A greater power than that possessed by Premier Josef Stalin has done its work, and the reins of government have fallen from his cold, still hands. The world's greatest ruler of all time has gone. It has had its great rulers in the past, and usually those called "great" have achieved that doubtful honor through daring conquests, and great destruction and blood-shedding; but never in all history has one man controlled the destinies of so many people. No one ever before approached the enormity of power wielded by Dictator Stalin, whose merest word had the power of life and death over more than 800,000,000 people.
Many have striven for power, but few attained it. Now the man who acquired most of it has succumbed to the power of death, and passed away from his glory, never to return. What an emptying thing death is! Truly, "all is vanity" (Eccles. 1:22Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 1:2)). His body is to be preserved by refrigeration and lie in a glass casket beside that of his mentor and prototype, Nikolai Lenin; and perhaps a great monument will be erected to his memory, but that will be but a hollow and vain show, for his soul has gone to that place beyond the great gulf (Luke 16), and he is beyond the reach of the plaudits and acclamations of men.
Moses was within the reach of power in his day as "the son of Pharaoh's daughter," but he had respect unto the reward (Heb. 11:24-2624By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. (Hebrews 11:24‑26)), and forsook Egypt to cast in his lot with a company of slaves. Had he not done so, his mummy might be in an English museum today; but he would never have been on the "glory mount" with the Lord Jesus, and still have a great reward coming In the light of God's Word and of eternity, Moses made a wise choice.
We are impressed at this time with the futility of man's greatest efforts to avert death. Russian scientists and doctors worked at feverish speed to perfect a serum that would preserve the life of Josef Stalin. They used "human guinea pigs" in their experiments, but to no avail.
As we reflect on the history of the most ruthless dictator the world has known, some verses come to mind in Revelation: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Chap. 20:12-15. Yes, the man who sought to obliterate the name of God from the earth has gone to meet that God whom he defied. He who began his early manhood in training in a Greek Orthodox Theological Seminary, and then t u r n e d against God, knows better now.
NOTE: There are some ways in which the empires spoken of in Daniel excelled even the triumphs of Premier Stalin. Nebuchadnezzar was the "head of gold" of the image (Dan. 2), as having his grant of power direct from God; and the kingdoms of Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome successively dominated the known world. While they did not control as many square miles, or rule as many people, yet each in its heyday had no real rival. World domination is the one thing that Russia seeks, and which it will never acquire. The Western world will not fall before Russia; it is reserved to fall before the Son of man in His day, as the first of His acts of judgment
Speculation is rife in the world as to the possible outcome of Stalin's demise on Russian and world affairs. We are not prophets, and before this issue reaches the hands of our readers many things will have already taken place, but we venture a few remarks. History has shown that it is almost impossible for a dictator to transfer his power, and often a battle for supremacy ensues among his top advisers. This, however, is not apt to change the policy within Russia or the course taken in international affairs. Russia is thoroughly controlled by a police system and, in all likelihood, the man who can gain control of that will become the future dictator. Furthermore, any of the men who are in a position to seek the dictatorship are thoroughly indoctrinated with the same communist ideology. It is almost certain that no leader could emerge that would change the set of the sails of their ship of state. The next ruler will be younger than Premier Stalin was at the end, and a younger man is apt to be more aggressive and less cautious. If this happens, there will be a worsening of international relations.
Of one thing we are sure; namely, God is behind the scenes, and moving those scenes. "He removeth kings, and setteth up kings." In approximately one year, the King of England died and was replaced by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth; the President of the United States was changed; the President of Israel died; the King of Egypt was overthrown; and now the Dictator of Russia has died. We may not see how all these things are working together to further God's purposes and plans, but there can be no doubt that they are. They are all in vital areas in the global struggle. The end is approaching, and things are moving rapidly. Soon we shall hear that shout for which we are waiting, and shall leave this world without regret; then only a circumstance or two will be required to bring in that awful time when men's hearts shall fail them for fear of what is coming (Luke 21:2626Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (Luke 21:26)). We did not think the Church of God would be here to see as much as has already taken place. No sign is looked for before the appearance of the Bright Morning Star.
Just one day before Premier Stalin was stricken, we had a Jewish paper put into our hands In it were reminiscences of Israel's past, particularly reflecting on those who oppressed the Jews. Frequent reference was made to Haman (the man who sought to exterminate the Jews in his day) in the book of Esther. One rabbi said, "Hamans come in all sizes." The editor said: "Haman, repeating for what to us alive today seems quite familiar, accused the Jews of Persia of plotting against the king.... Haman, like so many future potential a n d actual dictators wanted the Jews to conform-to bow to man instead of God-and thus opened the path to his self-destruction.... Many Hamans have arisen and fallen in our age-long history.... We must not forget that within a decade of the destruction of the modern Haman, Hitler, another Haman-a Russian Haman- has arisen in the Kremlin, and world Jewry must now transform itself to Esthers and Mordecais; otherwise there may be no Jewish people left to celebrate another Purim."
We looked in vain for reference to the help of God, but found instead a leaning on their own power and wisdom. But that people who are "beloved for the fathers' sakes" are being watched over from above, and all God's purposes concerning them will be fulfilled. Nevertheless, it is wholesome to reflect on how many who have put their hands to the Jews, have fallen. God is chastising that people for their sins, but woe be to the man who lifts the cudgel to strike them.
In the book of Esther, after the Jews' deliverance from the power of Haman, they kept a feast of gladness and joy. The Jews have continued this feast on through the years, called the "Feast of Purim," after the word "pur" (which signifies the casting of the lot) in Esther.
Annually the Jews celebrate this victory over Haman with t h e reading of "Megillah Esther," or the scroll of the book of Esther. They also make it a time of festivities.
Now the thing that has impressed us, even though some may call it a mere coincidence, is that on the very day in which world Jewry celebrated the Feast of Purina (March 1), the "Russian Haman... in the Kremlin" was stricken, and lapsed into a coma, only to leave this life a few days later. However that may be, we can safely leave all in the hands of an all-wise and all-powerful Creator, whose works were all known unto Him from the beginning (Acts 15:1818Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. (Acts 15:18)).
In response to our comments in this column regarding the degrading influence of television in general and the unsuitableness of its presence in the Christian's home, especially those comments in the issues of August, 1951, and October, 1952, we received the following information from a reader:
A survey conducted in the Chicago area counted in four days, "77 murders, 7 kidnappings, 53 shootings, and a total of 216 crimes of violence," in TV programs for children. What a dreadful influence to hasten the moral depravity of the last days! And the danger for Christians does not stop there; even the better things of the world displayed on television are just so much poison for the Christian, whose calling is heavenly. Let us beware of this great snare! The above information has now been incorporated into our second edition of the tract: "TELEVISION—Should it have a place in the Christian's home?" This new edition (enlarged 25 per cent) will soon be available from the publishers at the old price.