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Overland Monthly / OV191 - The Reign of the Messiah
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OV191 THE REIGN OF THE MESSIAH
BY C. T. RUSSELL Pastor of Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is done in Heaven."—#Mt 6:10
MANILA, P.I.—Many of us have learned to
appreciate a republican form of government as the very highest type of
civil administration. I trust I am not one whit behind the most
patriotic of my countrymen in my appreciation of the great government
of the United States, which many of us believe is the noblest that has
yet risen amongst men. Nevertheless, the Bible teaches that MessiahÂ’s
reign will be that of a Monarchy; not only so, it will be a very
exclusive and aristocratic Monarchy. Additionally, it will be most
autocratic—theocratic; the will of its subjects will not be consulted
in the slightest particular.
The Fifth Universal Empire.
At first, in alarm, many are ready to
say, Would not that be a most dangerous condition of things? Could any
royal family, however noble and generous, be entrusted with such
autocratic power without fear of its being misused for the enslavement
of the people, for the aggrandizement of the rulers? Have we not
learned this in the history of the past six thousand years? Do we not
see the necessity for curtailing and controlling the powers of kings
and governors? Are we not more and more brought to realize the
necessity that the people shall rule, whether in Congress or in
Parliament, in Doumas or in Chambers of Deputies?
Yes, yes, I heartily accede to all this;
but when I shall describe the nature of the Kingdom that is to be
established, and its personnel, all fears will assuredly flee, and all
will rejoice exceedingly that the Divine arrangement is what it is in
respect to the theocratic Kingdom shortly to be established and to take
over the government of the world. Scripturally, it is described as the
Fifth Universal Empire on earth. I remind you of the Divinely inspired
dream of King Nebuchadnezzar as interpreted by the Prophet Daniel. It
was of an image, majestic, grand. The head of the image was
NebuchadnezzarÂ’s own kingdom at Babylon, the first to rule over the
earth.
Next, represented in the breast and the
arms of silver, came Medo-Persia, the second Universal Empire of earth,
the conqueror of Babylon. Next, represented in the belly and thighs of
the image, came Grecia, the third Universal Empire of earth, which
conquered Medo-Persia. Next, represented in the legs of iron, came
Rome, the Fourth Universal Empire, conqueror of Greece. There are to be
no more till MessiahÂ’s Kingdom: It will be the Fifth. Meantime, we have
had two attempts at a fifth monarchy, both unsuccessful. One of these
attempts was by Napoleon I, the other was that of the Papacy. During
this time the present divisions, which resulted from the breaking up of
the Roman Empire, are represented by the feet of the image, with their
ten toes.
Smiting the ImageÂ’s Feet.
The prophecy declares (#Da 2:44)
that in the days of these kings, represented by the toes of the image,
the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom, which shall subdue all
kingdoms and which shall never be overcome. It shall "be given to the
people, the saints, of the Most High God, and they shall take the
Kingdom and possess it forever, even forever and ever." (#Da 7:18,27.)
In the picture, GodÂ’s Kingdom is symbolically represented as a great
Stone, hewn from the mountain without hands—supernaturally. It shall
smite the image in its feet; and forthwith "the iron, the brass, the
silver and the gold" shall become "like the chaff of a summer threshing
floor," and the wind shall carry it away; but the
OV192 mountain shall increase until it
shall "fill the whole earth." Thus, in a figure, or symbol, God
pictures things now shortly to come to pass. I know not how much to
expect from the war between Italy and Turkey, but Rome and
Constantinople stand for, represent, the two legs of the image, for be
it remembered that each in turn was the Roman capital. We are certainly
justified in watching with considerable interest the present war and
what it may be leading to in the way of involving all the ten kingdoms
represented in this prophecy. But that is not the special point of
interest in my subject; rather, I am discussing the character of
MessiahÂ’s Kingdom, which is to rule the world, overthrow sin and death,
and uplift humanity from ignorance, superstition, sin, weakness and
death. The declaration is that Messiah shall reign until He shall have
put down all insubordination, and that the last enemy to be destroyed
will be death. —#1Co 15:25,26.
