A Better Monarchy

JUST before their royal wedding British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge wrote that “in these troubled and changing times, only fortunetellers, Marxists and Jehovah’s Witnesses will venture to prognosticate whether Prince Charles and Lady Diana will actually one day mount the throne as King and Queen of England.”

Mr. Muggeridge was, of course, mistaken. Jehovah’s Witnesses offer no prediction of that kind. What Jehovah’s Witnesses do say, however, is that should Charles mount the throne of England his reign may well be short.

Why is that? It is not due to any failing on the part of the prince. Nor is it due to any real likelihood of a republican revolution in Britain. No, the reason is far more profound.

Bible prophecy indicates that the British monarchy, along with all others, will soon be replaced by a much better monarchy​—one capable of carrying out numerous badly needed programs that Prince Charles himself will surely approve of. Indeed, statements by the prince indicate a remarkable harmony between his desires and the goals of the coming world monarchy under the kingship of Jesus Christ. Here are three examples:

I. Righteous Judgment

“So many people are judged by outward appearances,” commented Prince Charles during a recent tour of a mental hospital. “You’ve got to keep telling yourself that appearances are often not what’s underneath.” The desire of the prince to avoid superficial judgments is certainly laudable, but does any man really have the discernment to do so? As God rightly pointed out to his prophet Samuel: “Mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Jehovah has given this ability to his Son. Hence, Jesus could say: “You judge according to the flesh; I do not judge any man at all. And yet if I do judge, my judgment is truthful, because I am not alone, but the Father who sent me is with me.”​—John 8:15, 16.

While Jesus was not sent to earth as a judge in the first century, there is no doubt that he will serve as Jehovah’s Judge under God’s coming kingdom. Regarding that time, the prophet Isaiah predicted that “he will not judge by any mere appearance to his eyes, nor reprove simply according to the thing heard by his ears. And with righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:3, 4) What a heartwarming prospect!

II. Golden Rule

“The only motto I go by,” commented the prince while visiting a factory, “is ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’ I try to put myself in other people’s positions. That way I hope I can reasonably do the right thing.”

Surely Prince Charles has an excellent motto. Perhaps you realize that he was quoting from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus said: “All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them; this, in fact, is what the Law and the Prophets mean.”​—Matthew 7:12.

Who, then, could better apply that “motto” than Jesus himself? Was not his whole life spent doing good for people? No wonder the Bible refers to him as the “fine shepherd” who ultimately “surrenders his soul in behalf of the sheep.” (John 10:11) Indeed, Jesus proved time and again his interest in doing good for mankind.

III. End of Hatred Coming

“There’s so much bigotry about, it’s appalling. Fear . . . ignorance. . . . Whatever the reasons behind it, it’s such a tragedy. Because in the end we’ve all got to get along together, or what’s the future going to be?” The prince was here speaking of a serious problem in British society, but his remarks are equally true of most places in the world today. Prince Charles’ dislike of racial hatred and his personal example of goodwill to men of all races are very commendable, but what can Prince Charles, or any human ruler, do to change deep-seated prejudices? Little, as most people realize.

With God’s kingdom, however, it is different. The Bible assures us that it will bring to pass man’s age-old dream of universal brotherhood. Unlike human governments, God’s kingdom will operate on the principle that the apostle Peter appreciated when he said: “For a certainty I perceive that God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”​—Acts 10:34, 35.

No wonder that in vision the apostle John saw “a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb . . . saying: ‘Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” (Revelation 7:9, 10) Yes, John was seeing the people who would live under God’s kingdom, and those people were without national or racial divisions. They were worshiping God harmoniously together, just as Jehovah’s Witnesses are doing even now in all parts of the world.

Your Decision

The fine qualities of earthly representatives of monarchy, such as Prince Charles, endear them to many. Yet their good qualities pale before those of Jesus Christ, “the image of the invisible God,” Jehovah. (Colossians 1:15) Really, is there anyone who would make for this earth a better ruler than Christ? No!

But how do we know that God’s kingdom will really rule this earth, and that it is not just a vague state of mind as so many believe? Most important, what evidence is there that such kingdom rule will begin very soon, certainly within the lifetime of most earthly monarchs? Our next article answers these important questions.