VOL.
XLIII October 1960 No. 9
A General View of the Messianic Kingdom Clay in the Hand of the Potter The Ultimate Criterion Orthodoxy A General View of the Messianic Kingdom"And I
John saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
heaven."-Rev. 21:2. THROUGH
THE Prophet Daniel and others, the divine promise was given to Israel that
at some future time the God of Heaven would set up a Kingdom on the earth;
that this Kingdom would be world-wide-"under the whole heaven";
and that it would last forever. (Dan. 2:44;
7:27; Isa. 2:2-4; etc.) This Messianic Kingdom is to be
established to meet the exigencies of the case of fallen humanity and to
bring mankind back into harmony with the divine arrangements. This Kingdom
will intervene between the divine government and mankind, because the
fallen race of Adam in its weak condition is unable to meet the
requirements of the divine law. The
great Emperor of the Universe, Jehovah, has given the Messianic Kingdom to
our Lord Jesus, who was the first representative of that Kingdom. While on
earth, our Lord was treated with violence and ignominy. All down the
Gospel Age, His disciples have been used in a similar manner. Yet the
Kingdom which they represent will surely
be established. Already the Father has appointed our Lord as King (Psa.
2:6), and will soon deliver to Him the power and glory of His office. The
object and purpose of this Kingdom is clearly set forth in the
Scriptures. When it shall have been established, some -of its subjects
will be asleep in death, and others will be awake. At that time none of
the fallen race will be recognized of God as having any life whatever. The
control of the whale world will be in the hands -of our Lord, as the One
who purchased it with His own precious blood, and who is competent to
bless it, according to the promise made four thousand years ago to
Abraham, that in him and in his seed shall all the families of the earth
be blessed.-Gen. 12:3; 22:18; Gal. 3:8, 16, 29. The
Kingdom of Heaven, as foretold by our Lord, will come about without
manifestation --outward show. (Luke 17:20, margin.) But with all these
suggestions, let us not suppose that the Kingdom is to be an earthly
government. On the contrary, the Scriptures instruct us that those who
inherit it must become spirit-beings before they can enter into it. (1
Car. 15:50-52.) The living members will all be changed in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, and the dead members must be raised to receive their
change before they can be forever with the Lord. The
Lord and the glorified Church will all be spirit-beings, fully able to
administer the world's affairs and yet be unseen by mankind. They will be
manifest in the rewards, punishments, and judgments of that day. The
difference between the King and the Kingdom is that the King is the person
who has authority; but the Kingdom includes both His dominion and His
associates. In this case the latter are the Church, who will sit with Him
in His throne. The
Church will always be in the heavenly
condition. Nothing in the Scriptures indicate that she will be
restricted to one place rather
than to another. The intimation is that after the Church has experienced
her change, she will be absent from the earth for a while and will be
brought into the presence of Jehovah, the great King. She will be arrayed
in glorious clothing of wrought gold "in raiment of
needlework." (Psa. 45:13-15.) These statements are figurative
expressions indicative of the beautiful character wrought out in all who
become actual members of the body of Christ. The Seat of Divine GovernmentWhether
the New Creation are afar off or on the earth, they will ever be of the
spirit nature. Their particular place is on the divine plane. The
various orders of spirit beings have each its own sphere, but the Church
of Christ has no place among them. She is invited to occupy a position
next to her Lord, who is on the right hand of the Majesty on High (Heb.
1:3) -- higher than all other planes of spirit being. At
the time of the First Advent, this place had not been prepared for the
Church, although the Father evidently had it in mind. Our Lord ascended
on high in order to prepare that place. (John 14:2, 3.) This He did by
making an imputation of His merit on behalf of the Church, thereby
permitting them to become participators with Him in the sufferings of the
present age, that they may also become sharers with Him in the glories to
follow. Thus He has prepared the way for the Church to enter the highest
of all planes. We
are not sufficiently informed respecting the spirit condition to know just
how possible it will be for the Lord and the Church to remain in the
Father's presence and at the same time maintain the government of the
earth. While this may be possible, yet perhaps it may not be a wise
arrangement. Perhaps it will be necessary for them to be absent from the
immediate presence of the Father, and approximate the earth. Our
thought is that The Christ will be very closely associated with the earth,
just as Satan's kingdom is. Satan's seat of government is in Tartarus --
the atmosphere. He and his associates, the fallen angels, are near the
earth, whither they were cast down, separated from their own plane because
of sin. They are invisible to mankind, however, amongst whom they have
done an evil work. Satan has also his human agents-wicked men and women,
who are under his control, sometimes through ignorance and superstition,
and sometimes through mesmeric influence. The Scriptures inform us,
however, that shortly Satan is to be bound for a thousand years; and the
place which he has occupied will then be vacant. - Rev. 20:1-3. St.
Paul informs us that the Church is to be caught up to meet the Lord in the
air, during the time of His Second Advent. (1 Thess. 4:15-17.) This does
not necessarily mean, however, that they will occupy Tartarus. We are told
that they will be forever with the Lord; wherever He is, there the Church
will be also, in harmony with the divine will and executing the divine
purposes. Men will not see the Lord and the Church, even as they do not
see Satan and the fallen angels. The Christ will be very closely
associated with the earth-as before intimated-though invisible to mortal
eyes. They will be doing a good work, a powerful work on the spirit plane.
They will be kings and priests unto our God, and they shall reign on the
earth. - Rev. 5:10. With
The Christ will be various agencies. The great company will undoubtedly be
associated with them. Then there will be the earthly agents, just as Satan
has his assistants. These agents of The Christ will be the faithful
ancient worthies, who will render intelligent and willing service in the
Kingdom of Messiah. In
Isaiah 11:9, the statement is made: "They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all My holy Mountain." Comparing Daniel 2:35 with verses 44 and
45 of the same chapter, we perceive that in prophecy a
mountain is the symbol for a kingdom. Isaiah's statement, therefore, seems
to imply that under the Messianic Kingdom there will be a restraint placed
upon all who do wrong. At the same time we are to remember Daniel's
statement that the Kingdom is to grow.
