SYSTEM, or order, is the underlying thought in the word kosmos, which is
usually rendered world in English. We seriously considered dropping the word world
at one time, as it is more or less encrusted with misleading theological ideas. But there
does not seem to be a very good substitute. We might have tried system, or even kosmos,
using the Greek word, as we did with eon. In the sublinear we were free to put it
as it should be, SYSTEM. Even with this it is almost impossible for some of us to shake
off the old associations, such as we find in the phrase, "the world, the flesh, and
the devil," so we think of the world as something essentially bad and incurably evil.
It is the faded figure "association," by which that which is included in a
system is called by this name.
But a SYSTEM or world is not in itself
undesirable. On the contrary, the use of this word for adornment (1 Peter 3:3),
which is its usual sense when used as a verb, adorn, decorate (Luke 21:5;
Titus 2:10, etc.), shows that it may be very agreeable indeed. This is further confirmed
by the adverb and adjective, which is decorous (1 Tim.2:9; 3:2). It is clear that world
has in some way lost much of its real contents, and has taken on an evil tinge which it
does not really possess. The reason seems to be that it is used so frequently of the
present world, which, like its attendant eon, is wicked (Gal.1:4). I have sometimes
thought of using world-order, but the word is so frequently used, by association,
for the people who are in it, that even this term could not be uniformly used.
In German also we use the word Welt world
in the version. In other writings we use it more freely at times, in connection with the
word all. The German Weltall (world-all) is in common use in the place of
our word universe, though Universum is also allowable, even if not pure
German. But we avoid using this for kosmos, SYSTEM. For this we have created a new
term Weltsystem (world-system), which should help keep the word within its proper
limits and express its real meaning.
Many incline to think that, at this time, there
is no real order in the world, but that it is evil because of the lack of system. This, we
suggest, is a mistake into which we fall because we cannot discern much plan or purpose in
this era. Each man is for himself, and when organized into groups or governments, each
seems to be lawless, self-centered, striving for selfish objectives. This seems to lead to
disorder and chaos and conflict. But the same may be said of the stars. Looked at from the
earth, they seem to be sprinkled about haphazardly, going hither and thither, back and
forth, without rhyme or reason. But when we once discover a little of their relationship
to one another, the most marvelous order is nearly everywhere apparent.
So also will it be with this world in which we
live, notwithstanding the inextricable confusion which seems to prevail. All is of God,
and is adapted to fulfill His intention, and to gain His goal. In very truth, it is a real
SYSTEM for the outworking of evil, just as the next world will be adjusted to produce
good. Just as God carries on the vessels of indignation, adapted to destruction, and makes
the vessels of mercy ready beforehand for glory, so He adapts each world to the task it
has to fulfill in His great plan to reveal Himself. Even though it is evil, and must be so
in order to reveal man to himself and prepare him to find his All in God, it is a real world,
or SYSTEM, fearfully complicated for us, indeed, but nevertheless a well-designed and
efficient arrangement for the purpose for which it exists.
Like most words which are frequently used as a
figure, world has been the source of much confusion of thought and the premise of
many a misleading "argument." As the figurative usage of a word varies much, the
concordant method may lead astray if the figures are not recognized and kept by
themselves. This can be seen from the fact that world seems to have contradictory
meanings in the Scriptures. How many of us would use the adjective, worldly kosmikon
of God's holy place (Heb.9:1)?
In words of this class attempts have been made
to strike an average and take this as its meaning. But this is not possible where a word
seems to have so many variable significations, some of which seem to clash with the bulk
of passages. The general idea that worldly denotes earthly, unspiritual,
secular, is not warranted by the Scriptures, when it is used of those parts of
God's dwelling place which were most holy, and most spiritual, though on earth, being
copies of celestial originals, and most sacred. The central meaning is to be found
only in the literal usage, never in the figurative.
THE FIGURE OF ASSOCIATION
Except in 1 Peter 3:3, where it
is used of the adornment of a woman, and is used literally (as well as figuratively
for the human heart, as an implication), the word world is almost always
employed in the figure association, but this has now become so common that we call
it a faded figure, and do not mark it in the keyword edition. Perhaps James 3:6
should also be classed under implications, as it compares the tongue with the world
of injustice. Elsewhere there is little apparent likeness, but only association.