This is the Kingdom for which the Master
Himself taught His followers to pray. Nothing slight or insignificant
will be the outcome of that glorious, Messianic reign of a thousand
years. At its very beginning Satan will be bound, with all that this
signifies—the repression of evil and darkness. For a thousand years the
Sun of Righteousness shall pour forth the light of truth and grace upon
our poor, fallen race, until the knowledge of GodÂ’s glory shall fill
the whole earth, as the waters cover the great deep. (#Hab 2:14  .)
Eventually, all wilful opponents of that
Kingdom shall die the Second Death, from which there will be no
redemption, no recovery. But, meantime, all the willing and obedient
will be rising, not only from the tomb, but also out of all the
weaknesses and frailties of the present time, up, up, up to the fulness
of perfection of life, although they will not live again in this
perfect sense until the thousand years shall be finished. With the
close of that reign of righteousness, after it shall have accomplished
its work of delivering the groaning creation from the bondage of
corruption, sin and death, Messiah will abdicate the Throne, as it is
written, "He shall deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the
Father"..."that God may be all in all."—#1Co 15:24,28.
No More Sighing, Crying, Dying.
What a glorious triumph that will be,
when "every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth shall be
heard saying, ‘Praise, glory, honor, dominion and might be unto Him
that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb, forever.Â’"(# Re 5:13.)
What a glorious condition will then obtain, when there shall be no more
crying, no more sighing, no more dying, for all the former things of
sin and death shall have passed away! Ah! He that sitteth upon the
Throne said, "Behold, I make all things new!" Glad we are that our
great Messiah is about to overthrow sin and evil, about to establish
righteousness on a permanent and everlasting foundation, which will
insure that to all eternity GodÂ’s will shall be done as perfectly on
this earth as it is now done in Heaven! I ask you to consider
candidly—Is there a kingdom in the world to-day that in your judgment
fitly represents a Divine government amongst men? Is there a perfect
government? Is there a single spot in all the earth where GodÂ’s will is
done as it is done in Heaven? You are conversant with history. You know
the bloody record which marks its pages. You know that so-called
Christian Europe has been drenched with blood more than any other part
of the world. You know that the cause of wrong has triumphed as often
or oftener than the cause of right. You know that to-day these kingdoms
of Europe, styled kingdoms of God, are threatening one another as they
have done in the past. You know that great guns, great battleships,
monster torpedoes, such as the world has never known before, are being
prepared by these various
OV193 nations for use, either
aggressively or defensively, against one another, while they all claim
to be ChristÂ’s kingdoms. Is this logical? Is this rational? Most
assuredly not! We must go to the Bible for true information on this
subject. It tells us that these kingdoms are not the kingdoms of God,
but "kingdoms of this world." It tells us that Satan is the Prince of
this world (#Joh 14:30; #Eph 2:2 );
that he is "the god of this world; that now "worketh in the hearts of
the children of disobedience" —so much more numerous than the children
of obedience, that he, through them, holds the worldÂ’s control. But
with equal clearness the Bible declares the Divine Power and mastery
over Satan, and that he and his reign of sin and death are permitted of
God for a limited time and for a special purpose. The testimony tells
us that when the due time shall come, Messiah will take His great power
and reign.
Then Satan shall be bound, and all the forces of sin and darkness be restrained.
Then the Sun of Righteousness will arise
with healing in its beams, to flood the earth with the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God.
The Election Hath Obtained It.
Come with me and take a cursory view of
GodÂ’s great work thus far accomplished. For more than two thousand
years God gave no clear intimation of what He intended to do for the
fallen race. Then He made a statement to Abraham, so clear, so
explicit, that St. Paul declares it was a statement of the Gospel in
advance. God said to Abraham, I intend to bless the world—which could
only mean, I intend to relieve them of the curse of death which came
upon them through AdamÂ’s sin. God added to Abraham, This blessing which
I will bring to all the families of the earth will come through your
posterity—"In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth
be blessed."—#Ge 12:3, 26:4.
GodÂ’s due time for bringing this blessing
was still future; the blessing intended could not come until Messiah
should come; but meantime God gave to the natural seed of Abraham,
through Moses, the Law Covenant, which offered them eternal life and an
inheritance in the Kingdom if they could keep the Law. Of course, they
could not keep the Law, because it was the measure of a perfect manÂ’s
ability, and alas! like the remainder of the world, the Israelites were
imperfect—sinners.
