In an inspired prophecy of Christ’s kingdom given us by the Apostle Paul he declares that Christ must reign until all enemies are put under his feet and that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. (I Cor. 15:24-26) This indicates that one purpose of the reign of Christ is for the destruction of enemies—enemies of God, of man, and of righteousness. While death will be the last of these enemies to be eradicated by the rulership of Christ, other enemies will be destroyed prior to that time, and among the first of these are the selfish and sinful institutions of earth which stand in the way of Christ’s rulership of justice and righteousness. The destruction of these implies temporary trouble and distress to the people who have been held in bondage by them. It is this that is described by the Prophet Daniel as “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” — Dan.12:1

In the prophecy of the Second Psalm, Jesus is referred to as the great king of earth whom God has appointed to rule. It was prophesied that before he began his reign in power and glory the nations of the world would be experiencing a time of “tribulation” such as was not “since the beginning of the world to this time.” (Matt. 24:21) In connection with this foretold catastrophic overthrow of an order of things, this generation has already witnessed the destruction of many of the hereditary ruling houses of Europe, and the chaos in world affairs which has followed. In Jesus’ own prophecy of these events he declared that all the tribes of the earth would mourn because of his presence, and we see the beginning of this mourning today in all the countries of the world.

But we can thank God that this distress is only temporary. The return of Christ was designed to bring peace and joy and life to a dying world—and this will be the ultimate result. But to accomplish this, a new rulership must be established, and this calls for the overthrow of that rulership in which Satan has been the unseen and, in most instances, the unrecognized prince.

If you have ever wondered why the statesmen of the world, enjoying all the advantages of twentieth-century culture and education, have not been able to snap the world out of its tailspin toward destruction, the answer is found in the prophecies of the Bible. The answer is that a divine influence has intervened in the affairs of men in preparation for the establishment of a new order—an influence that is gradually being exerted through the invisible presence of the divine Christ.

But the overthrow of the institutions of sin and selfishness — those institutions which have fostered oppression and war—is only the beginning of the work of the divine Christ. It is like the surgeon’s knife used to save the life of a dying patient. For approximately six thousand years the human race has been dying. Man himself has not been able to find a remedy for the poisonous sting of sin which is inflicting death upon all. Now Christ, the Great Physician, has come to change all this, and the first necessary move is to place mankind, the patient, in a new environment, and under just and righteous laws. It is the preparation for this that is causing the breakdown of human authority everywhere throughout the world.