The social structure or system of mankind is usually put for those included in it. Thus we
read that "God thus loves the world," that is, those living in the
world-order which brings us to destruction. It is just as if we spoke of saving a ship
which was doomed, when we really mean the passengers and crew.
MISTRANSLATIONS OF "WORLD"
Notwithstanding years of
acquaintance with the facts, while I write this article scriptures have persisted in
presenting themselves to my mind in which the usual versions use the word world for
other Greek terms. I imagine that nearly all of my friends are hindered from getting a
clear grasp of its meaning by these intrusive memories, which bring it into unscriptural
associations. So we will briefly list the passages in which "world" is wrongly
rendered, so as to beware of them in our studies and in our meditations. We will quote
only those in the Greek Scriptures, but give the passages in the Hebrew, in case some
would like to correct these in their Bibles.
| world for Hebrew artz, LAND, earth |
| Psa.22:27; Isa.23:17; 62:11; Jer.25:26. |
| world for Hebrew chdl, LEAVE-OFF |
| Isa.38:11 (probably to be read chld, as below). |
| world for Hebrew chld, TRANSIENCE |
| Psa.17:14; 49:1. |
| world for Hebrew oulm, OBSCURE, eon |
| Psa.73:12; Ecc.3:11; Isa.45:17; 64:4. |
| world for Hebrew thbl, MINGLE, habitance |
| 1 Sam.2:8; 2 Sam.22:16; 1 Chron.16:30; Job 18:18; 34:13; 37:12;
Psa.9:8; 18:15; 19:4; 24:1; 33:8; 50:12; 77:18; 89:11; 90:2; 93:1; 96:10,13; 97:4; 98:7,9;
Prov.8:26; Isa.13:11; 14:17,21; 18:3; 24:4; 26:9,18; 27:6; 34:1; Jer.10:12; 51:15;
Lam.4:12; Nahum 1:5. |
| world for Greek aioon, UN-IF-BEING, eon |
| Matt. |
12:32 |
neither in this world, neither in |
| |
13:22 |
care of this world, and the deceitfulness |
| |
39 |
the harvest is the end of the world |
| |
40 |
so shall it be in the end of this world |
| Matt. |
13:49 |
So shall it be at the end of the world |
| |
24: 3 |
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world |
| |
28:20 |
with you unto the end of the world |
| Mark |
4:19 |
cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness |
| |
10:30 |
In the world to come eternal life |
| Luke |
1:70 |
prophets, which have been since the world |
| |
16: 8 |
children of this world are in their
generation |
| |
18:30 |
in the world to come everlasting life |
| |
20:34 |
children of this world marry |
| |
35 |
accounted worthy to obtain that world |
| John |
9:32 |
Since the world began was it not heard |
| Acts |
3:21 |
all his holy prophets since the world
began |
| |
15:18 |
works since the beginning of the world |
| Rom. |
12: 2 |
be not conformed to this world |
| |
16:25 |
kept secret since the world began |
| 1 Cor. |
1:20 |
where (is) the disputer of this world |
| |
2: 6 |
this world, or of the princes of this world |
| |
7 |
which God ordained before the world |
| |
8 |
none of the princes of this world |
| |
3:18 |
seemeth to be wise in this world |
| |
8:13 |
I will eat no flesh while the world |
| |
10:11 |
upon whom the ends of the world are come |
| 2 Cor. |
4: 4 |
In whom the god of this world |
| Gal. |
1: 4 |
deliver us from the present evil world |
| Eph. |
1:21 |
not only in this world, but in that |
| |
3: 9 |
from the beginning of the world |
| |
21 |
throughout all ages, world without end |
| |
6:12 |
rulers of the darkness of this world |
| 1 Tim. |
6:17 |
them that are rich in this world |
| 2 Tim. |
1: 9 |
given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began |
| |
4:10 |
having loved this present world |
| Titus |
1: 2 |
God...promised before the world began |
| |
2:12 |
live soberly....in this present world |
| Heb. |
1: 2 |
by whom also he made the worlds |
| |
6: 5 |
the powers of the world to come |
| |
9:26 |
once in the end of the world |
| |
11: 3 |
the worlds were framed by the word of God |
| world for Greek gee, LAND, earth |
| Rev. 13: 3 all the world wondered after the beast |
| world for Greek oikoumenee, beING-HOMED,
inhabited earth |
| Matt. |
24:14 |
preached in all the world for a witness |
| Luke |
2: 1 |
decree.....all the world should be taxed |
| |
