“God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”
—Revelation 21:4,5
If it were possible to imagine our earth, or any of the other planets in the boundless expanse of the universe, disobeying the divine law that governs the heavenly bodies, we know that such anarchy would result in the utter destruction of that planet. The reason that scientists are able to foretell the exact second of a solar eclipse years in advance is because they know that the orbs of space are all subject to certain definite laws which can be depended upon to produce uniformly accurate results.
Is it not reasonable to suppose, then, that man, the highest of God’s earthly creatures, and the only one who has a conscience more or less attuned to the principles of right and wrong, is also subject to divine law? It is even so, and it was man’s disobedience to God’s law that plunged him into a quagmire of sorrow, suffering, and death. And it will be only through obedience to divine law that mankind will be able to return to God, and to the blessings of life and happiness that were forfeited because of sin.
But let no one suppose that any present attempt to obey God’s law will result in the return of God’s favor. No, God’s law was violated by the perfect Adam—who had both the knowledge and ability to do better—which resulted in his being sentenced to death. Adam’s posterity, therefore, have been the children of a condemned and dying man, so all have been born imperfect and under condemnation of death. Thus man, in his enfeebled, dying state, is unable to keep God’s law inviolate, hence is hopelessly lost so far as providing salvation for himself is concerned.
The Scriptures say that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) From this it is seen that in Jesus alone is centered all hope of salvation. He paid the penalty of death by his own death on Calvary’s cross. It was for this very purpose that Jesus was made flesh. It was a man (Adam) who had sinned, and it therefore was necessary that another man—a perfect and uncondemned man—become the Redeemer. This Jesus did. But while God, in his love, sent Jesus to die for the race, thus providing a way of escape from death, a mere mental assent to this vital truth will not bring salvation, either now or later when the kingdom is established. What does God require?
God expressed his Law to Israel in what is known as the Ten Commandments. These constitute the basis of most civilized laws today. Jesus summed up these commandments in two major requirements—supreme love for the Creator, and an equal love for our neighbor as we have for ourselves. This latter requirement is comprehended in what is commonly known as the Golden Rule. These two major commandments constitute the foundation of all true righteousness, and no one, either now or in the age to come, can be in harmony with the true God while ignoring this law or refusing to be governed by it.
Selfishness, up till now, has always been preeminent. From the material and outward appearance, selfishness has been profitable and necessary. It has too often seemed true that those who did not remain on the bandwagon of self-interest have been hopelessly left behind in their pursuit of happiness. “Now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up,” declares the prophet of the Lord.—Mal. 3:15
LOVE TO REPLACE SELFISHNESS
During the past six thousand years, Satan has been the great taskmaster of the human race, and he has governed by the evil principle of selfishness. With the establishment of the new kingdom, the whole order of things will be reversed. Then Jesus will be the ruler, and love, instead of selfishness, will be taught and encouraged and rewarded.
Then will come the actual fulfillment of that wonderful angelic prophecy, “On earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) This change from selfishness to love will not come suddenly. The prophet suggests the gradual method by which the world will be instructed in the law of love when he says, “when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”—Isa. 26:9
The judgment work mentioned by Isaiah will be coincident with the dispensing of kingdom blessings. But it will be nothing like the traditional judgment day that has been used to frighten so many people into joining a denominational church organization. So thorough will be the kingdom system of instruction in righteousness that the prophet tells us God’s Law will be written even in the hearts of the people.—Jer. 31:33
THE BLESSINGS AROUND THE CORNER
No one needs to wait, however, until the kingdom is actually established in order to begin learning and putting into practice the law of God. What should hinder any of us, even now, from making a sincere effort actually to love our neighbors as ourselves? There are so many ways of doing good to others—ways that are within reach of all of us. It doesn’t cost money to give a smile, a word of cheer, or otherwise to share with others the joy that should be in our own hearts. To the extent that we know of the love of God as it is revealed in his Word we should be glad to tell others about it. There is no better way to com- fort distressed hearts than to tell them the glad message concerning the Messianic kingdom soon to be established.
Today, the comparatively few of earth’s billions who may not for the moment be afflicted with one or another of the countless maladies with which fallen man is tormented are living in almost constant fear of the time when they will be among the sufferers. Because of the dread specters of poverty, disease, war, and nuclear weapons which are ever in the offing in this selfish, sin-sick world, men’s hearts are continuously filled with fear, and this mars the slight happiness that might otherwise be enjoyed temporarily by a few. But in the new world, when the rule of Christ’s kingdom is in full operation, even the fear of evil will be removed. The promise is that nothing will be permitted to hurt nor destroy in all that holy kingdom. (Isa. 11:9) Ah, yes, how wonderfully true it will be then that the weeping bereaved ones will have their tears, as well as the causes of their tears, all wiped away, when thus they realize the kingdom work complete.—Isa. 25:8
What a glorious privilege, then, is now ours; of telling the whole world these blessed tidings, as we have, and can make, opportunities! When we note the fearfulness of our friends and neighbors as they look after those things which are coming upon the earth, let us be quick to heed the instructions of the Lord bidding us to “say to them of a fearful heart: Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.”—Isa. 35:4
There is nothing better we can do at the present time to show our appreciation to God for the hope of the kingdom which he has given us through his Word than thus to make it known to others. We cannot stop the mad rush of a selfish world toward the precipice of sure destruction; but we can tell as many as will listen that God is soon to establish a new world, once in human selfishness has completely destroyed this “present evil world.” (Gal. 1:4) Thus we can be ambassadors of the new kingdom and, from the vantage point of faith in the sure fulfillment of the promises of God, can take our place beside those described by the prophet, who are saying unto Zion, “Thy God reigneth!”—Isa. 52:7; 61:1-3