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Hope for a Hopeless World 21st
Century World Trouble
Open a newspaper these
days, listen to the news on radio or TV, and invariably
you get the impression of trouble. Our world is torn by strife
-- strife between political parties; strife between
ethnic factions; strife between nations. It is beset by
problems -- hunger, pollution of land and water, and ever
present violence; problems of society, revealed by
increasing crime rates and over-crowded prisons; by
hospitals filled with patients, many of whom are there
because of mental stress; and by an alarming number of
victims of drug abuse and alcoholism. Looming over all is
the frequent threat of economic crisis, with widespread
unemployment and material hardship. The "under-developed
nations" are in debt to the world banks (that is,
chiefly those of America and Western Europe) to
staggering sums running into billions of dollars, with no
prospect of ever being able to repay the loans. Much has been made of the
'end' of the Cold War, of disarmament by the former
superpowers, and the removal of the threat of nuclear
attack. Yet the world is still spending vast sums on arms.
If our visitor asked why nations are doing this, he would
be told it was "for defense". If he asked,
"Defense against whom?", he would learn that it
was out of fear of other nations. In other words the
nations are spending fantastic sums of money every year
in creating the power to frighten and destroy because
they cannot trust one another. Here is the core of
the problem. And no one knows how to stop it!
There is no prospect at all of this immense burden being
lifted. And meanwhile the development of ever-more
terrifying nuclear weapons goes on . . . No wonder
feelings of pessimism and hopelessness are widespread
today. And this is the "advanced" and "civilized"
21st century! Politicians promised a new social order of justice and equality for all. As wealth became better distributed, people would be better off and so would no longer envy one another. "Banish poverty and you'll banish crime" was one of the watch cries of the last century. So the finest powers of the human mind would be developed and peace would be preserved among the nations. Church leaders boldly joined in and confidently predicted that in process of time all nations would accept "the gospel of Christ". The world would be conquered by preaching. What a shock the events of
"this haggard twentieth century" (Winston
Churchill) have been! The dream has faded under the
impact of two world wars and the ever-present threat of
new and even more deadly weapons. H. G. Wells, that
apostle of evolutionary progress, expressed his
disillusion in two books published at the end of his
life, Mind at the End of its Tether and The
Fate of Homo Sapiens. In them he declares that there
is no hope for humanity: "There is nothing but the
dark". And that was in 1945, before the first
atomic bomb was dropped! How the hopes of mankind have
been shown to be vain: first, the belief that the
Christian religion would unify the world -- long since
abandoned; then the expectation that political progress
by the growth of democracy would bring peace -- no one
believes that today; then the hope that science would be
the means of changing the world for the better -- and the
results of scientific ingenuity have proved the sharpest
of double-edged weapons. There is no substantial hope
left of a thorough world change. "They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles (nations), until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). This is a most remarkable prophecy, all in one verse. Look what it says: (1) The Jews were to suffer severely as a result of war. Forty years after Jesus' ascension to heaven, in A.D. 70, the Roman armies invaded Judea, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, burnt the temple, and expelled the Jews. (2) Jews were driven into all the nations of the earth where for centuries they were persecuted; whole communities were sometimes exterminated. (3) For centuries the city of Jerusalem fell under various national powers. The Romans, the Arabs, the Turks, and latterly the British! (4) But the words of Jesus foretell an end to this domination by the nations. We have been privileged to see it in our own days. In 1948 the nation of Israel was reestablished as a State in the land of Palestine; in 1967 Israel recovered control of the city of Jerusalem, which has become their national capital again. In other words this remarkable prophecy of Jesus has actually been fulfilled in our days. How important then must be what he says next: "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth, distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after (expectation of, R.V.) those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken" (vv. 25-26). This is a striking picture of a world in distress. "Ah", say some, "but clearly it is figurative, not literal. Just look at those allusions to the sun, moon, stars, sea and waves, and powers of heaven". Very well, let us remove from Jesus' words everything that could possibly be figurative and read what is left: ". . . upon the earth, distress of nations with perplexity . . . men's hearts failing them for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the earth." This is not a figurative description. It is fearfully literal: it has to do with nations, men's hearts, fear, and perplexity, because of dreadful events. Remarkably the second word for "earth" literally means "the inhabited earth" --nothing figurative about that. And his term "perplexity" implies "at one's wits' end . . ." Now there is no escaping the conclusion to be drawn from this part of Jesus' discourse: at a time when the domination of Jerusalem by the nations comes to an end, mankind upon the earth is to experience world-wide distress, fear and perplexity. And this is exactly what has happened before our eyes. One hundred years ago the
"wisest" of men were quite deceived about the