4: 5 |
showed.....him all the kingdoms of the world |
| Acts |
11:28 |
great dearth throughout the world |
| |
17: 6 |
turned the world upside down |
| |
31 |
In the which he will judge the world |
| |
19:27 |
all Asia and the world worshippeth |
| |
24: 5 |
among all the Jews throughout the world |
| Rom. |
10:18 |
their words to the end of the world |
| Heb. |
1: 6 |
bringeth in the first begotten into the world |
| |
2: 5 |
hath he not put in subjection the world |
| Rev. |
3:10 |
which shall come upon all the world |
| |
12: 9 |
Satan, which deceiveth the whole world |
| |
16:14 |
kings of the earth and of the whole world |
Those of us who have had much
to do with the common version will find it almost impossible to eradicate these false
contexts from our minds. They persist in clouding our conception of the usage of the word world
in spite of our earnest efforts to erase them. Some of these passages have dominated
discussions of future events and made the Word of God appear ridiculous in the eyes of its
enemies. Is it not true that "the end of the world" has caused much havoc, which
"world without end" has not been able to prevent or neutralize!
An interesting feature of these renderings is
the mingling of world with eon. The reason why it could be done seems clear,
for both refer to the same thing, looked at from different points of view. Judged from
their elements, UN-IF-BEING and SYSTEM, the course of events is looked at as inevitable
existence in one and as orderly arrangement in the other. Both occupy the same periods of
time, so one could be used for the other in some passages without detection. For those of
us who have learned to think clearly as to the eons, the next step is to get a clear grasp
of the same periods under the aspect presented by the word kosmos, world.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
A phrase which is much to blame
for our misconceptions as to the meaning of the word world is "the foundation
of the world." The word themelios, which really signifies foundation
(Luke 6:48; 1 Cor.3:10; Rev.21:14, etc.) is never associated with world in the Scriptures.
To us "the foundation of the world" suggests the commencement of the physical
universe, a sense which seems entirely absent from the Scriptures, though well known in
science. It always refers to the disruption of a social order, not to the
building of a material edifice.
LOVING THE WORLD
The social aspect of the world
is presented by the apostle John, to the Circumcision. He speaks of the world as passing
by, and exhorts his readers not to love this transient system, because
"everything in the world, the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the
ostentation of living, is not of the Father" (1 John 2:16). Those who do not realize
that John is a minister of the Circumcision put this into contrast with heaven. But the
real contrast is with the next world. Now these desires are based on man's world, and all
is false and fleeting. True, it comes out of God, and is in accord with His intention to
humble humanity, but it is not of the Father, Who will make a world in the next eon, based
on His own ability, and carried out through His Anointed, which is worthy of love and
which will bring the truest and deepest satisfaction.
THE PRESENT WORLD
The passing political and
social and economic order is in man's day and dependent on human organizations intended to
reveal the incapacity of mankind. The next world will be in Jehovah's day, and dependent
on divine discipline intended to display the power of God and His Anointed. Hence it is
that His kingdom and His saints cannot be of this world. We are not adapted to the
political methods of today, hence must be subject. We are out of harmony with the social
and business worlds, so cannot take the lead. But in the world that lies ahead of us all
this will be reversed. We will be intimates of the sovereign and part of the government.
Our names will be in the first book of the social calendar. Our possessions will be
limitless. So will it be with the saints of the millennial kingdom. They belong to a
different world from this.
