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human family all over again. The
ancient wor ld, says the bíblica!
record, was destroyed by a flood.
But God carefully preserved ani–
mal and human Jife by instructing
Noah to build an ark.
T hrough the three sons of Noah
and their wives, God preserved the
three major racial groups he had
designed at creation.
Not long after the Flood, socie–
ties once again, under the influence
of Satan, began to return to t he
degenerate customs of the pre–
Fiood .wor ld. A despot named Nim–
rod gathered into cities people
under his leadership and soon set
himself up as a god.
God then divided the world into
different Janguages and directed
migrations of peoples to populate
this vast earth (Gen.
1 1:7-8).
The process would take many
centuries.
In the course of time, the world
has become what we know it today,
with many nations and cultures.
Each nation with its own distinct
personality and character.
Unhappily, not every facet of
national character is good. Nearly
6,000 years of satanic deception
have taken their toll .
But as already stated, not every–
thing in cultural diversity is evil
either. Character and cultural dif–
ferences are what make our world
so interesting.
In spite of many differences
there is a common respect and
appreciation we should all have for
each other.
T hat is how it is going to be in
the world tomor row.
Historically, national differences
have filled the world with bloodshed
and violence. Mankind has gone to
war over color differences, character
differences, natural resources, terri–
torial possession, religious schisms
and many another reason.
What a shame we have not
learned to live together in peace
and harmony. But as one of God's
prophets said: "The way of peace
they do not know" ( Isa. 59:8).
However, there is a wonderful
world of peace coming. J esus
Christ is going to return to earth as
King of kings and Lord of lords,
andas Prince of Peace (Rev. 19:16;
lsa. 9:6).
It is not yet the world tomorrow.
10
It is still the world today.
lt
is a
world of national pride and jeal–
ousy. lt is a world of differences
and hostility.
lt
is a world on the
brink of human destruction.
The editor in chief of
The Plain
Truth,
Herbert W. Armstrong, has
been called an "ambassador without
portfolio for world peace." It has
been his desire, and it is the desire of
this magazine, to make a clear con–
tribution to human understanding.
We know no mortal can bring world
peace. God will do that.
But we can and should appre–
ciate fellow human beings. And
whatever limited good h uman
beings accomplish shou ld be
respected.
Through the Ambassador Foun–
dation, peoples from all over the
world have been brought into con–
tact with each other and have
grown to respect the truly admira–
ble abilities each possesses.
Not long ago Chinese acrobats
from Beijíng (Peking) performed at
the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasa–
dena. T he audiences were thrilled by
the intricate moves that seemed to
defy gravi ty. Somehow no one
seemed to worry that níght that cul–
tural and ideological differences have
separated American and Chinese
peoples for more than
35
years.
On that same stage at other occa–
sions Irish folk dancers, Scottish pip–
ers, a Jewish violinist, a Korean cel–
list, Spanish and Italian opera sing–
ers, Russian ballet stars, Mexican
dancers and guitarists, African tribal
dancers- performers from all over
the world have shared tbeir abilities
and their cultural diversity, their
personalities and character.
Perhaps in these areas of life our
common ancestry comes to light.
Looking to the Future
One thing we humans seem to be
experts on is the ability to see
another person's or another nation's
flaws. Those qualitíes that irritate
are magnified.
Many chafe under the strain of
Rome traffic, complain about the
shoving in Israelí lines, ridicule
d ietary differences and make funny
remarks about German efficiency.
These same humans may, in
turn, !ove and respect the cleanl i–
ness of Switzerland, the cuisine of
France and recognize the German-
made Mercedes Benz and BMW as
among the finest quality automo–
biles in the world. We applaud the
music, admire the art and !ove the
scenery of almost every nation.
The conclusion we should draw
from of all these dífferences is to
admire the good qualities, overlook
the not-so-good and look to the
fut ure when a time of world peace
will once and for all remove the bad
qualities and bring the people of
the world into harmony with each
other.
A beautiful passage of Scripture
was written on tbis subject more
than 2,700 years ago. Micah prophe–
sied: "In the last days the mountain
of the Lord's temple will be estab–
lished as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills, and
peoples will stream to it. Many
nations will come and say, 'Come, let
us go up to the mountai n of the Lord,
to the house of the God of J acob. He
will teach us his ways, so that we
may walk in his paths.' .. . He will
judge between many peoples and
will settle disputes for strong nations
far and wide. T hey will beat their
swords into plowshares and their
spears into pruning hooks. Nation
will not take up sword against
nation, nor will they train for war
anymore" (Míe.
4:
1-3).
The good news is that in the not–
too-distant future, God is going to
send Jesus Christ to the earth to
establish his kingdom. And there
will be a change in the whole of
nature.
Isaiah shows "the wolf will live
with the lamb, the leopard will líe
down with the goat, the calf and
the !ion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them"
(lsa. ll :6).
If God will change the nature of
wild beasts, it should be equally evi–
dent he will also transform, by the
addition of his divine nature to
humans, the present divisive national
flaws of peoples. A millennium of
peace, prosperity, yes, and of admi–
ration and respect for individual
national character, is foretold.
Meanwhile in the wor ld today,
we would all be a Iot better off if
we concentrated on learning as
much as we can about the admira–
ble qualities of so many d ifferent
peoples in so many differe n t
nations. o
The
PLAIN TRUTH