A Gift For Peace
'Let Us Beat Swords Into
Plowshares',
is the name of the bronze statue by the
Russian sculptor Evegeny
Vuchetich -
unveiled in
At
the time, the United Nations Office of
Public Information commented:-
The
statue is in bronze and
represents the figure of a man holding a hammer in one hand
and, in the
other, a sword which he is making into a plowshare,
symbolizing man's desire to put an end to war and convert the means of
destruction into creative tools for the benefit of all mankind.
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On two
occasions, using words similar to those describing Vuchetich's statue, the Prophets
and Apostles
foretold of an 'age'
(yet to come) in which
there will be lasting peace, justice and prosperity upon this
Earth:-
1.
This is what Isaiah,
son of Amos saw concerning
And in Micah also we
read: He [the
Lord] will
judge between many peoples and will settle many disputes
for strong nations far and wide. THEY
WILL beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears
into pruning
hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they
train for
war anymore. Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own
fig tree,
and no-one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has
spoken. (Micah
4:3, 4)
This future millennial
reign of our Lord Jesus
Christ upon this
Earth, is also described throughout the New Testament in a
number of various ways: and its affect upon the 'creation'
has been foretold by the Apostle Paul:-
"I consider that our present
sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be
revealed in us" -
[i.e.
the "us," in this
context, refers only to those who share in
Christ's sufferings, (verse
17)]
- "The
creation waits
in eager expectation for
the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation
was subjected to
frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who
subjected
it, in hope that the creation itself will be
liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children
of God.
We know that the whole creation has
been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present
time.* Not only so,
but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of
the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for
our adoption as sons,
the redemption of our bodies." (Romans
8:18-23). See Govett's
exposition of
these verses in-
The Groaning Creation Delivered.
[* When sin
and disobedience
occurred in the Garden, the curse fell upon creation also, (Gen. 3: 14, 17, 18).]
But do not forget this
one thing dear friends: With the Lord a
day is like a thousand years,
and a thousand years are like a day (2.Pet.
3: 8).
But there can
be no 'golden age'
without the bodily presence of its rightful King:
and today, like
it was during David's time, multitudes of the Lord's
people, -
"Say nothing
about bringing the
King back" (2 Samuel 19:10):
and because our Lord Jesus Christ has not yet established His
Millennial
Kingdom, regenerate believers have come to regard that
Kingdom as
nothing more than a rule of Christ in their hearts.
During
Davids time, King Saul was rejected by God because
of his disobedience, and David was chosen and anointed king over
What was true
in the
type is also true in the antitype.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was anointed King at the
time of His baptism (Luke 3:
22; John 1: 32-34),
and later proved himself fully qualified to rule (at God's appointed
time) when
tested by Satan in the desert. But,
as
yet, He is presently absent,
and only King of Right;
He is not here present, and King in Fact. Satan is still this worlds
ruler under God -
although, like Saul, he has been rejected by God because of
disobedience. Satan
continues to hold possession of his
kingdom, while Jesus faithful
followers are being
rejected by the majority of the Lord's people. Only after Satan is cut
off (at
the time of the return of the God's Messiah-King) - will Jesus' reign
of
righteousness and peace upon this earth commence.
The character
of Christ's
God's
promises, which were made to our Lord Jesus Christ
concerning HIS
A. L. Chitwod explains the
situation perfectly
as follows:-
A principle of Divine government
set forth in the type of Saul and David shows the necessity of an
incumbent
ruler, although rejected, continuing to reign until replaced by his
successor. The government of the earth is a rule under God
through delegated
powers and authorities. In this respect, Satan rules directly
under God,
and a great host of subordinate angels directly under Satan.
Even though
Satan and his followers have been rejected, they must
continue in
power (as Saul and those ruling with him) until replaced by Christ and
His
followers (as David and his followers taking the kingdom).
God will not,
at any time, allow conditions to exist upon the earth wherein there is
no divinely
administered government through delegated powers and
authorities. Even
though the government of the earth is today in disarray because of
Satan's
rebellion, it is still under God's sovereign control (Dan. 4: 17-34).
The
present age is the time during which the
antitype of David's faithful followers being gathered unto him
occurs. As
during David's time, so during the present time - there
must be a period,
preceding the King coming into power, during which the rulers are
called out.
David's men were the ones who occupied positions of power and authority
with
him after he took Saul's crown. Thus will it be when Christ
takes Satan's
crown. Those who are being called out during the present time
are the
ones who will occupy positions of power and authority with him during
the
coming day.
Satan
will be allowed to continue his reign
until God's purpose for this present age has been
accomplished. Then, he
and those ruling with him will be put down, and an entirely new order
of rulers
will take the kingdom. Christ will enter into the position
previously
occupied by Satan, and Christians will enter into positions previously
occupied
by angels ruling under Satan. Since Christ (replacing Satan)
will wear
the crown presently worn by Satan, it only naturally follows that
Christians
(replacing subordinate powers and authorities) will apparently wear
crowns
presently worn by angels ruling under Satan. All of these are
crowns
which neither Christ nor Christians can come into possession of until
Satan
and his angels have been put down at the end of the Tribulation...
"Crowns are mentioned a
number of places in the Book of Revelation, and the entire matter is with a view
to ultimately
positioning crowned rulers on the throne during the coming
age. In chapters
two and three, overcoming
Christians have been promised crowns; in chapter
four, with the
same end in view, the
twenty-four elders cast crowns before God's throne; and in chapter nineteen, with
the same end still in view, Christ returns with many crowns upon His
head. And the crowns which Christ will have on His head at
this time, if
any identity is to be made, can only be the crowns previously worn by
the
twenty-four elders.
The
crowns upon Christ's head at the time of
His return (19:
12),
contextually, point to His announced position as "King
of kings, and Lord
of lords"
(19:
16).
All
power had previously been given unto Him (Matt.
28: 18);
and, assuming His
kingly position, He will exercise a heretofore withheld segment of this
power. At this time He will not only be in possession of many
crowns but
He will also take possession of all remaining crowns (those worn by
Satan and
his angels). Then, all these crowns - having to do with
rulership over
the earth - will be dispensed to those who are to rule and reign in the
coming
age. Christ will retain the crown taken from Satan; and
Christians, who
had previously been shown qualified at the judgment seat, will come
into
possession of crowns formerly possessed by angels."
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