The King's Highway
JEHOVAH is the King of eternity. (Jer. 10:10, margin) All good things are from him and he performs his work through his beloved Son, his great Executive Officer or High Priest. The time comes when Jehovah places his beloved Son upon the throne: "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." (Ps. 2:6) The judgment of the peoples of earth follows in due time. That judgment will be righteous because Jehovah is the great Judge, which judgment work he performs through his beloved Son. (Ps. 96:10-13) Whatsoever provision is made for the judgment of the peoples of earth, Jehovah has made it; therefore let the people of the nations learn and rejoice.
Satan the enemy turned Adam and Eve away from God and into the way of death and destruction. Adam's children have been born in that way and have found it broad and roomy. Multitudes upon multitudes have gone in that way of destruction. It has been a way of great mental anguish and bodily pain. The way has been drenched with tears of bitterness and with human blood unrighteously shed. With fiendish glee Satan has looked upon the sufferings of the countless millions, and through his earthly agencies, the clergy and the principal of their flocks, has instilled into the minds of the suffering multitudes
the lie that God is responsible for all this suffering. God has not interfered, to the end that the people in due time might learn the terrible results of sin, and the evil that results from following Satan. In his due time the great loving God sent Jesus his only Son, and by and through his sacrificial death opened the way that leads to immortality. That is a narrow way, because it is a way by sacrifice. (Matt. 7:13, 14) The sacrificing is about done, and within a short time that narrow way will for ever close. The closing of the narrow way means the opening of a wonderful way for the return of man to full reconciliation to God.
The King's Highway is that wonderful way provided for the benefit of man. Long centuries ago the great Jehovah God made provision for that highway and therefore its rightful name, The King's Highway. Looking to the time when he would begin the judgment of the multitudes of earth Jehovah caused his prophet to write: "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." — Isa. 35: 8.
By faith the true followers of Christ can now visualize that great highway. It is a mighty causeway which Jehovah God has banked up, that the exiles might return to him. It is the plain way that leads the children of men, even Adam himself, to reconciliation and peace with God. Mark that highway. It stretches out through the valley of surpassing beauty. Toward the north there is a great mountain, and toward the south there is a mountain; and between lies that exceeding great valley. It is really but one moun-
tain with peaks on the south and peaks on the north. On the south the mountain peaks are covered with evergreen cedar trees, bespeaking everlasting life. On the north the peaks tower high above the clouds of heaven, pointing creation to the everlasting God. Its loftiness, grandeur and sublimity can be likened to nothing else. It is calm, serene and peaceful, and all creation stands in awe of this mighty mountain. It speaks of eternity. It is Jehovah's mountain of peace. It represents the kingdom of the Most High. — Zech. 14:4.
From this view the valley appears as a great gorge in the mountain because the mountain sides extend very near. But the valley is great and wide and its beauty is such that no human words can describe. It is the valley of peace and good will. It is the valley of blessings. Out through that wonderful valley from the east to the west thereof is built The King's Highway. That marvelous highway has a gradual ascent, but to those who walk circumspectly upon it the way is easy of travel. The light shines into that valley all the time: it is never dark there. The light at all times shines upon the highway and makes it bright and clear. But what marvelous light is it that illuminates that valley and the highway? That light is not from the sun or the moon or the stars. The light is soft, gentle, peaceful and inviting. The brilliancy thereof continues to increase from the entrance of the highway, and at the far end thereof the light is of exceeding brightness and beauty. What is that light? It is the glory of Jehovah God and of his beloved Son. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day,
which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night; but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light." — Zech. 14: 6, 7; see also Rev. 21: 23.
The great convulsion of the elements occurring at the inauguration of the new covenant, giving evidence of the presence and power of the Almighty, has ended. The shaking of the heaven and earth has ceased. (Heb. 12:25, 26) The storm and tempest have passed and the sea has become quiet. "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still." — Ps. 107: 29.
The peoples of the nations of earth then living learn that Jehovah is God and that his beloved Son is Jehovah's King over all the earth. They learn that the Lord has caused the storm and tempest to cease and has provided for the blessing of the people. Multitudes are gathered at the entrance of the valley of blessing. What a bedraggled company of peoples they are! They are all paupers, who stand there anxiously waiting for instruction that they may proceed. They have passed through the great time of trouble and have marked the earth strewn with the dead. They have heard the howls of the shepherds and the principal of their flock by whom they have been oppressed. (Jer. 25: 31-36) They know that God has taken action in behalf of the oppressed common people. Their faces are marked with sorrow and great suffering. Their clothing is bedraggled. They have not stopped to bury their dead but have hurried away from the terrible scene. And now they wait for relief. The time for the awakening of the dead has not yet arrived because those surviving and who desire life must first have opportunity. (2 Tim. 4:1) From what these
waiting ones have learned they know their help must come from the Lord.