The prophecy is that the stone became
a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Many years will doubtless
pass before the prophecy will be fulfilled. Future Sufferings of the Ancient WorthiesAs
soon as the Kingdom shall have been set up in power, the ancient worthies
will be raised from the dead as. perfect human beings. Psa. 45:16
evidently refers to these faithful servants of God, who are to be princes
in all the earth. Presumably they will have a great work of instruction to
do .for the rest of humanity. While they will have this service to
perform, nevertheless they will have great honor in doing it; for it is
always an honor to serve the Lord. The
service which the ancient worthies will be given will be more than God
would ordinarily entrust to a perfect human being. It will be a part of
this service to deal with "the imperfect, fallen creatures and to
help them up out of sin and imperfection. While in one sense of the word
this work is desirable, yet it is not what a perfect human being would
prefer. These ancient worthies will come forth from the tomb perfect; but
during the entire Millennium, they will be amidst imperfect
surroundings. The world of mankind will be imperfect then as now, although
gradually these imperfections will come to an end. Adam
was created perfect. After he had sinned, he was cast on, of Eden to delve
in the imperfect earth, and to struggle with the thorns and thistles until
he returned to the dust, whence he was taken. Surely he must have suffered
because of his surroundings. Our Lord Jesus was perfect. Not only did He
leave the heavenly glory, but for thirty three and a half years He was
amidst imperfect surroundings, constantly witnessing the pain and sorrow
of the fallen race. To be in such surroundings must have comprised a
large share of His sacrifice; for the fact that He was perfect would
increase His sufferings. In
the case of the ancient worthies, who, as perfect human beings, will be
in an imperfect environment for a thousand years, it would seem as if they
will undergo much suffering. Knowing what we do of our heavenly Father, we
are inclined to believe that, if they are faithful in serving the
Almighty, He will abundantly reward them, more than they could have asked.
Should any one inquire, What reward will the Father give them, if they
maintain their obedience? we answer, During the Millennium they will
receive no special reward for their service, so far as we can see; but we
'think that from God's standpoint, theirs will be a meritorious service
which He will be pleased to reward. This seems to be His method of
dealing with His faithful servants. Although our Lord Jesus delighted to
do the Father's will, yet God rewarded Him. Our God is gracious! We
cannot think of any greater reward than to bestow the spirit nature upon
these faithful ancient worthies. Long ago they proved their loyalty by
choosing to suffer rather than to indulge in sin. There is nothing in the
Scriptures, however, which says distinctly that they will ever be made
spirit-beings. Whatever we may suggest on this subject is purely
inferential. Future Reward of the Faithful PrincesA
part of the evidence leading to the deduction that, the ancient worthies
will be made sharers of the spirit nature and become members of the
great company class is built upon the fact that they seem to be
represented typically by the tribe of Levi. The fact that this tribe had
no inheritance in the land seems to imply that the ancient worthies will
have no earthly inheritance. We might think that their exaltation to be
princes in all the earth (Psa. 45:16) would be an abundant reward; but
inasmuch as God will give the spirit nature to the great company, who
passed through no more severe experiences than did the ancient worthies,
and. inasmuch as the lowest form of life on the spirit plane is higher
than the highest form on the human plane, it follows that the great
company would receive at the hands of the Lord a greater blessing than
would the ancient worthies. Since
the heavenly Father has been pleased to arrange for the great company a
place on the spirit plane, and since He is operating according to some
general principles of righteousness, we are inclined to think that He may
have something more for the ancient worthies than will come to the
remainder of mankind. So far as we can perceive, the great company have
not demonstrated that they are any more loyal to Him than were the
faithful ancient worthies. When Abraham was called upon to offer up his
son Isaac, he exhibited a degree of loyalty greater than the great company
will be called upon to manifest. Furthermore,
in Genesis 17:8, God said unto Abraham, "And I will give unto thee
and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all
the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their
God." Two thousand years later, St. Stephen said that God never
gave Abraham so much as a foot of the promised land (Acts 7:5); but he
implied that Abraham will yet receive that land and afterward leave
it to his posterity. If the land
is to be given to Abraham and his coadjutors, and then to be left to his seed and mankind in general, the thought would seem to be
implied that the ancient worthies will pass to the spirit nature. This
same thought seems to be pictured in the Revelation. At the end of the
thousand years, Satan will be loosed, that he may go forward to test the
people that are on the earth, to manifest to what extent their hearts are
loyal to God and to the principles of righteousness. The result of this
test will be that some will fall away. - Rev. 20:7-10. We
read, "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed
the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down
from God out of heaven, and devoured them." (Rev. 20:9.) The
"beloved city" is the new Jerusalem, the Church in glory, not
the Church in the flesh. The rebellion incited by Satan will be not only
against the earthly princes, but also against The Christ. By
that time having reached perfection of organism and powers, the people
will assert themselves in thus going up to encompass the camp of the
saints. That the Church cannot be meant is evident from the fact that
human beings could not attack an unseen force of spirit-beings, as the
Church will then be. Just as in Great Britain, the people have gone to
Parliament to protest, so the rebellious faction of mankind will protest
against their faithful princes. We fancy that we hear them say, "It
is time that this government was turned over to us. We protest against
your remaining in power any longer." In rebelling against the earthly
phase of Messiah's Kingdom, however, they are rebelling against the Lord.
Consequently, divine judgment will overtake them -- "fire from
heaven." Since
this rebellion is to occur at the close of the Millennial Age, and since
mankind will at that time have reached perfection, therefore, this
separation of the ancient worthies from the rest of the world seems to
imply that God has some special purpose in respect to them. The term
"camp" itself implies that theirs is only a temporary
condition or arrangement, and that God has some better thing in
store for them. If
our surmise that the ancient worthies will same day attain the spirit
nature be true, we can readily see that it will not be necessary for them
to die in order to attain that plane of existence. If those members of the
body of Christ, who are living in the time of His second presence can be
changed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," so could- the
ancient worthies have their change. If they were thus changed from the
human plane to the spirit plane, they would be exchanging a perfect
human nature for a perfect spirit nature as a reward for faithfulness in
the service of the Lord. The Glory of the Lord the Laudable Ambition in the KingdomUnder
the beneficient rule of the Kingdom, we may be very sure that the Lord's
arrangement will be an equitable one--a fair chance for every one of the
human race. It is reasonable to suppose that the general line laid down in
the Scriptures will be followed respecting the earth. It is written:
"The earth bath He given to the children of men." (Psa. 115:16.)
