Over the past few years a new and significant dynamic has emerged in the world in the form of the Russia/China alliance. Other nations are orienting themselves to the newly emerging power, including Iran, Turkey, Japan, the Philippines and many nations of Asia.
Up until last year America acted as the world’s sole hegemon, that is until Russia intervened militarily in Syria to prevent the illegal overthrow of President Assad. And as 2016 came to a close, America’s army of Islamic terrorists have been defeated in Aleppo. If anything marks an historical turning point it is this development. Putin’s successful intervention in Syria is the reason for the anti-Russian hysteria flooding the mainstream media in America.
With the emergence of Russia and China and the One Belt-one Road initiative sweeping Asia and Africa, and the decrepit economies of Europe and America facing collapse, Anglo-American ambitions of global dominance have been confronted with their most serious challenge since the Second World War. So far the response of London and Washington has been to ramp up the propaganda war and prepare for nuclear war.
Of course, empires and nations come and go. That process has been going on as long as there have been nations. And no doubt most people assume that history will continue to unfold in the same way going forward. But there is a non-human factor to consider.
From a biblical perspective the nations of this world are a temporary arrangement. Just as God lovingly provided Adam and Eve with animal skin clothes as they faced the harsh world outside of Eden after their expulsion from paradise, God has allowed and even supported various governments over the centuries in order that these might provide some temporary benefit. As inadequate as modern civilization may be, the alternatives —tribalism and anarchy —are not preferable alternatives.
The apostle Paul revealed the extent of God’s involvement in human affairs when he wrote to Christians living in Rome, then the capitol of the empire, saying: “Let every person be in subjection to the superior authorities, for there is no authority except by God; the existing authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God. Therefore, whoever opposes the authority has taken a stand against the arrangement of God…”
To put things in perspective, although the Roman authorities persecuted Christians —even putting Christ to death —the empire also facilitated the rapid spread of Christianity in various ways. A recent Watchtower article highlighted ways in which Pax Romana may have benefited Christ’s ministers in the first century.
There is a caveat, however. The “existing authorities” are a temporary “arrangement of God.” At a certain point —no one knows the day or hour —the various governments of this world will no longer function as the “superior authorities.” The reason being, the coming of Christ will result in a change “in their relative positions” toward the incoming King of kings.
The second Psalm expresses the epic changing of the guard this way: “Why are the nations agitated and the peoples muttering an empty thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and high officials gather together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one. They say: “Let us tear off their shackles and throw off their ropes!” The One enthroned in the heavens will laugh; Jehovah will scoff at them. At that time he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his burning anger, saying: “I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.””
Christ Jesus also spoke of a time during the conclusion when the nations will be agitated and terrified by his very presence. Jesus foretold: “Also, there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation. People will become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
Although the kings of the earth have supposedly already gathered as one against Christ as foretold in the prophetic Psalm, even the Watchtower in all of its 1914 hullabaloo does not claim that the nations are in anguish due to the roaring of the symbolic sea of humanity. Yet, the Psalm and the prophecy of Christ obviously speak to the same situation.
Since the nations do not acknowledge Jehovah they will not accept the Kingdom of Christ as having any authority over them. Instead of relinquishing their power to him the ruling elites will presume to perpetuate their human scheme after the point when Christ is installed upon God’s throne in heaven —making them presumptuous rebels and usurpers before God. Their gathering as one will undoubtedly take place when the eighth king is empowered; when the symbolic ten kings give their power and authority to the beast for the symbolic one hour, after the beast emerges from the abyss it is about to be plunged into.
This will, in fact, be the basis for judgment. Those who support the human scheme after Christ has come will be marked with a symbolic 666 —“a man’s number” —indicating that they are opposed to Christ’s Kingdom. And that is why those who receive the mark are doomed to everlasting death, since they will demonstrate that they refuse to accept the rule of Christ.
What does any of this have to do with the changing political scene today?
Excluding the eighth king’s short-lived reign, according to Bible prophecy there is only one successor to the Roman Empire, which is without a doubt the present Anglo-American dyad. We should not, therefore, expect Russia or China to eclipse London and America as the world’s dominant power.
But given Russia’s military parity with the USA and China’s commitment to science and global economic development, unless something radically changes China is certain to become the most powerful nation on earth, and America is doomed to become a third world nation, albeit with a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons. Obviously, something has to give. And Bible prophecy indicates what is to occur.
Strangely, at this most critical time in history the Watchtower has, for the most part, gone silent on prophecy. No doubt the reason the self-proclaimed watchman class has nothing to say is because of their assumption that it has already all been said. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consider the book of Daniel as a case in point.
The seventh chapter of Daniel depicts a bizarre 10 horned wild beast that succeeds the Grecian Empire. But an 11th horn emerges later and plucks out three of the ten horns. According to the Watchtower this phenomenon occurred gradually over the course of several centuries —beginning when the Spanish Armada was defeated by the British in 1588. The Watchtower is skimpy on the details of how the loss of a few wooden warships brought down the Spanish kingdom or how the Dutch of French kingdoms may have been overthrown in the 1800’s.
