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Soon, an entirely dífferent form of government
will be brought to a/1 the peoples of the earth.
lt
will not come by human reason, politics,
or force of arms.
lt
will come as a result
of divine intervention.
The Biggest Crisis of All
Finally. therc is a
crisis ofclwracler.
Such sca ndals as Wa tcrgate rcficct
~omethin g
which has been sneak ing
up on our blind side for many yea rs.
That is th c ract that, more than we
would like
lO
admil. we have be–
come
a
nation of li ars. cheaters.
thicves. adultcrcrs. and blasphemers.
We read con t inuing exposés
about the ph il andcrings ora rccent
president antl thl! lies and dirty
trick of ano ther. Wl! are in the
midst ora virtu al ava lanche of vio–
lence in our entertai nment media
and pornography o n the news–
sta nds .
Our economy. like
a
narcot ic ad–
dict. is dependent upon the con tin–
ua ! refinancin g of a mountainous
burden of debt. The once-heraldetl
virtues of thrift. self-tl iscipline, hon–
cs ty. and sdf-rdia nce have dis–
ap pea rcd from vus t scgments of the
America n pub lic.
Clearly. a fundamental change
must come about in thi broad area
of declining national eharacter.
Lesson of Hi story
Wil l Duran t. the hi storian. summa–
ri zes th e ca u es of th e fall of thc
Roman Empirc wi th word that a re
vi ta lto our si tua tion today: '·A great
civi lization is not conquered from
wi thout until it has destroyed itsclf
within. The essential causes of
Rome' decli ne lay in her people.
her morals. her class struggle. her
fai ling trade. hcr bun;aucra ti c des–
potism. her stilling taxes. her con–
sum ing wars ...."
Speaking in a imila r vei n. Ed–
m und Burke. thc great English
statesman. explained that: "Menare
qualified for civil libcrty in exact
proportion to their disposition to
put moral chains upon their own
appetites . .. . Society can not exist.
unless a controlling power upon will
and appe tite be placed somewhere:
and the less of it there is within. the
more there must he wit hout.
lt
i~
ordained in the eterna! constitution
16
of th ings. that men or intcmperate
minds cannot be free. Thl!ir pas–
sions forge their fctte rs:·
But will ,,.e Americans put '·moral
chains" on o ur appetites? Will wc
hui ld
a
strong intl i,·idua l character.
strong familics and thus a st rong
America in yea rs aheatl?
The truth is tha t
a
democracv
i~
thc mos t fragik or govcrnme;1tal
sy:, tem!>. Since thc national po,,·er of
a tlemocracy ultimatel) rc:.idcs in
the people themselvcs. rather than
in a n exclusive dictatorial elite. the
nation
as a
wholc is strong on ly to
thc cxtent that thc individual cha r–
actc r
or
its citizens
rl!main~
st rong.
The Ultimate Government
A beneficia! as tlemocracy is. this
form of human governmcnt is not
wi thout it faults.
1\.
The Wa/1
S1reet
Jouma/
rccently
ob~e rved:
··ocmocracy
ha~
nevcr bccn neat or
tidy. but it has a lways been buoy–
ant. Onc must hope it will stumbk
·ucce sfully into thc future:·
Righ t indeed.
We American s can be extremely
gratefu l that ,,.e are not li ving under
a dicta tor ora vengeful monarch or
any other totalitarian system. As
se lfish. bu ngling hurnan govern–
rnents go. we·ve definitcly got the
bes t.
Howcver. regardles of pol it ica l
·ystems. the
nation~
of this \\'Orld
are meanwhile girding for a gargan–
tuan World War
lll
tha t wi lllcad to
human extinction
unlcs~
our Cre–
a to r intervenes.
An t.l intervcnc he wi ll (Matt.
24:22).
For the great Crcator - of
whom our found ing father spoke so
much - ha · be ttcr things in store –
for America. as ,,·cll
a~
for the whole
world .
Soon. an entirely di!Terent form of
gove rnment wi ll be brought to a ll
the people o f thc carth. l t will not
come by human rea ·on. polit ic . or
forceofarm.
It will come as a
rc~ul t
of divine
intervention in human afl'airs de-
!>Cribetl in li tcrally !>Cores or Bible
prophccics understootl ant.l belie,·ed
in bv
thou~antls
or our l3ible-bdiev–
ing [mcc:-.tors. but
mi~untla!-ttood
or
~c~ll'ed
at by most of our modern
gl! neration.
Thc "fa thc r o r ou r country."
Gcorgc Washin!Uon. declared:
"Thcr~
is
a
great
~Being
who rules
over the universe:· Thc ml!:,sage of
this grcat Being
i~
calktl ·'thc gospel
of the kingdom of Gotl" (Mark
l:
14).
Strange
a:.
it may
~ccm
to
~omc.
it
i~
a mcs:.agc concerning a
litera l world-rul ing
gol'ernmenr
to be
cstablished over thc nntions
or
thc
earth bv
Jc~us
Chri:,t
al
his return
(Rc\claÍion
11: 15).
That gO\·ernment will be a
!heoc–
racl' -
a oovernmcnt
of'
and
bv
God. But
u~like
all human goven{–
ment~
that have ever been devisctl.
it wi ll be directed in pcr!'cct love.
pe rf'ect
ju~tice .
pcrfect \\ i!>tlom and
untlcr!>ta ncl ing.
l t \\' ill be set up
a~
a
literal gov–
ernment on this earth in
our
genera–
liOil.
And this i as
~urc
as the rising
and \Ctting
Of'
t01110rrow·
SU
!l.
In
the meantime. in this Biccntcn–
nial ycar. Wl! should rcmcmbe r the
Jeep rcspect and awe accorded the
eterna l sovereign of a
11
by tho. e who
tlid. in fact. found
thi~
na ti on.
Ld
u:, ackno' ' ledge thc wisdom
of Abra ham Lincoln. ' ' ho tlescr ibctl
God' guidance or our lirst pre!>i–
den t and stated: ·'Without the aid of
that Di vine Bein g who eve r aidecl
him, who controls mine antl all des–
tin ies.
1
cannot succcctl. With that
a~~i~tance.
1
cannot ra il.''
Wc Amc ricans shoultl gratefully
acknowledge God's ovcrall guid–
ancc in the
de~tiny
of our nation.
Wc !> hou ld thank him for the un–
believably abundant blcssing::. that
havc accrued
to
our peoplc these
past two hund rcd yca rs.
Then we should f'crvently ask that
God would lead and bless this na–
tion antl cach onc of us in it in year:.
to come. This should be our Bicen–
tennial purposc and praycr.
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH July 1976