Nevertheless, the offer, and their
attempt to keep the Law, brought them great uplift of heart, so that
when Jesus came to them, a considerable number were ready to receive
Him, did receive Him, and He received them. They became sons of God,
through the begetting of the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost and afterwards.
These were the Spiritual Seed of Abraham, begotten of the Holy Spirit,
Jesus Himself being the Head, or First; the others were counted in as
members of His Body. Israel had been hoping for a share in MessiahÂ’s
Kingdom, and St. Paul explains, "Israel hath not obtained that which he
seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were
blinded." The blinded Israelites are still cast aside, but not forever.
The Divine blessing shall come to natural Israel just as soon as
spiritual Israel shall be completed.—#Ro 11:25-34.
The Kingdom Suffereth Violence.
What did the "election" obtain? Of what
did the faithful "Israelites indeed" become heirs by accepting Jesus
and by the Pentecostal blessing? We answer that they became identified
with MessiahÂ’s Kingdom, and heirs or inheritors of the glorious promise
made to Abraham, that in this Kingdom all the families of the earth
should be blessed. But now note that there were not a sufficient number
of Jews found worthy to complete the Kingdom class. The Kingdom,
therefore,
OV194 could not be inaugurated then. God
had foreseen this, and through the Prophet had promised that some would
be gathered from the Gentiles to complete this Kingdom class. The
entire work of this Gospel Age has been the calling of this "elect"
class for the Kingdom. If we have rightly viewed the matter, the
foreordained number will soon have been found, the election will be at
an end, the accepted will be glorified as the Kingdom, and MessiahÂ’s
reign of righteousness will begin. But notice now the course of all
belonging to the Kingdom class, throughout this Age.
They are not reigning with Christ, but
suffering with Christ. And Jesus explained this; they are indeed of the
Royal Family, because begotten of the Holy Spirit; they are indeed the
Kingdom class, because they are affiliated with the great King; but
they have not yet entered into their glory. They will do so only by the
power of the First Resurrection. Thus it is written: "We must all be
changed," because "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God."
Our Lord Himself was the Pattern, the Forerunner of all these. After
His consecration and His begetting of the Holy Spirit, He was tested
even unto death, even the death of the Cross, before He experienced His
glorious resurrection change and ascended up and sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty on High. Similarly, all of His followers, after
consecration, must be tested, their loyalty must be proven, before they
can share with Him in "His Resurrection." Partly for the testing of
these, their development takes place in a time when Satan is the Prince
of this world, and when his power is permitted to be exercised against
them as it was exercised against their Lord. The message to these is:
"The Kingdom suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." As
our Lord suffered violence from the Prince of this world, so will His
followers, for "The disciple is not above his Lord." His promise to His
followers is, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a
crown of life."—#Re 2:10.
The World Knoweth Us Not.
So, then, we perceive that GodÂ’s Kingdom
class, the followers of Jesus, have been suffering violence, just as
did their Leader, for righteousnessÂ’ sake. That the persecutors had not
known and done their evil work intentionally, St. Peter intimates when
he says to the Jews: "I wot that in ignorance ye did it, as did also
your rulers, for if they had known they would not have crucified the
Prince of Life." Hence, in due time their blindness shall be turned
away, and "they shall look upon Him Whom they pierced and mourn" (#Zec 12:10),
and God "will pour upon them the spirit of prayer and supplication,"
and forgive them and make the experience profitable to as many as shall
prove willing. Meantime, for eighteen centuries, the Scriptures
declare, "The world knoweth us not, even as it knew Him not." GodÂ’s
saintly ones have not been generally the great, the influential, either
in Church or State, just as Jesus and the Apostles were not in their
day. Nevertheless, the Lord knoweth them that are His. Scattered here
and there, during the past eighteen centuries, He has been dealing with
them, preparing them, polishing them, fitting them as jewels. And He
tells us that at our LordÂ’s second coming He will make up His
jewels—they will constitute the Kingdom class, for "If we suffer with
Him, we shall also reign with Him." I am sure you will agree with me
that those whom the Lord has been so carefully selecting, instructing
and polishing in the School of Christ, who have been so effectively
polished with the trials and disciplines of evil, will be the very
class above all others to whom the glorious dominion of earth may well
be entrusted without fear. Only those thoroughly loyal to God and to
principle will be in that Kingdom class.
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