Seeking Zion
Zion is God's organization. Those who are fully reconciled to God and brought into Christ are a part of God's organization, of which Jesus is the Head. It is God's purpose in time to gather together all the obedient ones unto Christ. (Eph. 1:10) That multitude standing at the entrance of The King's Highway is composed entirely of sinners, and before these can be received upon the Highway they must have some instruction as to the law that will govern them. Who will give the desired instruction to this company of paupers, the descendants of the pauper Adam?
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other faithful ones mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews have been brought from hell, fully and completely reconciled to God, and made perfect. To this faithful company of men the privilege is given to instruct the people. True, they are also descendants of the pauper Adam, who was once a prince. But these men, because of their faithfulness unto God, and because reconciled now through the blood of Jesus, stand perfect. They are now princes. No longer are they called fathers in Israel. They have been advanced to a higher position. "Instead of thy fathers [they] shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth." (Ps. 45:16) The Lord has placed these princes in a proper position to instruct the people concerning The Bang's Highway and the way to go over it. As each group of the straggling paupers enters upon the high-
way they will be instructed in the message of the truth.
The new covenant was made for and in behalf of sinners and will be inaugurated to bring man into reconciliation with God. That covenant will contain statutory laws commanding the people to do that which is right and prohibiting them from doing that which is wrong. " The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane." (1 Tim. 1:9) The people waiting to enter upon the highway are of the sinner class. But now they will have a sure and certain Guide, and there will be no occasion for them to mistake as to what is the right way. As they there wait, they are anxiously seeking the way to Zion. "In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let up join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten." — Jer. 50: 4, 5.
As the people enter upon The King's Highway, the faithful princes will be explaining to them God's law, which is the law of the new covenant. "And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isa. 2: 3) The law of God will be promulgated by Christ, the King and Head of Zion, and by and through his
agencies, the princes in the earth who represent the new covenant, which is the new Jerusalem.
The people seeking God will be told in substance that The King's Highway is for the purpose of cleaning up the paupers and making them wholly pure and well and strong, but that no unclean shall go over that highway. They must clean up their bodies and minds and learn to do that which is right. That is the only way they will be permitted to go over the highway. Holiness means that one is entirely and wholly devoted to God; therefore those who will go over the highway must unselfishly devote themselves to God and learn to be obedient to the rules that will be given to them by Christ through his representatives. "And it shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those." (Isa. 35: 8) The great God of the universe has provided the way for man to return to him. In so doing God has given expression to unselfishness, which is love.
The poor pauper race has been buffeted from pillar to post. The people have been deceived by the Devil and his teachers, who have misled them concerning God. But the nefarious work of Satan and his earthly representatives must cease. God has promised that before The King's Highway is open to the people the Devil shall be taken and bound and imprisoned, that he may deceive the nations no more during that great judgment day. (Rev. 20:1-3) The clergy, whom the prophet calls "dumb dogs" and who are otherwise spoken of as "dogs" (Rev. 22:15), will not be permitted to mislead the people any more. Those who are sorcerers (mixers of false doctrines), and whoremongers (those who have prostituted the truth to the
Devil's system and then sold this illicit thing to the people — Jer. 2:23, 25); those who are murderers (who have hated their brethren because they told the truth — 1 John 3:15); and those who are idolaters (who worship images and sacrifice to devils, at the same time claiming to represent the Lord — 1 Cor. 10:21); and those who love and tell Satan's lies, are now outside of God's favor. God will not permit such to go upon the Highway of The King. (Rev. 22:15) None such shall be permitted there to obstruct the way of those who desire to come to God through Christ and live.
In further corroboration God's prophet says: "No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there: but the redeemed shall walk there." (Isa. 35: 9) The lion is a symbol of the Devil. (l Pet.5:8) The "ravenous beast" here used is a symbol of governments representing the Devil and therefore forming a part of his organization. These are made up of a class of men who have long been austere, harsh, cruel and oppressive. Nothing of that kind shall be on The King's Highway. That way will be so clear that there will be no occasion for any one to stumble.
God has graciously provided that every one who comes with an honest desire to know and serve him may enter upon the great highway. Even though a man has been wicked, if he turns away from his wickedness and desires to do right, he will be helped by the great Mediator, Christ. "When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth
away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die." — Ezek. 18:27,28.