The foundation of the present world system is
given us in the words which God spoke to Noah, immediately after the ancient world (Gen.9)
had been destroyed by the flood. There is to be the fear of man upon all the other
creatures of the earth. He is to eat the moving souls as well as the herbage, but not the
blood (which must be drained at once from dying animals to save suffering), and human
government is instituted by giving man the right to shed blood. This is the divine
authority for human government, and shows why its functionaries are servants of God. This
is God's order or world for today, and no saint has the right to destroy it
or to oppose it, not even to bring in the millennium. That world order can be inaugurated
only by the same One Who started the present system in the days of Noah.
THIS WORLD
Although usually there is no
especial social or political order in mind when this term is used, there are times when it
is confined to the present arrangement, which was inaugurated after the flood and will
continue until the kingdom of the world becomes our Lord's and His Christ's (Rev.11:15).
When the word is limited by the pronoun this we must not include the ancient world
(2 Peter 2:5) before the deluge, or the worlds in the coming eons. To these many passages
will not apply. Christ is not of this world (John 8:23), yet He is the very essence of the
next. His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36) yet it dominates the next, for the
kingdoms of this world will give place to His reign.
Our Lord's statement, "My kingdom is not
of this world" (John 18:36), is usually taken to mean that His kingdom is not a
worldly kingdom, but a spiritual one. But He did not say the world, in general, but
this world, in particular. The fact that, at His unveiling, the world
kingdom becomes our Lord's and His Christ's (Rev.11:15) clearly shows that His kingdom is
a world kingdom. In fact the use of the word this should settle this point. It is a
world kingdom, not of this world, but of that future eon, when He takes His great
power and reigns.
The kingdom of the heavens is explained for us
by the prophet Daniel. He tells us that the God of heaven will set up a kingdom
which will displace the kingdoms of the great image. In his dream Nebuchadnezzar saw a
stone cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet. All of the
prophets are unanimous that it will not be set up by man. The phrase without hands
excludes human instrumentality, and denotes the operation of God without human help. So
the mighty die (Job 34:20). So was Sodom overthrown (Lam.4:6). The Most High does not
dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 7:48; 17:24; 19:26; Heb.9:11,24). Our future body
is made without hands (2 Cor.5:1). Our circumcision (Eph.2:11; Col.2:11) is without human
hands. Our Lord knew this, and no one can point to a single act of His, or a solitary word
in His heralding which suggests sedition or violence on the part of man against the
government.
Such was the kingdom which the Jews were led to
expect, and such was the sovereignty which our Lord heralded to them. That the displaced
realms were real kingdoms on this earth is beyond dispute. The figure used is such as to
leave no doubt that the coming kingdom will be the same. What we have today does not
displace these kingdoms. It did not commence by crushing them as a falling stone. It is
not a mountain in the earth. It is not the kingdom of the heavens. Quite the contrary!
There are many governments on earth today, and their power is all based on the work of
human hands. It was quite impossible for our Lord to mean any other kingdom than that
spoken of by Daniel, for it would have cruelly deceived the people and misused the word of
God. The kingdom of the heavens can only be that so called by Daniel the prophet.
The Jews, during our Lord's ministry, were
strongly inclined to insurrection. At various times, indeed, uprisings took place. They
did not grasp the fact that He heralded a kingdom "of the heavens" so
sought to involve Him in an insurrection, imagining that He needed their help in order to
shake off the Roman yoke. After he had filled them with food they were ready to fight. The
Herodians also tried to snare Him into saying something treasonable, because they did not
understand the power of the kingdom. But He refused to enter their trap, and advised them
to act in accord with this world, so long as the heavens had not set up the
kingdom. He recognizes that, in this system, God had given Caesar authority, and He would
have His disciples recognize it.
Though our Lord heralded the nearness of a
heavenly kingdom, to be set up by powers from above, He never countenanced the use of
force against the authorities or the Roman government by His disciples. When Peter did use
the sword, He promptly healed the wound. He said that those who took the sword would be
destroyed by the sword--just as it came about in the Jewish insurrections of that time
(Matt.26: 52). Much as they tried to trick Him into some statement which could be
interpreted as treasonable, they failed to do so, and it was necessary to get false
witnesses in order to make a show before Pilate. But he saw through their hypocrisy,
knowing that they used this lie in order to force him to do their desire.