course of world developments of the following century,
our age. They were completely mistaken. Yet here is
Jesus, speaking 1950 years ago, giving us a true
picture of the course of events; and the Bible records it
for us. The Bible has been right in this vital matter of
the future of mankind when only a century ago the most
learned men were quite wrong. Let us just store that fact
in our minds for the moment while we consider further
matters of the same sort. The first serious effort to cope with it was the formation of the League of Nations, set up in the 1920s as a result of the shattering experience of the First World War (1914-18). Nations were to solve all disputes in future by peaceful discussion and not by war. The League actually adopted words taken from the Bible: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:4). Hopes were high, but within 20 years those hopes were dashed by the rise of the armed dictatorships of Mussolini and Hitler in Italy and Germany in the 1930s. The horrors of the Second World War (1939-45) revived the sense of urgent need for some kind of world control, but the United Nations Organization was born more in pious hope than in buoyant optimism, and its career has shown that it is powerless to prevent armed conflict, if one of the major world powers is determined to pursue its own aims. And yet a world power is clearly what is needed, to deal with all nations, to compel the rebellious to act for the common good; to deal with world-wide problems like hunger and pollution; and above all to check the growth in the power of the nations' weapons which pose an ever-increasing threat to human life on the earth. One authority for the whole planet -- that was the idea which led to the propaganda for "World Government" in the 1950s. But the point to remember is this: the realization that human problems need a world solution has only arisen in the last 50 years or so. And it is not regarded with much optimism. Bertrand Russell gave in the 1950s a series of radio talks on "World Government", in which he said that if mankind did not develop a system of world control, with effective powers, within 50 years, it would perish. He added, "I very much fear it will perish". Asked why, he replied, "Because of men's anarchic passions", that is their inability to control their own desires. The years since Russell's pronouncements have done nothing to offer humanity any hope. And yet there is
hope. For there is one source which has from the
beginning seen human life on earth as creating a world
problem demanding a world solution -- the Bible. The
Bible says that mankind has been given power to control
the affairs of the world, but only for a limited time.
When the "time of the end" comes, the control
of the world will be taken from men, for "the
kingdom is the Lord's: he is the ruler over the nations"
(Psalm 22:28). When the future King of the earth is
established, "all kings shall fall down before him:
all nations shall serve him" (Psalm 72:11). So
"the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the
Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:9). The
world problem, foreseen as such in the Bible from the
beginning, will receive a world solution -- the only way
of solving it. How did the Bible writers, sometimes
writing over 2,500 years ago, know this, when only 100
years ago the most informed of men were quite wrong in
their forecasts about the future of the earth? How can
this be? Again the reader is asked to store this point in
his mind, while we consider still another matter. So the world urgently needs an outstanding leader capable of delivering the nations -- all of them -- out of the present crisis. Where is he to be found? Will any of the present leaders of the nations be able to command worldwide support? Who is there? The President of the United States? The Prime Minister of Britain? One of the men who sit in the Kremlin? The Prime Minister of France? Just to consider these suggestions is to realize the total inadequacy of these politicians for the task. There is not a single leader in world politics capable of attracting the support of all the nations for the great task of reorganizing affairs on this earth. And without the right leader nothing will be done. Again, this is a matter which has only been realized in recent years, since the world-wide dimensions of the problem have become clear. How remarkable then that in the Bible this problem has been foreseen. In the Bible the coming of the leader capable of leading all nations in peace and justice is clearly foretold. We can find it outlined in what Paul said to the Athenians in Acts 17. He began by telling them that they were ignorant of the only true God who "is Lord of heaven and earth", who had made "of one blood" all nations of the earth and had set "the bounds of their habitations". For centuries men had worshipped idols, but these "times of ignorance" were coming to an end. God now "commanded all men everywhere to repent" -- Paul refers to the proclamation of the Gospel; and then he adds this: "Because God hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (vv. 30-31). The general sense of this
is clear: in the purpose of God there is "a day"
to come when He will govern (as "judge" implies)
the world -- again the word used is that term which means
"the inhabited earth". This is a practical
policy for the nations of the earth: they are to come
under the control of a rule "in righteousness"
-- how much they need it! And the one who is to
accomplish this for God is none other than the One who