Manifestly there are some clergymen who are not as reprehensible as others. Some deny God and the Lord Jesus altogether, while others claim to believe the fundamental truths of the Scriptures. The Scriptures indicate that those who are ashamed of what they have said about the Lord and who seek forgiveness may have an opportunity to go up on the highway and be cleansed. The word "prophet", as used in the Scriptures, means one who preaches, and therefore refers to the clergy. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets [preachers] shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied [wherein he has misrepresented the Lord]; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive [they will not have their collars on backwards or some other garb to indicate their office]: but he shall say, I am no prophet [preacher], I am a tiller of the ground [Revised Version], for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thy hands [your hands don't look like a farmer's]? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." — Zech. 13:4-6.
Whether or not one entering the highway shall go to the end thereof and live will depend upon his willingness to do right and to put forth an honest endeavor so to do. Entering the highway, he will learn that he must clean himself up, physically, morally and mentally. He will be required to strictly obey the law, He will be able to obey if he will try. There will be
none there to influence him to disobey. The benefit of the ransom price will then be available for all. This benefit accepted by man upon the terms offered, his sins resulting from inheritance will be wiped away. "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." (Heb. 10:17, 18) If he wilfully disobeys the law, however, he shall suffer. It seems clear from the Scriptures that the Lord will grant him a hundred years to prove whether he will or will not try to do right. If he persists in doing wrong, then he shall die and remain dead for ever. " There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner, being an hundred years old, shall be accursed." (Isa. 65: 20) The people will learn as they journey over The King's Highway that they must be obedient to Christ: " For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." — Acts 3:22,23.
All the people will be under the complete control of Jesus, the great Judge and King whom Jehovah has appointed. Those who will not obey shall not live and will never reach the far end of The King's Highway: " The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." — Ezek. 18: 20.
Those who are alive on the earth at the beginning of the operation of the new covenant will be the first ones given the opportunity for the blessings of The King's Highway. Then the time will come for those who sleep in the dust of the earth to be awakened and come forth. (Dan. 12:2) As the obedient ones journey along The King's Highway and continue to receive the blessings the Lord has graciously provided for them, they will often think of their beloved dead. They will have a desire that their loved ones might return and enjoy the blessings that they are having. They will pray to the Lord that these may be permitted to come back. The Lord will graciously hear and answer their prayers, as it is written: "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." — Isa. 65:24.
The Scriptures do not reveal the order in which the Lord will bring back the dead. It has been suggested that those dying last will be raised first. In support of that conclusion the words of Jesus are cited, to wit: "But many that are first shall be last; and the last first." (Mark 10: 31) But these words can hardly be thus applied without taking them out of their setting. It does seem reasonable, however, that the Lord will bring back the dead in an order the reverse of that in which they have gone into the tomb. The Scriptures show that he will hear the prayers of the obedient living ones. To this end it seems reasonable to expect that the living ones would pray for the return of those nearest of kin to them.
Just when Adam will be awakened, only the Lord knows. It may be early or it may be late during the
period of restoration. When the great Highway is open, however, Abel will be one of the princes there. Knowing that his father Adam was once a prince and how he became a pauper, Abel may have a keen interest in telling his father about God's gracious goodness in providing redemption and deliverance and in telling Adam how he can be restored to his first glory. Abel may also be eager to tell his mother Eve that the Devil, who deceived her, can not deceive her now, because he is restrained. It would surely be a real joy to Prince Abel to instruct and aid his old father and mother to journey over The King's Highway, to see them climbing up, turning their hearts wholly to God, and being restored to the days of their youth. God may bring them back in consideration of the earnest prayer of this faithful prince. We do know that in God's due time Christ will bring forth Adam and Eve from the grave, because he has declared that all shall come forth and that they that obey shall live. (John 5: 25) Adam and his children must have that great privilege, because the blood of Jesus shed as a ransom for all is a guarantee thereof.
The dead shall return from the land of the enemy, which is hell. (Jer. 31:15-17) As they progress upon The King's Highway and learn of God's gracious provisions for them, they will break forth in songs of praise, singing in effect: 'We are journeying on to Zion, the city of our God. He has redeemed us to himself by his Son's precious blood.' Their lamentations and tears of bitterness they will leave behind them. "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon
their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." — Isa. 35:10.
