The sudden death of His Majesty King George VI is another of those changes constantly going on under the providential eye of God. Each change is working together with all the other changes to bring about His purposes among the nations. We cannot discern the workings of all the individual pieces in the great complicated machinery which is grinding out those things which God has purposed before to be done; but we have confidence in Him who knows the end from the beginning, and whose wisdom is infinite.
The death of the beloved sovereign of the British people brings to mind the strange circumstances that brought him to the throne. Perhaps the abdication of his brother altered the course of history, and we know it was God's purpose that the change should be made. "He removeth kings, and setteth up kings." Dan. 2:21.
We are reminded at this time that death is no respecter of persons; he invades the palace as well as the humblest cottage of the poor. He nether awaits an invitation to enter, nor will he be refused admittance when it is God's time that he should enter. A royal family is no more immune to the anguish of heart caused by the loss of a beloved member than are the dwellers in a city tenement. We truly sympathize with the royal family in their bereavement and trust they know the comfort of 1 Thess. 4
The British people have been much blessed by God for many years in having God-fearing sovereigns, yes, even those who we have reason to believe have been true children of God. If "not many mighty, not many noble, are called," yet there are notable exceptions.
The expressions of dependence on God made by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II when the grave responsibilities of state were thrust upon her in a moment, are very encouraging. May God graciously help and guide her in His fear for the good of His dear people, not only in the lands under her dominion, but for influence to this end in other lands.
These reflections bring another line of thought before us: the coming of the Lord draws nigh, and at that moment every ruler in every land who is sheltered by the precious blood of Christ will be taken simultaneously. Therefore, the nations most blessed by having truly Christian rulers will be the most seriously affected. What a catastrophe for a land where the leaders are without warning taken to be with the Lord in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and the ungodly and lawless are left behind to exercise their lawlessness with the devil's assistance. Such countries as Russia and China where the leaders are avowedly ungodly will scarcely suffer a shudder; their courses will not be affected, except perhaps to encourage them to more acts of international aggression.
We feel that the concussions throughout the world at the coming of the Lord for His own will set the wheels in motion that will produce all the actors required for those great and eventful years of tribulation. Governments, industry, commerce, and finance will be convulsed as a result of the sudden disappearance of all true believers in the Lord Jesus. No doubt it will produce in Christendom a great prayer meeting, a cry of "Lord, Lord, open to us," when it is too late. Such consternation, however, will be short-lived, for the devil will be on hand with a lie to further delude those whom he has already deceived.
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While King George VI lived, there were twin thrones in the House of Lords, for the King's wife reigned with him as Queen, but as soon as their daughter Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II, one of those thrones was removed, and in its place was substituted a chair on a lower step, for the Queen's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, may not be seated with her. This brings to mind a verse in Rev. 3 "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne." v. 21.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, could go back to the glory and sit with His Father in His throne, not in a chair on a lower step; and now the Lord promises to the overcomer (which undoubtedly will be true of all saints of this age) that they shall sit with Him in His throne, even as He sat with His Father in His throne. What great grace! Surely, "the exceeding riches of His grace"! We shall reign with Him. Current events emphasize our exalted position, for although the Duke of Edinburgh has a great place in the British realm, and was himself of royal birth, at one time in line for the Greek throne, yet he does not reign with his wife as we shall reign with Christ.
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The recent anti-British riots in Cairo, Egypt, where $300,000,000 worth of real estate and other property was destroyed in a single day point up the seriousness of the growing self-assertion of radical nationalism in the Moslem world. If all that destruction could take place in a policed city under the eyes of an established government, what could happen in any Moslem country where the government might be overthrown? It makes one shudder to think what might happen to Western nationals and property if such violence should break out in any one of them, or against the Jews in Palestine. We know the smoldering fire is there already, and all that would be needed for a general conflagration in the Moslem world would be for a leader to capture the imagination of the populace.
The Cairo outbreak shows how quickly such movements can be executed. We live in a day when events that might have leisurely taken a hundred years for accomplishment a few centuries back can now be crowded into a single year. All the modern inventions have reduced time and space, and multiplied many times man's capacity to do great things. Perhaps God's word to Israel, "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself," might be appropriately paraphrased, "O mankind, thou hast destroyed thyself."
At the beginning of the Korean conflict, we commented that when a fire breaks out there is no telling how far it will spread. Now that the war has gone on over one and one half years, it seems to be no nearer a settlement or a conclusion than when it first started, and the Western nations have worked feverishly to make any face-saving settlement to prevent a more general conflagration; even an armistice will be an uneasy thing under which preparations could be made for increased warfare. Man is powerless; he is not the master of the world situation, but (while unwilling to admit it) is but a pawn where the god and prince of this world has sway. We hasten, however, to add that even so, all is still providentially controlled by God—neither man nor devil can go beyond what He permits. His Church is still here and it is precious to Him, but woe be to the world when the Church and the Holy Spirit are removed and the lawless one is revealed (2 Thess. 2:7, 8).
Fellow-Christian, let us lift our eyes in loving expectation, for we shall behold our Lord Jesus Christ as Rebekah beheld Isaac at the end of the wilderness journey.
"In hope we lift our wishful, longing eyes,
Waiting to see the Morning Star arise;
How bright, how gladsome will His advent be,
Before the Sun shines forth in majesty!
How will our eyes to see His face delight,
Whose love has cheered us through the darksome night!
How will our ears drink in His well known voice,
Whose faintest whispers make our soul rejoice!
No stain within, no foes or snares around,
No jarring notes shall there discordant sound;
All pure without, all pure within the breast;
No thorns to wound, no toil to mar our rest.
If here on earth the thoughts of Jesus' love
Lift our poor hearts this weary world above,
If even here the taste of heavenly springs
So cheers the spirit, that the pilgrim sings,
What will the sunshine of His glory prove?
What the unmingled fullness of His love?
What halleluiahs will His presence raise?
What but one loud eternal burst of praise?"