was raised from the dead, Jesus Christ. What finer leader could be found to guide the human race out of conditions of evil into peace and right ways before God and men? Who could be more trusted than he to make the right decisions? But the full marvel of the Bible's forecast of the Leader to come can only be appreciated when we remember that he has been raised from the dead, is possessed of immortality, and will not be removed by death! The trouble with human rulers is that after a time they vanish from the scene, and have to be replaced; and who can tell whether the replacement will be better, or worse, than their predecessors? But in the case of Jesus that obstacle will not arise. He is alive for evermore and will need no successors. And further, he will be equipped with all the power needed to see that his righteous policy is not thwarted or threatened by evil men. As he said to his disciples after his resurrection and just before his ascension to heaven: "All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18). What a marvelous solution
this will be for the ills of the nations! Not merely the
coming of a Leader, but of one fully equipped to meet all
the demands of modern world conditions: the right policy
for all men, the power to enforce it against the evil-minded,
a rule not terminated by death -- and a character of
mercy, compassion and truth. These are the very qualities
needed to solve the modern world crisis. And they have
been foreseen in the Bible 2000 years and more ago! The conclusion from this
is that we ought to treat the Bible seriously. For if it
has proved so right in what it has said about events
centuries before they happened, is it not highly likely
to be right in its prophecies of events that have not yet
come to pass? Common sense would suggest that we should
note carefully what more it has to say about the future
of the earth and mankind. "Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Luke 21:27). The "Son of man" is a title Jesus frequently gave to himself. Notice that his coming to the world in distress is not to be so quiet that it will not be noticed; it will be spectacular, in "power and great glory". Further, as the disciples stand on the Mount of Olives watching Jesus ascend to heaven, this is the message they receive: "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). There is no escaping the literal character of this declaration. It is the same Jesus as they had got to know again after his resurrection. His coming again would be in the same way as his departing. As he literally and personally went, so he will come. Hence their preaching and writings in the New Testament clearly express this expectation. We have looked at one passage already in Acts chapter 17, where Paul declares that Christ will be the appointed ruler of the nations. The Epistles of the New Testament frequently allude to the return of Christ to the earth. The two Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians contain such an allusion in every single chapter. Here is the first of them: Paul rejoices with the believers in Thessalonica, that they had "turned unto God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom (God) raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess. 1:9-10). The Apostle Peter, addressing the inhabitants of Jerusalem shortly after Jesus ascended to heaven, had this to say to them: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ . . . whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, whereof God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:19-21). This is a tremendous
declaration of what God intends to do in the earth. Let
us look carefully at what Peter says. Leaving for the
moment the question of repentance and the forgiveness of
sins, which deserves separate treatment, notice Peter's
insistence that there is hope for the future: "times
of refreshing . . . times of restitution (restoration, R.V.)
of all things" are to come. But where from? "From
the presence of the Lord", says Peter-in other
words, not from the resources of mankind, but from God.
And how will these "refreshing times" come?
"He (God) shall send Jesus Christ", who
incidentally had only a little while before ascended to
heaven. But he is not to stay there for ever. "The
heaven" receives him only until the times of
restoration of all things". The general message is
clear. The new age of "refreshing" and "restoration"
for the earth will come about by God sending His Son back
again when the right moment in His purpose has come. The
personal return of Jesus thus became a vital point in the
preaching of his apostles, as the writings of the New
Testament clearly demonstrate. So what do the prophecies say? That is expressed in many fascinating details, but the general message is this: human history is, despite appearances to the contrary, under the control of God. He has given to mankind the power to dominate the earth -- but not for ever. Mankind will become corrupted and so demonstrate that they can neither govern themselves nor save the world from destruction. The time will come when God will intervene in human affairs, and by His own power will set up His own government of the world, to establish right and peace among men, upon the basis of honor to His Name. The simplest and yet most comprehensive example of this is to be found in the second chapter of the prophecy of Daniel. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, sees in a vision a great human image made up of different metals: head of gold, breast and arms of silver, etc. He then sees a "great stone" fall upon the feet of the image, grind all its components to powder, and then itself fill the whole earth. The prophet Daniel explains what it means. The great image represents the kingdoms of men: Nebuchadnezzar is told that the head of gold represents his Babylonian empire; that the remaining parts of the image denote the empires which were to follow his; and it is not difficult to perceive a prophecy of the rise-and fall-of the empires of Persia, Greece and Rome. In the "last" stage of development, the feet of the image are a mixture of iron and clay. They represent a weak stage when the nations would "not cleave together", a remarkable prophecy of the divided state of the nations of Europe ever since the overthrow of Roman power in the 5th century A.D. But the stone smites the image in its feet -- its divided state -- and destroys it; and the empires of men are