The new covenant shall result beneficially to all mankind who obey its law. Its purpose is reconciliation of man to God. The result will be reconciliation to God of all who obey. During the long dark night of Satan's regime selfishness has controlled the people. On The King's Highway conditions will be exactly the reverse. The effects of the new covenant will be to make kind the heart of man. Those who will make progress on the great highway will be trying to do good and will be doing good to each other and giving glory to God. "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh; that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." — Ezek. 11:19,20.
The new covenant will be faultless because of the perfection of its Mediator, Christ, and because of his unlimited ability to aid all who desire to be blessed. While the people are striving to obey the law as written in the covenant, God through Christ will be writing his law in their minds and hearts: "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest." — Heb. 8:10, 11.
When God's righteous rule of man is written in the mind and heart of man, no longer will man need to have the laws written upon paper or upon stones.
Man, then moved by unselfishness, will dwell in peace, and truth and righteousness shall be his portion. Then it can be truly said: "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven." (Ps. 85:10, 11) "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places." — Isa. 32:17, 18.
For the sake of their faithful fathers (Abraham and others) the Jews will have the first opportunity of blessing. (Rom. 11: 28) But all non-Jews, yea all the nations of the earth, will seek the Lord, that they may have his blessings as promised. They will be found hurrying to the great highway that they may learn to walk in holiness thereupon and be made a part of God's holy organization. "And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts; I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord." — Zech. 8:21,22.
Those who do not seek the Lord to learn of him to obey him shall have no blessings. These promised blessings are symbolized by rain, which shall fall upon only those who desire to obey. (Zech. 14:16-19) This is true because there is no other name given under heaven whereby man can be saved and blessed except the name of Christ. — Acts 4:12.
God created the beasts of the field and the fowl of the air for man's pleasure and intended perfect man to have dominion over these and to be friendly with them. Because of sin the fear of man has been placed on all these creatures and they have fled from man. While the people are journeying over The King's Highway back to happiness and to God, the great loving Creator will bring these animals into harmony with man. "And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow, and the sword, and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely." — Hos. 2:18.
By faith in the Word of God take now a mental vision of the happy multitude upon the great highway. Behold the wolf, the lamb, the leopard, the young kid, the calf and the lion are all walking peaceably together, and a little child is leading that company of beasts. The cow and bear are feeding together while their young are fondling each other. The lark and the nightingale join with the people in happy song. Nothing shall be permitted to injure in that valley of blessing that rests in the mountain of God. — Isa. 11: 6-9.
A thousand years is devoted to the happy journey up The King's Highway back to reconciliation with God. In that time God through Christ undoes all the evil work which Satan has wrought in the ages gone by. Along the journey some will refuse to obey and they shall fall away and die. No one will mourn their death, however, because one who at that time fails to appreciate the goodness of God proves that he will never be a blessing to any one nor a glory to the Lord
and is unworthy of tears of sorrow. At the end of the journey Christ the great Mediator will complete the work of the new covenant. Obedient men will then be fully restored to perfection of mind and body. But the question will arise, Will these men for ever continue to be obedient to God? The Scriptures reveal that it is God's plan to grant eternal life to man only after a full test of loyalty. Manifestly for the purpose of permitting this test God releases Satan from prison for a little season. By that time men have seen the baneful effects of evil. They have learned that God is good and gracious and the true Friend of man.
The issue is then put squarely to every one: Whom will you choose to obey, Jehovah or Satan? Some whose hearts have not been wholly devoted to the Lord will reason that the Devil must be very great and mighty and the fact that God has released him shows that he can not destroy him, and thus will ally themselves with the Devil. God permits them to have their choice. Thus they prove their disloyalty. Then manifesting his power from heaven, God by a flame of fire destroys Satan the Devil and all who prefer to follow him. "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." (Rev. 20:7-9) In the execution of this judgment of destruction against the Devil, Jesus Christ, the great
High Priest of Jehovah, is the Executor. — Heb. 2:14.
Will Adam be among those who are fully restored to perfection and live for ever? If he is obedient to the terms of the new covenant he will be restored. If he is true to God under the final test he will live for ever. The same will be true as to Eve and all their children that are likewise loyal to God. Whether or not Adam will be obedient no man can now foresee. He will be fully reconciled to God, and whether or not he shall live for ever will depend upon his obedience. We do know that the result will for ever demonstrate that God is just and that he has provided the greatest of all sacrifices that he may be the Justifier of his erring creature. After the destruction of Satan and those who prefer his way the earth shall have upon it a perfect race of human beings all of whom are entirely and completely reconciled to God and in full harmony with him. Man will then be entirely over the great highway and "at evening time it shall be light". — Zech. 14:7.