Our Lord confirmed this thought in His defense
before Pilate. He said, "If My kingdom were of this world, My deputies also would
have contended, lest I should be given up to the Jew's. Yet now is My kingdom not
hence" (John 18:36). Kingdoms today are established on contention and bloodshed. The
rulers rightly recognize this by establishing a military force for its defense. Many think
that this should not be, and that we would have universal peace if all the armies could be
abolished. But they do not understand the Scriptures or the heart of humanity, or the
world-system in which God has placed us. An earthly kingdom (not one on
earth, but from the earth) must lean on an earthly force. A heavenly kingdom, such
as our Lord's in the coming eon, is not in heaven but will be ruled by power from
heaven. It will control by means of the rain (Zech.14:17) and, at the end, when it is
threatened with extinction by the Adversary and an overwhelming host, fire from heaven
descends and devours its enemies (Rev.20:9).
This world is a very different world from that
which is to come. If His kingdom were like those of this world, then His slaves would have
contended for Him, He would have rallied His followers to defend Him, and would have
mobilized all His earthly forces in order to establish His throne. But in the next world
it will be different. Then He does, indeed, establish His throne by power, but not with
arms of flesh or human might. It is a heavenly kingdom and the powers of the
heavens wage war with His enemies and will subdue them. Terrific inflictions from above,
and a celestial army on white horses, clear the earth of His foes, while the few,
frightened friends He still has on earth make no effort to seat Him on His throne.
To most of us, the phrase, this world,
was once in contrast with heaven. We referred it to space, not to time. And so we grew up
with the idea that the kingdom was not on earth at all, but in heaven. But this is not the
viewpoint of the Scriptures. Having been introduced into the arguments of logicians who
are not accustomed to choosing sound words, it has led to the repudiation of the greater
part of present truth, to the practical denial of the secrets revealed through the apostle
Paul, and to the offensive domination of reason over revelation and to a fog of
argumentation to which there is no boundary. World and earth are entirely
distinct ideas. There are three earths, but five worlds in the Scriptures. The next
world is still on this earth.
The position of apostate Christendom that our
Lord did not preach an earthly kingdom is the child of human reasoning, though it
seems to be the only logical deduction to those who hold it. Were they real reasoners
(which no man can claim) they would come to another conclusion. Even with a little common
sense they would discard terms, such as "earthly" which trip up the unwary, and
lead to "implications" which are not at all implied by the actual facts.
"Earthly" and "heavenly" are descriptive of character and do
not locate. Much that is on earth is not earthly and much that is heavenly is on
the earth.
This is a good example of wresting the
Scriptures and re-interpreting them along modern lines. Only a slight change is necessary.
Substitute the word earth for world, which very few will notice, and we have
reset the switch, as it were, and directed the line of thought in a totally different
direction. Indeed, it is not necessary to change the word at all, for the modern mind
already thinks of the world as the earth. Very few have any idea that there
is more than one world or that they change with the eons, notwithstanding the plain
language of our Lord.
When Christ was before Pilate, He refused to
acknowledge the ultimate sovereignty of Caesar. Pilate said to our Lord: "Are you not
aware that I have authority to release you and have authority to crucify you?"
Pilate was very definite in his claims. By using the word authority, he disclaims
sovereignty for himself and falls back on the source of his power, Caesar. Jesus answered
him, "You have no authority against Me, none except what was given you from above"
(John 19:11). Our Lord goes beyond Pilate's superior, the Emperor, to God Himself, as the
Supreme Power. Pilate, being afraid, because of his wife's dream, and because the Jews
said that the Prisoner claimed to be God's Son, made no objection to this. Even
governments must bow to the Deity, and it is not sedition to recognize God. Indeed,
the head of the government which is generally supposed to have the most powerful military
force, recently protested in public that he is not the Deity, and cannot control the
elements.
