INCREASE YOUR BIBLE IQ: World Government in Our Time?
Plain Truth Magazine
July-August 1983
Volume: Vol 48, No.7
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INCREASE YOUR BIBLE IQ: World Government in Our Time?

   Five years after the close of World War II, Winston Churchill declared in a speech in Copenhagen, "Unless some effective world supergovernment can be brought quickly into action, the proposals for peace and human progress are dark and doubtful."
   In the early 1960s, noted nuclear physicist Edward Teller, who helped develop the hydrogen bomb, warned, "We must work for the establishment of a world authority sustained by moral and physical force — a world government capable of enforcing worldwide law."
   Many voices have been raised calling for a world government to be established. Numerous scientists and world leaders know that world peace is possible only if all the nations are brought together in a supreme world government!

Is World Government Possible?

   Yet, declared A.F.K. Organski in the book World Politics, "World government is still a long way off....The creation of a world government through the voluntary agreement of existing nations is so unlikely that we can say flatly that it will never happen" (emphasis ours throughout this study).
   And Hans J. Morgenthau, In his book Politics Among Nations, asserted, "There is no shirking the conclusion that international peace cannot be permanent without a world state, and that a world state cannot be established under the present moral, social and political conditions of the world."
   What a paradox! Leaders admit the most urgent need today is world government. Yet they admit that such a government is a near total impossibility under present world conditions!
   What about it? Is world government impossible — an idle pipe dream of unrealistic optimists?
   If our only hope lies in the efforts of men, then a world government is NOT possible, and there is no hope for the survival of the human race!

How World Government Will Come

   People today generally fail to recognize there is a power other than their own that can bring about a universal government on earth.
   That great power is GOD ALMIGHTY! He has the power and the wisdom to make world government a reality!
   This is the message God sent Jesus Christ to proclaim to the world. It is the gospel — the good news that Christ will return with the power of God to set up the government of God on earth!
   Few today understand that God has allotted mankind 6,000 years in which to rule himself. During this time, God has kept hands off the affairs of men. He has allowed man to pursue the ways that seem right to him, which have resulted in suffering and death (Prov. 16:25). God has given man the opportunity to prove, by experience, the basic inadequacies of any form of human government — be it communism, fascism, socialism or democracy.
   God is allowing mankind to prove to itself that no human form of government can bring or enforce world peace!
   Your Bible reveals that a time of spiritual and physical rejuvenation — 1,000 years of boundless peace and prosperity — is coming in our time! Let's take a glimpse at what the government of that wonderful world tomorrow will be like and how it will enforce peace.
   1. How will Jesus Christ, the returning "King of kings," deal with the warring nations of this world? Rev. 19:11-16.
   COMMENT: As we discovered in previous studies, Jesus Christ will return to this earth at the climax of catastrophic world troubles. He is coming to rescue mankind from nuclear annihilation! (Matt. 24:22.)
   At his return, Christ will have to subdue warmakers and force mankind, at first, to submit to his rule! He will use a "rod of iron," symbolizing absolute authority. He will rule with power, not hesitating to use it when necessary! Men, influenced by their old habits and selfish attitudes developed under this world's system of misguided education, must be ruled rigidly until they learn the positive fruits of living God's way.
   2. Where will the headquarters of this divine government be set up? Jer. 3:17.
   COMMENT: Christ will rule the nations from Jerusalem, the future world capital of the kingdom of God. Once established, his rule will spread over the entire earth.
   3. Who will assist Christ in administering God's government after his return? Dan. 7:18, 22; Rev. 5:10; 20:4.
   COMMENT: Christ will place over nations and cities those he has already trained to rule under him. The "saints" — Christians who have voluntarily come under the government of God in his Church and proved their loyalty to God during their mortal lives — will assist Christ in governing the world after they are born again as spirit sons of God at Christ's return.
   The coming government of God will not be a democracy or any other kind of humanly devised government. Time and money will not be wasted on campaigning and elections. There will be no need to cater to special organized groups or classes of people to get votes. There will be no lobbyists or other pressure groups trying to influence government policy.
   Government will be from the top down, with Christ reigning supreme and each divine ruler under him serving in genuine love and concern for his subjects, instead of acting according to selfish motives as is often the case today.
   4. How much power will each ruler exercise in his own area? Rev. 2:26-27.
   COMMENT: There will be authority to render judgments on the spot in all parts of the world. Yet all governmental policies will be based on the pattern laid down from world headquarters by Christ himself. God's government will be perfectly organized, devoid of useless red tape and bureaucratic excess baggage.

Reeducation to God's Way

   1. Will the nations finally realize how good God's government is and begin to seek Christ, asking to be instructed in God's way of life? Micah 4:1-3.
   COMMENT: In Bible prophecy, a "mountain" is often used as a symbol of a major nation and "hills" as symbols of smaller nations. Notice that people will come to Jerusalem seeking to be taught God's way of life.
   Christ will not only be supreme king over all the nations, he will also be supreme educator! He will reeducate the world to God's way of life — the way of God's law of love — so people may, of their own free will, decide to follow his way that leads to peace, economic prosperity and spiritual blessings.
   2. Will God punish those nations that refuse to be reeducated to his way? Zech. 14:16-17. And if they still refuse to obey? Verses 18-19.
   COMMENT: After rebellion against the government of God is put down by divine power, Christ will begin immediately to reeducate people worldwide. They will come to know he is Lord over all, and that he possesses the way to both physical and spiritual blessings. Those who stubbornly refuse to learn will suffer from drought and plagues until they submit to God's rule.
   3. Will God's saints take a personal part in bringing about complete understanding of God's law, and in directing people toward right action? Isa. 30:20-21.
   COMMENT: With proper guidance from those who teach God's way of life, violence and crime will be stopped. People will finally learn how to live at peace with one another.
   4. How successful will God's reeducation program be in teaching the knowledge of his way to the world? Isa. 11:9; Jer. 31:34.
   COMMENT: During the Millennium no religious confusion will exist, because Satan, who has deceived the whole world, will be imprisoned at Christ's coming, awaiting final judgment (Rev. 20:1-3). Humans will then be teachable — their eyes will be opened to God's revealed truth.
   As a result of God's reeducation program, people will begin to live God's way of love — the way of giving and outgoing concern for others — the way of true values — the way of peace, of happiness, of well-being, of joy and, ultimately, spiritual salvation!
   In our next study we'll learn about conditions on earth after the nations have been reeducated to God's way of life. We'll learn what tomorrow's world will be like!

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Plain Truth MagazineJuly-August 1983Vol 48, No.7