The race as a whole will have possession of the earth. God has not made
any allotments. Every man will have a share in the commonwealth. Future Work of The ChristThe
changes will come about gradually. There will be inequalities of brain and
muscle; but the Kingdom will even up these differences. There will always
be some kind of incentive to energy. Either there will be an impetus of
some sort, or else there will be some sort of punishment to help people
along. The Lord will hold out certain inducements to those who are
willing to cooperate along the line of advancement, and will impose
stripes, punishments, to assist those who will not be induced otherwise.
Both rewards and punishments will be in operation during the Millennium. Looking
back over the history of the world, we see that selfishness has been a
great evil; yet at the same time it has worked wonders. If it were not for
ambition and acquisitiveness, man would not be much above the animals. We
are, therefore, to consider these qualities to be great blessings, when
rightly exercised. Under the rule of the Kingdom, all possible blessings
of mind and body will be held out to the obedient, so that the trend of
selfishness will be offset by a more laudable ambition than at present;
and as mind and body develop, the standards of humanity will rise higher,
and selfishness will be more and more seen to be contemptible. When
perfection is attained, everything will be done for the glory of the Lord
rather than for earthly name and fame. Gradually
all mankind will come into fellowship with the Kingdom, and indirectly
become associated with the Kingdom itself. Just as any good man helps the
government, so all mankind will be blessed in proportion as they approve
and uphold the divine arrangements. Thus the Kingdom will be spreading for
the thousand years, not only from one individual to another, but gradually
back to full perfection. We read that "of the increase of His
government and peace there shall be no end." (Isa. 9:7.) It will
conquer everything before it; nothing shall stop it. After every evil
thing has been destroyed, every creature in heaven and in earth will be
heard praising God. (Rev. 5:13.) Every knee shall bow and every tongue
confess (Phil. 2:10, 11), and His Kingdom shall be without an opponent
"from the river unto the ends of the earth." - Psa. 72:8. After
the thousand years shall have been finished, the Kingdom will cease in
the sense that Christ will deliver the authority over to the Father. (1
Cor. 15:24.) This will not mean, however, that law and order will be
disregarded as they have been during the reign of sin and death. The
Messianic Kingdom will by that time have helped mankind out of their
fallen condition; and therefore it is the divine purpose that Messiah
relinquish this subordinate Kingdom, in order that it may merge into the
empire of the great Jehovah, of which it will ever after be a part. Justice
then will operate. Mercy will no longer be required; and the heavenly
Father will not then be pictured as a merciful King to His creatures. They
will by that time be perfect so that they will need
no mercy; and they will be glad to meet all the requirements of the
divine government, and in so doing will be blessed. Having
terminated this work of the restitution of mankind to the plane of human
perfection, our Lord and the Church will not be left without an
occupation. Our Lord will continue, according to the Scriptures, to be at
the right hand of the Majesty on High-next to the Father. After He has
relinquished the oversight of earthly affairs. He will assume once more
the position of Associate Administrator of the Universe, in connection
with the heavenly Father. We
are not to suppose, however, that the Father and the Lord will be kept
busy hearing and deciding cases and in administering justice. Nothing of
the kind will be necessary. The equilibrium will be such that there will
be no necessity for deciding cases. The government of the universe will go
on so smoothly as to be practically with out a head, and yet there will
be the Head -- Jehovah Himself. Next in authority to the Father will be
the Son, and next to the Son will be the Church. What work will
thenceforth progress is not revealed to us, except in a very indefinite
manner. Through
the aid of the telescope, we understand that the fixed stars are suns,
each of which seems to have its own planetary system. It is only
reasonable for us to infer that, if God made this earth a planet to be
inhabited, all other planets will sometime be inhabited also; and that
they will be under obligation to the heavenly Father as a part of His
wonderful universe. So far as we can understand, the power of Jehovah is
boundless. When we consider the hundreds of millions of suns and planets
beyond the power of human mind to comprehend, then it is reasonable to
assume that the work of The Christ will be limitless; and that some such
work for creatures yet unborn will be their blessed privilege to all
eternity. We wonder in amazement at the magnitude of God's goodness to us,
who has lifted us up from our low condition and who will exalt to future
glories interminable those faithful ones who make sure their calling and
election to glory, honor, and immortality.
- Condensed
from an article by C. T. Russell in Reprints, February 15, 1913, p. R5181. The Divine Slowness"Wait."
- Hab. 2:3. FROM
THE above verse we have selected the one word "wait" as a guide
for our thoughts. This is the word which divine wisdom often seems to
utter in rebuke of human impatience. Man is eager, hurried, and impatient;
God is never in haste. The divine proceedings are slow. In Holy Scripture
men are often counseled to wait; to wait upon God, to wait for God:
language which supposes delay and the need of patience. So frequently
does this language occur that it indicates that power to be still, to wait
for the set time of divine action, is a habit of soul not common, and of
high value where possessed. And the early recognition of this broad
principle, of the important element of time in all divine procedure, will
assist to that quality in the Christian commended of the Lord and
expressed in the words: "It is good that a man should both hope and
quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." - Lam. 3:26. Let
us examine in detail the divine slowness as it is revealed in nature,
providence, and grace; all media through which God reveals Himself to man.
We will find in all these manifestations consistency and harmony -- the
same God. This is a great fact, full of light which will contribute to
guide us safely through many a season. The History of the EarthAs
regards the heavens and the process by which they were peopled with the
brilliances we now see there, we know nothing. But as regards the
history of the earth, we have some knowledge of the changes through
which it had to pass to become a fitting habitation for man. "In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth." We are not told how
far back that beginning was, but we are informed of six days, or
intervals, which gradually brought the earth to the state in which man
found it. In the solitude of those far-off ages, progressive change gave
existence to progressive life. Mysterious forces from below burst through
the crust of our planet and determined, according to divine forethought,
where the hills should rise. Gigantic vegetation appeared through which
monster animals, now extinct, roamed in search of prey. All things were
developing to that point where man was to appear, although for him there
is long waiting. But the Creator is from everlasting, and eternity is His.