over-thrown and replaced by the stone which becomes "a great mountain and fills the whole earth" (v.35). Daniel then gives the meaning of this last development: "In the days of those kings (that is, the divided kingdoms) shall the God of heaven setup a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed . . . it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (v.44). Daniel concludes with these words: "The great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure" (v.45). The reader is earnestly recommended to study the second chapter of Daniel for himself. The general message is clear: human empires will rise and fall; they will be replaced by national kingdoms divided amongst themselves; but the day will come when the God of heaven will take away their power and will set up His own kingdom in the earth. It is a kingdom which will last for ever. The message of Daniel is the forerunner of the New Testament teaching that Christ is to return to the earth to rule it for God (read again Acts 17:31). There is an important
conclusion to be drawn from this prophecy through Daniel:
the peace, safety and welfare of mankind will not be
achieved by human philosophy, social theory, political
alliances and treaties, scientific development, or any
other forms of "human progress". It will come
about by the direct intervention of God in human affairs,
in sending back to the earth His own Son to rule in His
Name. This will occur at a time of world-wide trouble and
fear, and will deliver mankind from the threat of self-destruction. The second chapter of Isaiah begins with a remarkable picture of nations living at peace under the rule of God. "In the last days" all nations will acknowledge the rule of the Lord: "And many peoples shall say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob" (v.3). Why should they do this? What is the reason for their unusual agreement? "He (God) will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law (the word means instruction, teaching) and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (v.3). So the new center of world government is to be Jerusalem, whence the rule for the nations will go forth. And what is to be the effect of the rule of God? "And he (the Lord) shall judge between the nations, and shall reprove many peoples; and they (the nations) shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks" (v.4). The authority of the Lord will control the nations, who will no longer waste their strength and resources in creating weapons of war, but will devote them instead to the profitable activities of cultivation of the earth for their benefit. Then Isaiah concludes this section of his prophecy with the sublime words often echoed since with vague longing in times of international despair: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (v.4). This was the motto of the ill-fated League of Nations in the 1920s. The sense of idealism did not last 20 years. After the Second World War the creators of the United Nations Organization did not dare to resurrect it, and subsequent events have shown them to be realistic in this. But the Word of God says
that this state of peace among the nations, with the
abandonment of war, will actually come to pass. It is the
message of hope for the world. But the writers of the Bible foresaw all these things. They foretold the coming of distress, perplexity and fear on a world scale. They declare that God has a purpose with the earth and with the human race. They describe to us in detail, first in prophecy in the centuries before Christ, then in the Gospels of the New Testament, the person and character of the One chosen to take over the government of the world for God. He is revealed as the ideal Ruler, and in power, to bring a real solution to the world problems which oppress humanity in this 20th century. These things were written centuries ago, and yet they are utterly and inevitably right for the very modern problems of our age. How can these things be?
There is only one reasonable explanation; no men could
have known these things of themselves. But if God is
behind the Bible, if its writers were His servants
writing His words, as they all claimed to do, then we can
understand it. The plain fact then emerges: there is no
other book in the world like the Bible. There is none
which more deserves, and earnestly requires, our sincere
attention. The Bible is just as clear and precise about the future of the individual man and woman as it is about the world. It analyses our human situation, points out what is the cause of the evils which afflict humanity, shows how we may order our lives in the service of God, and reveals to us the great future we may have in the world Kingdom to be established by Christ. The matters involved are so important that they cannot properly be explained in this short work. They deserve separate treatment. Meanwhile, let us gain comfort from this reflection: God has always been concerned with the individual man or woman who gives earnest thought to His words. Just consider this short saying addressed 700 years before Christ to faithful Israelites who were deeply disturbed by the corruption in their nation. God says that He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and yet "to this man will I look, even to him that is poor (humble), and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word" (Isaiah 66:1-2). Those words still apply. His gracious favor is always shown to those who are conscious of their weakness and imperfections, and who approach His Word in a spirit of humble reverence. The marvel is that the very words of God are still available to us in this confused 20th century. Let us give our attention to them while there is still time. For as Jesus said to his disciples: "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). FRED PEARCE Reproduced by courtesy of the Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association by whom all rights are reserved. |
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