The 8th chapter of Daniel portrays a fierce-looking king that comes on the scene to challenge Christ. He will bring to ruin the mighty ones of the world along with the holy ones. But after 2,300 mornings and evenings God’s sanctuary is restored. According to the Watchtower the Anglo-American dual world power brought the mighty to ruin during World War Two and crushed Jehovah’s Witnesses. But then in 1944 God set everything straight. This is an excerpt taken from the December 1, 1971 Watchtower:
After the Society’s directors and its officers were elected by the shareholders there represented, consideration was directed to six amendments that were proposed for the Charter of the Society, which was a Pennsylvania corporation incorporated sixty years earlier, in the year 1884. These would amend Articles 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10. The first amendment resolution that was adopted proposed the enlarging of the purposes of the Society so as to assume properly the great worldwide work that lay ahead. Also, this amendment put God’s name, Jehovah, into the Charter. Amendment Three did away with the original charter’s provision that fixed one’s membership in the Society on the basis of one’s money contributions to the Society; henceforth the membership was to be limited to not more than 500, all of whom were to be chosen on the basis of their active service to Jehovah. As the Watchtower issue of November 1, 1944, said in its report: “This amendment will have the effect of bringing the charter as near to Theocratic arrangement as the law of the land permits.” All six amendment resolutions were adopted.
It was necessary to get the approval of the State court so as to make all these amendments legal. The following year (1945) the Amendments were duly recorded and thus became part of the Charter. With such an amended Charter the Watch Tower Society has served as a legal instrument of the anointed remnant worshiping Jehovah at his “sanctuary” or “holy place,” ever since.
Nicely timed, though the anointed remnant was then not aware of it, came the publication of the leading article entitled “Organized for Final Work” in the October 15, 1944, issue of The Watchtower. Right on its heels, in the November 1 issue came the leading article announcing “Theocratic Organization in Action.” Under appropriate subheadings this article discussed “President,” “Diakonos, Servant,” “Qualifications,” “Governing Body,” and “Theocratic Conduct.” The term “president” here did not refer to the president of the Watch Tower Society, but paragraph 12 said: “The elders in the congregations, who were also spiritual overseers thereof, presided at meetings of the disciples. Any elder thus acting as chairman of a meeting would be the president of the gathering on that occasion.” Under the subheading “Governing Body” paragraphs 33, 34 said: “In the first century it was the group of the apostles in particular, together with the body of elders that they associated with them at Jerusalem, that made up the visible ruling body of Jehovah’s Theocratic organization on earth. . . . That governing body was not made up of perfect men.”
In the article that followed the above, in the same issue of The Watchtower, namely, “The Theocratic Alignment Today,” paragraph 3 said: “The visible governing body of the Theocratic organization is and must be appointed only by Jehovah God the Supreme Ruler, and Christ Jesus the Head of His church. Its purpose is to issue directions and spiritual provisions to all God’s people. Acting in harmony with the governing body, all the Theocratic organization and its associates act in unity throughout the earth.”
What, then, does all that combination of significant events at the critical time indicate? Apparently this: that Jehovah’s “sanctuary” or “holy place” was “brought into its right condition” on time, at the end of the 2,300 evenings and mornings, in early autumn (October 8-22) of the year 1944.
No doubt very few of Jehovah’s Witnesses are aware that the Watchtower ever published such nonsensical drivel as above. That’s probably a good thing. Amazingly, though, it is still the Watchtower’s official teaching.
The Watchtower’s interpretation of the prophecy of the kings of the north and south is similarly riddled with absurdities; for example, the Watchtower supposes that the USSR ruled over the hidden treasures of the USA by forcing America to spend an inordinate amount of money on defense, when in reality the opposite is true —the USA forced the Soviet Union into economic ruin during the so-called arms race. Also, the most blatant disregard for the scriptures is on display in the Watchtower’s insistence that the king of the north does not subjugate the king of the south, that both are on hand when Michael stands up. Clearly, though, that is not the case.
The Watchtower has effectively painted itself into a corner. And there is no way it can extract itself without repudiating virtually everything it has written in interpretation of prophecy.
Needless to say, though, God is not bound by the Watchtower’s version of reality. The hard truth that Jehovah’s Witnesses will soon be confronted with is that Christ did not begin ruling the world in 1914, nor did the time of the end commence then. The aforementioned prophecies of Daniel are yet to be fulfilled, commensurate with the Son of man coming in his Kingdom.
As it stands presently, there is no way Anglo hegemony can continue. Given the beastly nature of empires, simply acquiescing to the rising power of Russia and China is not likely. The only way forward is conflict on a global scale heretofore never experienced in all of history.