He may well be slow. As the handiwork of God unfolded before the observing
spiritual hosts, much may have seemed crude, futile, and meaningless;
but the Infinite could wait, as He has waited often since, And He would
have us regard the operation of His hands, so that we also may know how to
wait. "Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy
truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I
wait all the day." - Psa. 25:4, 5. The Movement of the SeasonsThese
also remind us of this great principle of time in divine procedure. How
slow, how gradual, how imperceptible are the changes of day and night! How
gentle is the coming of light, and how slowly and silently does it give
place to the darkness! There is a stateliness in the transition from the
one to the other, which is as noiseless as it is gradual. These might have
come with suddenness, as if from a hurried hand, but they do not. It is
as if the will of a great King were being done, by powers which none can
venture to resist. We
read the same lesson in the winter as it retires before the springtime;
and likewise in spring as it in turn
is succeeded by summer and autumn. This circle of change has been likened
to a mystic dance wherein the figures, gracefully moving, blend their
colors together as in a garland. An Intelligence has said that it shall
be so, and to that Mind there is majesty in slowness. And while the
seasons pass before our gaze as a procession in honor of the Great King,
we seem to hear them whisper, 'Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the
precious fruit of the earth, and bath long patience for it, until he
receive the early and latter rain; be ye also patient." - Jas. 5:7,
8. The History of All LifeThere is that in the
life of all things that teaches the same lesson. Life, whether in plants
or animals, is a growth, at once silent and gradual, so gradual as not to
be perceived. This is indeed a mystery. Everywhere life grows up, man
knoweth not how. "First the blade, then the ear, after that the
full corn in the ear"; these stages melt one into the other and
cannot be marked. Once begun, life's course is a ceaseless onwardness
towards perfection, and in each transition there can be nothing hurried
or abrupt, but the end shall be attained with the steadiness and certainty
of law. In all the marvelous handiwork of God and in the slow but sure
development of living things, whether it be the flowers of the field or
the smallest creatures of the air, our thoughts are lifted to the same
Agency which works after the same manner, whether it be scattering gold
dust over an insect's wing or shaping a world. "These wait all upon
Thee." - Psa. 104:27. Again in the
individual life of man as it progresses from the apprehensions of
childhood to the acquisitions of manhood, the wisdom of slowness is
manifested. The human intelligence grows continuously to its three-score
years and ten, but only by protracted toil in scholarship, science, and
art, and through long waiting ere the goal sought for is attained. There
is no perfection through haste. And in the history of
national life, how well is this same principle of slow development
revealed. If the education of the individual be slow, much slower is the
education of a people. The life of an individual soon runs its course, but
nations live on through centuries. What labor, what self-sacrifice, what
sad experiences must nations pass through to rise from barbarism to a
state of comparative civilization. Much sorrow, many battlefields,
many wretched prison-cells, and many bloodstained scaffolds have been
the price paid by nations in the slow rise from rudeness and slavery to
enlightenment and freedom. These facts from
nature and providence teach us to guard against impatience in judging the
ways of God and to learn how to wait. "I waited patiently for the
Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry." - Psa. 40:1. The Divine Slowness in the RedemptionAnd as we turn to
revealed religion we are more than ever schooled to wait. Consider the
long interval which was to pass between the promise of a Savior and His
advent. With the entrance of sin into the world with its disastrous
effects, evil triumphs in the consequent dreadful downward path of
mankind. Death begins its reign, and sorrow spreads its mantle
everywhere. But a Deliverer is promised, a Seed of the woman who shall
bruise the serpent's head. Had this course of things been entrusted to our
hands, we should surely have been eager, in haste, to further the coming
of the Redeemer and the overthrow of the Evil One. But the Divine Mind
does not evince this eagerness, this haste. Four thousand years pass, and
the Promised One does not come. True the Infinite speaks from heaven by
voices and by
messengers. He inspires prophets to reiterate His solemn pledge. He
originates institutions to be shadows of the great things to come. But
humanity has to wait through many centuries, for in this, the moral
regeneration of the world, we find God exercising the same silent slowness
which characterized the evolution of nature. The work of redemption,
like the work of creation, has its stages also. This is difficult for
hurried man to comprehend, who is prone to murmur and complain, but the
man of faith knows that long preliminary steps are necessary for the
accomplishment of the divine purposes, and will patiently wait , for
God's salvation. "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at
the end it shall speak, and not lie though it tarry, wait for it; because
it will surely come, it will not tarry." - Hab. 2:3. Again, in the manner
of the Savior's first coming there was much to disappoint the man of
impatience. The great work of deliverance began under humble and
inconspicuous circumstances. Prophecy had depicted the advent in glowing
colors. Were not the great kingdoms of earth to become tributary to Him,
the greatest of kings in the greatest of kingdoms? But the Kingdom of God
comes without outward show (Luke 17:20), and its Founder was to many as a
root out of a dry ground, as one without form or comeliness. (Isa. 53.)
How humble is His birth. He is homeless and poor. He attaches to Himself
men from the humbler classes. He seeks not to be great. He is meek and
lowly. Even with regard to His spiritual mission, the results are
limited and unimposing and have stumbled many then and since. To ascribe
salvation to so humble a source is offensive to human pride. But all this is in
harmony with the divine conduct as known elsewhere. God does not cause
great things to become great at once. They must grow out of small things,
and that by slow degrees. Atoms contribute to the formation of worlds,
and substances change and become what they
are destined to be in the process of ages. God's ways admonish us not to
despair of the day of small things but to remember that under His rule the
small is everywhere made to be as parent to the great. The Savior revealed
Himself gradually and slowly to His disciples, for that was only in
accordance with the divine law of things. The Church which is to fill the
earth has its beginning in the hut of a fisherman and in the upper room
in Jerusalem. The great forces of nature all move thus, without noise,
without haste, so secretly that we never know their beginnings, and so
slowly that we can never see their motion, though we know that they are
moving. And so eventually God's salvation will be revealed to all.
"And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have
waited for Him and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for
Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." - Isa. 25:9. Slowness in the Christian's DevelopmentIn
the spiritual history of the individual believer we learn again this same
lesson of divine slowness. When we enter the Christian life, we
naturally desire that it should mature speedily. But it does not so
mature. We unlearn the evil slowly; we learn the good still more slowly.