We all, as citizens of the countries in which
we live (unless we are without citizenship or sovereignty) are in the same position. We do
not advocate the overthrow of the government by force, hence are not guilty of sedition,
for we recognize the officers of the law as ministers of God (Rom.13: 1-7), even though we
teach that, in a future "world," which many of us now think has "drawn
nigh," or, in the phraseology of the Authorized Version is "at hand," the
world kingdom will become our Lord's and His Christ's (Rev.11:15). This does not involve
the overthrow of all of the governments so that they will not exist in the millennium. The
passage just quoted makes all one world kingdom. But such a world kingdom will exist
before our Lord comes, under the wild beast, but it will include, not destroy the national
governments. The nations will continue in the thousand years under the sovereignty of
Messiah.
In the millennium the territory promised to
Abraham, and the authority delegated to David must pass into the hands of Israel, but the
nations elsewhere, and their land, will continue under the suzerainty of Messiah and His
ministers. When a country now joins the league of nations it surrenders some of its
sovereignty. When the nations of the end time are confederated under the wild beast they
will part with practically all of their real sovereignty, as they must bow to his will.
This will also be their position in the thousand years. Legally and logically there is no
more treason in predicting that a nation will join the league or the world empire of the
end time than in heralding the prophecy of the Scripture that the world kingdom will
become our Lord's and His Christ's.
No one can deny that a clever lawyer could
prove "by implication" that all who believe the Bible must be seditious, for
they look forward to a time when the kingdoms of this world will be overthrown by force
and become a part of a new world kingdom, ruled by Christ. In fact, a lawyer is not
efficient who cannot reason out to any desired conclusion, for the profession has attained
the reputation of transforming truth and error into its opposites. If our lives are
dependent on the "implications" which a lawyer is able to extract out of our
faith, we are all dead men. Meanwhile, a believer who ardently looks for the reign of
Christ on earth may be the most loyal and submissive citizen in the whole realm, in
obedience to God's own decree, and His assurance that, even in this present world, the
authorities are His servants, and His saints are not to resist or to
withstand, but to be subject (Rom.13: 1-5).
The matter was brought to an actual test
recently. An enemy of the truth accused the writer of a pamphlet, which dealt with the
coming kingdom, with spreading sedition. Although there is a strong tendency against the
Bible, the government held that it was a matter of faith which did not interfere with the
functions or the security of the state. It belongs in the categories usually called
"an act of God" by the legal fraternity, and is outside human enactments.
The Herodians of our Lord's day had a false
idea of the kingdom, and supposed that it would be established by power from beneath
instead of from above, hence they were sure that they could trap our Lord into such a
heralding of the kingdom as would be contrary to the laws of the land. It never occurred
to them or to anyone else in those days that He was setting up a spiritual kingdom, for
such a sway already existed among His disciples, but they looked forward to something
tangible in the future. When the Herodians came to Him He had an opportunity of explaining
the spiritual nature of the kingdom, for this might have disarmed them. But He evidently
did not hold this view, for He insisted that each should have his due, Caesar as well as
God (Matt.22:21).
Although all intelligent readers of God's Word
look forward to a kingdom on earth which will rule over all, none of them are plotting to
bring it about, or are gathering weapons to aid in establishing it, or will join any
organization which has this in view. Not only are they restrained from any efforts to set
up this kingdom, but they do not expect any human agencies to bring it about. It will be
the kingdom of the heavens--inaugurated and sustained by supra-mundane forces from
above. Even when the kingdom is set up the Lord's disciples will not fight. They will be
utterly powerless. Our Lord will not be indebted to them in the least for His power, nor
will He need an army to uphold His throne.
The "argument" that, if the Lord had
proclaimed the kingdom of the heavens as near, He was an insurrectionist, and was justly
accused by the Jews and executed by Pilate, is a piece of faulty logic. In the first place
He heralded a kingdom of the heavens, not of the earth. That is, He never
countenanced any force on the part of His disciples. They once intended to make Him King
in this manner, but He would not have it. The kingdom of the heavens will be inaugurated
by force, but not by earthly armies or human instrumentality. Our Lord will not lead any
insurrection or call upon His disciples to bear arms in order to establish it. Therefore
the "implication" that He was the Leader of sedition is illogical and false. And
it is even less logical to infer from this that He did not herald an earthly kingdom.
