leads inevitably, not to national strife alone, but to global strife; and such strife does not weaken and destroy only one nation, but all nations—a world civilization, symbolized in the prophecy as ‘all the earth’.
And in this we see human selfishness continuing to misuse the advantages of the ‘time of the end’, and thereby to hasten the overthrow of man’s misrule. Battleships, submarines, bombing planes, tanks, military trains, and rocket missies are but examples of the perversion of God-given blessings, making them a dread and a curse. But the Author of the divine plan knew it would be this way. He knew that it would not be necessary for him to rain down fire from the skies to destroy the nations as he did on Sodom and Gomorrah. He knew that when in his own due time he allowed the human mind to pry into some of the secrets of nature and find mighty sources of power, they would soon be raining fire upon themselves and bring about the destruction of their world without his doing much more about it, except to overrule their plottings to prevent one nation or group of nations from gaining too much of an advantage over the others.
Finally, of course, when the world has been laid waste by man’s own selfishness, God will demonstrate his power by miraculously destroying and dispersing the hosts which come against his people in the Holy Land. Just what the nature of this demonstration will be we do not know. It is described by the prophet as “an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” God states the purpose of this, saying, “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”—Ezek. 38:22,23
Not until this climax of the prophetic ‘time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation’ will that for which the world is being prepared during the ‘day of preparation’ come to pass. That will be the manifestation of Christ’s kingdom to give the people peace and health and life. Just as the ‘day of preparation’ led up to and made possible global action in the trouble which destroys Satan’s world, so a worldwide manifestation of kingdom blessings will follow. The Lord tells us that following the gathering of the nations for their destruction he will turn to the people a pure language, that they may all—that is, all who were previously involved in the gathering for the overthrow of a world order—call upon his name, to serve him with one consent.—Zeph. 3:9
Again the Lord declares, “I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory” (Isa. 66:18) This is evidently a reference to the revealing of God’s glory as described in Ezekiel 38:22,23. The next verse in Isaiah 66 speaks of those who escape, and says that they shall be sent among the nations, even “to the isles afar off,” to take the news of what they saw to all the world. Then follows a reference to the people of Israel who are still left among the nations, and the explanation that they shall be brought as an offering unto the Lord by the Gentiles who survived when God intervened on behalf of his people in Israel. Evidently the thought is that these Gentiles, convinced now that the Lord is King, and favoring his ancient people, will gladly cooperate to bring about their complete regathering to the Promised Land.—Isa. 66:18-20.
In any event, it is in connection with this gathering that the prophet speaks of the ‘swift beasts’ which will then be employed in the accomplishment of God’s purposes, which indicates that not alone for the gathering of the nations unto destruction did God bring about the rapid means of travel in this our day, but also for the further accomplishment of his plans when the kingdom of peace is fully set up and operating in the earth.
The miraculous means of communication now possible will herald the news of the kingdom from one end of the earth to the other—traveling with the speed of light. The interchange of thoughts and viewpoints possible only through personal contacts will be essential in order that all the world may see and appreciate the glory of God and the blessings of Christ’s kingdom. World travel will be necessary, and hence in this, the day of ‘preparation’, the people are learning the use of conveyances which ‘run like the lightnings’.