Weaknesses we hope to subdue quickly are not to be so overcome. Vanquished
today, they return to the field tomorrow. The new and better habit of the
soul does not settle and ripen as we had fondly expected. The sin most
easily besetting us returns (it may be like an old associate offended and
exasperated) from being resisted, spurned, commanded to be gone, and
we even fall under it as Peter did and as many have done. All this is very
humiliating and painful. "I had fainted, unless I had believed to
see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord;
be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on
the Lord." - Psa. 27:13, 14. Yes,
the Christian must often feel that the conflict between flesh and spirit
in his case might have been less protracted, less alternating, less
painful. But in time he learns that the character derived from this
personal conflict between good and evil would be much less complete and
less fruitful of good were his lot an exception to that of his fellow
Christians. The new life, in common with life everywhere, is a growth,
and grows slowly, imperceptibly. The morning light shines steadily onward
until day is perfected; so it is with the path of the just. But here, as
everywhere, we are schooled to wait. "Therefore turn thou to thy God:
keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually." (Hosea
12:6.) Call to mind the experience in this respect of the saints of old. Noah
waited long for the fulfillment of God's judgment on earth in the flood.
Abraham must wait many years for the coming of the promised seed and still
longer for his inheritance of the land and the eventual blessing of all
nations. Joseph endured many years of affliction and imprisonment ere his
dreams from God were fulfilled in his rulership over Egypt. So also must
Moses wait forty years in the wilderness for God to call him in His own
time. The lesson is taught over and over again, and must be learned by all
who walk acceptably with God. The grandest revealment of this divine
principle of slowness in operation is to be found in the development of
the New Creation class. Two millenniums have been set apart for this
greatest of God's works, and when it is accomplished, all intelligent
beings will marvel. To each Christian is vouchsafed the individual
privilege of humbly and patiently submitting to the Divine Power as it
slowly transforms him from the image of the earthly to that of the
heavenly. More than all else must he learn not to be weary in
well-doing, for in due season he shall reap if he faints not. Let us
all, therefore, take closer to ourselves this lesson of divine slowness
acid learn to wait. "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and
the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall
run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.'' -- Isa.
40:30, 31. Israel Today"If
I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. if I do
not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I
prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy."
-
Psalm 137:5, 6. Haliburton,
Ontario, Canada, Men
and women who have the welfare of Jerusalem at heart-ranging from
freethinkers to orthodox-met in the Wise Auditorium of the Hebrew
University earlier this month to hear Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion tell
the newly-formed Pro-Jerusalem Society that "it had undertaken a
great responsibility-and may you succeed" -- in restoring to
Jerusalem its ancient glory. In
addressing the first public assembly of the Society, known in Hebrew as L'ma'an
Yerushalayim, the Prime Minister listed three objectives he would
like to see fulfilled: 1.
Pumping new blood and life into Jerusalem until it became the biggest city
in Israel. "I firmly believe in the dispersal of population, and that
Tel Aviv and Haifa and their suburbs should not grow. Defense
considerations dictate that only Jerusalem should." (Thunderous
applause.) 2.
Jerusalem should become the spiritual, cultural and administrative head of
Israel, a city playing host to national and international conferences.
"I do not wish to deny any of the other cities their cultural
institutions, but these institutions should be no more than branches
inspired from Jerusalem." 3.
"The Capital must become a place of
exquisite beauty," a city of gardens and parks, and the program in
this direction initiated by the late Mayor Gershon Agron and continued by
Mayor Mordecai Ish-Shalom should be a beacon for the future. The
assembly was opened by the chanting of Psalms. Dr. Kalman Mann, Director
of Hadassah (women's Zionist organization of America), is Chairman of the
Society. He listed the sixfold purpose of the new organization: to
implant and foster the love of Jerusalem, both locally and abroad; to
encourage pilgrimages; to establish a center to house the historic relics
of the city; to spread knowledge of the city, its history and way of life;
to assemble books, works of art, and religious objects associated with
Jerusalem and its history; and to help beautify Jerusalem and promote
its civic welfare. The
assembly ended with the singing of the national anthem, Hatikvah (The
Hope). CATHEDRAL OF HEALINGA
mammoth building rising in the quiet majesty of the Judean Hills to the
west of Jerusalem was the focus of the nation's attention during the
forepart of this month. The $30,000,000 HadassahHebrew University
Medical Center for treatment, instruction and research, its massive
edifice nearly completed, was dedicated in a two-and-one-half-hour
ceremony that brought 2,000 persons to the site. Residents of nearby
suburbs emerged from their houses to watch a stream of vehicles pass over
the new Henrietta Szold Road towards the complex of buildings clearly
visible on a summit several miles away. Hundreds of Hadassah pilgrims and
friends of the Hebrew University from abroad were among those who gathered
for the open air dedication. The
importance of the occasion was demonstrated by the presence of the
President and Mrs. Ben-Zvi, the Prime Minister, an almost full complement
of Cabinet Ministers, the Chief Rabbi, the U. S. Ambassador, and heads of
Hadassah and the Hebrew University. Speaking for Hadassah's 300,000
women was Dr. Miriam Freund, their National President. Though
the Center was the attraction of the day, it had to vie with the majestic
beauty of the surrounding hills which glowed with color under a
slowly
setting sun. Several guests at the ceremony must have recalled the day
several years ago when they visited the site, then a bare hilltop. There
had been differences of opinion about the choice of location, and those
favoring the spot, overlooking the picturesque village of Fin Karem, had
brought along the Prime Minister to see it. "This is the place, and
nowhere else," Mr. Ben-Gurion said. Now,
on the site where a cornerstone was cemented into place on June 5, 1952,
stands a massive edifice in concrete, ornamented with brickwork. The
Center, acclaimed as unique in its planning and design, has 3,000 rooms,
halls, and chambers, and 500 hospital beds. ISRAEL MEDICAL TEAM TO CONGOIsrael's
constructive efforts in troubleridden Africa have again been brought to
the fore by the assistance that she is rendering to the newly-formed
Congolese Republic. A 16-member medical mission arrived in Congo soon
after this nation gained its independence. The urgent need for medical
help was disclosed by Mr. Moshe Pearlman, who attended the Independence
celebrations with the personal rank of Ambassador, when he made known that
there was not a single doctor in
Congo. What
a contrast this is with the tiny state of Israel, which has more doctors
per capita than any other nation in the world, the ratio being one doctor
to every 400 people. It
has been reported that the 16-man Israel medical mission was the first,
largest and highest-level team to arrive on the scene, and the first to
offer serious medical treatment to the Congolese since the trouble began
there. "When
I left Congo," Mr. Pearlman said, "they had been working in Leopoldville,
and had so improved the health situation that they were being asked to
proceed to Stanleyville and do a similar job there." In
another gesture of good will, Israel has offered 100 university study
scholarships to the Congolese in an effort to spur on the educational
uplift of the people. LIVING WATERS AT DEAD SEAThe
waters of Ein Bokek, including the mineral waters of the Dead Sea and the
sulphur springs at Zohar, as well as the area's climate, have an
exceptionally good effect on psoriasis, a skin disease common in Israel.