I have been trying to see if I could possibly
entertain the idea of a spiritual kingdom when reading the opening chapters of Matthew,
keeping in mind the Hebrew Scriptures, which are the only true background for the
understanding of the Baptist's and our Lord's ministries. But I find that it simply will
not satisfy my mind. The Son of David and of Abraham, the throne and the
land, confront us in the first few lines. The genealogy seems needless in this account,
and should preface the heralding of a physical kingdom. The Magi thought He was to be king
of the Jews. Herod was disturbed unduly if only a spiritual kingdom was in view.
John the Baptist begins by quoting Isaiah, so that he must have deliberately deceived the
Jews, if, indeed, he was not himself deceived. Our Lord was shown the kingdoms of the
world by the Adversary. Then our Lord commences and heralds the kingdom of the heavens
predicted by Daniel (2:44), which is certainly no "spiritual" kingdom. If this
is the impression made on me, how much more on the Jews who heard him? And this is
decisive.
Of course it is true that the disciples in our
Lord's day, and even His apostles, were not able to understand much of what He said. But
after His resurrection, and after His remaining with them for forty days and His telling
them that which concerns the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3), when their hearts and minds
had been opened to understand the Scriptures, then the thought that is uppermost in
their mind is not that they are in a spiritual kingdom, but they asked Him, "Lord,
art Thou at this time restoring the kingdom to Israel?" And our Lord, instead of
telling them that this would occur not many days hence, when they received power from on
high, insisted that "It is not for you to know the times or the eras which the Father
placed in His own jurisdiction" (Acts 1:6,7). The kingdom had not come, it did not
come at Pentecost, nor at any other time in the book of Acts. It is to come to Israel
in the future according to the heralding of our Lord.
When the superficial, hypocritical Pharisees
wanted to know when the kingdom of God is coming, He turned their thoughts away from the
externals to the internal state of their own hearts. So long as the nation of Israel is
self-righteous and unrepentant and pretends to be just and humble, as these Pharisees,
there is no use asking when the kingdom will come, for it will destroy such with its
advent. To those who are internally corrupt it will not come at all, unless in devastating
judgment. The inference that it has no outward polity on this account is without the
shadow of a reason (Luke 17:20,21). The tribes of the land inwardly grieving over their
treatment of the Messiah indicates the time when the kingdom will come. This is the
aspect that the Pharisees needed to prepare them for it--not its external location.
According to this teaching there has been no
change in God's attitude toward the nations since our Lord's first advent. Israel has not
been cast aside. The branches have not been changed in the olive tree. Paul had no
particular mission. His "my evangel" is a myth. His secrets were all
known. The whole Greek Scriptures are one hash, what the English call a "resurrection
pie" because it contains all the left-overs of the week in one magnificent dish! In
fact, our Lord Himself must have been mistaken when He said, "I was not commissioned
except for the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt.15: 24). These would not be
satisfied with a spiritual kingdom, but demand the fulfillment of God's promises to
Abraham and to David in the Hebrew Scriptures.
I have often thought how easy it would be to
conquer the world if I only had the heavenly powers that will be the controlling
factors in the millennium. Give me authority over the clouds of the sky alone and I could
defy the armaments of any nation, yes, of all of them combined, land, sea, and air.
Without rain they would soon starve. With lightning they could suddenly be destroyed. Even
such lands as Egypt, which needs no rain, are dependent on it in other areas, and could
soon be brought to their knees by withholding moisture at the sources of the Nile. What a
different world even this would be if one man could control the elements!
And we know the One Who can do it! Moreover we
know that He will do it! To be sure He will rule with an iron club. This is a formidable
weapon. I once met an Arab on a lonely part of the road between Jerusalem and Bethany who
had a wooden club with iron spikes in its head, slung with a thong about his wrist, and I
was not at all comfortable until he had vanished. But this figure cannot depict material
armaments, for these will not be present in the next world. War will become a lost art.
But power will be there in plenty, in the hands of Him Who alone is worthy or welcome to
use it. Hail to Him, the heavenly Suzerain, the only Hope of peace and prosperity
which still remains to the world!