Between 50 and 75 per cent of sufferers treated have responded
favorably. Studies
made of 300 cases during the 1959/60 bathing season, two-thirds of whom
have suffered from skin complaints, have raised hopes that other skin
and general diseases, such as rheumatism and arthritis, could be
alleviated if not cured here. ISRAELIS PREDICT OCEAN TIDESMembers
of the Staff of the, Weizmann Institute of Science have resolved two
problems that have baffled mathematicians for generations-the
theoretical determination of the ocean tides and the calculation of the
resonance frequency of the earth. When
the results of the research were announced at the end of July by
Professor Haim Leib Pekeris, head of the Department of Applied
Mathematics, to the International Conference on Geophysics in Helsinki,
Finland, an eminent British scientist commented: "I never thought I'd
live to see the tidal problem of the oceans solved." The
formulization of the motion of the tide in equations which agree with
observations has taken Professor Pekeris, Sgan-Aluf Dishon, and the
mathematicians aided by WEIZAC, the Institute's computer, several years
to complete. As a result of their research, it is now possible to predict
the flow of tides mathematically. "ROLE OF SCIENCE IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF NEW STATES"Mr.
Abba Eban, the President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, described
the conference now taking place in Israel as an unprecedented meeting of
world famous scientists with heads of new states. The international
conference on the "Role of Science in the Advancement of New
States" opened on August 15 at
the
Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. Mr. Eban told a press conference that over
100 scientists and representatives of foreign states-among them a
President, a Prime Minister and a Vice Premier -- had arrived from 30
countries for the conference. Although
a number of such conferences had already been held, most of them had
dealt with political or security questions, Mr. Eban stated. This was the
first time that representatives of established countries were meeting
with spokesmen of new states-on the initiative of a young and small
state-to deal with the advancement of science and technology. THEY WILL HAVE A FONTAINBLEUA
$12,000,000 replica of Miami Beach's Fontainbleu Hotel is to be built in
the Tel Aviv area. This was revealed in The Jerusalem Post, which
reported that Mr. Samuel Oritt of Miami Beach said that he and his
associates were putting up the hotel. Mr.
Oritt, who is chairman of the Israel Bond Drive in Florida, will also set
up a $1,250,000 tool and die plant in Kiryat Gat, a newly founded city in
the Negev. Discussions
have been in progress for a suitable site for the Israel -- Fontainbleu.
It will have 400-500 rooms and its architecture will be exactly that of the Miami Beach hotel and become
the biggest hotel in Israel. THE MIGHTY SAMSON TIRE PLANTThe
Samson tire plant in Petah Tikva holds second place for productivity among
the twelve international subsidiaries of the General Tire Company of the
U. S. The company's production has risen from 686 tons in 1952, the year
it was established, to 1,201 tons during April-June, 1960, according to a
report by the company's general manager. The monthly average has increased
from 150 tons in 1953 to 400 tons this year, an output per man-hour from
5.1 pounds in 1953 to 15.1 today. The firm began operating with a labor
force of 180 and today employs 426 persons. ON GOOD TERMS WITH WEST AFRICAN MOSLEMS"We
expect to sell IL5,000,000 (about $2,500,000) worth of goods to Nigeria
this year and almost the same amount to Ghana," Israel's Minister of
Finance, Mr. Levi Eshkol, predicted recently in Jerusalem. He was
addressing the Jerusalem Journalists Club about his visit to West Africa,
having just returned. The
Moslems of Northern Nigeria are not essentially hostile to Israel. In the
recent pan-African conference in Abyssinia, the Nigerian delegation stood
firm against Arab pressure to commit the conference to an anti-Israel
resolution, he said. Giving
an example of another kind of cooperation, he said there is an Israel
variety of sorghum seed which has been found to give a considerably higher
yield in Africa than the variety now sown there. During
a talk with Nigeria's Federal Minister of Finance, Mr. Eshkol remarked:
"In our stores, we have no strings to sell"-the relationship
between Israel and the newly-rising African countries is unconditional
and based on the friendship of neighbors, he stressed. "GLORIOUS THINGS OF THEE ARE SPOKEN""For
Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not
rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. "And
the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and
thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall
name. "Thou
shalt also be a crown of glory in the
hand of the Lord, 'and' a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. "Thou
shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be
termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah [My delight is in
her], and thy land Beulah [married]: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and
thy land shall be married. "For
as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the
bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. "I
have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold
their peace day nor night; ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not
silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make
Jerusalem a praise in the earth. "The
Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely
I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of
the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast labored: "But
they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they
that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. "Go
through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up,
cast up the highway; gather out the stones lift up a standard for the
people. "Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world,
Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his
reward is with him, and his work before him. "And
they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou
shalt be called, Sought out, a city not forsaken." - Isaiah 62. (Foregoing
is the twenty-second report about the Land of Promise, from Brother
Casimir Lanowick, Editor of
Jews in the News. Ed. Com.) The Salvation of the Lord"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am
God, and there is none else." - Isa. 45:22 ISRAEL
trembled on the banks of the Red Sea. Pharaoh and his chariots were in
close pursuit. There
seemed no way of escape. They were trapped by the Egyptian host and faced
return to slavery. Moses, full of faith in the power of God, encouraged
Israel to similar faith. (Exod. 14:13.) "Fear ye not, stand still,
and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will
shew to you today." Then God commanded Moses to stretch forth his
rod and the sea divided, forming a path through which the people marched
safely to the other side. , The Egyptian chariots followed, and in the
midst of the sea their chariots stuck with loosened wheels. Once again
Moses stretched forth his rod and the wall of water broke, overwhelming
Pharaoh's might. "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand
of the Egyptians ... and the people feared the Lord, and they believed the
Lord, and his servant Moses" (Exod. 14:30, 31). They broke into song
and praise: "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed
gloriously . . . the Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my
salvation." - Exod. 15:1, 2. What
a wonderful salvation that was by which Jehovah finally set his people
free from the bonds of their first great oppressor! They stood still and
saw the salvation of the Lord. "The
Salvation of the Lord" is a wonderful theme also for us living today. The
most important question each of us can ask is that asked by the jailor of
Philippi, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And the answer of
Paul is still the answer we need, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou-shalt be saved." Unless we, each one of us personally and
individually, have accepted this offer of salvation, having repented of
sin and accepted the pardon so graciously offered by God in Christ,
further knowledge of other phases of the Salvation of the Lord will profit
us little. If, however, we have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior and
have experienced some measure of his saving power in our lies, in turning
us from sin to righteousness, we shall be desirous of learning all we
can concerning the many phases of the Divine Purpose as revealed in the
Bible. "SALVATION! O THE JOYFUL SOUND!"Contrary
to general thought, the word "salvation" is not restricted to
the salvation of men from sin, but very often refers to deliverances from
sickness and death, from physical dangers and captivity, as in the
instance of Israel at the Red Sea. In that was seen the salvation of the
Lord. So in many other places in the Old Testament in the deliverance of
God's people from their earthly enemies. Jonathan reminded Saul his father
that David "put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and
the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel" (1 Sam. 19:5).
David himself cries: "Stop the way against them that persecute me:
say unto my soul, I am thy salvation ... And my soul shall be joyful in
the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation." - Psalm 35:3, 9. But
David was not unmindful of the deeper aspects of personal salvation from
sin, for in Psalm 24:3-5 he asks: "Who shall ascend into the hill of
the Lord?" and answers the question himself: "He that hath clean
hands, and a pure heart .. . He shall receive the blessing from the Lord,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation." In Psalm 91:1, 16
he makes known the promise of God to the one who dwells in the secret
place of the Most High: "With long life will I satisfy him, and shew
him my salvation." And in that great penitential Psalm 51 he cries:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within
me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from
me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free
spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be
converted unto thee" (Psa. 51:10-13). The man who wrote these words
knew something about salvation in the Gospel sense, although he lived in
the old dispensation. The
Salvation of the Lord is therefore a very personal thing, and we can count
this as the first thing we must learn about it-the salvation of the
Individual. But
the salvation of the Lord has a wider scope than this, and the second
phase we now consider is the salvation of the nation of Israel, the chosen
people of God. Through allowing Israel, as punishment for their sins, to
be subjugated to their enemies, he raised up saviors who delivered them
from Egyptians, Philistines, Midianites and Ammonites. He further saved
them from the Babylonian Captivity and returned them to their own land.
Finally, because of their rejection of the Messiah, they were scattered
for centuries among the Gentiles. But even from this longest captivity,
God promised to restore them. Ours is the blessed privilege to be living
in the days when God's Arm is being put forth on their behalf. Their most
formidable oppressor was crushed in the Second World War, and we witness
their return to Palestine in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. What
will this phase of the salvation of the Lord mean for Israel and the
World? "WHAT TIDINGS FOR OUR RACE!"We
must recognize at the outset that the great dispersion now ending
resulted from rejection of the offer of salvation when it was presented to
the nation at Messiah's First Advent. Had the Jews accepted, they would
have been spared terrible centuries of suffering, and the Millennial
blessings would have begun long ago. But only a few recognized the
significance of the First Advent in its relation to the nation. Among
these few was Zacharias, who, regaining his speech at his son John's
birth, uttered these words, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for
he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of
salvation for us in the house of his servant David; . . . That we should
be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us." -
Luke 1:68-71. This
was God's purpose for his people at that time, if they had only accepted
the Savior, whom he was about to send. The
Prophet Zechariah (Zech. 9:9) foretelling Messiah's entry into Jerusalem
cried: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having
salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt, the foal of an
ass." Unhappily they did not know the time of their visitation and
the things which belonged to their peace, even as Jesus later said. The
father of John the Baptist in his further words reveals a deeper
conception of the salvation offered to Israel: "Thou, child, shalt be
called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of
the Lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his
people by the remission of their sins" (Luke 1:76, 77). It was only
through finding salvation from their sins that they could hope for full
and final salvation from their enemies. How
far-seeing and comprehensive was the vision also of old Simeon as he
looked with awe and severance upon the tiny babe Jesus: "Lord, now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of
all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people
Israel. Luke 2:29-32. The
priests and leaders of the nation did not have the vision of old Simeon.
How different the history of the Jews and the world would have been if
they had only seen in Jesus what he saw. The great tragedy of Israel would
have been averted and the Kingdom of God established at that time. "DELIVERANCE FOR THE WORLD IS FOUND"Yet
God's Purpose was not frustrated, for he is able to overrule
opposition and cause it to carry out further a stage in that Purpose's
fulfillment. God had decreed, as Simeon had said, that Jesus should be a
light to the Gentiles; and strange as it may seem, the Master's rejection
by Israel enabled this to be carried out in some measure. But before this
happened, another opportunity was given to the Jews, especially to the
Dispersion whom Paul took every opportunity to reach first wherever he
went. To those at Antioch he said: "Men and brethren, children of
the stock of Abraham, ... to you is the word of salvation sent." But
we know the result. Though some accepted, the great majority rejected the
word of salvation, and so Paul declared: "It was necessary that the
word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it
from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn
to the Gentiles." - Acts 13:26, 46. Finally,
when the Jews of Rome took the same attitude, he declared to their elders
there: "Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God
is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it" (Acts
28:28). Paul was sure about this, because of the words of the Prophet
Isaiah (Isa. 49:6), which Paul himself had quoted in Antioch: "I will
also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my
salvation unto the end of the earth." To the Apostle this was divine
sanction to carry the Gospel to the nations. The salvation of God which
was first offered to Israel and by them rejected, was now sent to the
Gentiles. Paul,
in considering this turn of events, asks the question concerning Israel:
"Have they stumbled that they should fall?" and answers:
"God forbid: but through their fall salvation is come unto the
Gentiles" (Rom. 11:11). Israel's rejection therefore is not final,
for the Apostle goes on to declare that their hardening of heart would
endure only until the "fulness of the Gentiles be come in,"
and then Israel will at last accept the offer and so be saved. (See Rom.
11:26.) The salvation of the Lord, once rejected, will finally return to
them and be accepted at last, and so the whole purpose of God will be
harmoniously fulfilled. "THROUGH GOD'S ABOUNDING GRACE"The
present restoration of Israel in their own land as a nation is preparatory
to their national acceptance of the Messiah and his salvation.
However, before that happy ending is reached, according to the prophecies,
they have yet to pass through the final and most awful phase of 'Jacob's
trouble." Nevertheless we have the assurance of Jeremiah 30:7 that
they shall be saved out of it. Zechariah 12:7-11 depicts their subsequent
mourning, when they recognize in the Pierced One their long-awaited
Messiah. What wonderful joy shall succeed that mourning! Isaiah,
after describing in Isa. 11:11, 12 how the Lord shall set his hand the
second time together the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth, goes on in Isa. 12:1-3 to tell what
they will say in that day: "O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou
wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
Behold, God is my salvation; . . . the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my
song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall we draw
water out of the wells of salvation." Then
will the way be opened for the third and final phase of the salvation of
the Lord. For God's Purpose involves not only the salvation of the
individual, and the salvation of the nation of Israel, but has it grand
finale in the salvation of the World. To
the woman at the well, Jesus said: "Salvation is of the Jews"
(John 4:22). For it was to Israel that God's salvation was first
made known. To them the Savior came, and it was by Jewish disciples and
spostles tht the Gospel reached the Gentiles. The very Scriptures we
study, because they are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith
in Christ, are all Jewish Scriptures. So truly, "Salvation is from
the Jews" as the Revised Version renders it. After
he spent two days in the Samaritan village, the people reached a most
wonderful conclusion regarding Jesus, for they said: "We have heard
him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Savior of the world"
(John 4:42). And this recognition that Christ is the appointed means of
the world's salvation is testified to by the Apostle: "He is the
propitiation ... for the sins of the whole world." Also "the
Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." - 1 John 2:2;
4:14. Now
while much has been done during the present age to take the Gospel to all
nations, the efforts of the missionary societies touch only the fringe of
the problem. The birth rate alone far outstrips all the noble efforts
these organizations can make, not to speak of the political barriers now
being erected to exclude them from various countries. It is therefore
evident that something unprecedented must happen in order that the
Salvation of God be truly made known to all the ends of the earth. We
believe this will result from the conversion of the restored nation of
Israel which will thereupon become the great missionary nation of the
Millennial era in declaring the glory and salvation of God to all the
nations. "DELIVERANCE FOR THE WORLD IS FOUND"The
Apostle Paul cherished such expectations, for we read in Romans 11:12:
"Now- if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the
diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their
fulness?" And in Rom. 11:15: "For if the casting away of them be
the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but
life from the dead?" What streams of blessing will flow to all
nations when the people of Israel are filled with the spirit as was Paul,
and desire, like him, to take the message to the ends of the earth! That
day shall see the fulfillment of Isaiah 49:6, when the Father will say to
the Messiah his Son, who will then have fully restored Israel to favor:
"It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up
the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also
give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation
unto the end of the earth." The
work of restoring Israel, admittedly now so difficult a task to all
involved, including her statesmen, when fully accomplished by the
revealed Messiah will seem in the eyes of God, as it were, but a
"light thing." Therefore the Father's words to his Son: "It
is too light a thin that thou shouldest have restore Israel. I will also
give thee a heavier task, namely, to be a light to the Gentiles, and my
salvation to the ends of the earth." Nothing
will so astonish and awaken the nations as the full restoration of Israel,
following upon the overthrow of their last great enemy and oppressor-Gog
and his hosts from the north. This fulfillment of Bible prophecy will
completely vindicate the Word of God in the eyes of all nations. They
will be ready to listen as never before to the emissaries of restored and
converted Israel as they go forth to all the earth, declaring the glory
of the Lord and his Salvation unto all peoples. (See Isa. 66:19.) Thus as
Ezekiel 39:27 declares, "Jehovah will be sanctified in the sight of
many nations." Then
the nations will be ready to flow unto the mountain of the Lord's house,
to be taught his ways and to walk in his paths, "for out of Zion
shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he
shall judge among the nations and rebuke many people; and they shall
beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruning-hooks" -- their tanks and their guns into combine harvesters. "Nation
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more." - Isa. 2:1-4. "THROUGH GOD'S ABOUNDING GRACEIs
not that the kind of salvation all the world longs for at the present
time? They may not be particularly interested in the more spiritual phases
of salvation, but all the nations would leap for joy if they could be
relieved of the crushing burden of the Armament race and could turn their
wealth and energy into the paths of peace. It
was estimated some time ago that the armament bill exceeds one hundred and
twenty thousand million dollars! Consider what material blessings such a
sum would provide! Furthermore, the diversion of man's ingenuity from the
creation of frightful and diabolical weapons of destruction to that of
raising the living standards of all races, would make this globe into a
Paradise for man. And that is exactly what will happen in the approaching
Millennial Age, when the Lord shall "speak peace to the
nations." - Zech. 9:10. How
Israel and the nations will rejoice in that day when at last the clouds of
war will forever roll away. "In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts
make unto all people a feast of fat things," as Isa. 25:6-9
foretells. He shall destroy the vail of ignorance and superstition and
prejudice that is spread over all nations, and shall take away the
reproach of his people from off all the earth. Psalm
98:2, 3 declares that it will be said in that day: "The Lord hath
made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly showed in the
sight of the nations. He bath remembered his mercy and his truth toward
the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of
the Lord." How
wonderful when all humanity will join in that cry of eternal gratitude (Isa.
25:9): "This is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and
rejoice in his salvation." Amen! - J. McGeachy, Eng. Clay in the Hand of the Potter
|
